Things to Have in Your Kitchen For Easy Cooking
If you’re just started learning how to cook or build your own kitchen, there are MUST-HAVE tools that could make your life in the kitchen a whole lot easier. You don’t have to buy them all in one go, but I recommend investing in everything on this list.
TOOLS FOR FOOD PREP
Preparing the food takes the longest time to do. But if you’re smart and you buy tools that could fasten cutting, slicing, peeling and other prep work, then this part of cooking can even be enjoyable. Here are some tools I recommend for food prep:
- Garlic press – If you love cooking everything with garlic, then the garlic press removes the need to slice and dice garlic each time you need to. This totally removes the garlicky smell left behind by holding garlic with your hands.
- Kitchen shears – Buy a pair of quality kitchen shears. It is extremely useful if you’re feeling lazy to take out your fancy knives. You can use this to cut meat, snip from your herb garden, cut vegetables, and do other tasks in one go.
- Box graters – This is a classic tool, but still beats many modern slicers and dicers. You can shred most vegetables and other ingredients using this box grater with ease. This is perfect if you don’t want to take out your bulky food processor but need to shred some zucchini for lunch. It’s easy to clean, super handy and doesn’t take much counter space.
- Meat tenderizer – Don’t be afraid to experiment with cooking seemingly-complicated meat dishes. With a quality meat tenderizer, you’ll be serving up restaurant-level steak dinners in no time.
- Metal whisk – Whether you’re making omelettes, salad dressings, mixing dry ingredients together, or even one-bowl cake batters, a metal whisk can do wonders for your food prep. It doesn’t take a lot of space and come in all sizes to accommodate your needs.
- Herb scissors – I’m a fan of garnishing my meals with spring onion, celery and other similar food items, which is why I love my pair of herb scissors. This tool allows me to just cut through veggies very quickly.
- Fruit peelers and slicers – You can find numerous tools that would make peeling and slicing fruits hassle-free. There are banana slicers, apple peelers, avocado corer/slicers, strawberry hullers, pineapple corers, and many more. There is even a corn cob stripper for people who don’t like corn digging up in their teeth.
TOOLS FOR ACCURACY
Everyone knows cooking is half science, half art. The best way to ensure you cook your food thoroughly or prepare portions accurately is to use tools designed exactly to do just that.
- Instant-read thermometer: Choose a thermometer that lets you check to see if your meats are cooked thoroughly.
- Automatic sugar or salt dispenser: For perfectly seasoned dishes, you can use a dispenser to add ½ teaspoons of salt, ground pepper (or even sugar) every time. No more guessing if you added too little or too much.
- Kitchen timer – Invest in a good kitchen timer. You’ll be using this for everything, from baking to boiling, proofing bread, freezing ingredients, and so on.
- Scale measuring spoon – Scoop baking soda with this spoon and it will automatically give you the volume and weight.
- Digital food scale – If you want to follow recipes to the T, a food scale helps you weigh every ingredient you’ll need. This tool is also perfect if you’re planning to cook diet food.
TOOLS FOR COOKING & BAKING
There are unlimited tools available for cooking and baking, but I found these 3 must-haves if you’re feeling a bit lazy and want to only easy cooking:
- Sheet pan: Place your raw meat, fish, chicken, veggies all in one sheet pan. Season them to your heart’s content and slide this into your oven for 30 minutes or more. Check if the meat is cooked to your preference and your meal is done.
- Baking dish: For casserole lovers and other easy-to-cook baked dishes, a baking dish is also pretty versatile.
- Saucepan: My go-to sauce is anything that’s left in my veggie pantry, along with soup or sauce I make from scratch. A good saucepan could be in your service for years to come.
- Immersion blender: This works like a blender, but without the bulk of your blender or food processor. Just plug it in, use it for the veggies or dish you’re cooking and turn it into any sauce you want with a push of a button.
MODERN TOOLS FOR ANYBODY’s KITCHEN
If you’re feeling adventurous, buy these tools:
- Spice diffusers: Place your garlic, onion, ginger or any other herbs and spices you want into the diffuser and just drop it into your soup for some heart-warming, good-for-the-soul soup without the need to peel and slice a TON of ingredients.
- Sushi maker roller machine: Craving for sushi? Wow your friends or family with this tool. You’d be surprised how easy it is to use too!
- Boiled egg peeler: Look for The Negg brand, which originally designed the tool wherein you place the boiled egg inside the tiny jar, add water, shake and once you see the shell softening up, your egg’s shell should slide off on its own.
- Salad spinner: Any kitchen should have a good salad spinner – this tool lets you mix your greens like a real restaurant.
So where is the best site to find kitchen appliances and cool cooking tools from this list? Check Kitchengearoid, Kickstarter, Etsy, and even your go-to Amazon.
