Novice chefs and seasoned pros; gather around. Dreaming of becoming a chef? Or simply wanting to try out a recipe for the first time? Whatever your reason is, knowing the gadgets and tools needed in the kitchen is always a good idea. This may serve as an essential step in learning how to prepare food and eventually becoming a great cook!
If you have a recipe you’re trying to master, look at our list of utensils in the kitchen and kitchen gadgets that’ll make your cooking experience process easier and faster. We’ll help you set up an essential kit with 25 tools in kitchen and gadgets. Read on to know more about it!
Must-Have Kitchen Utensils
These are the essentials in your kitchen, those you’ll reach for more often than you think. For example, did you know that an egg ring exists? It can make your egg cooking process more manageable. Always remember, whether you’re cooking a simple egg or baking a cake, make sure you have these tools on hand before getting started.
With these items, you can cook just about anything!
KITCHEN UTENSILS
Slotted Spoon
A slotted spoon can be a miniature strainer, which removes solids from liquids, like pulling small pasta noodles from boiling water.
Metal Spatula
A metal spatula is vital for flipping, tossing, and serving all kinds of food such as eggs, pancakes, and sauteed meat.
Tongs
You can buy a cheap pair of metal tongs that twist and turn your food in the pan. This comes in different sizes, and they’re also great for serving dinner.
Ladle
Unless you’re someone who exclusively eats solid food (if you exist, please contact us), you will need a ladle to transport any liquid from the pot to your bowl. Other than that, there are different types of ladles, one of which can act as a strainer for your future pasta recipes.
Mitts
Do you use a towel to wrap your hand when you’re transferring hot food? There’s an alternative for that called oven mitts! These are used to protect your hands from being burned when transferring hot food.
Meat Thermometer
Do you constantly guess if your meat is well-cooked already? Why guess when you can accurately know? Take a peek at this thermometer! It’s a meat thermometer that’ll give you an accurate temperature reading of your food within seconds.
PREPARATION TOOLS
Mixing bowls
Buy mixing bowls to whip up a meal when you need to marinate meat, beat some eggs, or set aside some prepped vegetables.
Chef’s knife
Want to save your fingers? Buy a decent chef’s knife. Dull knives are prone to sliding around, and it requires a greater applied force to effectively cut. Thus, there’s a greater chance to cut your fingers. Every time you cook, you will reach for this essential, so go with a high-quality blade for cutting.
Bread knife
Using a chef’s knife might smash your bread and tomatoes if you cut them. A bread knife is ideal for slicing bread since it won’t crush nor tear it into messy pieces.
Cutting board
If you have knives, you should also have cutting boards. Do not make a habit of cutting things on a plate or the counter. You could damage both your knife and your counter. Other than that, cross-contamination might occur.
Colander
If you don’t have a colander, where will you drain all that pasta? Do you really want to use your sink to drain your pasta? No, that would be gross, which is why colanders exist.
Whisk
Nothing whisks quite like a whisk. When making gravy, mixing batter, or whipping your own cream, you need to purchase a whisk.
Can Opener
It would be convenient if every can had a pull tab, but fantasies are better than reality. Most cans don’t have a pull tab in the real world, and attempting to open a can without a can opener is frustrating. Make your life easier and purchase a can opener.
Peeler
You got your potatoes, your carrots, your cucumbers, your beets; all things that might need a good peeling. Of course, some people like to leave the skin on their vegetables, but if you want to make apple pie, or cube some thick-skinned squash, a peeler is a godsend. They are small and cheap anyway, so you might as well get one.
Grater
Your cheese won’t grate itself. Maybe some people prefer to eat their cheese solid, but if you want to mix your cheese with your pasta, a grater is what you need.
Measuring cups and spoons
If you eyeball your ingredients based on how much you think a tablespoon and a cup are, then you’re signing yourself up for an inaccurate and non-replicable recipe. If you want to make decent cooking or a balanced salad dressing, purchase measuring cups and spoons to make your life easier.
Salt and Pepper Grinder
Using pre-ground pepper may make the volatile oils and flavor compounds inside the peppercorn begin to dull. Freshly ground pepper is more potent and better in flavor. Thus, it is more favorable. To make it easier for you to hone your pepper or salt, buy your own salt and pepper grinder.
COOKWARE & BAKEWARE
Non-stick Pan
The first thing you’ll need in your kitchen is a nonstick pan. You can use this to cook eggs, but it tends to stick to stainless steel and cast iron. Luckily, these pans are low-maintenance to clean, perfect for a beginner cook.
Soup Pot
A standard soup pot can function as the one-pot in a one-pot meal. You can do a lot of things here, such as boil pasta or make soups and stews.
Saucepan
If you’re boiling frozen produce or preparing a stock from dashi, reach for a saucepan. You can even make instant ramen using this product.
Sheet Pans
Sheet pans are essential for baking cookies or roasting vegetables. It’s also the thing you put your recipe on when you want to turn it back to an edible state.
Egg ring
An egg ring is used to make eggs be cooked into a perfectly round shape. Other than that, it also keeps the egg from spreading around the pan.
APPLIANCES
Blender
If you’re a fan of making fruit shakes, smoothies or dips, you’ll need a powerful blender instead of using a food processor every time. This is a multi-purpose purchase, make the most out of it.
Microwave
Most likely, your home already has a microwave, but it’s usually worth an upgrade if it’s an old model, and it’s definitely a must-buy if there isn’t one. It’s a must-have for reheating food.
Air Fryer
An air fryer uses minimal oil and hot air to cook or bake food. There is a lot of food that you air-fry, such as frozen chicken wings, homemade french-fries, and even fresh-baked cookies.
Fully stocking an efficient kitchen doesn’t have to be frustrating nor expensive. By purchasing high-quality products that have a strong value proposition, your fully stocked kitchen can last a lifetime, without costing you a kidney.
Were you able to take note of all of that? Fret not! To help you know exactly what tools to start out with, we created a Kitchen Utensils Checklist for you. All of the essential utensils in kitchen, kitchen gadgets, tools in kitchen are there. Even the egg ring! Check what you have and what you don’t, and there’s even an extra page for you to write your own list of essentials!