Cooking efficiently and effortlessly necessitates the appropriate kitchenware. Instead of purchasing everything at once, it’s better to gradually accumulate a collection of necessary items that will simplify your culinary tasks. Equipping your kitchen with vital cooking tools can significantly ease your workload.
Despite the constant influx of stylish, innovative, and intriguing kitchen gadgets, it isn’t necessary to own them all to cook proficiently. In reality, a few basic tools are all that’s needed to begin preparing delectable dishes. Here’s a look at five essential cooking tools every kitchen needs.
Baking Tools
Baking strikes a balance between being a scientific process and an artistic endeavor. This means estimation doesn’t cut it when it comes to measurements. Accurate measurements are made possible by a high-quality set of tools. For best results, use separate measuring cups for dry and wet ingredients. If storage is a constraint, you could opt for collapsible cups.
A decent set of Baking Tools and equipment should be user-friendly, easy to clean and store, and reasonably priced. If you’ve ever confused teaspoon and tablespoon measurements while adding salt to your recipe, you’ll appreciate the necessity of these tools.
Chef Knife
The cornerstone of any successful meal preparation is undoubtedly a quality kitchen knife. No other utensil advances the cooking process as effectively. Without a knife, it’s virtually impossible to convert raw ingredients into a nutritious, palatable dish adequately.
The chef knife, armed to handle nearly all kitchen tasks efficiently, benefits from its versatile blade that provides durability and strength. It can swiftly chop and dice through most ingredients. In addition, its broad heel morphs into a fine tip, allowing it to rock back and forth for mincing or slicing through hardy ingredients like potatoes. For a chef knife to operate at its full potential, it must be both sharp and balanced. Lower-quality, unbalanced knives necessitate more force for cutting and are more difficult to manage.
Wooden Spatula & Spoon
No home cook’s kitchen is truly complete without the inclusion of spoons and spatulas. How else would you stir your batter, sauté your onions, or gather your leftovers? An all-purpose wooden spoon is an excellent addition to your cooking arsenal; its non-scratch nature makes it safe for use in frying and sautéing and it’s also perfect for baking tasks such as mixing and scraping.
A spatula, particularly a silicone one, can perform similar tasks to a wooden spoon. Spatulas are ideal for flipping and lifting food. Choose a spatula with a thin leading edge over a thicker one for effortless sliding beneath food.
Saucepan
While a frying pan is an excellent tool, it does not meet all culinary requirements. Stir fry dishes can be managed with a frying pan, but managing liquids is a hurdle that a frying pan cannot overcome. Here, a pot comes into play and the most essential one to start with is a saucepan, a true jack of all trades in the realm of pots.
Saucepans are versatile and can be used to craft various mouth-watering dishes. Boiling eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, corn, pasta, rice or vegetables, simmering sauces, soups, and broths, and even preparing everyone’s favorite quick meal, ramen noodles, can all be done in a saucepan.
Saucepans come in various sizes, but for it to be a quintessential part of your kitchen, a 1.4-quart saucepan is highly recommended. It’s the perfect size for single servings, heats up rapidly and encourages healthier portion sizes for those looking to reduce their calorie consumption.
Can Opener
It’s quite a disappointment when you pick up a can of pumpkin, soup, coconut milk, beans, or any other yummy canned product and find that you have no way to open it. While many canned goods come with pop-tops now, it’s always wise to be prepared; the last thing you’d want is to try and pry open a can in a manner reminiscent of a horror movie just to prepare your meal.
Endnote
Concentrate on acquiring one item from your wishlist at a time to prevent feeling completely overwhelmed. Become proficient with it before moving on to the next item. Slowly build up your collection of appliances and utensils, you’ll be well-prepared for any culinary event that arises.
