Here is the greatest kitchen tools that any serious cook should own.
1. Rice Cookers
If you like rice and have varied results every time you make it, you need a rice cooker. There’s no guesswork involved at all. Add the suggested amount of rice, water, oil/butter, and salt, and off you go. These little time and dinner savers are so handy. Also, it allows you more stovetop space for other foods, so it’s extra helpful when you have company. Some rice makers are vegetable steamers too!
2. Slow Cookers
Slow cookers are simply fabulous. Load them up with fresh ingredients like potatoes, onions, carrots, and meat, and come home to a perfect dinner. There’s nothing better than coming home to the beautiful smell of slow-cooked food. I recommend getting one with a timer in case you are late getting home. For those who can’t stand the clean-up, there are now liners available, so
you take the liner out, toss it in the trash, wash the slow cooker quickly, and you are free. Not only can you make stews and roasts, but chicken legs, thighs, and wings come out great. Hamilton Beach, Crock Pot, and Cuisinart all make excellent programmable slow cookers.
3. Blenders
Whether it is a Vitamix blender or a handheld immersion blender, this is a must-have kitchen appliance if you make soups and like to blend them. Lentil soups, tomato, or potato soups all come out fantastic with the help of an immersion blender. Instead of scooping hot liquids into a food processor, you put the blender directly into the soup. A good immersion blender can be good for mixing so many other things. Use it to mix batters easily, whisk eggs, or anything else you can think of. They don’t take up as much space as a food processor and are effortless to clean.
4. Stand Mixers
You can do many things with a stand mixer, and KitchenAid makes one of the best ones out there. It can be used to make the batter and mix meats for meatloaf or kebabs. It’s also helpful in whipping egg whites and mayonnaise, not
to mention kneading bread or other doughs. A sound stand mixer is a must for the person who loves to cook.
5. Knives and Chopping Boards
Having a good set of knives can save you significant time and energy. Instead of struggling with cutting tomatoes or meat, having good sharp knives will cut your workload and speed up the cooking process. Protect your countertop and your blades by using a good cutting board. I recommend you buy a couple of different types of cutting boards. Bamboo is the choice of many environmentalists. As a hard grass, it is a sustainable, renewable resource that needs no chemicals to thrive or to be harvested. As far as we know, no independent studies have been done on sanitary bamboo cutting boards. However, they absorb less liquid than wooden boards, so many believe they are as clean or sanitary as wood boards. Be aware that they are 19% harder than traditional maple cutting boards, so many also think bamboo cutting boards are harder on knives than wood boards. Also, the tiny grooves may slightly catch your knife, interrupting a smooth cutting action.
Like, mom, a heavy wood board is kind to knives and will not dull them quickly. In addition, a good maple or beech cutting board is somewhat self-healing and thus won’t scar as easily as a plastic board. Finally, regularly oil your board with food-grade mineral oil to protect it from staining or warping, and please don’t put it in the dishwasher. A healthy, cared-for board will last you for years.
