If you want to make cooking an easy or enjoyable task, you need to invest in kitchen tools. It doesn’t matter whether you are setting up a new kitchen or upgrading an existing one. It is essential to have the necessary items. Even if you are not a professional chef, you want your meals to be tasty and attractive.
Preparing a mouth-watering dish may be difficult without the appropriate tools. However, you do not need to have everything in your kitchen. There are some essential items you need in your kitchen as a chef. The good thing is that these items are inexpensive.
Things Every Chef Should Have in Their Kitchen
Below are eight items you should prioritize to have in your kitchen:
1. Pans
If you have old or worn pans, it is time to discard them and invest in high-quality pans. Are you setting up your kitchen? Then this is the best time to get a set of pans. There are many types of pans you may consider depending on your needs. Some pans you may want to have to include non-stick pans, cast iron pans, stainless steel pans, copper pans, etc.
Copper pans are beautiful. However, they are high maintenance when compared to others. Non-stick pans are necessary for frying eggs and preparing meals that require little or no fat added. It is easier to wash them after use. If you want high-quality non-stick cooking, give Anolon Cookware a try.
Stainless steel pans are long-lasting. However, they are harder to wash. Cast-iron pans are good conductors of heat, inexpensive, and also durable. If you want to caramelize your meat, cast-iron pans are appropriate. It is advisable to have different pans since they serve various purposes.
2. A set of knives
If you do not have a good set of knives, preparing meals may be difficult. Your knife set should include a paring knife, a serrated bread knife, and a chef’s knife. These knives serve different purposes. Without the appropriate one, it may take longer to prepare your ingredients. When buying knives, go for the forged ones. That is because forged knives are of higher quality than stamped knives.
3. Knife sharpener
Get a knife sharpener if you want your knives to be more functional and long-lasting. Blades wear out fast if you fail to sharpen them regularly. Your chef’s knife requires sharpening once every week. That is the appropriate frequency if you use it often. However, chef’s knives that you seldom use can be sharpened once in two weeks.
How often you sharpen your chef’s knife also depends on the type of things you use it to cut. It is more cost-effective to have a knife sharpener in your kitchen than to hire one every time you need it. You can get a sharpener that accommodates coarse and fine grits for different blades.
4. Cutting boards
Having a cutting board in your kitchen is essential. You should have two boards: one for vegetables and the other for meats. Although glass and stone cutting boards are elegant, we recommend wooden or plastic types.
That is because stone and glass cutting boards dull knives. In addition, they are not suitable for heavy cutting. Wooden cutting boards last longer than others. You can oil them regularly using food-grade mineral oil.
5. Blenders
Blenders serve numerous purposes in the kitchen. You can use them to blend smoothies and salad dressing or create homemade ingredients, pesto, sauces, soup, etc. The type of blender you choose depends on your intended purpose. They range from regular blenders to hand blenders and immersion blenders.
If you can afford it, go for both conventional and immersion blenders. But if your budget is low, start with an immersion blender. Remember, you can use your blender as a food processor if you can not afford one immediately.
6. A high-quality stand mixer
A stand mixer is essential if you want to whip cream, knead bread, mix cookie dough, churn ice cream, or make pasta. When you need to be quicker and more efficient, go for a stand mixer rather than a hand mixer.
7. Pressure cooker
Pressure cookers will be beneficial to you when you want to save time. If you are cooking a time-consuming meal that can take as long as one hour, a pressure cooker can do it in about 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Wooden spoons
If you want to stir hot food, you will need a wooden spoon instead of a plastic one. That is because plastic spoons will melt due to heat. Wooden spoons are also preferable to metal spoons when cooking because they will not scratch the inner coating of your pans and pots.
Final Words
There are several things you can have in your kitchen. However, all you need are the appropriate tools for essential purposes. If you are setting up your new kitchen, it is advisable to go for the basic kitchenware first. You should also learn about how cookware affects the quality of your food so you can choose the best one for yourself.
