Cart
If you have a small kitchen, you don’t want to clog up your cabinets and drawers with single use items, especially if you don’t use them often. Even if you do have space, why store something if it doesn’t prove to be extremely useful?
Luckily, many kitchen items can do more than one thing, and in some cases, do those things well. This means you get more use out of certain tools and equipment and you don’t have to waste money and space with two products. While a good set of pots and pans will do most of the grunt work in your kitchen, smaller tools can definitely make your life easier.
Read on to learn some surprising uses for everyday kitchen items that you may not have realized.
Waffle Iron
Your waffle iron can do more than just make waffles. Grate some potatoes and make super quick hash browns, put some cookie dough in for fast cookies, or bake brownies. Just make sure to spray your iron with cooking spray or some foods may stick!
Bundt Pan
You can make more than just a Bundt cake in this specialized pan. You can put biscuit dough in with some brown sugar, butter, and cream, and you’ve got some delicious caramel pull apart bread. You can make a fancy looking meatloaf, bake a loaf of bread, of make a casserole.
If you eat a lot of fresh corn on the cob, a Bundt pan is great for cutting the kernels off. Simply hold your corncob on the center and slice the kernels right off; they’ll fall directly in the pan, leaving less mess.
Kitchen Shears
Kitchen shears can be used for a multitude of things besides just cutting twine and cheesecloth. Use them to quickly chop herbs or green onions when you don’t want to get out a knife or chopping board. Use them to cut piecrust or pizza dough into smaller pieces, trim the edges of your pie, or even cut thin crust pizza into slices.
Muffin Pan
A muffin pan can be used to make mini meatloaves, used as a makeshift ice cube tray, or to make mini casseroles. It’s also perfect for serving condiments when you want to serve more than one but don’t want to do a sink full of dishes.
French Press Coffee Pot
In addition to making a delicious cup of coffee, your French press can be used to make tea, froth milk for your cappuccino, or to even make whipped cream on the fly. It’s a great way to rinse rice or grains before cooking, and you can infuse oil or vinegar with herbs as well.
Beware that coffee and tea stains and can even transfer flavors to other items though, so if you use your pot for your coffee every morning, you may want to get a separate one for other uses, or you may notice your rice tastes a little like coffee.
Coffee Grinder
A small coffee grinder is the perfect tool for grinding whole spices, as well as small amounts of nuts or seeds. Make spice mixes, or even turn granulated sugar into superfine sugar for whipped cream.
Colander
A colander makes a quick and easy steamer basket so that you don’t have to store two tools. Just get a pot that will fit your colander in and add your veggies to the colander. Simmer an inch of water and cover for a makeshift steamer. Just make sure your strainer is metal; plastic can melt or leach chemicals to your food when heated.
Ice Cube Trays
Freeze more than water with ice cube trays. Leftover wine, chicken stock, or tomato sauce can all be frozen in ice cube trays and popped into freezer bags for easy portions you can use any time. Have fresh herbs that you don’t know what to do with before they go bad? Chop and pop them in an ice cube tray and cover with water or olive oil. You can then use them in soups or sautés with no problem.
Box Grater
You probably use your box grater to grate cheese, but you can also use it to quickly shred onions and cabbage. Grate carrots, beets, sweet potatoes and other root vegetables for salads, quick stir fries and slaws. You can even use your box grater to grate frozen butter for a better piecrust.
Vegetable Peeler
A vegetable peeler is small and easy to store, and it has many more uses than just peeling potatoes and carrots. Use it to make “pasta” like sheets out of zucchini and carrots for raw salads. It’s also perfect for shaving chocolate for a cake topping or hard cheese for a salad or soup.
Melon Baller
A melon baller is one of those specialized tools that you may not think you need, but it has several uses. It’s a great tool for coring apples and pears, scooping the seeds out of watermelons and cucumbers, and removing the pits from peaches and other stone fruits. Having a party and want to serve butter individually? A melon baller allows perfectly proportioned scoops of butter that look extra fancy without a lot of effort.
Ice Cream Scoop
An ice cream scoop can do more than just scoop out your favorite frozen treats. Small scoops can be used to portion out cookie dough, while a standard one is perfect for filling cupcake and muffin tins. It’s also perfect for making uniform meatballs.
Pizza Cutter
A pizza cutter can be used to cut more than just pizza. Use it to quickly chop a few fresh herbs, cut piecrust or cookie dough into shapes, or to cut through birthday cake quickly and easily.
Got kids? A pizza cutter is a great way to cut pancakes, waffles, and other foods into bite sized pieces quickly so that you can enjoy your meal while it’s still hot.
Wine Bottle
A wine bottle makes a perfect rolling pin for those that don’t bake very often, but do always have a bottle of wine handy. It also makes an easy vase for flowers.
Chopsticks
Chopsticks can be used to stir drinks, as an impromptu skewer for meat or vegetables, or as a quick dish drying rack. Don’t have any clean tongs, but want to flip something in a hot pan? Chopsticks to the rescue. You can use them to pit cherries as well.
Straws
In addition to drinking, plastic straws are perfect for pitting cherries and olives or hulling strawberries. You can also use them to get the air out of a freezer bag as well. Simply put the straw in the bag with one end out and seal the bag around the straw. Suck the air out and watch the bag close around the food in the bag, just like an expensive vacuum sealer.
Mason Jars
Mason jars are one of those kitchen products that are recently making a comeback because they have so many uses. In addition to canning seasonal produce, you can use them for drinking, making salad dressing (just put everything in the jar, close it, and shake) or as a vase.
Mason jars are perfect for small spaces because you can use them for so many things. You can store them in your cabinet for drinking glasses, while also using them to store leftovers. They’re inexpensive and pretty sturdy too.
Conclusion
Stop storing single use tools in your kitchen. Instead, invest in products and tools that go the distance, like those mentioned above. You’ll save money, space, and sanity when you aren’t sifting through drawers looking for something specific.