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If you’re just learning to cook, downsizing, or trying to pair down your kitchen to just the essentials, it can be overwhelming trying to decide which tools and products are absolutely necessary and which are nothing more than hype.
While not everything will work for everyone, there are many small appliances and tools that you’ll find yourself needing in most cooking operations. Read on for some pieces that you should consider, as well as the reasons why they may or may not be for you. Knowing what you need and what will work for you will save you money, as well as cabinet space.
Expensive Cookware
You know you need pots and pans if you’re going to do any type of cooking, but when you start looking at them, the types, sizes, and price ranges of what’s on store shelves may overwhelm you. How are you supposed to decide?
In general, unless you are going to be cooking all day, everyday, you don’t need to invest in the most expensive, top of the line cookware on the market. While these brands and products are well made, and will last a lifetime, there are plenty of decent sets that will work for someone just starting out.
Stainless steel and cast iron are two inexpensive types of cookware that will work for most uses. They’re easy to clean and hold up well, so if you don’t want to continually make investments in cookware, these are both good options.
Also, you may not need a full set; individual pieces may work fine, depending on what type of cooking you usually do. If you never make giant pots of soup or sauce, a large stockpot will take up space you might not have.
Bottom Line: Until you are experienced enough in the kitchen to know why top chefs prefer expensive materials like copper or enameled cast iron, it makes sense to buy a few stainless steel and cast iron pieces that will hold up, but won’t cost a fortune.
Food Processor
A food processor is one of those tools that seem silly until you get one. It’s bulky, it takes up space, and a decent one can be expensive. Why bother?
It depends on the type of cooking you do, but a food processor can be an amazing tool. It can chop vegetables or grate hard cheese in seconds, it can puree sauces, make nut butters, dips, or even pastry dough like you wouldn’t believe. If you want to experiment with different types of cooking, a food processor can be a lifesaver.
If you are going to buy one, buy the biggest one that you can afford and store. Smaller processors are rarely useful, and you’ll find that the time it takes to clean it will make it totally useless.
Bottom Line: If you’re just looking for a way to chop onions quicker, a food processor will likely sit on the counter unused. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to take your cooking to the next level, and get professional results quickly, a good quality food processor will definitely help get you there. Make sure that before you buy something, you have room to store it on your countertop. If you have to get it out every time you want to use it, it probably won’t get as much usage as you’d like.
Stand Mixer
If you’re a baker, a stand mixer seems like an essential tool. Nothing mixes cake batters, cookie dough, or whips egg whites quite like a heavy duty stand mixer. You can do all these things with a hand mixer, but if you’re serious about baking, a stand mixer is a worthwhile investment.
If you don’t bake, you may not see the value in a stand mixer, but you’d be surprised at what it can do. With just the standard attachments, you can shred chicken, whip potatoes, or make homemade pizza dough in a breeze. With extra attachments, you can grind meat, make ice cream, or make homemade pasta that will rival anything you’ll get from a box.
The downside is that they can be expensive, they are extremely heavy, and take up space on your counter. It’s not an appliance you’re going to want to store somewhere else; if you want to get the most use out of one; you’ll need to make room on your counter where it’s easy to access.
Bottom Line: If you’re going to spend serious time in the kitchen, you should have the right tools to get the job done faster and more efficiently. A high quality stand mixer accomplishes that with ease. If you are serious about baking, a stand mixer is a definite must have; if you focus more on regular cooking and bake once in awhile it’s could still a worthwhile investment if you have the counter space.
Blender
A blender can make milkshakes, blend soups, make smoothies, and quickly make homemade salad dressings. It’s a worthwhile tool in some home kitchens, but much of what it does can be done with a food processor.
If your serious about making smoothies, grinding grains into flour, or making extra creamy dips and nut butters, you could invest in a high powered blender that will crush frozen ingredients and hard foods like nothing else.
Bottom line: A blender is one of those tools that works for some, but’s not an essential to all serious cooks. If you are a smoothie or milkshake aficionado, it’s a must, but if you’re looking to blend a few soups now and then, a handheld or immersion blender that you can stick in your pot may be a better option.
Knife Set
If you don’t have any knives, you may think that buying a set of knives at your local cooking store is the way to go. While you can save money buying knives in a set, you have to ask yourself if you’re really going to use every knife in the set. A good quality chef’s knife will do most of the heavy duty chopping and slicing in your kitchen; when combined with a good pairing knife, you may have more than you need.
Bottom Line: Even hardcore cooks will tell you that they use their chef’s knife for most tasks in the kitchen, with maybe a specialty knife or two. Most knife sets include knives that you may not need, and rarely will contain specialty knives like a cleaver or boning knife unless you spend a lot of money.
Digital Scale
If you are a baker and want consistent results every time, a digital scale is a must. Most serious bakers swear off measuring cups and spoons for a scale early on in their careers. It’s also good for those watching their weight that want accurate results when it comes to calorie counting.
Bottom Line: While a scale is not an expensive tool and it doesn’t take up much space, it’s not absolutely necessary in most cooking applications. If you are interested in improving your baking skills, however, it is a must.
Conclusion
There are hundreds of tools that cooks everywhere will tell you are necessary for getting perfect results, but the truth is that skill and technique will take you much further. Using high quality tools is important, especially in the case of knives, but not everything is necessary for every cook. Remember this when you are setting up your kitchen so you don’t waste money and space on items you simply don’t need.