The kitchen tools every home cook needs

Around mid-March 2020, during the frenzied early days of lockdown, there was a point where many reluctant home chefs walked into the kitchen, surveyed their assorted cooking instruments in their assorted state of cobwebbed destitution, and spoke a variation of this sentence: “Well, old friends, looks like you’re about to get the workout of your lives.” The ensuing year has resulted in a renaissance for seasoned kitchen artists and a new world order for people who had long neglected this critical life skill in favour of takeout menus. Now that cooking at home has reached a generational zenith, here are 22 tools that can elevate your meals to previously unknown heights.




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Chef’s knife

The crown jewel of any chef’s collection, a well-made, sharp 20-centimetre (eight-inch) knife is arguably the most essential tool in any kitchen. If you’ve never fussed about knives before, getting your hands on a proper one is like stepping behind the wheel of a Ferrari after a lifetime of pushcart driving. Since this is a surprisingly personal decision, think of it like choosing a mate and make sure to test out several high-quality knives before selecting the one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.




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Cutting boards

With your ace new knife, you’re going to need a minimum of two cutting boards to make sure you don’t slice through your counter as well. Source a quality bamboo or wood board that washes easily and will last through years of the outstanding meals you’ll be making. A second board is recommended for meats, as there can be cross-contamination and you don’t want to serve your dish with a side of E. coli.




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Slow cooker

Do you know what true pleasure is? It’s tossing a handful of disparate food items into a large electrical contraption, heading out for the day, not thinking about it once, then returning home to a magnificent-smelling meal that has been slow-roasting in its own juices for eight hours.




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Zester

Learning about citrus zest is akin to discovering a secret colony of tiny fairies living in your garden: you’ll wonder how you ever lived without knowledge of this pure, unadulterated delight. A zester will give your recipes that kick of lemon, lime or orange flavour that you never knew they were missing. A versatile model is also an accomplished cheese or whole-spice grater.




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Oven gloves

Raise your bandaged hand if you love inadvertent kitchen accidents that involve burning yourself on a searing oven because you bought cheap rubber gloves from the dollar store! What’s that? You can’t? Whoops. Next time, consider investing in a decent-quality glove that will protect your actual mitts from the cruel indifference of your burners.




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Citrus squeezer

Before learning there was a simple apparatus for squeezing every last drop of juice from a lemon—even a semi-dry one—I used to clumsily try to mash lemon slices into whatever drink or dish I was preparing, then spend approximately 14 unsuccessful minutes attempting to fish out the seeds (there was always one that refused to come out). Squeezers are cheap and shockingly simple technology that will maximize your liquid count while minimizing mess.




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Garlic press

Minced garlic is the unsung hero of countless savouries. Mincing garlic with a knife, on the other hand, is incredibly annoying. A good garlic press is relatively inexpensive and can transform your favourite vampire-repellent into that spot of ready-to-use flavour on a whim. Pro tip: While it’s technically easier to press peeled garlic, you can still get the job done without fully removing the skins.




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Tongs

Tongs operate like an extra pair of Inspector Gadget fingers, grabbing your boiling hot food in mid-preparation, and expertly turning it over with the dexterity of a mother tucking her eighth child into bed. Not just for the barbecue, a decent pair of tongs can help you do everything from grabbing pasta from the pot and plopping it onto a plate to mixing up a crisp salad with loads of veggies.




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Digital thermometer

No matter how closely you’ve adhered to a recipe’s suggested cooking time, there’s always the risk of undercooking meat. Your intestines don’t want to have to remind you what happens when you eat undercooked meat. Do yourself and your post-lockdown dinner guests a solid and get a digital thermometer. One quick stick in the pan and you’ll be able to gauge whether the chicken is fully done and you’ve avoided any potential lawsuits.




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No-stick baking pans

Cleaning is 100% the worst part of cooking. Part of smart kitchen stocking is to seek technologies that make this unenviable job easier. No-stick pans work like parchment paper without the environmental depredation of wasting actual paper. Just slap your raw ingredients onto the pan, shove them in the oven, slide the finished product off with ease, and give the pan a quick soapy rinse. Voilà! You’re done.




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Stand mixer

When everyone and their dog began posting pictures of their homemade baking adventures on social media, I banned the words “sourdough bread” from my house for all eternity. Chocolate chip cookies from scratch, however, were baked and consumed by the metric ton. Whatever your baking pleasure, purchasing a stand mixer will automatically improve your quality of life. No more lumpy dough, uneven egg distribution or carpal tunnel syndrome.




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Measuring cups

There are some chefs who are so visually gifted, they don’t need math to accurately represent the amount of ingredient they need for a recipe. Those people are annoying. For the rest of us, a good measuring cup ensures you’re adhering to the correct ratio of rice-to-water. Two good measuring cups ensures you can measure the correct ratio of rice-to-water without having to dig the rice that sticks to the wet measuring cup out with your fingers.




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Kitchen shears (scissors)

The first time I went to a Korean restaurant and saw a pair of scissors on the table, I was confused. Then I watched my dinner companion pick up the scissors and expertly snip BBQ bulgogi onto his plate and I gasped while examining all my previous life choices. Why doesn’t everyone use these all the time for eating? Correct this ridiculous cultural oversight by getting a pair of stainless-steel shears for your own kitchen.




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Silicone utensil set

A good kitchen should come stocked with an array of cooking implements that allow you to stir, slice, sauté, flip, and fold while you cook. Essentials include a spatula, turner, whisk, ladle, fork, and spoons.




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Peeler

The recipe calls for peeled potatoes. There are roughly 25 of them on your new bamboo cutting board. If you don’t own one of these puppies, it’s going to be a very, very long night.




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Colander

That steaming pot of freshly cooked noodles isn’t going to strain itself. Having one of these trusty staples on hand will ensure you always have a method for removing excess water from your pasta, veggies, or meats. Pro tip: Despite what your own grandmother told you, never rinse the starch off your noodles. Any self-respecting nonna would disown you for that travesty.




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Organized spice rack

Philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote an essay on the exquisite pleasure of arranging his library. The chef equivalent is collecting and organizing your spice rack. There’s a special ritual in gazing upon rows of well-stocked spices and knowing exactly which ones to grab for your dishes. It also saves tons of frustration from rooting through a messy cupboard halfway through a recipe, realizing you’ve run out of cumin and will now have to use protein powder to finish your curry.




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Stainless-steel mixing bowls

Make your life infinitely easier by stocking your kitchen with a stack of these babies. This Russian nesting doll of bowls will give you the option to combine multiple ingredients in various stages without having to keep washing and rewashing them. The stainless-steel component will maintain hot or cold temperatures better than plastic or glass.




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Very big pot

No, this is not the brand name. Yes, this accurately describes the size of the pot you’ll want to include in your home kitchen. You may not be cooking for a group larger than your cat at the moment, but when the post-pandemic era of pure hedonistic abandon arrives, you’re going to want to make sure you can whip up a good stew for 50 drunk people on a moment’s notice.




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Wok

Even if you don’t whip up an Asian-inspired dish every night, plenty of recipes require a high-edged pan. Adding a wok to your coterie of tools ends the days of half-cooked ingredients spilling over the sides of your stovetop as you try with increasing futility to keep everything inside. The best part of using one of these pans is how good everything tastes when the flavours are allowed to simmer into each other instead of always being cooked separately then combined at the end.




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Blender

While a good blender can cost a pretty penny, investing in a high-end model can transform your kitchen into a professional-grade smoothie, purée, soup, and spreads factory. You’ll end up saving tons of cash over time by making your own goodies instead of relying on store-bought items. Plus, you can control the sugar and sodium levels, ensuring your healthy foods are actually healthy. Just don’t lick the blades, OK? Speaking on behalf of a… er, friend.




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Cast-iron pan

A cast-iron pan is a luxury, and not just because each one weighs a ton and thus requires a gym membership. But if you’ve decided to take the plunge, there’s nothing that prepares seared meat better than one of these guys. The iron holds high heat extremely well, giving your chicken or beef that delicious blackened crust at the bottom. Plus, after naturally increasing your protein intake, you’ll probably have an easier time lifting it.




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