A chef is only as good as their tools. Ever dealt with a blunt chef’s knife or a wonky box grater? Yeah, it’s frustrating and ends up doing more harm than good. Whether you’re just starting in the kitchen or have years of experience, the right tool can make all the difference. From chopping and slicing to stirring and seasoning, the right tool doesn’t just make your life in the kitchen easier, but it makes it much more enjoyable.
5 Kitchen tools pros swear by (and you’ll love too)
Sure, tools don’t make the food taste better, but they improve your skills, ensuring a successful outcome. Invest in a few essential tools, starting small and building up from what you like. You don’t need to buy the best and most expensive to help you work faster, safer, and more confidently.
Here are five kitchen tools every cook needs:
1. The Chef’s knife + pairing knife combo
These are your most essential tools. A chef’s knife is perfect for tackling a range of tasks like precision slicing large produce and meats, chopping, and even carving, while a pairing knife can become your right-hand man for prep work. From peeling to trimming, and pretty much everything in between, a pairing knife can do almost everything. Master these knife skills, and you might not even want the extras, like a Y-peeler or carving knife.
2. A sturdy chopping board
Every knife needs a sturdy companion. And a chopping board is just that. Wooden boards are durable, timeless, and give your kitchen a homely charm. Plastic boards, on the other hand, are lightweight, easy to clean, and dishwasher safe – a staple for professional kitchens. Not only do they help provide a sturdy surface for you to hone your knife skills, but they also provide a surface to keep prepped ingredients on, ready for when you need to add them to the dish.
3. A medium-sized saucepan
Not any saucepan, mind you – a curved or rounded-edge saucepan. It’s a must-have for everything from soups to sauces. If your saucepan has corners, your food, sauce, or custard is at risk of getting stuck and burning. A rounded-edge saucepan is versatile enough to double as a mini-wok, making tossing and frying a breeze. Even better, if your handle can take the heat, it can also double up as a roasting tray/container. You don’t necessarily need a huge roasting pan or Dutch oven to make the crispiest roast chicken for you and your loved ones on Sundays.
4. The cooking utensil combo
Every cook needs a few reliable spoons. The perfect spoon combo can take your cooking skills from average to pro level:
- Wooden spoon: A good ol’ wooden spoon is so versatile. It will help you make soups, stocks, stews, and sauces without breaking in half or scratching your cookware.
- Spoon spatula (wood or metal): Perfect and essential for sauteéing, stir-frying, and flipping everything from proteins to flapjacks.
- Silicone spatula: The silicone is really important here because it makes this spatula pliable and heat-resistant. These spatulas aren’t just used to scrape out freshly made buttercreams or new batters for baking. They are such a useful tool for frying, making sauces and gravies, and scraping out every last drop of any dish you want to savour.
- Tongs: You can use these, not only to flip proteins but also to move pans around on the stove, pick up lightweight sheet pans out from a hot oven, deep fry goodies like fritters and doughnuts, and the list goes on.
5. A micro grater
Forget the box grater (it takes up too much space, and who uses all four sides, anyway?). A micro grater is small but mighty. It can zest citrus, grate cheese, or even shave frozen ginger and nutmeg for a burst of flavour. It’s one of those tools you’ll wonder how you lived without.
Cooking is more than just following a recipe; it’s all about creating with confidence. With the right tools, you’ll not only cook better but enjoy the process more. Start small, experiment with what you like, invest in quality, and let your tools bring out your inner pro chef!
