My Top 7 Kitchen Tools
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One of my main goals at Gracing the Table is to meet people wherever they are in their journey as a cook! I don’t want to assume that people know how to cut certain things, or what kitchen tool or accessory to use to prepare certain foods. As I’m building this website from the ground up, I want to be sure to cover the basics of cooking and food prep! Whether you are a seasoned cook, you just moved into your first apartment and are setting up your kitchen, or you are trying to figure out what items you actually need to put on your wedding registry, I hope you will find this post helpful!
This is not an all-inclusive list and focuses on tools that will fit in a drawer, not appliances or cookware. I will probably do another post about appliances at some point! Enjoy!
Peeler
A peeler is one of those tools that you don’t miss it until you really need it! I admire our great-great grandmothers for being able to peel everything with a paring knife, but I’m not that talented! Thankfully, someone invented a peeling tool so I don’t have to be talented!
You use a peeler to get peels off of fruits and vegetables! I’m a potato girl, so I use it the most to peel potatoes for mashed potatoes. That was actually my first assigned job every Christmas in my Grandmommy’s kitchen! (Hint: NEVER put potato peels down the disposal. I did this once and stopped up our kitchen sink in the middle of a Christmas party for the church choir!)
I also use my peeler to make my sauteed carrots. At Thanksgiving (and sometimes around the 4th of July), I use it to peel Granny Smith apples for apple pie!
I like this more open style of peelers. In my experience you can peel things quicker and easier with that style! Since the blade is open, just use it with caution!
Knives and Cutting Board
The more I cook, the more I understand why chefs are particular about their knives! They are the single most important cooking tool to be efficient and prep meals! Using a dull or flimsy knife can really slow things down and increase the possibility of cutting yourself. Having nice knives that are sharp and knowing what kind of knife to use when, will help your entire cooking experience go smoothly! Look for a post soon where I will tell you which knife to use when! The main point of the knives is to get a variety that either go in a knife block or you can store safely (away from children!) in a drawer! Make sure to sharpen them regularly too!
Knives come at any price point! You can get basic set from Amazon that has really good reviews. This is the knife set I use from Farberware- it also includes steak knives and a sharpener! I would suggest that you invest in a knife set because you will be using them multiple times a day, every day!
Cutting boards go hand in hand with the knives! Unless you have really heavy duty quartz or granite countertops, you need a cutting board to prevent damage to your countertops. I still would recommend using cutting boards just for sanitary reasons. Plates won’t cut it (see what I did there?!) because they are usually not entirely flat and can be very slippery or the incorrect size for certain items.
I would also recommend getting at least one large cutting board and one smaller cutting board. You can get cutting boards in sets. You would use the large board for cutting larger items (like a watermelon, cutting up multiple chicken breasts, carving a chicken) and the smaller board for smaller items such as cutting up an apple, onion or tomato.
Some people live and die by their wooden cutting boards. My Grandmommy had a beautiful, large wooden cutting board with four feet on it. I have friends whose husbands do woodworking and have made them gorgeous wooden cutting boards and that is so special! I do know that they require special cleaning and sealing every once in awhile, otherwise juices from raw meat or juicy tomatoes can absorb into the wood! Once my Grandmommy had plastic cutting boards, she only used her wooden cutting board for things like bread, or to cut meat that was already cooked.
Personally, I prefer plastic cutting boards that are still heavy enough not to slide around. I’m not a huge fan of the plastic sheet kind. I like being able to rinse or wipe off the cutting board and stick it in the dishwasher after I use it. I’ve had this kind for 13 years and it’s held up really well!
Grater
This is one of my favorite kitchen tools! My Grandmommy and mom both had the old school metal graters with different sizes on each side, which is super convenient as an all-in one. I have handheld graters like these (one smaller and one bigger) because I like to be able to grate cheese directly onto a dish in my cast iron skillet, a platter or a plate.
I mainly use my grater for cheese! I prefer to shred my own cheese, because it just seems to taste better to me and it definitely melts better. I still do buy pre-shredded cheese occasionally, but I love shredding cheddar cheese over chili, taco soup or a baked potato. I also freshly grate a parmesan cheese wedge for Fettuccini Alfredo and my meatloaf.
With a smaller grater, you also can zest lemons or oranges! I have made a lemon raspberry muffin recipe and an orange cranberry cake that require zest from citrus peels!
Whisk
This is a tool I didn’t know I would use as often as I actually do! I would recommend getting a smaller size and a larger size for this! Check out this set! A whisk helps to mix anything more evenly and smoothly. I use a whisk to scramble eggs, make cinnamon roll and cookie icing, mix together my spaghetti sauce, stir pancake mix or for anything that needs to be smooth! I technically have whipped cream with a whisk, but I don’t recommend that if you have any kind of electric mixer unless you want a sore arm the next day! I also prefer metal whisks to plastic ones or any other material- I’ve found that they work better and last longer!
Measuring Cups and Spoons
This is a non-negotiable! Being precise in measurement with your ingredients, especially in baking, makes all the difference between a delicious outcome and an inedible one!
The biggest thing to know about measuring cups is that there is a difference between measuring cups used for liquid ingredients and cups used for dry ingredients. So, you need a set of each. Fortunately, they tend to come in sets. Any kind will do, but for the dry measuring cups, make sure that they are flat on top so you can accurately measure! The largest measuring cup is 1 cup and the smallest cup is usually 1/4 of a cup. Here is a set of dry measuring cups and spoons together!
Measuring spoons come in a set, usually on a ring. The largest size is typically a Tablespoon and the smallest size is usually 1/4 of a teaspoon.
Liquid Measuring cups usually have a pourer and are typically see-though. I love my Pyrex liquid measuring cups! A little hint when you are measuring liquid- don’t look down into the cup from above- get eye level with the measuring cup! I recommend getting at least a 2 cup and a 1 cup!
Spatulas
I simply could not cook, mix or transfer anything without spatulas! I prefer the ones that are made of silicone because they scrape the best. I don’t recommend. hard plastic ones or any with wooden handles. I really like sets like this one because it gives you a variety of sizes!
In one meal, I will use between 2-4 spatulas. I use spatulas to stir food or pasta while it’s cooking, to make sure I get every drop of tomato sauce or cream of mushroom soup out of a can, to scrape every bit of brownie mix out of a mixing bowl or to combine ingredients to make chicken salad or chocolate chip scones. The possibilities are truly endless!
Tongs
As I have cooked more often, I have come to rely on my tongs more and more! I would recommend getting at least two of them, like this set! I also recommend making sure they are all metal on the gripping part. I use them to put meat in the skillet, grill or broiling pan and to flip it too! They are essential for making bacon! I also use it to transfer noodles, serve and transfer vegetables, take anything in and out of the air fryer! Anything that is hot, I use tongs to move! They are also great for tossing salad!
Like I said at the beginning of this post, this is not an all-inclusive list of everything you need to have in your kitchen! However, they are my top 7 kitchen tools that I use all the time! I hope it was helpful to you!