Further to my post about food staples I always have on hand, Judy suggested sharing what the must have kitchen tools are in my kitchen.
Cookware (no nonstick)
- Cast Iron Fry Pans (2 large, both happen to be antiques affordably bought)
- 24 cm Stainless Steel Fry Pan
- 4 L Saute Pan
- Enamel Covered Cast Iron Pot (this BIG beauty was handed down from father in law)
- 9 L Stock Pot
- 3 L Sauce Pan
- 1.5 L Sauce Pan with separate steamer and double boiler
- 1 L Enamel Covered Cast Iron Sauce Pan (also a hand-me-down and quite old)
- Stainless Steel Wok
- Crock Pot
- Pizza Stone
- Pressure Cooker
- Toaster Oven
Utensils and Other
- Apple Peeler/Corer/slicer
- Can Opener
- Colander (metal, an old gift from L)
- Cookie Sheets (2)
- Cutting Boards (one for meat)
- Egg Beater
- Flippers (2 stainless steel)
- Garlic Press
- Juicer (stainless steel)
- Masher
- Meat Thermometer
- Mortar and Pestle
- Pastry Cutter/Blender
- Pot Holders (lovely gifts from L)
- Spatulas (3 silicon, 1 narrow for taller jars)
- Slotted Spoon (stainless steel, for pasta)
- Scraper (stainless steel, what is this thing really called?)
- Tongs
- Vegetable Peeler
- Whisk (with a metal ball inside)
- Wooden Spoons (1 round, 1 with a flat edge)
- Zester
Appliances
- Food Processor (I want the larger one!)
- Immersion Blender (just the hand held part)
- Kettle (electric but would love to have stove top when I have a wood stove)
- Manual Food Processor
- Manual Pasta Maker
- Waffle Iron
- Espresso Machine (1 electric, 2 stove top, apparently my dh thinks these are an essential item to add *insert eye roll*)
Containers and Cups
- Bread Pans (6 large and 2 small)
- Ceramic Bowls (3, 1 large enough to make bread in)
- 1 L Measuring Cup (2) and a few other various sizes
- Stainless Steel Bowls (2)
- Pyrex and Rubber Toped Food Storage Containers (I have a number of these)
- Wide Mouth Mason Jars with Lids (To store food like soup in in the freezer- don’t overfill!)
Knives
- 10in Butcher Knife
- 10in Carving Knife
- Cleaver
- 3.5in Paring Knife
- 8in Santoku Knife
- Serrated Knife
- Knife Sharpening Kit
What I want!
- Butter Churn
- Coffee Percolator (stovetop)
- Kitchen Scale
- Mandoline
Gee, I wonder if I’m forgetting anything? Rather than wait longer to post this, I may add if I realise I’ve forgotten something.
I too want a kitchen scale…but I have to say I don’t use my mandoline as much as I thought I would…just need to get it OUT I guess! :) My other desire is for a rice cooker…can you do rice in a pressure cooker? Maybe I actually want one of those??? Nice list, thanks for posting!
Ahhh Only Lee Valley could inspire me to love kitchen equipment!
So glad you published this, Annie. It’s very useful.
We love our french press. My hubby is the only coffee drinker, so it does wonderfully for us. He prefers the taste of the french press to anything else. Just a thought.
IMy husband has used a press in the past but not in a long time. He’s wild about coffee. I’ll have to remind him of this option! Thanks!
That’s a good list. It makes me think I should make up a list just so I can justify removing some of our goods because, you know, crossing things off lists is fun:) We still have both our sets of pots and pans and I would love to get rid of the ones we never use and add a larger cast iron pan. You’re lucky lady, inheriting all that le crueset cookware. I was watching garage sales and thrift stores just in case but haven’t followed up in a while. I’ve been toying with the idea of finding a hand crank grain grinder, a food processor and a whirly pop (since I don’t trust myself not to start a fire with a regular pot).
I totally forgot about that collander… my budget university one. I can’t believe you still have it! Anyways, time for me to run.
Not only do I still have that colander but it’s my only one! Why get another one when I can make one work, right? Okay, I’m cheap and/or I haven’t found the right second one. Kind of like pot holders.
Great list!
I bought a mandoline last year and chose a very simple one that I keep next to my kitchen knives. I didn’t want something with a lot of attachments that would stay in the back of a closet. I use it all the time.
I have a nice set of knives but always use the same 2 or 3. If I’m going to cook I travel with my favorite knife.
I also recently purchased a digital meat thermometer and I love it…but I cook more meat than you.
I use my digital kitchen scale daily to feed my sourdough starter and make bread. I also use a lot of french recipes where most things go by weight, not volume.
My favorite utensil may be my bamboo and my wood spatulas/spoon. It took me a while to find the right shape. I love the soft/stiff balance and how it gets seasoned.
And my immersion blender is the electric item I use the most. I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Braun-MR430HC-Multiquick-Blender-Chopper/dp/B00004S9GX
I use it for smoothies, for soups (although I don’t like it being plastic and used on hot soup), chopping nuts or making dressing in the chopper attachment, curry pastes, etc. I found a think glass pitcher that I use with the blender for smoothies.
My slow cooker and various pyrex bowls with lids come form the thrift store. I bake my bread in pyrex.
Stainless steel sautee pan and wok, small sauce pan, 1 large pot 1 small pot.
Bamboo steam basket (easier to clean and store than the electric steamer I had before)
I was recently gifted a pressure cooker but I don’t use it as much as I would like too…
A good method to see what you use often enough is to put a piece of masking tape on all your kitchen appliances at the beginning of the year. When you use one, remove the tape. At the end of the year, all the things that still have tape move to the attic or garage sale. Similarly, I mark the top of all my dry goods at the beginning of the year and try to use the marked cans/boxes first before the year ends.