Top 10 Appliances and Cook’s Tools You Can’t Live Without
Tip: Don’t use a mini chopper to grind coffee beans-use a coffee grinder instead-to keep any lingering smells or particles that may lodge in grinder from affecting coffee taste.
Price Range $29-$49
Where to Buy:
Dual Blender/Food Processor–Is there anything this two-for-one appliance can’t do? From pureeing for smoothies and soups, to grating cheese, chopping veggies, making pestos, juicing fruits and vegetables, blending margaritas and crushing ice. Great space savers, a dual blender/processor comes with both a food processor bowl and blender glass jar, so you can store one bowl when not in use.
Tip: If you do a lot of doughs or large-batch cooking and baking, opt for the food processor alone and skip the dual processor-you’ll need the bigger work bowl for these tasks.
Price Range: $100-$400
Where to Buy:
Stovetop Grill Pan-I can’t live without my grill pans, I actually have four of them and use them all the time. If you are into eating healthy (and aren’t we all these days?), a grill pan is for you. A non-stick grill pan requires little oil and its raised ridges keeps the meat fat and oil away from the food. Grill pans sear in meat juices and leave those grill marks that make food look and taste so much more appetizing. They are ideal for grilling meats, seafood and vegetables and making Panini sandwiches. They come in anodized aluminum, cast iron and stainless steel; single burner, double burner with one handle or two.
Tip: Look for grill pans that are reversible and double as a griddle.
Price Range: $49-$150
Where to Buy:
Oven Thermometer-Ever wonder why the foods you cook or bake never come out just right? Chances are your oven temperature is off or you didn’t pre-heat your oven up to the right temperature. Oven thermometers sit in your oven and are inexpensive way to keep tabs on the actual temperature of your oven.
Tip: Place oven thermometer as close as you can to the center of the oven, not near the door for most accurate reading.
Price Range: $15-$20
Where to Buy:
Chefs Catalog Oven Thermometers
Willliams-Sonoma Oven Thermometers
Sur La Table Oven Thermometers
Good Set of Knives-Knives are a basic kitchen essential and a good set is well worth the investment. Nothing will frustrate a cook faster than a cheap, dull knife. If you can’t afford an entire set of knives, begin with a starter set which usually includes two to three of the most commonly used knives.
My top three knives that I most often reach for are: Chef’s, Paring and Serrated.
A Chef’s knife is the one you will use most often to chop and dice vegetables and slice meat. The typical blade is usually 8″ to 10″ in length.
A paring knife is a small (3″-5″) knife that is ideal for precision tasks like peeling, slicing, trimming and dicing small fruits and vegetables. Also good for de-veining shrimp, removing the seeds from peppers or making fruit and veggie garnishes.
Serrated knife-This small (5″) knife has a saw-like edge and is a necessity for cutting fragile foods such as tomatoes. A larger one (also called bread knife) (8″-9″) is ideal for bread loaves.
Tip: Buy a knife set that comes with a butcher block–storing knives in drawer or utensil holder can damage them and block sets include sharpening steel.
Price Range: $75-$300 (Starter Sets); $200-$2,000; (Block Sets)
Where to Buy:
Williams-Sonoma Knife Sets
Chefs Catalog Knife Sets
Bloomingdale’s Knife Sets
Cutting Board-Even if you have one built in to your counter, or have a standalone butcher block table, you can probably use a small cutting board. Cutting boards come in plastic and wood and there is debate over which is safer, but both have their merits. Wooden ones are good for meat, and many have channels to catch drippings. Plastic (high-density polypropylene) are gentle on knife blades and some of the better ones have rubber grippers on the bottom that keep board stable. If you are space-challenged look for boards that are reversible or fit over the sink and have built-in colanders.
Tip: Keep two cutting boards-one for fruits and veggies and one for meat, to avoid possible cross contamination or look for boards that are antimicrobial.
Price Range: $8-$100
Where to Buy:
Williams-Sonoma Cutting Boards
Crate and Barrel Cutting Boards
Batter Bowl-Batter bowls are light-weight mixing bowls shaped like a big measuring cup with a wide lip that makes pouring batters easy. They eliminate the need for a ladle or spoon, allowing you to pour pancakes and waffle batter and easily fill muffin pans and ramekins.
Tip: Look for non-slip base for stable mixing.
Price Range: $15-$25
Where to Buy:
Utensils-Along with knives, you’ll need a basic set of cooking and baking utensils. I like a combination of stainless steel, nylon, wood and silicone.
Silicone for baking spatulas
Wood for salad spoons and use with woks
Nylon spatulas for non stick pans
Stainless steel for tongs, ladles, pasta forks and whisks
Price Range: Varies
Tip: Look for utensil set that comes with utensil holder, crock or display rack.
Stand Mixer-When my trusty hand mixer finally died, I was secretly happy because now I had a valid excuse for buying the pricey stand mixer that I had coveted for years. Now I would be able to pretend to be Ina Garten or Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network and take my baking to the next level. Yes, it’s a splurge, but if you bake a lot, a stand mixer will make your life so much easier and your baked goods come out so much better. They really save you on elbow grease. When creaming sugar and butter with paddle attachment or making meringues or whipped cream with whisk, you can let the machine do the work and get a jump start on the next recipe step. Breads and other doughs come together perfectly with dough hook–no more guessing if you’ve mixed enough. And many mixers offer a variety of add-on attachments that turn your mixer into an ice cream, meat grinder or pasta maker.
Tip: Prices on stand mixers don’t vary much from retailer to retailer, and are expensive on shipping due to weight, so look for free shipping offers to save money.
Price Range: $149-$599
Where to Buy:
Number 10 is actually going to be several that round out a basic kitchen: a good set of pans or at least a good omelet pan, a thick set of oven mitts, a sifter/strainer, measuring cups and spoons, a timer, and last but not least a great cookbook! Check the retail sources above to see availability.
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