A Guide to Essential Kitchen Utensils

Do I really need all this stuff? That’s what I kept asking myself as I unpacked box after box of kitchen items. It seemed that over the past several years I had accumulated enough dishes to supply a restaurant, and I had enough silverware and serving spoons and preparation utensils to fill several drawers in my new home. I found myself wondering how two people could possibly have need for this many kitchen utensils. I certainly did not have room for them all so I decided to take some time and determine what I actually needed for everyday use over what I needed for the occasional use. This list is what I decided to keep and some suggestions for good products I feel everyone should have in their kitchen.

Silicone Spatula/Spoon – Over the past few years silicone utensils and cooking products have grown in popularity. They are wonderful for stirring sauces, taste-testing, spreading sauces over items like chicken, and they can be used to get the brownies into the corners of your baking pan. Silicone is wonderful because it will not melt like most products and it can stand up to high heat without warping. Some great options for silicon spatulas or spoons include the Rachel Ray 3 piece Spoonula set. This product can be purchased through Linens-N-Things for 14.99 and come in blue or orange.

Kitchen Shears – Sometimes it’s easier to trim fat off meat products with a pair of scissors rather than a knife. Sometimes you need a pair of scissors to open a difficult package. There are about a million different things you can do with a set of kitchen shears. For less than $5 you can pick up a heavy duty set of kitchen shears at Wal-Mart

Whisk – Whisks come in a variety of materials and sizes. In my kitchen I have two different types of whisks. The first type of whisk everyone needs is the traditional wire whisk. The traditional whisk is great for whipping up eggs or mixing ingredients together for a homemade salad dressing. A great traditional whisk is Stainless Steel Egg Whisk manufactured by Oxo. This whisk can be purchased from cooking.com for $7.95. The second type of whisk I have in my kitchen is a ball whisk. This whisk is great for sauces and anything thick that needed to be mixed well. These whisks tend to be a bit more expensive. Cooking.com is a source for purchasing this type of whisk for 26.95 though your may be able to find a similar ball whisk for a cheaper price if you check around

Spoons and Spatulas: Every kitchen needs both slotted and non-slotted spoons and spatulas. These products can be used on virtually every dish you make. Options with slotted and non-slotted give you limitless possibilities for uses. While these items can be purchased individually Kitchen-Aid bundles their slotted spoon, non-slotted spoon, slotted spatula, and non-slotted spatula into one convenient package. Retailing for 29.95 at cooking.com this set is available in blue, black and red. Individually pieces retail for $7-$10 and are available at many retailers including Target.

Tongs: Need to toss a salad? Need to toss pasta together with sauce? Or maybe you just need to get corn on the cob out of the boiling water. In this instances tongs are a great item to have in your kitchen. Tongs can be purchased in Nylon, Stainless steel, and even silicone. A great set for your kitchen is the Rachel Ray 2 piece set which includes a 12 inch and a 9 inch set of tongs. These tongs retail for 29.95 and are available in blue, green, and orange.

In addition to these must have items a well stocked kitchen also has an ice cream scoop, hand grater, vegetable peeler, and a hand held can opener.

You don’t need to own every cooking utensil on the market to cook well. These few products can make preparation and cooking a pleasant experience no matter your level of experience in the kitchen. The next time you visit your favorite kitchen supply store check out the variety of options available for any budget.

Sources:

Linens-N-Things: www.lnt.com
Cooking.Com: www.cooking.com
Kitchen-Aid: www.kichenaid.com
Target Stores: www.target.com
Personal Experience in using products