Six necessary tools every home cook must stock in his kitchen

Whether you are renovating or setting up your kitchen for the first time, you must stock your kitchen with the proper tools. Investing in these kitchen tools will not only make cooking an easy activity, but enjoyable as well.

Every once in a while your kitchen tools need an upgrade with specialty tools, be it avocado peelers, strawberry hullers, or wooden spoons. To minimize your kitchen clutter or start stocking up your space, here are six must-have kitchen tools.

Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

It is good to have a variety of mixing bowls in your kitchen. While glass and plastic bowls may seem good, but stainless steel is more hygienic and durable material. The stainless-steel mixing bowls do not pick up stains or odors. They are inexpensive, versatile and will last a lifetime. Moreover, they’re multi-purpose; you can use them to mix cake mixes, chopping up salads, or oiling down vegetables.

Cast-Iron Skillet

Made with sturdy, thick bottoms and sides, cast iron skillets can consistently heat to high temperatures and preserve heat for long time. They can be used to roast meats and vegetables, and give a beautiful sear to a steak or scallops. They are oven-friendly, so you can use them for making corn bread and cobblers. Cast iron is an inexpensive way to get a skillet that evenly conducts heat, making it suitable for cooking a steak or get a nice sear on a chicken breast.

Cutting Boards

While glass or stone cutting boards can be nice-looking, wood or plastic boards are a wise option. Glass or stone boards can dull your knives, so they are not recommended for heavy duty chopping. Moreover, you must change your cutting board after a few years. It is ideal to have two cutting boards in your kitchen – one for raw proteins and one for cooked foods and produce. For raw proteins, a dishwasher-safe plastic board is perfect; and for cooked foods and produce, both plastic and wooden cutting boards work just fine.  

Knife Set

The butcher block full of knives look nice on the counter, but you only need three knives for all kinds of cooking. The three basic knives that are crucial in a kitchen – a serrated knife, a chef’s knife and a paring knife. A chef’s knife is primarily used for chopping but can be used for cutting anything in the kitchen. A paring knife, which looks like a miniature chef’s knife, is used for delicate tasks such as peeling onions, coring tomatoes or trimming vegetables. A serrated knife is most useful on foods with multiple textures, such as bread, tomatoes and even meat.

Wooden Spoons

As plastic can melt and metal will heat up, using a wooden spoon when stirring something over a hot stove is an ideal choice. If you are looking for a new wooden spoon to add to your kitchen tools, experts recommend purchasing a wooden spoon with one flat side, making it easier to scrape the bottom of your pan or bowl. They won’t scratch the nonstick surfaces or leave scars on delicate copper pans, which is especially important for dishes that require a lot of stirring, like caramel, risotto, and candies. They are firm enough to stir thick stews or batters and can hold up against the pressure of scraping burned bits off the bottoms of pans.

Bakeware

Who doesn’t like baked goods? Whether you are baking a cake or roasting a chicken, it is important to have the right baking pans for your oven. Standard-size 9-by-13 baking pans and 8 in. sq. glass baking dishes are useful for any meal that you want to make. While specialty pans for pizza, roasting and baking are also good to invest in. Sheet pans are great for baking cookies, but can also be used to make meals as well. You can use sheet pans to make foil-wrapped fish fillets, chicken with vegetables, deep dish pizza or roast vegetables.