Just stepping into the kitchen section of Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Williams Sonoma can feel…overwhelming. Who knew there were that many types of spatulas?
Kitchen tools are like most things: the best approach is to keep it simple and choose quality items that will last. For pots, pans, and other basics, choose a good brand that will hold up for years before needing to be replaced.
However, even though the world of kitchen gizmos is overwhelming, there are some that are worth adding to your cupboard. No, not the specialty egg containers or mini-donut makers: just solid kitchen tools that can make your life easier each week.
Below, find the six specialty kitchen items every home chef should have:
Food Processor
If you can find ways to speed up your recipe prep time, it’s quicker and easier to get dinner on the table and sustain a healthier diet. A must-have for any home chef is a food processor. This multi-use tool can quickly chop or dice bulky ingredients (like raw onions, peppers, or fresh herbs) to save you several minutes of time on the cutting board.
With a food processor, you can even skip expensive jarred salsas, hummus, or nut butters at the store: this tool makes delicious homemade spreads and dips in minutes.
Go for the mini 3-cup processor, or splurge for the larger 8-cup size.
Quality Chef’s Knife
When it does come time to trim a chicken or slice a tomato by hand, the knife makes all the difference. Investing in a quality knife with a commercial-grade blade and a good warranty is worth every penny.
While some chef’s knives can cost $200 or more, you can find a great one for much less. Don’t forget: to extend the life of high-quality knives like these, don’t put them in the dishwasher. Hand wash and dry promptly.
Air Fryer
Fried foods are heavy with bad-for-you saturated fats, but the crispy texture and juicy flavors are hard to beat. With an air fryer, you can enjoy that crispy, flavorful style of cooking without the excessive oil.
An air fryer uses circulating hot air, rather than hot oil, to cook food quickly, leaving the outside crisp and the inside tender. The air fryer’s cooking chamber radiates heat from a heating element near the food, and a fan circulates hot air.
Air fryers come at all different price points, with varying levels of bells and whistles. You can score a good one in a smaller size for less than $100.
Immersion Blender
Smooth, creamy soups and sauces usually require a quick blend to achieve the right consistency. Immersion blenders, or handheld blenders fit into any pot or bowl to quickly blend up ingredients without the extra mess of transferring them to a traditional blender. Once you have one, you’ll find even more uses for it, like quickly blending a smoothie bowl, beating eggs, blending wet batters, frothing milk, and more.
Go for a cordless version for even more flexibility.
Slow Cooker
Don’t you love it when someone cooks for you for a change? That’s kind of how it feels when you use a slow cooker to make your fall-favorite soup or stew. It can’t get easier than dropping the ingredients in, turning a knob, and going about your day. A slow cooker is safe to leave unattended, so you can run errands or head to work while “cooking” dinner.
To get the most bang for your buck, spring for the Instant Pot — a pressure cooker with slow cooker settings; you can set it and forget it or use it to quickly cook something that would typically take ages on the stove. (The best feature? It can cook perfect, tender rice in just minutes.)
Grill Pan
For freshly grilled meats and veggies (without the mess of firing up and cleaning the grill), opt for a stovetop griddle. This one flips to have both a grill or flat griddle option, depending on what you’re cooking. The grill is great for meat like hamburgers or chicken breasts, and the griddle is ideal for smaller veggies or delicate fish. Even if you love heading outside to cook on the grill, this is a great back-up item to have on rainy or cold days.
Make Home Cooking Easier
Adding the right tools to your cooking arsenal makes home cooking faster and more sustainable — which makes it easier to keep to a healthier diet. Home cooking is truly the best way to build the right relationship with food, and the right gadgets can make it that much easier!