Did you know that professional chefs spend an average of $300-500 on their essential kitchen tools? But here’s the good news – you don’t need to break the bank to cook like a pro! As someone who’s spent countless hours in both professional and home kitchens, I’ve narrowed down the absolute must-have tools that will revolutionize your cooking experience. These five kitchen essentials have saved me countless hours and dramatically improved my cooking results. Let me share my tried-and-tested favorites!
The Knife Set: Your Kitchen’s MVP
- To make the easiest comparison, let’s consider the Halligan bar. You can absolutely force a door with a clunky 3 piece Halligan bar, but it’s just so much easier and more enjoyable to do it with a Pro-Bar Halligan. That is the difference between using a cheap knife and a high-quality knife.
- There are knives of various sizes and purposes available, but we don’t need an entire block full of knives we won’t use very often. To get the best utility I recommend this knife set from Victorinox. This kit has everything you need to get started and will allow you to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, all for the price of one chef’s knife. These knives are the Glock of kitchen knives, no fancy frills, but damn are they reliable.
- As you progress in your cooking interest you may decide to start looking at higher-end knives. Even for the advanced chef, I would recommend buying whatever high-end chef’s knife you like and then for all of your other needs, I recommend this kit. We love it so much that we buy 5-6 of these every Christmas and give them to friends.
- You’ll want to find a honing steel and sharpening tool for your knives – to keep them sharp. In culinary school, we were taught early on that a dull knife is the most dangerous knife in the kitchen. You tend to put more force into chopping with a dull knife and the path of the blade is less controlled/predictable, which can cause slipping. This tends to nasty cut injuries that are easily avoidable.
- Over time you will try different knives and learn what you like and don’t like. You can even drop into a store like Williams Sonoma and hold various knives to get an idea of how they feel in your hand. It’s one of those things when you hold a knife that fits your hand well, it just feels right.
Game-Changing Food Scale: Precision Meets Perfection
- Measuring by weight is SO much simpler and more precise. If I ask you to measure 1 cup of coconut oil you can imagine yourself taking a spoon, scooping the solid coconut oil out of it’s jar, mashing it into a measuring cup, maybe or maybe not being completely accurate, scooping the coconut oil out of measuring cup out into whatever bowl your mixing in – leaving behind some of what you measured….it’s a mess! If I ask you for 250 grams of coconut oil. You put the bowl you’re mixing in onto a scale, zero it out, scoop your coconut oil into the bowl until the scale reads 250 grams and you’re done!
- One of the main things that can be annoying about working with a scale is when you’re trying to read your measurement on the display, but the container you’re scooping into is covering the display. That’s why I love this scale from OXO. It has a display that you can pull away from the main unit, which allows you to read your measurements, even if your container is a bit large.
- If you love baking you will definitely want to be precise with your measurements. Various ingredients have more or less density than others, so a cup of corn kernels will have more or less weight than a cup of flour. That same cup of kernels will fit into a measuring cup but can be shaken and more room made, are you seeing where the flaws are in this? However 100 grams of kernels is 100 grams, there’s no deviation. This is one more reason measuring by weight is superior.
- You may have noticed that I’ve been using the metric system in my weight measurements as well. It’s a strange one to adjust to and I know Americans get weird about metric measurements, but tryst me when I say it’s just simpler. Would you rather measure 1000g(1kilo) or would you rather measure the same weight 2.20462 lb?
- Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, easy to use and clean – the scale is great because it also cuts down on the dishes you’re using up. Instead of dirtying up multiple measuring cups, you just have the bowl you’re measuring everything into. It’s great, especially if you’re like me and hate washing dishes.
Versatile Cast Iron Skillet: One Pan to Rule Them All
- Cast Iron is durable, easy to clean, oven-safe, non-toxic, relatively cheap and you can get a solid pump in while you cook(they’re kind of heavy). I like this one from Lodge.
- You can do every kind of cooking you need in a cast iron pan, searing, boiling, stewing, braising, baking, shallow frying, roasting, sauteeing and you could even thwart a home invasion with one if you needed to.
- They’re a bit tricky to get dialed in as far as seasoning them and keeping them seasoned, but we will cover that in another article.
- Carbon Steel vs. Cast Iron, they’re both fantastic, the carbon steel design lends itself to being a bit lighter, but ultimately the choice is yours. However they both have the same abilities. The cast iron is thicker, so it will hold heat longer, which benefits you in some instances and downsides in others.
- Cast Iron pans will last you a lifetime and can be made to look brand new many years down the road. This is also cool if a pan becomes sentimental to you and you’re interested in passing the cookware down to your family or friends.
Nutribullet: Your Time-Saving Sous Chef
- The Nutribullet is a little workhorse! These things can chop ingredients, liquify them, make silky smooth purees and a list of other tasks. One of the most versatile tools we have in our home kitchen.
- They stow away easily and are small enough to keep on your kitchen counter, which is saying a lot because I can’t stand clutter or appliances on the kitchen counter when they’re not in use.
- They come with a couple of different-sized blending cups, which are great for various tasks. One thing we do almost constantly in ours is make smoothies. So if you like blending up protein shakes and haven’t tried doing it in one of these, prepare for your mind to be blown.
- Maintenance and cleaning are a breeze, wipe down the outside of the base unit, if needed, and toss the blade and cup in the dishwasher, DONE!
- You can’t beat the price for how much value you’ll get out of these. You can easily grab one on Amazon here.
Instant-Read Thermometer: The Secret to Perfect Doneness
- If seasoned professionals still temp their meat with instant-read thermometers, then why not you? Learning to understand meat temperature by touch is a skill that takes a long time, and even having done it for years, there were times when I was just wrong and had to recook a meal on the fly. Not fun, and also wasteful.
- If you like simplicity, then this is the tool for you. There are a lot of cool wireless thermometers on the market these days, which are great for low/slow cooking like smoking meat on a pellet stove, but they require Bluetooth connections to your phone to read them. If you just need to grab a quick temperature reading for a steak on the grill, then try something like this instant read thermometer instead. At $12.99 it’s hard to beat, ours has lasted for years at this point and is showing no signs of slowing down. It’s also magnetic, which I love because I can stick it to the fridge when I’m not using it or to the side of my pellet smoker when I’m smoking some meat.
- Be sure to check if your thermometer requires any kind of calibration, that way you can ensure that you are getting an accurate reading.
- My wife is VERY cautious when it comes to chicken, this thermometer gives her the confidence that whenever she cooks chicken it is DONE. This leaves her own judgment out of the picture and makes her feel safe.
Skip The Clutter, Choose Versatility
Having the right tools in your kitchen isn’t about filling your drawers with countless gadgets – it’s about choosing versatile, quality essentials that make cooking more enjoyable and successful. These five must-have kitchen tools will form the foundation of your culinary arsenal, helping you cook with confidence and precision. Remember, investing in quality kitchen tools isn’t just about spending money; it’s about investing in your cooking journey and the countless delicious meals ahead. Ready to upgrade your kitchen game? Start with these essentials and watch your cooking transform!
These are the no-BS tools that I actually own and use on a regular basis. They make my life in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable.
