The Basic Kitchen Essentials You Never Knew You Needed
There’s nothing worse than stepping into your kitchen to bask in the joys of cooking and realizing you’re ill-equipped with the basic kitchen essentials.
Nothing more can delight a chef than having a kitchen complete with useful tools. The average American spends almost 6 hours a week preparing and cooking food.
With the right kitchen essentials, your cooking time can be more efficient and enjoyable. The wrong kitchen tools, or lack thereof, leads to frustration and poorly made food.
Whether you are moving into your first home or remodeling your kitchen, now is the time to invest in quality cookware, appliances, and utensils to make cooking easier.
Read on to see what you will need to add to your supplies to upgrade your kitchen and become a real chef.
Stainless Steel Knives
Nothing frustrates a cook more than dull, flimsy knives in their kitchen. You don’t want to chop, dice, and slice to slow you down or make your food sloppy.
That is why a box knife set with an included sharpener is one of those essential kitchen tools.
Quality knives will last a lifetime if you invest the money. Thin blades that aren’t made from stainless steel will end up in the trash in a few months, so think long-term.
Cast Iron Skillet
When it comes to cooking tools, you can’t go wrong with a cast iron skillet. Forget about non-stick metal. These materials can be unhealthy, unreliable, and worn easily.
Cast iron naturally is nonstick when seasoned, heats evenly, and can be transferred to the oven. Plus, the more you use it the stronger and more flavorful it becomes.
While this type of cookware can be more expensive, cast iron is made to last. Family members pass down their skillet from generation to generation.
If you need to buy your own, use The Kitchen Professor to compare costs and features to choose the right one for you.
Crock Pot
A slow cooker is one of those must-have kitchen gadgets as it does a lot of the work for you. You can chop up your ingredients in the morning, toss them in the pot with your water and seasonings, then come home to a fulling cooked meal.
Look for the right size depending on your family size. You will also want one that has a range of heat settings from slow 8-hour cooking to a quick 4-hour high temperature.
Blender
Blenders aren’t just for smoothie making, although it is a perk. Sometimes kitchen necessities are right in front of you and you don’t know it. Blenders can be wondrous appliances for expanding your cooking skills.
Explore making your own bean dip, salsa, hummus, and sauces with the power of blending. And a blender is good for smoothies as well.
You don’t have to break the bank either when it comes to a decent blender. You just want sharp blades and various speeds, so buy whatever you can afford.
Storage Containers
After all that hard work of cooking, don’t let your tasty creations go to waste. Storage containers are kitchen tools that make clean-up a breeze too.
You won’t have to keep buying plastic bags or tin foil to seal your food. An organized array of containers are reusable and good for on-the-go leftovers.
Kitchen Essentials Rule of Thumb
Buying kitchen essentials may be overwhelming with the range of products available. Settling for a lower-quality item to save money may work in some cases, but usually spending more will give you a longer shelf-life.
To find quality products in your price range, look online at product reviews before checking them out in the store. Don’t forget to bookmark our site to never miss helpful posts like this one.
