Basic tools, supplies and utensils that should be part of every well stocked kitchen.
As a home chef you will eventually want to stock your kitchen with an assortment of basic culinary tools. Having a varied selection of kitchen equipment to choose from will make meal preparation go smoothly. Visit your local kitchen supply store or online kitchen outlet to purchase these items.
Meat mallet - This item has a flat side for pounding more delicate items such as chicken and fish and a dimpled side for pounding tougher meats such as beef and pork.
Microplane grater - this is a tool to use for grating items that are difficult to grate with a regular kitchen grater. Items such as whole nutmegs, ginger root, horseradish and citrus peel are a breeze to grate with this tool.
Microwave - Useful for melting butter and defrosting frozen items. Also useful for reheating leftovers.
Mixing bowls - purchase a variety of glass, stainless steel and plastic mixing bowls in a range of sizes. At the very least you should have a small, medium and large bowl on hand.
Mixing spoons - available in materials such as wood, plastic and metal. Keep an assortment of sizes on hand for all your mixing and stirring needs.
Mortar and pestle set - Used to grind up herb and spice blends. More labor intensive but much cheaper than using a coffee grinder. A marble or porcelain set works best. Avoid wood as it absorbs the flavor and odor of whatever is placed in it.
Nutmeg grater - Used to grate whole nutmegs and other hard spices such as dried turmeric rhizomes.
Pots and pans - available in many materials such as non-stick, stainless steel and cast iron. Copper pans are also nice but very expensive. Convenient sizes to have on hand would be a small, medium and large frying pan, small, medium and large sauce pans and a large Dutch oven for frying and stir frying items.
Rolling pin - Used to roll out pie crusts, biscuits and cookie dough. Most commonly available in wood. Marble rolling pins are great for rolling out dough as it less likely to stick to marble than wood.
Salad spinner - Used for cleaning and spin drying salad ingredients, herbs and flowers.
Sieve - a fine mesh metal sieve is useful for sifting dry ingredients such as flour and baking soda. Purchase one with a long handle on it. This enables it to be placed on the edge of your mixing bowl keeping your hands free.
Spatula - Used to scrape down the sides of bowls while mixing up batters. Heat proof plastic spatulas are now available which can be used while cooking sauces and gravies.
Stock pot - Used to make soups, stews and broths. This pot can double as a pasta or corn-on-the-cob cooking pot.
Vegetable peeler - To remove the peel off of vegetables and fruits.
Whisk - plastic and stainless steel whisks can be used for a variety of purposes such as whisking together eggs or creating smooth sauces and gravies.
Wire racks - Used to place baking pans and dishes on as soon as they are removed from the oven. They help to ensure even cooling by allowing air to circulate around and under the pans. They also prevent your counter tops from being scorched by hot pans.
Resources
See the article Essential Culinary Equipment for a list of basic kitchen tools from baking dishes to measuring spoons.
