Gadgets Galore!
We all gotta eat! But how each of us gets there is going to be unique. The average American spends the equivalent to two and a half years of their life in the kitchen. Isn’t it worth making sure we have the tools to get the most out of that space?
Kitchen gadgets and tools can make life much easier, or they can complicate the cooking process and take up too much valuable space. We asked cooks across North America what they use in the kitchen. Here are some things we deduced from the data we gathered.
THE BASICS
We narrowed down the top 15 essential tools for every home kitchen. This is all you would need to make the majority of dishes if your kitchen space is small, if you are just starting out or if you prefer a minimalist lifestyle. These are tools you might want to get at the highest quality, so they last for many years:
1. Chef’s knife—Every kitchen needs at least one good knife.
2. Cutting board—A good wooden board harbors fewer bacteria and is nicer to your knives, but it is good to have a silicon cutting board that can go through the dishwasher if you chop a lot of meat or fish.
3. 3-quart stainless steel saucepan
4. 5-quart enamel Dutch oven
5. 12-inch cast-iron skillet (and, if you have space, a 12-inch stainless steel skillet)
6. 3-quart baking dish
7. 1 set each measuring cups and spoons
8. Baking sheet
9. Stainless steel mixing bowl set
10. Silicon spatula
11. Stainless steel cooking spatula
12. Whisk
13. Wooden spoon
14. Fine-mesh sieve or colander
15. Stainless steel box grater
Bonus gadget: Manual can opener—for emergencies.
HOW MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN?
Nearly every other tool or gadget in the kitchen is a bonus. Which will work best for you depends on how you use your kitchen. We found in our focus group that there are (at least) four types of cooks.
Do you find yourself in any of these categories?
1. No Time No Fuss—This cook makes OSD (Oh S&%t! Dinners) on the regular. Time is limited but cooking at home is still very important, so this cook utilizes frozen foods, cans, bags, boxes and jars with aplomb. They know at least 10 ways to make a casserole in under 30 minutes using canned soup and frozen chicken.
Some important gadgets and tools for this cook are the slow cooker, an Instant Pot, wine opener, electric can opener and a blender. They might value the function of an air fryer despite the space it consumes on the counter. As one anonymous respondent says, “I just got a combo pressure cooker and air fryer that has changed my life the last few weeks.”
2. Freestyle Creative—This cook finds cooking pleasurable, adventurous and a creative outlet. They prefer to use local, fresh ingredients and see recipes as mere suggestions that can help lead to new and exciting dishes. Dishes from this cook’s kitchen can be incredible (“I should write that down!”) or … an interesting experiment (“Well, that was different!”).
Gadgets and tools for this cook might be eclectic and vintage, either collected or passed down. There might also be things like a pepper mill, a juicer, a KitchenAid stand mixer, espresso machine, frother, immersion blender, mortar and pestle, garlic press, mandoline, a Microplane, veggie peeler, several types of pots and pans, a pasta roller and a candy thermometer.
And perhaps, a “Motoshige grater! It’s a small ceramic dish with sharp shards on top—you can hand grate anything quickly: ginger, garlic, rock salt, etc. It’s truly an amazing tool!” says survey respondent Tracey Ryder, co-founder of Edible Communities, Inc.
3. Recipe Fundie—Please don’t make any adaptations! This cook follows recipes to the teaspoon, so faithfully that if all the ingredients aren’t available the dish cannot be attempted. They will often pick the recipe online that has the best photo or description and won’t waiver from that attempt. Cooking can be stressful, but when dishes turn out well, there is tremendous satisfaction.
Tools for this cook might look similar to the Freestyle Creative’s, though for different reasons. They might also invest in tools that are specific to recipes that have been adopted into regular rotation.
4. Weekend Planner—Big-batch cooking of freezer-friendly meals is this cook’s modus operandi. Meals are planned up to a month in advance and ingredients are purchased in bulk. This cook could be a locavore or not, but is usually very organized and gets a thrill out of reheating dishes and leftovers nights.
Tools that might grace the Planner’s kitchen, besides many mentioned above, are stockpot (or full sets of pots), vacuum sealer, rice cooker, lots of glass baking/storage dishes, food processor and a Nespresso machine.
Another anonymous respondent adds, “Onion goggles! How anyone chops onions and shallots without them, I do not know.”
NOTABLE GADGETS
Our respondents, who included chefs, recipe testers and home cooks, and 55% of whom cook nearly every meal at home, suggested a few other gadgets worth considering.
The Danish Whisk—Interestingly, 10% of our respondents named the Danish dough whisk over the more-familiar balloon whisk as an essential tool in their kitchens. “How can a bit of twisted metal make blending dough so easy… but it does!” says Suzanne Smith of Chatsworth
Coffee Grinder—While many respondents (81%) mentioned some form of coffee maker, 13% also discussed having a coffee grinder. Some also mentioned keeping a separate grinder for spices and seeds.
Manual vs. Electric—Most respondents expressed a preference for manual tools, even if an electric version is available. Some have even gotten rid of the electric device once they found that the old school tools “just work better.” Some examples are bread machines, rice cookers, can openers, the electric kettle (“the counter hog”), meat grinders and mixers.
After all, as Nicole from Connie Sue’s Confections in Fillmore says, “Your hands are the best tool in the kitchen! Allows for more evenly mixed items and adds more love into the product.”
