Cooking Tools

Just as a good set of tools can help a carpenter get the job done more quickly

and accurately and with less frustration, a good set of cooking tools can make a huge difference in the preparation of food. I have personally found these cooking gadgets and appliances to be a great help in my food preparation in the kitchen. The products displayed below represent those I already own or would personally purchase if I were ready to upgrade, but there are certainly plenty of brands and styles from which to choose to suit your own taste and budget. If you are shopping for one of the items shown below or would simply like to view more information, you can do so by clicking any of the links for each item following "See more information," or by clicking any of the kitchen store picture links shown on this page to browse their products.

Blender

Blenders do so much more than prepare drinks. They are great for crushing ice, mixing pancake and waffle batters, p ureeing foods and sauces, making fruit smoothies, ice cream shakes, and the list goes on.

See more information: 5-Speed Blender

Biscuit Cutters

You probably won't realize how useful biscuit cutters are until you add them to your cooking tools collection. They are reasonably priced and make preparing biscuits and anything else that requires round cuts easy and fun.

See more information: Stainless Steel Biscuit Cutters

Bread Maker

Bread machines are wonderful for those who love homemade bread. All you have to do is add the bread ingredients, select a bread type, then click "start!" In 2-4 hours, you will have a homemade loaf of bread with almost no effort involved. It does the kneading for you, keeps the bread at the right temperature for rising, and knows how long it needs to cook.

See more information: Automatic Bread Maker

Cheese Slicer

This tool works wonderfully for slicing thin slices of cheese. It's small and takes up very little space in your drawer. It also has an adjustable feature that allows you to vary the slice thicknesses.

See more information: Cheese Slicer

Bundt Pan

Bundt pans, also referred to as fluted pans or tube pans are generally used to make cakes, but can also be used to make gelled desserts and salads or even meatloaf. Bundt pans come in a large variety of shapes that can mold whatever you are making into a very impressive finished product. To see an example of a cake made with a bundt pan, see Glazed Orange Graham Cake.

See more information: 12-cup Bundt Pan

Citrus Peeler

Citrus-peeling tools are often overlooked, but are very useful, inexpensive, and small enough to store in a drawer. They are generally made of plastic and come in various styles, most having a little protruding piece of plastic that cuts through orange, grapefruit or other citrus fruit skins so you can easily remove them.

See more information: Citrus Peeler

Coffee Grinder

Coffee grinders are not only for grinding coffee beans, they work wonderfully as herb and spice grinders! They can grind up fresh herbs or dried herbs and spices that are not already ground, such as seeds and stems.

See more information: Coffee Grinder

Colander

Colanders are commonly known for draining pasta, but they are great kitchen tools for virtually any food. They can be used for cleaning and rinsing foods such as fruit (especially great for berries), beans, leafy greens, vegetables and virtually any food that will not fit through the tiny holes.

See more information: Stainless Steel Deep Colander

Cookie Scoop

This is a great tool for those who like to make cookies. You squeeze the outside handles, and a little strip of metal runs over the inside of the spoon, releasing the cookie dough. This a nice alternative to using two spoons, and it creates accurate portions of dough.

See more information: Cookie Scoop

Electric Mixer

An electric mixer is great for almost anything, and will probably be one of the most often used appliances you'll use in your kitchen. It kneads, creams, beats, whips, blends; and some blenders even have attachments that will grind meat and make pasta, such as the KitchenAid brand.

See more information: Electric Mixer

Food Chopper

Food choppers, much like mini food processors, are wonderful for mixing, chopping or pureeing small amounts that might otherwise get ignored in the bottom of a larger food processor. These little mini appliances are fabulous for mixing salad dressings and sauces or small quantities of nuts and other items.

See more information: Food Chopper

Food Processor

Food processors are fabulous! They can chop, blend, puree, knead bread and more, and all in only seconds. Once you start using a food processor, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it!

See more information: Food Processor

French Bread Pan

French Bread Pans are very helpful tools for those who like to bake their own loaves of French bread. The bread dough can rise in the curved grooves provided, forming nicely-shaped loaves of bread with very little effort.

See more information: Non-Stick Perforated French Bread Pan

Handheld Electric Mixer

Handheld electric mixers are great for whipping cream and/or meringue, mashing potatoes, blending guacamole, mixing pancake and waffle batter and more. The beauty of these mixers is that they are reasonably small and easy to handle, and clean-up is a cinch!

See more information: 5-Speed Hand Mixer

Indoor Grill

For those who love the flavor and texture of BBQ and grilling but want to have the option of cooking indoors, BBQ and grilling recipes can be prepared indoors using an indoor grill. Indoor grills can cook hamburgers, steaks, hot dogs, sandwiches, as well as French toast, pancakes and more, and certainly come in handy during those cold weather months!

See more information: Breville Grill

Jar Opener (Vacuum Release)

This jar opener is a great invention. It releases the vacuum suction from the jar lid, making it much easier to open the jar with your hands. If you still have trouble opening the jar, you can use the jar twister shown below (or any other jar opener).

See more information: JarPop Jar Opener

Jar Opener (Twister)

Sometimes jars are so stubborn, that no matter how hard you try, they won't twist open. Jar openers come in a variety of styles, but this one not only works well, it is fairly small and easy to store in a drawer.

See more information: Twister Jar Opener

Julienne Peeler

Small, handheld Julienne Peelers are wonderful tools for peeling small, thin, long strips from vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini or other vegetables that have some length to them.

See more information: Julienne Peeler

Mandolin Slicer

This is a valuable tool to have in the kitchen. It very quickly slices fruits and vegetables with such great ease, making each slice uniform in size. You can even find small hand-held slicers for just a few dollars in stores.

See more information: Mandolin Slicer

Measuring Cups

Most kitchens are already stocked with some measuring cups, but having durable, stable and accurate measuring cups makes a huge difference. The cups shown here are curved, thus easier to clean than cups with angular edges. These cups got great reviews!

See more information: Stainless Steel Measuring Cups

Meat Grinder

Meat grinders are wonderful for those who like to use their own choice cuts of meat for recipes that use ground beef, ground pork, ground chicken, ground turkey or even ground fish! Grinding your own meats will also allow you to prepare your food with leaner meat, should you desire. There are a few styles of meat grinders out there, including electric grinders, attachments made for electric mixers and even manual meat grinders.

See more information: Stainless Steel Electric Meat Grinder

Meat Pounder

Meat Pounders are used for pounding down meat into thinner slices, such as chicken, steak and pork. This not only tenderizes the meat, it allows meat to cook more quickly and it creates a thinner piece of meat that can be stuffed with a variety of fillings simply by folding the thin piece of meat over your filling.

See more information: Stainless Steel Meat Pounder

Meat Thermometer

If you enjoy roasting meats such as turkey, pork or beef, then a meat thermometer is a must. Meat thermometers allow you to check the internal temperature of the meat, which is the best way to determine how long your meat should be cooked, rather than risking (or worrying about) an underdone or overcooked result.

See more information: Meat & Poultry Cooking Thermometer

Nonstick Skillet

Nonstick skillets are tremendously helpful when cooking foods that tend to stick to the bottom of other traditional skillets, even after oiling, buttering or spraying with a nonstick spray. Nonstick skillets are great for any foods, and are especially helpful for foods like bacon and/or sausage, chicken, fish, or any meats that tend to stick to the bottom of the pan. These skillets are also fabulous for stir-frying, allowing the vegetables and meats to easily move around as you stir. A nonstick skillets with a fitted lid is good for simmering dishes with sauces.

See more information: 12-inch Nonstick Deep Skillet with Lid

Pasta Machine

This is a pasta lover's tool, and great for creative folks who want more control over their pasta's flavor, shape, size and texture. It allows you to make fettuccini and spaghetti, as well as sheets of pasta that can be cut into ravioli, potstickers, egg rolls, wontons, and much more, giving them a homemade flair. Some electric mixers offer attachments that fit onto the mixer, using the power of the mixer to do the work, allowing you to use both hands to guide the pasta dough. Pasta is commonly made of just eggs and flour, so if you have your own manual pasta maker or electric mixer pasta attachment, fresh pasta can be made in any style, anytime!

See more information: Pasta Machine

Pastry Blender

Pastry blenders are commonly used for preparing pastry, such as biscuits and pie crusts. This tool cuts cold cubes of butter into flour, replacing the need for clumsily using other utensils such as knives, is much easier and more efficient. There are other pastry blenders out there that have wires instead of strong steel blades, but I have found this style works much better.

See more information: Pastry Blender

Pastry Brush

Pastry brushes are very important tools when it comes to applying liquids to soft dough, such as egg washes, butter, etc. Natural bristle brushes work very well because they are soft and won't make dents in the dough, especially once the dough has risen and is very soft and fragile.

See more information: Natural Bristle Pastry Brush

Pizza Cutter

Also called a "pizza wheel," these tools of course provide the best way to slice into your pizzas, but did you know they are also fabulous tools for working with bread and pastry dough and a large variety of other foods? The beauty of these wheel slicers is that you can continually slice without lifting as you do with a knife, allowing for smooth, sharp cuts.

See more information: Pizza Cutter

Roasting Rack

If you love tender and succulent roasted meat as well as the gravy or sauce you can make from the dripped juices, a roasting rack is something you definitely need in your kitchen. Roasting racks allow you to cook your meat slightly above the bottom of a roasting pan, allowing the juices to drip to the bottom of the pan to be used for gravy and sauces once your meat is cooked. Roasting racks can also help to add moisture to meat simply by adding water or stock to the bottom of the pan.

See more information: Roasting Rack

Scraper / Scooper / Chopper

This handheld tool is great for slicing, chopping, scraping, mincing and scooping. It makes it easy to scoop up and transfer chopped foods to your cooking pan or simply scoop up tiny crumbs. These scraper/chopper tools are especially great for slicing bread and pizza dough when the dough needs to be divided.

See more information: Stainless Steel Scraper / Scooper / Chopper

Slow Cooker

Slow Cookers are wonderful for creating meals in the morning and letting the meal cook by itself for hours or all day long with zero effort. When dinner time comes, it feels like someone else has prepared your meal for you - plus, you'll hardly have any dishes to do. Let's also not forget the incredible smells that fill your house all day long! Most all slow cooker dishes are very easy to prepare, and produce that tender texture and slow-cooked flavor that is like no other.

See more information: Programmable Slow Cooker

Springform Pan

Springform pans are used in baking and have sides that can be removed from the base. A latch on the exterior of the side can easily loosen or tighten the sides. When tightened, the pan becomes waterproof, meaning, while baking, none of your ingredients will be able to leak out of the pan. After baking, the latch is opened, and your baked good (such as a cheesecake, pie or cake) can be easily sliced or transferred to another platform.

See more information: Leakproof Springform Pan

Toaster Oven

Toaster ovens are not all created equal! Some only have the capability of toasting, while others have a built-in convection oven (as does the Breville model shown here) and can do almost anything a large oven can do with great ease, using far less electricity. I have personally tried a variety of toaster ovens, and after realizing their limitations and in some cases lack of quality, I purchased this Breville toaster and convection oven, and find it to be an amazing appliance! Whatever type of countertop toaster and/or oven you are looking for, there are plenty from which to choose.

See more information: 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven

Vegetable Steamer

Vegetable steamers are wonderful for cooking all sorts of vegetables, including green beans, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, and the list goes on. Using a steamer allows you to quickly cook vegetables with steam rather than completely immersing in water, stir-frying with oil or microwaving. Vegetable steamers allow you to cook vegetables without stirring, and keep them plump and moist.

See more inofrmation: Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer

Whisk

Whisks are used for stirring liquids as well as dry ingredients, and can more quickly and thorougly blend ingredients than spoons or forks. They are particularly useful for stirring gravies and sauces because they are able to break apart lumps and chunks, helping to achieve smoother consistencies. Whisks come in varied shapes and sizes, as well as in stainless steel or teflon coated for use with nonstick skillets.

See more information: 10-Inch Balloon Wire Whisk