7 Must Have Kitchen Tools & Tips

These seven simple, affordable kitchen tools are must haves!

If I were on Kitchen Survivor, and had to chose 10 tools, these are what I would take, as well as a chef knife, paring knife and cutting board. Not including pots and pans and spoons and ...

Well, maybe not just ten...

In my humble opinion, you can't go wrong here:

SALAD SPINNER 
     This OXO is about 7 years old and I toss it right in the dishwasher. It works and looks as good as the day my sister-in-law gave it to me. I use it almost every day.

TIP: Besides salad, I use it to wash all my herbs, cabbage, leeks, then spin dry.

TIP: The best way to wash greens is to float in water and scoop out of the water.
Don't float them, then pour into the strainer because any debris can settle right back on the greens. In the float and scoop method, debris is either suspended in the water or settled on the bottom of the bowl.

BENCH SCRAPER
     Designed for manipulating dough, nothing divides a ball of dough into neat little pillows perfect for rolls, like this guy.

More frequently it transports lots of diced produce from the cutting board into the pot on the stove.

DISHERS
These are not ice cream scoops and just three sizes fit my every need.
The smallest size 60, makes perfect portioned drop cookies (chocolate chip, assorted Italian cookies...) a heaping dollop of cake or muffin batter fills mini muffin pans perfectly.

The middle size 40, makes larger cookies like big soft molasses cookies.

The largest size 20, is perfect size for filling the cups of a standard muffin pan.

There are many sizes, like wire gauges, the larger the number the smaller the size, found at restaurant supply stores or online.

KNIFE SHARPENER
There is nothing more dangerous in the kitchen than a dull knife. This won Americas Test Kitchen best sharpener years ago. It's about $5 at True Value Hardware of all places. I've had this one about a decade and it's still running strong. Very effective, compact and simple to use. Better {than} sliced bread! Just hold your knife blade facing up on the counter and run the sharpener over the blade about 10 times, goof proof!

Now skip to the

KNIFE STEEL
You probably have one of these from a knife set and never used it. But you should!
Watch this YouTube video if you want to see how. It's not difficult, there is really no special technique. Don't be intimidated by the angle you hold it, it's almost instinctual.

TIP: Keeping your knives sharp:

Even if you payed big bucks for a fancy name brand santoku or a more affordable bargain brand.... If you use it it's going to get dull. No need for one of those electric sharpeners the two compact tools above will do a better job of preserving and maintaining your cutlery, without removing too much metal.

TIP: The difference between a steel and a sharpener is the sharpener removes thin shavings of metal to create the sharp edge. After time this will wear down your knife. The steel straightened the blade. The very thin edge can become folded over if you hit a bone or you cutting board.
Don't be afraid to ruin your knives. If they are dull they are not useful anyways. Or practice on an old knife until you are comfortable.

ZYLISS GARLIC PRESS
This was a gift to me back in 1996. Who knew it would survive the test of time and travel. It has followed me from California, to Mexico and now Colorado. I have given one to every one I know who enjoys cooking and I hope the do the same. A lifetime investment of $12. Most folks have a white plastic one, that's fine but you are missing out. Especially if you use as much garlic as I do. Any store that carries Zyliss (bed bath & beyond for example) you don't even need to peel the skin off the clove, but I usually do. It's all in the design. Nosuper human strength and it's easy to clean with the included little hole clearing tool!

MICROPLANE
You probably have this one, if not you need to. From Parmesean to lemon zest I also use it for chocolate shavings (not curls) and grating frozen ginger root. The results cannot be obtained from any substitute. This flat style is much easier to clean than the handled version.

I hope you find these tools and tips helpful as I do.
Thanks for stopping by.

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