I’m not a big fan of “gadgets”.

You know what I mean, the “Chop-o-matic, veg-o-matic, It slices! It dices! It does your laundry, walks the dog, chops an onion, and then roasts a chicken in half the time type gadgets you see on TV after midnight. But with that said, there are plenty of tools that I do think belong in my kitchen, (and may or may not in yours.) I’m somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to tools. Most of my kitchen tools aren’t anything fancy, just time-tested and proven to be well worth the space they take up in my limited workspace.While taking an inventory of the tools in my kitchen, I found that there are a few items I would consider to be important enough to call “must haves”, along with several that I could get by without, but still find handy.

Essentials:

8-inch French Chef’s Knife:

On the very top of the list without question is my chef’s knife. It’s a wood handled stainless-steel knife (which by the way is something many chefs would scoff at, but I’ve not found a different affordable knife that fits my hand and seems to balance perfectly) that I received as part of a kitchen knife set for my wedding. It’s not by any means a fancy, expensive piece of equipment. But if I could only have one tool in my kitchen, it would be my chef’s knife. (That’s not to say that I wouldn’t love to have a set of high-carbon Wusthov, Kershaw Shun, or Ceramic Kyocera knives, It’s just that you can buy a whole lot of steak with that much cheddar, if you get my drift.)

The #1 thing that makes a chef’s knife good to you besides being sharp (remember, a dull knife is a very dangerous knife), is how it feels to you when you use it. By that I mean the comfort of your grip and the balance of the knife. It shouldn’t be awkward in any way, and should just feel like it naturally belongs there when you hold it. Almost as if it’s a (very sharp) extension of your hand.

I’ve actually gotten to the point that if I know I’m going to be cooking somewhere other than my own kitchen, I bring my two things: My own knife, and my own salt.

Cutting Board:

A quality wooden cutting board with a large work surface. As large as you can find and is reasonable for your work area in your kitchen. Now I’m not saying you need something made by John Boos (well, unless you can afford it, then by all means), but I went through 3 cheap cutting boards in 3 years before I broke down & spent a little more on the one I’ve had now for 5 years (and through relatively heavy use it’s just now starting to show signs of any real wear.)

Get a wooden board. Glass, Marble, Corian, or whatever other hard surface will ruin the edge on your knives. For raw meat and poultry, I keep a smaller plastic board around, both so I don’t cross-contaminate my wooden board, and they’re dishwasher safe.

Pots and Pans:

Obviously you can’t cook much without cookware, so at the very least, I would have a 12-inch sauté (fry) pan. Oven safe for pan-roasting. An 8 or 10 inch sauté pan (or omelette pan), a 2-quart saucepan (for vegetables, sauces, soup, rice, hard-cooked eggs, etc.), 8 quart Dutch-oven (larger soups & stews, deep-frying, pasta, and braising meat. Ideally lids for everything. Ideally a set of stainless and a set of non-stick.

If I had to choose only one type, I’d go with stainless, since you can’t make pan sauces on non-stick. However non-stick is certainly handy for easy cleanup and very delicate foods, like eggs.

If you have the room and budget, a cast-iron skillet is quite a handy addition as well, because it holds and distributes heat so well. Very handy for some dishes.

Thermometers:

Probe, Instant-Read, and Candy.

A probe thermometer stays in the food while cooking. A thin wire connects the probe to the electronic unit that sits on top of the counter away from the heat. That way you know exactly when your roast or poultry is done and no more dried out dinners. This is one tool I wish I had gotten long before I did.

Instant-read thermometers you use to check temperature at the end of the cooking. Not too big of a deal if you have a probe thermometer, but still might come in handy. I prefer the digital type, because they don’t require re-calibration like the analog “needle” type might.

Candy thermometer for deep-frying and candy making.

Not essential, but handy:

Stand Mixer:

If you do much baking, a stand mixer is worth the lost counter space (and expense.) KitchenAid easily dominates the market, I own one, and am very pleased with it, but K-Tec has a good reputation as well and may be worth a look.

Pizza Stone:

Obviously for making homemade pizza, but even if you don’t, keep one of these in the bottom of your oven (bottom rack if you have electric.) at all times and it will help keep a steady heat instead of many “heat up, then cool down” cycles as the thermostat turns on and off.

Rolling Pin:

I went through a few rolling pins before I found one I really like. It’s a “French style” wooden rolling pin, (which means it doesn’t have handles or moving parts.) basically a heavy stick with tapered ends. By far the easiest type of rolling pin that I’ve tried.

You often see marble rolling pins for rolling dough, the cold marble is supposed to help keep the dough from warming up. I have one, and never use it. It’s impossible to dust it with flour, so it’s difficult to make it not stick to your dough.

Other things to consider:

• Vegetable Peeler
• Heat Proof Spatulas
• Slotted Spoon
• Wooden Spoons
• Needle-nose pliers (for pulling pin bones from fish fillets.)
• Meat mallet / Tenderizer
• Cake Pans
• Sifter
• V-Slicer or Mandolin
• Citrus Juicer
• Cheese Grater
• Measuring Spoons/Cups
• Kitchen Shears
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Baking Sheets
• Casserole Dishes
• Blender
• Stick blender
• Splatter Guard
• Colander
• Whisk
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Spring loaded tongs
• Bundt Pan
• Loaf Pans
• Cooling Racks
• Chinese Cleaver

Stuff I get by without (but plan on getting eventually)
Digital Scale:This should probably be on the “must-have” list, but I dont’ have one yet, so for now it’s here. (I don’t really have a good excuse either, since they’re reasonably cheap.) Get the type that lets you “zero out” the current item on the scale. This way you can place a bowl on it, hit the “zero” button, and then add the exact amount of the ingredient, push the “zero” button again, and add your next item. They’re not super-expensive, and if you bake often, they’re well worth it.

Spice Grinder (A coffee grinder):

If you drink coffee, don’t use your current coffee grinder to grind your spices or they’ll all pick up that coffee taste, and your coffee might start tasting like mustard seed and pepper, get another one!

Spice Rack:

I used to have one, but was convinced to toss it to save counter space. That was a mistake. It really was very handy for keeping my spices organized and always within easy reach. Now every time I reach for something I end up dropping other spice containers out of the cupboard, or just hunting for a particular spice for too long. Get a spice rack, and don’t let anyone convince you to get rid of it!

Fancy Knives, Fancy French cookware, a “Boos Block”:

yeah….once I hit the lottery. Till then what I have works pretty well.

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