I have hundreds of people come into my home each year to take cooking class and I inevitably get asked the question, “What are your favorite kitchen tools?”. My absolute favorite kitchen tool is my chef’s knife. To be honest, I am not a huge gadget person, but once I really thought about it, I realized there are some tools (including my chef’s knife) that I wouldn’t want to live without. Bonus: if you click on the picture it will take you right to Amazon. Yes, I am an affiliate 😉
Microplane Zester/Grater
This is great for getting superfine zest from citrus and it ALSO grates hard cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano.
Meat Thermometer/Kitchen Timer
A definite must-have, this keeps the guess work out of knowing when your meat is done. The thermometer stays INSIDE of the oven and the readout is OUTSIDE of the oven AND an alarm goes off when your meat has reached the correct internal temperature. Magic.
The Chopstir
When I was first introduced to this tool, I assumed it would go the way of other gadgets I have been given- the Goodwill bin. Boy was I wrong! The Chopstir breaks up ground meat as your sautéing it so there are no huge chunks and all of the meat cooks evenly. I love the name too.
OXO Angled Liquid Measuring Cups
If you know me, you know I am a stickler for liquid versus dry measuring cups. The dry measuring cups you can get anywhere, but these are my go-to liquid measuring cups. I love these because you can read the measurement from above instead of bending down and reading the cup from the side. I also like the grips. These will stack if too, you just have to angle the handles the right way.
Lemon/Lime Squeezer
I use mine almost every day! You get all of the juice and none of the seeds. It is easy to clean AND easy to store- two very important requirements for my kitchen tools. It is sturdy and will last a lot longer than the plastic versions.
There are some other favorites that I have but this is a great start! What are some of your must-have tools in the kitchen?