I was shopping for kitchen stuff for some newlyweds, and it made me reflect on what I really use, day in and day out, in my kitchen. We all know there are a lot of gadgets that will just get stuck in the back of a cabinet and never used. So what are the most useful items?
For me, I use almost daily:
nylon cutting boards - large, medium, and small
chef’s knife
8 qt pot
4 qt pot
12 inch frying pan
10 inch nonstick omelet pan
stainless steel mixing bowls
wooden spoons
silicone spatula
whisk
can opener with horizontal blade
plastic colander
electric kettle
instant-read thermometer
And about weekly:
KitchenAid mixer
Zyliss pizza cutter
paring knife
heavy gauge cookie sheets
large ceramic bowl
heavy gauge bread pan
muffin tin
cooling rack
Things worth the investment, though they aren’t used as often:
porcelain coated cast iron Dutch oven
large roasting pan with rack
good cake pans
rectangular Pyrex pans in varying sizes
Things probably worth the investment, but I don’t use them as much because I hate cleaning them:
Ok - typical night last night - I made two dinners: For dinner last night i made teriyaki salmon, steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, and wild rice. I pre-made a meatloaf for tonight.
So I used:
Broiler pan for salmon
brush for teriyaki sauce on salmon
medium saucepot for wild rice
small sauce pot for cheese sauce
various large spoons, including wooden spoons
microwaveable casserole dish for steaming broccoli
Chef’s knife for chopping onion, green pepper and parsley for meatloaf
Wooden cutting board
13 x 9 nonstick baking dish for meatloaf
Giant stainless bowl for mixing meatloaf
I regularly use my blender, which has a food processor attachment. I also have a “baby” food processor I use probably twice a month. Great for mincing onions.
I have a wok I use once a month or so.
I use an electric skillet 2-3 times a week.
Often used items: paring knife, large pasta pot, collander, baking sheets, tongs, spatulas (metal and plastic/silicone)
Toaster oven about weekly.
Food processor about weekly, maybe slightly more often.
corkscrew - pretty much daily.
12" and 9" non-stick skillets, almost every meal.
I use my small (4 cup?) Cuisinart all the time. Just yesterday I made butternut squash soup with it, and I’m constantly using it to make salsa, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, or just to chop up a bunch of garlic. It’s perfect for my 2 person household- if I had the big one I wouldn’t use it nearly as often, and it’s still easy to use it in to make big things like the soup; you just make batches.
Things I use pretty much every day or at least once or twice a week:
Rabbit corkscrew and foil cutter
Large cast iron skillet
Cast iron dutch oven
Smaller cast iron skillets (3 different sizes.)
Chef’s knife
Santoku knife
Really, really big poly cutting board (We have a super tiny kitchen with a double sink, I can put it over one side of the sink, giving me more counter space and allowing me to push the trash from choppings, etc. right into the disposal.)
Garlic peeler gizmo
Pampered Chef mini chopper
Wooden spatula
A multi purpose pot (maybe 8 or 10 qt?, with 2 steamer baskets, deep one for pasta, smaller one for steamed veggies)
3 sauce pans, small, medium, or large
Electric can opener
Granite mortar and pestle
Microplane grater
Well, I didn’t list plates or anything like that, I figured glasses were a given. But now that you mention it, I guess they could fall into this list. I wish we could afford an entire set of fine wine glasses, but we just can’t, and they aren’t very durable. So while we have 3 everyday sets (red, white, flutes), I also have my own ‘mixed set’ of fine crystal stemware. A couple of Bordeaux glasses, a Sauv Blanc/white wine, a Burgundy/Pinot Noir, a flute, and a few others. I use the ones that best fit the wine or wines I open that night. They can’t go in the dishwasher, so they get washed by hand along with the cast iron stuff. Kind of a pain, but I really like them.
We’re kinda the same on the wine glasses. We have a set for parties - red, white, flutes - that we purchased at a deep discount when a local nice restaurant closed down. They’re nice shapes but glass, not crystal. Then we have our “everyday guest” glasses, decent quality crystal but not so expensive that we are upset if one gets broken. Then we have the Riedels - Burgundy, Bordeaux, Flutes, and a couple others. We only have two of each except for the Burgundys, so they’re only used for me and my husband. They’re very nice, but if you look at them wrong they shatter.
For what it’s worth, I hand wash all the wine glasses & crystal, because they take up too much damn space in the dishwasher. Plus, no matter how you position them, water stays in them and I get hard water lines. Such problems I have!
Coffee maker you can set up the night before
8" chef’s knife
Taylor timer/temperature alarm (the probe is on a 3’ wire, so you can monitor food inside a grill or oven)
Diamond-coated sharpening rod
Big cutting board, with room for most or all of your chopped ingredients.
Smaller cutting boards
Separate cutting board for meat.
Toaster
Serrated bread knife
Designated plastic containers for partial onion and green pepper (they’ll always smell like onion and pepper)
Cast iron skillet
Cast iron wok
I use most of the stuff mentioned, plus I seem to often be reaching for the coarse grater or the microplane. As the arthritis gets worse, the jar opener comes in handy.
Coffee maker
Microwave
Spoons! Some one in our two-person household uses a lot of spoons and I suspect it is my wife. I do the dishes, and I am always amazed at how many spoons are in the sink.
I am often asked, " Don’t you have a dishwasher? , and I say sure- ME! Never believed in the efficiency of an automatic dishwasher, you have to wash the dishes before you put them in!
I seem to use my eight inch chef’s knife every day. Two or three times a week I cook something in my 5 1/2 qt. Le Creuset French oven. I just bought some new All Clad stainless steel stuff, and I am sure I will end up with some favorites
