Everyone needs the basics to make a meal – knives, cutting board, pots and pans, spatulas, spoons, mixing bowls, measuring cups, you get the idea. Beyond that, what gadgets or pieces of equipment do you REALLY need? A good knife and some practice can take the place of many gadgets sold today. Here is what I think are the most important pieces of equipment.
Citrus Squeezer – a lemon squeezer can double as a lime squeezer. Sure you can do without this squeezer and juice by hand but you will not get all the juice you paid for. Citrus juice has so many uses as a condiment, ingredient in salad dressing, or to deglaze a pan. Cost: $1.25-$15.00
Microplane – even a well-trained cook cannot get garlic or ginger as fine as a microplane. You can also use for chocolate and hard cheese. Cost: $10-$15
Salad Spinner – yes, you could use paper towels or kitchen towels. However, you will never get lettuce as dry as you will with a salad spinner. Since dressing slides off of wet lettuce, the salad spinner will take your salads to the next level. Cost: $15-$30
Blender – the gold standard is the Vitamix. However, even if you only spring for a budget blender, get one. Smoothies, soups, dressings, and dips all are possible thanks to this kitchen staple. Cost: $30 to $400 and up.
Rice Cooker – I was a rice cooker hold out for far too many years. Now I am not sure how I lived without it. You can get a really expensive one or an inexpensive one, just get one. Your brown rice and other whole grains will never be the same. See my blog about when I got my first rice cooker. Cost: $20-$400 and up.
Honorable mention:
Food Processor – Since I worked for Cuisinart doing demonstrations during college, thought I should mention how useful a food processor is. If you are not really into cooking, this is not essential. However, if you make things such as hummus, pesto, recipes that call for large quantities of chopped nuts, chopped herbs, or shredded cheese, and you have the cabinet space, a food processor may be a good purchase. Food processors can also uniformly slice fruits and vegetables. Cost: $40-$200 and up.
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