6/28/2016

The Best Kitchen Equipment Every Home Chef Should Have


When you’re far-reaching about cooking high-quality dishes, you’re going to need the right tools. That means getting the best freezer and fridge to preserve your ingredients. After that, you also need the right kitchen equipment for food preparation such as the best frying pan for induction stovetops. Again, you need to save up to get high-quality items for your kitchen, so that everything is easier and food preparation is a pleasure and not a chore.

Here are some types of kitchen equipment no self-respecting home chef should be without:
  • Induction stove. You can start by getting an ultra-efficient induction stove instead of the old gas stoves others typically use. It uses about 85% of the energy it produces as heat, unlike gas stoves that use only 40%. It makes cooking a much faster process. It’s also much safer because the top of the stove doesn’t heat up, and it’s easier to clean because you can just wipe it down with a damp cloth.
  • Induction stove cookware. You can’t just use your standard aluminum or copper pans unless they’re designed for an induction stove because they have a magnetic layer on the bottom of the pan. It’s quite easy to find these pots and pans. Perhaps your greatest challenge (which you must meet if you want to be considered a real home chef) is to find the best frying pan for induction stovetops, especially if you want the non-stick variety. Some people even forgo the pleasures of fried eggs in the morning because this type of frying pan can be hard to find. You may find a beautiful cast iron or ceramic pan for this purpose, especially if you get it hot enough, and you use a lot of oil for frying.
  • A complete set of knives. The best chefs in the world are insanely obsessed about their knives, and you may want to develop such an attitude as well. Of course, you will have to keep them sharp. Among the knives, you’ll need the following:
               a.   Paring knife. This will probably the knife you’re going to use the most. 
                   These measure about 3 to 4 inches and they’re ideal for small to medium chopping tasks as 
                    well as for peeling vegetables.
b.   Chef’s knife. For bigger jobs, you’ll need a knife like this. They measure 8 to 10 inches, and you’re going to need them (and love them) because they can really do the bigger tasks with no problem. The best ones are German, Swiss, or Japanese. They’re easy to use, and they can give you quick cuts and thin slices.
c.  Bread knife. Despite its name, you don’t limit the use of its serrated blade on just bread. You can use it to grind some ingredients that you won’t want to use your chef’s knife for. 
  • Vegetable peeler. While you can use your knife to peel vegetables, a proper veggie peeler is a much more convenient option. That means ignoring all those cheap plastic models you commonly find in supermarkets. You’ll want a peeler that’s comfortable to handle and comes with a pivoting blade that can stay sharp for a long while.
  • Knife sharpener. If you want to maximize the benefits, you get with your knives, and you’re going to need a sharpener. Some are simply steel rods or stones, while other electric models are much easier to use. Just make you get the right one so you can get a sharp edge quickly each time without ruining your knife. But without a sharpener, maintaining your knives will be impossible.
  • Can opener. You can’t escape the use of canned goods in food preparation these days. But you don’t need to add to your frustration by using a can opener that’s tough to use and breaks down after only a few times you use it. An electric can opener can do the job nicely, although others prefer a swing arm can opener you need to crank by hand.
  • Spatula. These tools will probably rival your knives as the equipment you use most often. It’s best to get different types of spatulas for various tasks. A slotted offset spatula works well with meat. A sharp-edged metal spatula can be used for delicate food like fish, while a standard non-stick plastic spatula should do for non-stick cookware.
  • Spoons. Like spatulas, spoons are also among the most frequently used tools in the kitchen. You can get several different wooden spoons (various head shapes and different sizes) which you can use for taste testing, scraping, and stirring. You also need metal spoons because they don’t hold moisture. These are perfect for both stirring and serving dishes. Finally, you also need a ladle, which is like a spoon except it has a deep bowl in the spoon head. It is great to serve soup and punch, along with apportioning rice.
  • Measuring cups (and spoons). Read any recipe, and you’ll find particular quantities for various ingredients. So you need a set of these things which do the primary job of providing easy-to-read measurements.
  • Box grater. It is the tool you use for zesting, grating, and slicing veggies and other ingredients. It’s indispensable for “hiding” the vegetables that children love to hate, which makes them a necessary weapon in any mom’s arsenal.
  • Colander. It is a bowl with perforations at the bottom and the sides. It comes in handy for a lot of tasks. In general, there are two versions of this. There’s the standalone version you can use to drain food like pasta and recently washed produce. Then there’s also the handheld version which you can use to strain liquids quickly as well as to sift flour.

These are the very basic tools you’ll need in your kitchen if you plan to take food preparation seriously. Get all these and you’re on your way. It may be hard at first, especially when you’re looking for the best frying pan for induction stovetops. But if you take care to choose the best kitchen equipment, you can ensure that the dishes you prepare can meet even your most demanding culinary standards. 

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