Every chef needs a set of handy kitchen tools that help make cooking faster and easier. These must-have kitchen essentials enhance the cooking process and are actually useful rather than gimmicky.
5 Amazing Kitchen Tools
1. Mandoline
A mandoline is practically a necessity. It is useful for a variety of purposes including slicing onions, making fries, chopping veggies, and more. I especially love to use my mandoline when making scalloped potatoes since it can slice the potatoes exactly to ¼” inch width. Most mandolines are collapsible for easy storage and many are dishwasher safe for fast cleaning.
2. Herb Scissors
Mincing herbs is far easier with a sharp pair of herb scissors. Most fresh herbs are incredibly delicate so if you slice them up with a dull knife, the force will wilt and brown them. Herb scissors are a much better option since the quick snip keeps them looking fresh.
3. Microplane Grater
Microplane graters are useful for more than just grating cheese. They are incredibly helpful for preparing garlic, ginger, and zests. Simply wash up a lemon and glide it along the sharp blades to prepare a zest. A microplane is essential when preparing ginger since it manages to preserve the juices while making it small enough to mix into sauces.
4. Salad Spinner
Skip the unnecessary plastic packaging and extra cost of prewashed salad greens by buying lettuce in its whole state. With a salad spinner, washing and prepping your own lettuce for salads is far easier and much more cost effective. By simply pushing down on a button, moist lettuce gets whirled into dryness.
There is also quite a few alternative uses for salad spinners. Try spinning pasta after draining it to get it bone dry which will help sauce adhere to it better. You can also speed dry herbs and fruits with a quick whirl.
5. Cookie Dough Scoop
Cookie dough scoops are useful for more than baking sweets. They are also incredibly useful for scooping ice cream, making melon balls, and creating crevices in fruits and veggies for stuffing. You can find them in sizes ranging from half an ounce to three-eighths of an ounce.
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