We’re not going to talk about the usual pots and pans here, I think it’s too basic – I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t know what a pot or pan is. We’ll go more in-depth with this list of kitchen tools (or at least a level deeper than the most basic pots and pans).
Hopefully this can help you become more accustomed to kitchen tools that you’re not that familiar with or those that you have heard about but not sure what they are for. Or, even better, put into good use the ones you already have but have been sitting in your drawers for years.
This can also give you an idea on which kitchen tools do you really need if for instance you’re into baking or if you prefer making savory dishes. You’ll have a better idea on what to shop for and which kitchen tools can really help you in the kitchen.
That said, not all these kitchen tools are needed for a functioning kitchen. In fact, having just the basic kitchen essentials can really go a long way. But of course, if you have the space and the budget, it doesn’t hurt to have these kitchen tools on hand in case you need them.
Kitchen Tools and their Uses
Salad spinner
This kitchen tool is perfect for the salad lover because it really gets rid of excess water from your greens after washing. Like seriously, I was pretty surprised when I first use it because it just made salad making a whole lot easier – no more waiting for your greens to drain using a colander. Using salad spinner makes it faster and more efficient – no more watery salad!
Just place your leafy greens after you thoroughly wash it with water in the spinner, give it a few seconds spin (which is really easy by the way!), and viola! Here’s your crisp, fresh, and clean – greens! The only cons I could think of about salad spinner is that it’s quite bulky, if you don’t have much space in the kitchen keeping it after use can be an issue. But then again, if you usually makes salad at home, then this is a life saver!
Vegetable peeler
I thought vegetable peeler is so common that everybody knows how to use it – apparently not everybody, lol! I know someone who knows what it does but not quite sure on how to actually use it – anyway, no worries because that someone is now a pro.
Vegetable peeler comes it varied shapes, some elongated with the blade parallel to the handle (which I think is easier for newbies to use because they can just go through the notion of peeling stuff like you would using a knife), some vegetable peeler comes with a wider end with the blade positioned horizontally from the handle (also easy to use, but I know if it’s just me but I cringe whenever watching a newbie use it – they look like they’re going to scrape themselves or something!).
Grater
Grater can be use in grating practically anything – I’ve used mine in grating potatoes when making hash browns (I used the big holes for this dish), grating green papayas when making pickles, grating cheese for my mac and cheese, grating cabbage for coleslaw, and more. You can also use it to zest your lemons but nowadays, there’s a particular tool for that called zester.
Kitchen shears
Kitchen shears is not your typical scissors because it comes with additional features aside from cutting herbs, fish or poultry. You can also use it to open bottle, to crack nuts or crabs, scrape fish scales, and even open cans. Some kitchen shears even come with detachable blades.
I find kitchen shears one of the often used kitchen tools, given that most now come in ‘multi-purpose’ but also because it’s so easier to work with fish if you have one. Sure, I have sharp knives for cleaning fish but it’s easier to use kitchen shears when ‘trimming’ your fish – safer even. At least I think so.
Potato masher
Although it’s called potato masher, it can be used in crushing soft foods like peas, beans, carrots, or what have you. The name is mainly because – well it’s mostly used for potatoes when making mashed potatoes.
It comes with a mashing head attached to a handle. You simple push it down the potatoes (or whatever it is you are mashing) repeatedly, until you get the consistency that you want. You can also use it when you’re trying to thicken up sauce for your stews or soups – simply scoop out the potatoes, carrots, or whatever starchy veggies you have in your dish, mash it up, and then add it back to you dish.
Garlic presser
Sure, you can simply smash your garlic using knife (especially the big ones) and you’re basically done. But if you’re prepping a lot of garlic, it’s a good idea to use garlic presser instead. Especially when you don’t want big garlic bits in your dish. For instance, I know someone who would literally pick garlic out of fried rice – like for real (not surprisingly though because that same person doesn’t like veggies in any shape or form for as long as it’s visible to the naked eye).
Garlic presser is also called garlic crusher which makes sense because you’re literally crushing the garlic cloves by forcing it out through the grid of small holes. Some garlic presser also comes in a somewhat circular form – like a greater that is bent in a circular fashion with a handle. You would simply rock it back and forth while pressing on garlic cloves until they’re all properly mashed.
Citrus juicer
This kitchen tool can come handy when you’re trying to extract juice from a lime, lemon, or oranges. The most basic ones – comes in a circular small dish with a protruding dome-like mound in the middle, works just fine. You simply pressed your halve citrus onto it. There is also the citrus presser which mechanical features is quite similar to the garlic presser.
The good thing about the manual-styled citrus juicer is that they’re smaller in size compared to the electric ones – so unless you’re into serious juicing business perhaps it’s better to stick with the manual ones if you have limited space in your kitchen cabinets.
Zester
Zester is maid especially for zesting lemons, limes, or whatever citrus you’re using. Like previously mentioned, you can also use the grater for this, but with a zester you can easily maneuver it through your citrus. Simply run it through the shape of your citrus which you can’t really do with the usual grater.
I noticed that when using a zester, you don’t just zest the citrus more easily but also more efficiently as well. The llikelihood that you’ll accidently grate the white part of the citrus’ skin (which is not a good thing because that part is bitter to the taste) is considerably less.
Kitchen knives
For many, a knife is a knife – big knife, small knife. That’s it. Oh yes, there’s bread knife, steak knife, and butter knife as well. But for cooking purposes we’re more familiar with the chef knife, and its kind of smaller version, the utility knife. I find that having a butcher’s knife is also a good thing – for instance when breaking a whole chicken apart or cutting through bones of pork ribs or whatnot.
You can opt for stamped knives or forged knives – the former is made using a sheet of steel where the blade is shaped by a powerful stamping machine and then attached to a handle, while the later is made from one block of steel that is hammered into shape – the blade and the tang is from one continuous piece of steel.
Knife sharpener
One of my pet peeves is working with a dull knife – like seriously, I can’t. (Okay, I’m probably being overly dramatic, but for real, I find cooking less enjoyable when I’m forced to used dull knives, insert eye roll here!). So yes, I do have a knife sharpener – a block looking stone called whetstone. This will surely make one of my kitchen tools essentials. Grandpa Eddie thought me how to use that, I think at 10 I already know how.
I just realized as an adult that not everybody knows how to use whetstone but the good thing though is that there are knife sharpeners that is available, both manual and electric – where you simply run the knife through it and presto! Sharp knife again!
Splatter guard
I only discovered this kitchen tool very recently, a splatter guard. And boy, how do I love thee. It makes frying so much easier – less mess for sure! I don’t like covering food when frying because then you kind of like boiling it with its steam and all. So, I oftentimes would just cover it partially (with a bit of the cover hanging over so that it won’t completely cover the pan), just to avoid the oil from splatting everywhere. But even that would mean mess because the steam and oil from the cover will drip onto the stove. I know, messy indeed.
With splatter guard, you can keep the oil from splattering all over your kitchen while still letting the steam out because it’s basically made from a fine metal mesh. The one I have is circular with a small handle on top – which is not quite a good idea because of course, it will heat up (got to excited that I add it too quickly to my shopping cart). But there are splatter guard available with long handles, usually in round shape but there are rectangular shapes as well.
Grill pan
Grill pan is not exactly your conventional pan because it has that raised ridges that also gives your food beautiful grill marks. Another purpose of those raised ridges is so that the juice and oils will drip from the food giving it a good sear. Grill pans are also usually heavier than your normal frying pans.
If you’re into grilling food, it’s a good idea to invest on grill pan. Although, you won’t get that smokey flavor when food is grilled outside using wood, you can still enjoy those beautiful charred marks and delicious grilled flavor – either it’s veggies or proteins, by using grilled pans.
Oven mitts
Oven mitts, yes, the oven mitts – the padded mitten usually just made from fabric but also comes in a combination of cloth and silicone. I don’t know why I thrift on oven mitts for some reasons, for that I paid the price of burning my hands quite a few times when taking dishes out of the oven.
I think because I’m so used to just using kitchen towels and pot holders (square shaped piece of cloth or silicone) when handling hot pots or pans (which is rarely used because pots’ ears or pan’s handles are usually heat resistant), that I felt like I don’t really need a separate mitten for that – apparently, I was wrong. So, don’t be like me. Buy oven mittens.
Trivet
Another kitchen tool that I thought is not really that important but turns out to be one after all – trivet. It is where you place the hot dish to protect your table or kitchen counter surface from heat damage. (Again, I usually just use kitchen towels or pot holder when I have to place a hot pan or pot somewhere but then again, a proper trivet really makes sense after all).
Trivets can be made from wood, metal, ceramic, fabric, cork, or silicone – you can choose from a wide selection of trivets online that will compliment your kitchen’s design.
Kitchen thermometer
Kitchen thermometer comes in many types: the instant-read thermometer, the oven thermometer, the meat thermometer, and the candy or oil thermometer. They all are for the purpose of checking the internal temperature of the food were cooking.
This comes handy when you want to nail the doneness of your meat for instance. For some, they need the thermometer to check the oil temperature when frying. Honestly, perhaps may be because I’m used to cooking already, I don’t really use thermometer – I can pretty much gauge when my roast is done (can tell, too, if I overdid it, lol!). Same thing when frying something. But of course, it doesn’t hurt to make use of the thermometer especially if doing so will boost your confidence.
Nutcracker
As the name suggest, it’s for cracking nuts. It comes in levers, screws, and ratchets design. This is very useful in cracking walnuts, pecans, almonds and other hard-shelled nuts. The lever type nutcracker can be used as well in cracking crabs.
I guess if you are into baking, and you prefer using whole nuts – then this one is a must-have. Perhaps, go for the lever type – at least you can use it as well when eating crabs.
Mortar and pestle
Before the food processor, there were mortar and pestle. Actually, up to this day, we still have it and a lot of cooks actually prefers it. Why? Simply because there’s just something about the bashing and squashing of the ingredients against the mortar and pestle itself that brings out the flavor and aroma of the spices or grains. It smells different, even the texture is different.
You’ll even find huge and really heavy mortar and pestle – the kind you normally see at your grandparents’ house. But don’t be too quick to judge these old-looking kitchen tools because they’re actually a gem to have in the kitchen.
Bottle opener
Bottle opener now comes in all shapes and forms – like seriously, the ideas can get pretty crazy sometimes that it’s turning more of a décor than an actual kitchen tool. But anyway, the basic bottle opener will – err, open bottle!
I used to have one, can’t hardly remember where it is now. But we do have a magnet-styled one that I stick on to our fridge (not that we use it there either). Now that I think of it, I can’t remember when was the last time I needed a bottle opener. Hmmm.
Wok
One of my favorite kitchen tools – the wok! It’s like a pan with a rounded bottom and high walls, only it’s bigger and normally has two ears. I love using it when sauteing or stir frying. In fact, I feel very chef-y whenever I’m cooking with my wok!
Wok can be made from carbon steel, copper, aluminum, or iron. The more modern woks also come with a non-stick coating. One of my woks actually have a flat bottom.
Steamer
Steamer comes in metal or bamboo form. It actually looks like a tower of pots (some can go up to 3, 4, or 5 levels), the bottom part contains the water and the succeeding layers which contains the food, has perforations at the bottom. When using a bamboo steamer, you simply have to place it on top of pot or wok with boiling water underneath.
I actually have a steamer and usually use it in steaming veggies, fish, dumplings, meat loaf, and in making custard desserts called flan.
Egg slicer
This is a pretty cool kitchen tool because remember how you would struggle to slice egg equally without breaking the yolk or hacking it into pieces? Yep, egg slicer will do that nice and easily for you. It has a slotted dish which holds the egg and a hinge attached with wires that need to be closed to slice the egg.
Although, it’s better to assess first how often do you really need sliced egg before you purchase this one. Not that it’s that big to begin with but remember, you don’t really want tools in your kitchen that you don’t really need – especially when you have a limited space.
Can opener
Can opener – yes, there is such a thing as can openers. Kids now a days are used to cans with easy open lids which is not surprising because almost all canned goods now come like that. Keyword though, almost – not all. So, it pays to have a can opener just in case, right?
Oh, and yes, it turns out (not surprisingly though) that not everyone knows how to use a manual can opener. The ones that look like an uneven 3-pitch fork from afar does need some getting used to to learn how to use. But there is also a mechanical one that comes with a knob that you can simply turn once you get it to have a proper grip on the lid’s lip. As you turn the knob, the can will naturally move accordingly as it cuts through it. And yes, there’s an electric can opener, too. You simply feed the can to it and it rotates on its own.
Funnel
This kitchen tool is perfect when you’re refilling your bottled container with say oil, soy sauce, vinegar, or what have you. Same thing when you’re unpacking the spices you bought into their pretty spice containers to complete the rack.
Basically, you use funnel in transferring liquid or fine or powdered ingredients into containers with small opening. They now come in collapsible form, so that makes storing it after so much easier.
Pasta spoon
Pasta spoon, also known as pasta fork or pasta ladle – is used to serve spaghetti and other pasta dishes. It kind of look like a pronged ladle usually with a hole in the middle. It’s perfect not just for serving the pasta but from scooping the pasta out of the boiling water.
And did you know that the hole in the middle of the pasta spoon actually has a purpose? (Aside of course from draining the pasta water.) It’s one of my ‘today years old’ discoveries – it turns out it’s for measuring a single serving pasta. To use it, just insert raw pasta until it fill up the hole, and then that’s it – if you’re cooking just for one then that’s how much pasta you should cook.
Melon baller
Melon baller is another cool kitchen tool that you don’t particularly think you need but once you have it, it’s pretty cool to own. It’s for making balls out of melons and other soft fruits. I once used mine in making mango balls to serve my mango ice cream with. With some creativity and imagination – you can find a use for it other than making melon balls.
Melon baller comes in plastic or metal materials or a combination of both usually with plastic or wooden handle. You can also find double sided melon baller – meaning both ends contain that small scoop, usually in smaller or bigger from the other.
Meat injector
Meat injector is perfect when you love roasting protein. You simply inject the food with your marinade to ensure it absorbs all the flavor and added moisture. This works perfectly when roasting turkey to ensure that it’s beautifully seasoned inside and out.
Meat injector comes in varying needle sizes – make sure to use the thicker ones when your sauce or marinade is quite herby or garlicky.
Egg yolk separator
You have probably seen tips and tricks on how to separate egg yoks but if you’re still having a hard time, just get yourself an egg yolk separator and make your life so much easier. It’s not that big to begin with so storing it after use it not a problem, so sure, do include this one the next time you shop for kitchen tools.
It comes in plastic, stainless steel, silicone, and even ceramic material. Some egg yolk separator looks like a small strainer while the silicone ones comes in all kinds of designs with the sole purpose of ‘sucking’ the egg yolk (pretty much like how the bottle-trick works).
Meat mallet
Meat mallet, also called steak hammer, is a hammer-looking kitchen tool that tenderizes meat. It has a short handle with dual textured face that have different levels of spikes or tooth (you’ll also find some with one face sporting a flat surface). As you hammer the meat, the meat mallet cuts through muscle fibers making your protein tender.
This works perfectly when you’re cooking with particularly tough cuts of meat. I for one, use it when frying porkchops – after hammering the meat, I’ll simply season it with salt and pepper, dip it in egg wash, give it a good coating of flour, and then fry!
Crinkle blade
Crinkle blade usually comes in the form of a knife with a wavy or zigzag-patterned blade – hence crinkle. When used for cutting veggies or fruits, it gives them that decorative looking crinkled shape. It’s great to use when cooking veggies, it certainly adds to the look of your sauted veggies for instance. You can also use it when making veggie chips or sticks or when pickling.
You can also find crinkle blade that looks very similar to a dough cutter – only it has crinkle blades. Other’s actually prefer to use this one because they can better control it especially when working with tough veggies like carrots.
Kitchen timer
Oh yes, the kitchen timer – also called egg timer, but of course it’s not just for the timing of cooking eggs. It basically assists you in keeping tract of the time while cooking, well, basically anything. This is especially useful when you’re multitasking in the kitchen.
I use mine when I’m making multiple dishes at the same time or when I have company in the kitchen (lol, who can relate – losing track of time as you chat away, the next thing you know something’s already burning).
These are just 30 of the kitchen tools out there – there are more of course! Perhaps, some other time will discuss a few more. For now, review these 30 on the list and see which ones you think you need in your kitchen.
