Cook’s Tools

Stepping into the kitchen is like stepping into a battlefield. Cooking, and food preparation is the battle. And you are the warrior, the fighter in that battlefield. And in every battle, you must always be well-equipped. A kitchen must be clad with the right equipment to survive the gruesome battle of cooking and food preparation.

You can make most meals with only a good knife, a wooden spoon and a set of tongs. However, there are a couple of items you can do with, and more often than not, should be in most cook’s kitchens. The necessities under the cook’s tools list include the pots, pans, knives and spatulas, so choose the best quality, as you’ll be with them forever.

I have prepared a list of the “essentials” for a cook. These cook’s tools will surely be used often. Aside from the essentials, a list on the items which you wouldn’t need, unless you have one big kitchen and vast funds to spend, has also been made.

The following items are not arranged according to importance, but instead are just as important as each other. Essential to a cook are: tongs, preferably around 12" long and can be used either fully opened or locked into a mostly-closed position; wooden spoons and spatulas, have as many as you have room for; spatulas, use metal for metal pans and plastic-coated or wood for non-stick; a rasper (also called a microplane): For grating cheese or chocolate or nutmeg; sieve on a handle; a vegetable peeler; a can opener, either mechanical or electric. In essence, never forget about the cutting tools (knives, scissors) as they are just as useful as for other purposes, even outside the kitchen.

As the kitchen is a battlefield, never go to war without the big guns. Most of the important cook’s tools are the heavy equipment, or the kitchen stove, oven. Toasters, and microwave ovens are also slowly becoming a necessity, specially in this fast paced environment. Choosing the most expensive items is not really choosing the best items. Instead, look for those that have quality assurance, and are already known for the products they manufacture.

Okay, wrapping it up, the essentials in a cook’s tool set are those tools, equipments that are most often used in cooking and food preparation. Examples are knives, stoves, pans, spatulas, and so on.

Now, let’s dig into the tools which are present in the market, but are not usually used in the kitchen. We may call them nuisances, or excess baggage in the kitchen. But hey, they can be of use seasonally. Unnecessary cook’s tools include Egg slicers, tomato slicers, specialized choppers, all you need in place of this is a good knife; garlic presses, all one needs is a good chef’s knife and cutting board. These are generally difficult to wash and bulky in a gadget drawer.

There’s also that egg timer. I mean, who needs an egg timer? Is three minutes that hard to take count of already? Corn zippers, too. Again, all you need is a good knife. One of the most common unnecessary cook’s tool at home are those seasonal items, say for example, that heart shaped pan for Valentine’s Day, or the Christmas themed jar.

Wrapping it up once more, unnecessary tools are those that only take up space and more often than, spend more time in storage than in actual use.

Having knowledge on the necessary equipment in your cook’s tool set will help you save space in your kitchen, and money in your wallets. Let’s remember that the best cook’s tools are not necessarily those that are expensive, but rather those that are valuable, more often used, and will last as long.