Treat Yourself to the Best of Cooking With These Kitchen Utensils
Holidays are approaching, which means you need to go shopping. If anyone on your list is serious about cooking, drinking and eating, we have the perfect tools and toys to make their kitchen happier and more delicious.
Immersion circulator Sous Vide
I may be a little biased when it comes tothis particular cooking method , but it cannot be denied that the immersion circulator will seriously improve your play in certain culinary endeavors. Meat , seafood , creamy desserts and eggs all turn out flawlessly cooked like this, and the immersion circulator is also a great tool for enriching your palate with oils, vinegar and booze .
There are two great models for the home chef, the Anova Precision Cooker ($ 149–199) and the ChefSteps’ Joule ($ 199). Both are great tasting food, but there are some differences in form and function, so check out our sous video demo to find the one that’s right for you (or for your very lucky gift).
Herb scissors
Chopping garlic and other herbs into small pieces can be a huge pain, but these Jenaluca Stainless Steel Herb Scissors ($ 12) cuts your work in five times and produces sequentially sliced small pieces of delicious herb confetti ready to be added to soups, stews, pasta or used as a beautiful side dish.
Oven Draft
You may be a much smoother operator than me, but I can’t tell you how many times I burned my hand while trying to pull something out of the oven. This heat-resistant, pleasant-looking Joie Silicone Oven Tray ($ 5) lets you drag hot meals and pans (or even the grate itself) from the deepest depths of the oven, preventing injury from burns. (It would also be nice to stick out of stockings.)
Silicone scraper and scoop
Under no circumstances should Nutella be thrown away with the can, and the $ 6 Tovolo Scoop & Spread multipurpose spreader ensures you get every bite. This silicone spreader not only ensures that there is no scatter, but also distributes soft cheeses in the most pleasant way.
Cake Snack Pan
How many times have you baked a cake for a celebration, decorated it, and then waited with bated breath, not knowing what it tasted like until it was served? The Quirky Nibble Cake Pan ($ 41), which comes with a built-in little miniature self, takes away your worries about doing-it-really-well by letting you literally eat your cake and eat it.
Hands Free Bag Holder
I put a lot of things in plastic bags, be it sous vide or food storage . I only have two hands, and sometimes I need both to pour, scrape, or otherwise transfer food from the original container to the specified bag. This neat little rack clip from Jokari ($ 10) makes the whole process a lot easier by keeping your sandwich, freezer, and other resealable bags open and stable, preventing spills, slipping and other disturbances.
Reusable Fudgers
Resealable bags have their own time and place, but storing all the little things and ends in a plastic bag can be really boring. These Washable Silicone Food Huggers ($ 10) are suitable for all types of fruits and vegetables and can be used to close the lids of jars, wide-mouth bottles and food bowls, eliminating the need for plastic wrap. They can also be washed in the dishwasher, which is nice because washing things by hand is no easy task.
Thermopop thermometer
Everyone, and I mean everyone, should have a kitchen thermometer, and you can’t beat the ultra-fast, splash- proof , and inexpensive ThermoWorks ThermoPop that can be found for as little as $ 29 on their website . Not only is it extremely responsive – it gives a reading in about five seconds – but the digital display rotates at the touch of a button, allowing you to read the exact temperature from any angle and with any hand.
Heat transfer knife
I keep butter on the counter, but in the colder months it can be tricky to spread. The Spread That Butter Knife ($ 20) uses your body’s heat to heat the butter, and the serrated edge scrapes it into very easily flowing ribbons, making your morning toast a little more accessible.
Jigger Bottle Stoppers
These cute little jiggers ($ 19.99 for four) will make you feel like a peer-to-peer mixologist and scientist with borders in both ounce and milliliter. These multi-functional stoppers are also very unlikely, as they live right on your drink, making it easy to make cocktails at home.
Spice Monthly Subscription
Playing with new spices and flavors is a lot of fun, but buying a whole batch of unfamiliar spices can be daunting (and expensive). The Raw Spice Bar’s Spice of the Month Club ($ 6 / month and up) introduces exciting new seasonings with just enough spice to get you moving (or flowing) and delectable recipes to ensure you get the most flavorful bang for your buck. …
Hydro Flask
You should all probably drink more water, and the best way to do this is to have water with you at all times. Cold water is more pleasant than warm water (at least to me), and the double-insulated stainless steel Hydro Flask will keep your drink cold for up to 24 hours, and it’s available in a wide variety of sizes and colors (from $ 22). ). If you don’t want to drink more water, that’s okay too, you can always refill your Hydroflask with booze . I recommend gin.
Immersion blender
I’ve mentioned this before, but my blender is an underrated workhorse in my kitchen. It is not only portable, lightweight, but also easy to operate and clean. It makes great cocktails , smoothies, aioli, sauces and pastas, and is also indispensable for making creamy soups.
Some super trendy models can go up to $ 100, but I love my two-speed Cuisinart , which can be found on Amazon for just thirty dollars .