Home Cook Tool Kit
Sourcing high quality ingredients leads to more nutrients and more flavor, but without the right tools, cooking these ingredients can be overwhelming and frustrating.
A chef never goes without their tools, and you shouldn’t either! Having the right tools increases efficiency, confidence and your ability to draw out the natural, powerful flavors within your food.
During the Pre-Work section of my online course, I share my favorite tools and why you should include them in your own Home Cook Tool Kit. Throughout the course, I will show you how I use each tool in my own kitchen and I will teach you how to use each tool to make preparing whole ingredients easier. Rather than buying the next cooking gadget meant for one specific task, invest in these versatile tools that you will be able to use over and over to achieve flavorful, nutrient dense results.
Today, I am sharing my favorite 4 tools that cost under $20.
HOME COOK TOOL KIT
1.) Microplane, $10-$15
Microplane aka The flavor maker.
I use my microplane to grate garlic and ginger into teeny tiny pieces spread throughout the dish, so the eater isn’t overwhelmed with a fibrous bite. I also grate frozen liver to add a powerful nutrient punch while getting used to the flavor of liver.
I prefer the microplane bland specifically, which you can find at your local kitchen store for $10-$15. This tool should be cleaned immediately after use to avoid food to dry and eventually dull the blade. My favorite microplane use is grating citrus zest which adds brightness and zing to your food. If you’re looking to get fancy with your food preparation, you can grate nutmeg and chocolate over desserts!
I recommend this Coarse Family Grater, or this classic Zester Grater.
2.) Clean Hands, $0
Now, this may sound like cheating when making a Tool Kit blog post, but your hands powerful tools second only to your chef’s knife. I use my hands to massage fat into vegetables, to ensure there is enough space on a roasting pan and to mix and form meatballs.
Using your hands to become familiar with the texture of your food helps you to connect with your food on another level. By using your hands you’ll become familiar with how much fat and salt is needed to dress roasted veggies, you’ll become more confident in picking out the freshest quality vegetables at the market and it will show in the quality of your food. Throughout my course, I will guide you through using your hands to determine doneness of meat and test the texture of roasted veggies. Your senses are a major player in cooking and using your hands to feel and become familiar with textures will help you produce more flavorful food.
I keep two towels in my kitchen, the first is an extra clean to dry my hands off after washing with soap and warm water. The second is a ‘dirty ’ towel for wiping off my hands of spices, fat or excess salt when I don’t need a full wash. This helps to limit the amount of times I need to wash my hands and prevents my skin from getting too dry.
When using your hands, make sure they are very clean including under your nails, back of your hands and wrists. I like to use a nail brush like this one to ensure that my hands are very clean.
3.) Large Glass Bowl, $15-$20 for the set
When you’re mixing with your hands, you’re going to need a large bowl to prevent spillage. I use my large bowl for mixing fat into veggies, herbs into meatballs and creating my favorite Dilly Salmon Salad. I prefer the largest bowl for all of my dishes because the more room you have to mix, the better mixed it will be.
A key to flavor and texture is to ensure that herbs and seasonings as well as fat are evenly distributed throughout all ingredients in the dish. Having a large bowl encourages mixing and doesn’t stop you from getting your hands in there to mix and the result is flavor that is well distributed throughout your food.
My favorite bowl is the 4 qt. from Pyrex with a lid so that you can save leftovers. Or you can get the full set with lids here.
4.) Tongs, $5-$15
Veggies need to be flipped, and there is no better flipper than a pair of metal tongs. Using metal tongs with a metal tip are sturdy and allow you to have control over the tool unlike a spatula or wooden spoon. I use my metal tongs for flipping veggies, pulling a whole chicken out of the instant pot and stirring things in my cast iron.
I prefer the metal tips to silicone because they allow more control and less slipping. However, metal tips cannot be used in non-stick, teflon coated pans. The metal tips will scrape off the toxic coating and it can contaminate your food. In my course, Culinary Healing, I share why I have switched to all non-toxic cookware and how to make the switch in your own home without breaking the budget.
I purchase my tongs at a local restaurant supply store for less than $5. They can also be found here, in a set of two for less than $15.
These are my favorite 4 tools under $20. Sign up for my cooking course, Culinary Healing today to learn more about the tools I use in my own kitchen to make delicious, easy to prepare meals.
