My Top 5 Kitchen Tools

Posted on April 2, 2015 at 6:00 am

By Kim Harshberger

We have a deal in my house, I cook and my husband cleans. It works well for us. But we have some standards. I am all about efficiency and I hate clutter. He likes new gadgets and wants cleanup to go quickly. So the items that get used the most in my kitchen are ones that have the perfect combination of convenience and practicality. Here are the top five kitchen tools that our household just couldn’t live without.

1. Parchment paper – When my husband first saw me using parchment paper he felt it was wasteful and would frown disapprovingly at me as I tore a long stretch from the carton. Then as he assumed the role of cleaning up after my amazing meals, he saw the ease of cleanup, which convinced him it was worth the “waste”. Unlike foil, nothing sticks to parchment; not my cookies, chicken legs, fries, bacon, or even cheese. I tried to use silicon liners for a while and I really couldn’t get over their weird coating, not to mention you still have to clean them. No thank you. It’s parchment all the way for this lady.
2. Silicon Spatulas – After melting many a spatula during my first years as a cook, I moved to silicon. But it wasn’t until the last year or so I bought a spatula that is one solid piece. I have to say I absolutely love them. No more losing the end in your batter when it separates from the wooden handle! The ones pictured came with two large and two small. There are times I still think about ordering another batch so I am never without one of these puppies at the ready for my stirring, scrambling, and sautéing needs.
3. Egg Slicer – I can feel Alton Brown shaking his head at me for including a unitasker on my list, but trust me, this doesn’t have to be reserved just for your leftover Easter eggs. If you buy a good quality egg slicer it can be used not only for eggs but also strawberries, mushrooms, olives, and soft cheeses. It’s a perfect tool for little kids who want to help out in the kitchen.
4. Cheese grater – I purchased this box grater over ten years ago and I don’t think there is a day that goes by that it sits unused. I am not too shy to admit most of that use is from grating cheese. We eat a lot of cheese. However, I also use it to grate vegetables for adding to soups, salads, and stir-fries. We have tried a couple other graters over the years and I even have a grater attachment for my food processor, but nothing beats how this one is so handy and easy to clean (right into the dish washer).
5. Mini Cutting Boards – I have a whole host of large to medium sized cutting boards in my kitchen, but our mini (5”x7”) plastic cutting boards get used every day. We started out with one and the collection has grown to four. They get used for slicing cheese and apples for snacks, cucumbers and carrots for dipping, and chopping nuts for oatmeal. Sometimes we even eat off of them instead of dirtying a plate. And because they are so small, they fit perfecting in the knife drawer and they don’t take up much room in the dishwasher.

Tags: cooking, food, organization