If you’ve set a goal to eat more home-cooked meals and less convenience food, then one of your first steps should be ensuring that your kitchen is properly kitted out. Having the right tools will make it much easier and more enjoyable to prepare food at home. Here are some of the essentials you should stock up on in your kitchen.
Good quality, sharp knives
Chopping meat, vegetables, and other ingredients can be a real chore if you’re using cheap or old knives. It is definitely worth investing a little more to buy some high-quality knives. It will make chopping much easier and safer. You could also invest in a knife sharpener to prevent your knives from going blunt over time.
Cutting boards
You will also need a surface to chop those vegetables on, rather than cutting directly on your kitchen countertops. Some countertops, like laminate, can be easily damaged by sharp objects. Natural stone, like granite countertops, is much more durable and scratch-resistant, but it is still sensible to use cutting boards in order to protect your kitchen countertops and keep them in good condition. And it protects your knives, too, as cutting on hard stone can dull them.
It’s a good idea to own at least one wooden cutting board and one plastic one. You shouldn’t use a wooden board to prepare and chop meat as it can absorb and retain the meat juices, causing a greater risk of salmonella. Always ensure you use a different cutting board to prepare meat and vegetables.
Digital thermometer
If you’re going to be cooking meat, then a digital thermometer will help you achieve the perfect balance between well-cooked and still nice and juicy on the inside. This won’t only ensure your meals taste good, but also helps you avoid problems like food poisoning from undercooked meat.
A whisk
Whether you’re preparing a sauce or baking a cake, a simple metal whisk is an incredibly useful tool. You may have tried substituting a whisk with a fork in the past, but you’ll find that this is much more challenging and won’t produce as good of a result.
Measuring tools
Following recipes is difficult if you’re having to estimate how much of each ingredient to put in your dish, especially if you’re a novice. Measuring spoons, cups, and jugs all come in handy to make sure you get the perfect balance of ingredients to create the right flavor.
Spatulas
A spatula comes in handy for a variety of cooking and baking processes. We’d recommend at least a metal spatula and a silicone spatula to suit different tasks. Wooden spoons and spatulas also come in handy a lot of the time.
Make sure your kitchen and countertops are well-prepared for cooking or baking at home. And if you want more tips on looking after your kitchen countertops, get in touch with Amanzi Granite in Kernersville, NC.
