Are you upgrading your kitchen?
Or, maybe, are you building a new one?
Along with changing the colors of the walls and remodeling the kitchen countertop, if you concentrate on adding kitchen essentials, that will be the best plan. Along with having the best cooking utensils, your kitchen will be more accessible and more interesting if you add beautiful and refined cookware to your kitchen.
Numerous products can help you to redesign your old kitchen or fill your new kitchen with life. Such utensils and cookware made of high-quality materials make your kitchen look lovely and help you present new recipes at home with ease. For example, making restaurant-style pizza at home is super-easy with an advanced microwave oven.
Now, people don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. Personal and professional life is changing, and it is time to prepare something quickly. You also need to take care of taste and health. The following kitchen essentials list can help you take care of everything.
So, today, we will discuss the essential utensils and equipment in the kitchen you want to have now. Check out the list and include what you don’t have still in your kitchen.
Essential food Preparation Tools and Equipment for kitchen
Here we are listing the kitchen essentials you must have in your modern kitchen and preparing food easily and quickly. For your benefit, we are segregating the kitchen utensils into different segments so that you can find quickly which one you already have and which one you need to buy.
1. Kitchen Knife
This is one of the most important kitchen essentials that you must have. A kitchen knife can save much of your preparation time and help you to prepare varieties of recipes.
There are different types of kitchen knives available in the market, making slicing, peeling, cutting, chopping, etc., more accessible than ever. But, you may not need all types of kitchen knives. So, instead of buying the entire set, but as per your utilization. Another thing you need to remember is to purchase stainless steel knives as those won’t get rust quickly.
2. Vegetable Peeler and chopper
Though you can buy knives to peel off vegetables or fruits, having a vegetable peeler will make your task more straightforward and quicker. With this peeler, you can remove the last sign of the rinds without wasting any flesh of vegetables and fruits. With a knife, it may not be that much smoother. So, have a vegetable peeler in your kitchen.
You can also use an electric vegetable chopper to prepare the vegetables for cooking.
3. Bread Knife
Though many of you prefer to have sliced bread, there are bread-like focaccia or Panini, which you have to cut into slices. Also, if you are preparing bread at home, you will need a sharp bread knife to make the even slices. Bread knives come with a serrated edge that can go smoothly into the bread and create perfect slices. A flat knife will ruin the bread while cutting.
4. Mandolin Slicer
No, we are not talking about the musical instrument, but a fabulous kitchen essential. If you want to give your kitchen a professional look, having a mandolin will be a perfect idea. Kitchen knives can cut everything smoothly, but if you need more speed, a mandolin is a must in your kitchen. It is a stainless steel item that you can place on the kitchen top and cut vegetables as thin as paper. You can try different cuts, like julienne, French fry cuts, etc., with various blades.
5. Chopping Board
This is another critical food preparation tool you must have in your kitchen. If you want to cut vegetables, fruits, etc., quickly and want to keep the kitchen counter clean, having a chopping board is the best option. You can buy wooden cutting boards with patterns to make chopping more interesting. Different types of chopping boards are available for cutting varieties of objects, like meat, vegetables, dairy products, fish, etc.
6. Fish Spatula
If you cook fish almost regularly, this is the kitchen tool you need to have. It is tapered from edge to base and looks like a car grill. The curve at the edge of the spatula helps you to flip the fillets perfectly without breaking those. It is very lightweight, and you can also use it for flipping eggs, chicken, meat, and other objects quickly.
7. Mixing Bowls
You will need bowls in your kitchen for several purposes. Mixing bowls of different sizes will help you to mix ingredients easily for your cooking. As per your requirement, you can buy various sizes of mixing bowls. For mixing a large number of ingredients, the larger bowls will serve you the best.
8. Sieve
For straining flour while baking cakes or while rinsing rice, lentils, or any other grains, the sieve is the tool you need in your kitchen. You can also use straining water from boiled pasta and noodles and rinse vegetables perfectly with a sieve. Buy a sieve of plastic or stainless steel, and it will help you in many ways.
Kitchen essentials cookware
Among varieties of cooking tools, utensils, and bakeware, we are mentioning some to help your cooking. Have a look-
9. Skillet/Frying Pan
You will need frying pans of different sizes and designs for your kitchen. You can go for stainless steel ones, or the non-stick frying pans are also good. Whether you are deep frying or want to shallow fry, frying pans or skillets will help you. Apart from frying, you can use skillets for searing, sautéing, browning, etc. If you are planning for a frying pan, go for high quality to serve you longer. You can also use a tawa for making dosa, chapati, and roti.
10. Saucepans
You will also need saucepans of different types and sizes. For making sauces, curries, soups, etc., saucepans are very much required in your kitchen. While buying saucepans, you should make buy them according to the type and size of the stovetops. If you use it on a gas oven and induction oven, you can buy the flat bottom ones. For searing and braising meat, saucepans work better than skillets.
11. Hard-Anodized Cookware
To make cooking easier and healthier, the manufacturers have come up with hard anodized cookware. You can find saucepans, frying pans, Kadai, and many other pots and pans made of this material. The hard anodized cookware is 80% harder than other materials. Besides, the non-toxic and non-reactive coats help cook any kind of preparation without reacting with the components. You can cook tomato or use lemon juice in such utensils.
12. Stainless Steel Cookware
In almost every household, stainless steel cookware is the most common ones. These are traditional, though the designs and the effects have increased a lot nowadays. Stainless steel cookware is quite durable and serves excellent while cooking. The heavy-bottom stainless steel cookware absorbs heat quickly and distributes the heat evenly. So, you require lesser time to cook food.
13. Non-stick Cookware
If you want to cook tasty meals without using much oil, your kitchen must-have non-stick cookware. Such cookwares are easy to use as food won’t stick at the base. Therefore, it is also easy to clean. The non-stick cookware is also scratch-resistant so that you can cook in it without any tension. If you want durable and affordable kitchen essentials for your modern kitchen, non-stick cookware is the best option for you. A good alternative to Teflon-coated non-stick cookware is the cast iron cookware. Cast iron cookware is also non-stick to some extent and a healthy option for cooking.
Related: Stainless Steel vs Cast Iron vs Non-stick Cookware
14. Ceramic Cookware
If you are concerned about healthy cooking along with the good looks of your kitchen, ceramic cookware is your solution. These are also perfect for modern kitchen designs and come with lots of benefits. Ceramic cookware is easy to cook and clean. These are heat-resistant and transfer heat evenly. So, you save a lot of time and energy.
15. Grill Pan
A grill pan helps you prepare grilled vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, and whatever you want. If you buy non-stick grill pans, it will require a minimum amount of oil, and cooking becomes healthier in it. Making kebabs at home is super easy now with non-stick grill pans. Cleaning and maintenance are also accessible as you need to use a soft scrubber and mild detergent to wash it off.
16. Bakeware
There are varieties of bakeware available on the market. To surprise your dear one with a homemade birthday cake, you can buy any of this bakeware. You will need a baking sheet pan that will help you to roast or bake foods quickly for any preparation. For making yummy muffins, you can go for beautiful muffin tins. Apart from these, there are broiler pans, casserole for roti, etc., which will help you prepare many microwave dishes.
17. Cutlery set
Along with pots and pans, the cutlery set is also a vital cooking tool. It includes various types of spatula, ladles, spoons, knives, forks, and tongs. While some of those are used for cooking, some are for serving. Today, for modern kitchens, there are beautiful combinations of cutlery sets available in the market. If you want a new set, you can check out the variety of options.
Essential Serving Tools and utensils in kitchen
Are we done with cooking? Now, it is time to serve. Serving is an art. If you serve any regular food using proper tools and equipment, it will look appealing. Here are some of the best kitchen essentials that you can have for your modern kitchen. Have a look-
18. Pasta Fork
Love to eat pasta? Then having a pasta fork is essential. With this pasta fork and spoon, you can serve linguini, spaghetti, etc. Pasta fork is a large serving tool that can hold thin noodles through its tines.
19. Ladle
For serving soups, dahl, etc., ladles are essential. Foods won’t spill from it and won’t ruin the serving plate. You can avail a ladle in various sizes suitable for cooking.
20. Pizza Cutter
It not only serves you to cut pizza, but you can also use it to divide flatbreads. It can also be used in cutting brownies, tortillas, lasagna, etc. Trim your toast or make lattice strips, a pizza cutter will help you a lot. Prepare mini marshmallows, ravioli, etc with a pizza cutter.
Kitchen Storage Essentials
It crucial where you store your food. It would be best if you had different types of equipment for storing foods to last longer. Here are some of the best storage essentials to have now-
21. Glass Containers
Glass containers look good and come with wooden, glass, or metal tops. You can store raw foods, cereals, vegetables, and cooked foods in such containers available in various shapes and sizes. Apart from storing food items, you can use glass containers for varieties of purposes. You can use it for mixing drinks, preparing salad dressings, making butter, and so on.
22. Plastic Containers
While buying plastic containers for storing food, you need to check out whether the material is suitable for the purpose. You can store leftovers in such containers and keep them in the refrigerator. While buying plastic containers, check the code below the containers. Experts suggest choosing 1, 2. 4, and 5 codes as those are made of high-quality plastics and perfect for storing food items. Avoid buying plastic containers with code numbers 3 and 7.
23. Stainless Steel Containers
Stainless steel containers not only served your purpose but also look elegant on the modern kitchen countertop. These come with transparent acrylic lids so that you can check out what is inside while using them.
Using stainless steel containers is beneficial as those are made on non-toxic and non-reactive materials. You can keep any type of food item, like tomatoes, lemons, or any acidic foods in stainless steel containers as those won’t react with the material.
24. Acrylic spice Containers
Acrylic containers are pretty new and trendy and used by many households. The lids are often made of wood or plastic. You will find the containers in varieties of shapes like square, rectangular, round, etc. You can buy acrylic containers to store food so that the food remains protected from harmful bacteria and microorganisms.
25. Ceramic Containers
If you want something fancy for storing different items, ceramic containers are the best option. There are some of those that have antique looks, while some look modern. To add elegance to your kitchen, ceramic containers are perfect. But, you should handle those with care as those are fragile.
26. Canisters
The tops are unique to such storage units. The lock system is different from any other storage unit, and you need to press one side of the lid to open it. Canisters are made of hard plastic or acrylic. You can store food grains, cookies, biscuits, chocolates, etc., in canisters.
27. Plastic Zipper Bags
If you have a lesser place to store containers, plastic zipper bags are perfect. You can store prepared items in a refrigerator by keeping those in plastic zipper bags. As they are air-tight, food remains fresh and eatable for a long time. You can also use it to keep ice cream soft, keep marinated chicken in the refrigerator, etc.
28. Copper Containers
Brushed copper containers are sturdy, provide enough longevity, and give a traditional look to your kitchen. Such containers are available in sets so that you can store varieties of objects in them. Copper is very important for your health. Keeping food in it means it reacts with the material and provides enough micronutrients to your body.
Essential Kitchen Appliances
Apart from the above essential utensil and equipment in the kitchen, you the basic and smart kitchen appliances at your home.
29. Gas Stove
There are different types of gas stoves available in the market. Usually, people prefer two-burner gas stoves, but you can also go for 3 to 4-burner gas stoves. While buying a gas stove, you need to check out the material. Always buy one that distributes heat evenly and responds to the change of temperature quickly. Stainless steel gas stoves with aluminum or copper layer will be perfect. You can also try modern auto ignition gas stoves that ignites automatically when you rotate the knob.
30. Induction Cooktop
For faster cooking, many households prefer to have the best induction cooktop in their kitchen. Having an induction stove is beneficial for the modern kitchen as cooking delicious meals in less time than gas stoves is possible. Besides, it is easy to clean and maintain. You should buy induction cookware that come with a magnetic base.
31. Microwave Oven
Though many households use microwave ovens for heating foods, they can serve you in several other ways. For baking, grilling, reheating and roasting, the convection microwave oven serves the best. The microwave mode and the convection mode are used for various types of cooking. Preparing cake to making pizza, everything is now possible at home with a microwave oven.
32. Chimney
You also need to keep your kitchen neat and clean without putting in much effort. An auto clean chimney can help you there. It can suck all the excess oil, grease, and smoke while cooking and keeps the ceiling free from those. It reduces the heat while cooking by recycling the air.
33. Hand Mixer
Having a hand mixer can help you to mix several ingredients quickly. Using a hand mixer is easy as it fits all types of mixing bowls and doesn’t take much space in the kitchen cupboard because of its compact design. Whipping cream, egg whites, etc., is now easy with the best quality hand mixer. Also, the appliance is straightforward to clean.
34. Slow Cooker
A slow cooker is perfect for preparing one-pot food items. Preparing less expensive cuts of meat in a slow cooker is easy, while you can also prepare pot soups, stews, casserole dishes, etc. Cooking in a slow cooker is beneficial as it takes lesser electricity than an oven, and you get tender meat through the slow and long cooking process.
35. Barbecue Grill
A house barbecue party will be great if you have the barbecue grill in your kitchen. Grilling is a tasty and healthy cooking method where you grill vegetables or meat or chicken without greasing those much. You consume lesser fat and get the nutrients of the ingredients intact. Buy the best electric barbecue grill and enjoy a game night with yummy food and friends.
36. Sandwich Maker
There are two types of sandwich makers you can buy. The traditional one can make one to four sandwiches together, while the Panini press is a grill sandwich maker that can give you a grilled sandwich at home. If you want to make more than one sandwich together at rush hour, a sandwich maker can help you a lot.
37. Food Steamer
A food steamer is also known as a steam cooker, and it is a small kitchen appliance. Steaming can help you cook faster. In the steam cooker, you can put the material and close the lid to reduce steam escape. There are several types of models available for food steamers. You can buy as per your requirement.
38. Oven Toaster Griller (OTG)
The OTG is the abbreviation of oven, toaster, and griller. OTG is a type of oven, beneficial as you can use lesser heat in it than a microwave oven and handle the setting quickly. An OTG oven is a multi-tasking appliance that can help you in baking, roasting, grilling, etc. You can also re-heat, de-freeze, and cook different items in an OTG.
39. Air Fryer
If you are looking for a kitchen essential that helps you cook healthy and tasty food, you should have the best air fryer at home. Rapid Air Technology helps in frying objects with lesser oil or without oil. You can do frying, browning, roasting, baking, etc., in an air fryer.
Miscellaneous Kitchen Utensils and Equipments
So far, we have talked about all essential utensils and equipment in the kitchen. Apart from these, several other crucial types of equipment you need but often ignore the importance. Here are some of those essentials that help you in many ways in the kitchen-
40. Rolling Pin
In many Indian households, rotis and puris are stapled meals. So, having a rolling pin is a must. Also, if you want to prepare anything with pastries, you will require this equipment to flatten the dough. For making homemade biscuits, cookies, and lots of other types of baking goods, a rolling pin is used to flatten the dough. You can also roll up meat and vegetables with it.
41. Can Opener
It is challenging to open the cans of frozen beans, apricot, etc., or the bottles of sauces. Instead of hurting yourself, you can use a can opener. It is also easy to clean and maintain a can opener.
42. Spoons and Tongs
You need various types of spoons in your kitchen. The tablespoons and teaspoons are perfect for measuring components while making food. Besides that, you will need varieties of serving spoons too. There are stirring spoons to stir foods, while slotted spoons can separate foods from water.
Spoons are available in a variety of materials. You can buy stainless steel spoons, wooden spoons, plastic spoons, etc.
Tongs are also important kitchen essentials. It is mainly used to lift food from water, turn meat or fish on the skillet, etc. You can also serve salads with tongs.
43. Aluminium kitchen Foil
If you bake regularly, you want aluminum foils in your kitchen. If you’re going to bake potatoes or tomatoes, wrap those in kitchen foil and put them inside a microwave oven. You can also use kitchen foils to wrap food while carrying it with you. Also, the kitchen foil is made of aluminum foil which can keep away bacteria and moisture. It keeps food fresh than wrapping it in plastic.
44. Clingfilm
While you want to keep food fresh inside the refrigerator, you can use Clingfilm. These will keep your food fresh and bug-free. You can also store cooked food in plastic wraps or Clingfilm.
45. Tea Towels
Such towels help you in multiple ways. You can wipe off your wet utensils with those. Besides, you can cover the food without making it too much moist for specific preparation. Tea towels are made of cotton or linen, so they can remove moisture from the utensils and keep those perfect.
46. Dish Rack
You will enjoy a well-organized kitchen. Working in such a kitchen becomes more effortless. Having a dish rack means you can keep your utensils organized after rinsing. The excess water will be drained off after rinsing those.
47. Trash Bin
There are varieties of trash bins available for throwing garbage. As per your requirement, you can go for large or small trash bins. It is always recommended to keep two bins- one for wet waste and the other for dry ones. Thus, you can easily dump those. There are varieties of build materials for trash bins. You can go for plastic bins or metal ones.
48. Masher
For mashing potatoes, a masher is needed. It makes your task mess-free and quick, and you don’t need to put your hand in the food. A masher can also bring out the pulp from avocado. Cleaning it is also simple.
49. Stockpot
If you want to prepare broth or soup in large portions, you will need a stockpot. Buy a stockpot of durable material, and it will last longer. For serving a large group, a stockpot works the best.
50. Oven Gloves
These are essential while taking off baking trays from a microwave oven. The oven gloves will protect your hands from the heat. These are made of heat-resistant materials so that you can handle them with confidence and ease.
Kitchen Essential products : Conclusion
So, here we have mentioned almost all types of kitchen essentials that you can have in your kitchen. Each of these types of equipment will make your task easy and save much of your time. You don’t need to put so much time into cooking and can explore your other talents.
All such cookwares are available online and offline. You can choose from the best cookware brands as they will provide a warranty for a year or two. We have segregated the kitchen utensils into different sections and discuss varieties of utensils under each section for your benefit. Thus, you can understand the utilization of each appliance.
For a modified kitchen, you need advanced kitchen appliances. So, get rid of the old cooking process and get accustomed to all these appliances. Now, you may not need all these appliances for your kitchen.
Always buy based on your utilization and purpose. For example, you don’t bake too much; all the bakewares are not needed. Besides, you should buy as per the size of your kitchen. You definitely won’t want your kitchen top or kitchen cupboard to be full of unused objects. So, buy kitchen appliances as per your requirement and enjoy cooking like never before.