15 Essential Kitchen Tools You Should Have at Home

See those fancy kitchen gadgets on ads or celebrity chef cooking shows? Yes, there are cool and fantastic additions in kitchens. But you don’t really need them for a functional cooking area. What’s important are the basic kitchen tools you should have for a convenient and efficient cooking experience.

Here are the Most Important Kitchen Tools You Should Have Today

1. Pans

There are different types of pans, but you generally need only two in a Filipino kitchen.

First is the frying pan which helps you quickly prepare breakfast such as eggs, hotdogs, longganisa or sinangag. It is perfect for frying, searing, or sautéing different ingredients, and it works for certain sauces too. You can also opt for a non-stick pan to avoid difficult washing sessions after cooking.

And second, you should have a saucepan too. Although a frying pan works well for sauces, dishes with a lot of liquid make a sauce pan handy. Think of cooking soup or simmering pasta among others. 

2. Pots

There are many types of pots available too. But a stock pot is probably the most flexible among them, so you should think of choosing one.

This type of pot is big enough for a huge amount of soup, and helps the contents to evenly heat. This makes it perfect for cooking large amounts of pasta or for making stocks.

3. Baking Dish

Especially the glass type, baking dishes are some of the most important kitchen tools you should have when there’s an oven in your home.

They help you bake, roast, or cook some other food in the oven efficiently. And they sit well in your oven without causing any damage to it.

4. Knives

Of course, you need one or a few knives at home. If you can only buy one, choose the chef knife for a more flexible tool. This is capable of cutting almost all ingredients you need to handle.

But if you can buy a few, then add paring and serrated knives in your list. Serrated knives are perfect for cutting through soft food such as bread and tomatoes. Whereas paring knives handle tasks that big blades cannot do.

5. Measuring Cups and Spoons

Right measurements help you churn out the best dishes in the kitchen. Yes, it is critical for pastries, but it is important for almost any other food too.

That’s why measuring cups and spoons come in handy every now and then in any kitchen. 

6. Cooking Spoons

Cooking spoons are important for cooking sauces and soups. Aside from helping you get enough liquid from the pot or pan in one dip, they help you fish out solid food conveniently as well. 

7. Spatula

Some call it the fish turner or fish slice. But whatever you call a spatula, it is used for doing a lot of frying tasks in the kitchen.

They help you flip fishes, burger patties, eggs and pancakes. Additionally, its thin edges also help you slice through the food you’re preparing, and its holes are there to minimize grease.

8. Shears

Shears are important for doing some cutting tasks in your kitchen too. Some are specially designed for cutting through veggies and meat.

Think of cutting at the joint or backbones of chicken. However, they come in handy when opening sealed ingredient packages too.

9. Tongs

This is one of the essential kitchen tools you should have because it acts as your finger or arm extension when cooking.

They help you hold solid ingredients securely, which is something that a simple cooking spoon or spatula cannot do.

10. Chopping Board

If you need knives, you need chopping boards too. They help you avoid chopping ingredients directly over the countertop, on tables, or on dining plates.

On a side note, experts suggest using two or more chopping boards when cooking. This is to avoid cross-contamination from one ingredient to another.

11. Colander

Draining liquid off certain ingredients is a part of many cooking activities. Think of draining liquid from pasta or noodles. Or giving you a big help when preparing coconut milk from coconut meat.

12. Whisk

Whether for beating eggs or emulsifying vinegar, a whisk is a big help for any kitchen. Yes, you can grab a fork to do the job, but the whisk still does it best. 

13. Graters

Popular for grating cheese for spaghetti, graters are useful for other dishes too. This is one of the kitchen tools you should have for preparing many Filipino dishes. Think of grating carrots for Pinoy style meatballs or grating cassava for pichi-pichi.

14. Can Opener

Filipinos have the habit of using knives or even spoons for opening cans. But aside from causing risk of injuries, this also damages the inappropriate utensils. That is why you must have a can opener to deal with cans that don’t have an easy-to-open feature.

15. Airtight Sealed Containers

Many Filipino households miss having this type of storage device in their kitchen. Airtight sealed containers help in holding your ingredients securely.

This is helpful for avoiding messy spills that translate to large cleaning chores. Of course, it keeps your ingredients safe from contaminants too.

Remember these Important Kitchen Tools You Should Have at Home

Cooking is a vital activity in any home. That is why you should prepare your kitchen accordingly for it. Be sure that these essential kitchen tools you should have are all present in your cooking area today! They help you have a convenient, efficient, and enjoyable cooking experience with any dish.