Want to cook like a chef? Or simply need to have the right tools in your kitchen to make every day dishes? Here's a list of essential cooking utensils, for apprentice kitchen helpers and the most seasoned cooks alike. It is always a pleasure to go through kitchen utensils’ shops; you can find addresses of kitchen tools' shops on many online websites like
www.the-shops.co.uk/ for instance.
PREPARATION: WHICH UTENSILS IN YOUR KITCHEN?
All recipes, even the simplest, require the use of kitchen utensils to properly measure, cut or mix the ingredients. Starting with the measuring glass, graduated, it makes it easy to measure the right amount of flour, sugar, milk or water for your preparations. The alternative to the measuring glass is the kitchen scale, even if you sometimes need to know how to make learned mathematical conversions. Then, a hollow container often made of stainless steel, as well as the whisk are indispensable to mix the ingredients well together. For everything related to fruits and vegetables, first of all, you need a good knife and a cutting board. Also useful are the peeler and the multifunctional grater. The latter is ideal for slicing courgettes or cucumbers, preparing grated carrots or covering a cheese quiche without too much effort.
THE ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT FOR COOKING
Once your recipe is ready, it still needs to be cooked. To do this, equip yourself with a pie pan for desserts or quiches, an ovenproof dish for meat, fish or gratins, or a stewpot (cast iron casseroles are without a doubt the queens of this category) for your sauce or stew dishes. For everyday dishes, buy a set of stainless steel pots and pans and one or two non-stick pans. And to stir your small dishes while they're simmering, think about wooden cutlery. With them, there's no need to worry about scratching the bottom of a pan or the lining of a frying pan! Another clever accessory is the silicone spatula (sometimes called a "maryse"), which can be used to scrape every last drop off a chocolate topping or vegetable soup.
THE RIGHT ACCESSORIES FOR PRESERVING YOUR FOOD
What if you have a piece of pie, some risotto or a piece of cake left over? Because of course, you can't just throw it away and ruin it. Don't panic: nowadays, it's very easy to find resealable tins, made of silicone for example, to keep your leftovers in an optimal way. Purists will turn to glass jars and containers. The plus: buy labels to write what they contain; it will give a decorative touch to your kitchen! Another option: resealable bags, perfect for freezing leftovers.
Otherwise, a roll of plastic wrap or better yet, a beeswax Bee wrap will do the trick to cover a dish to keep in the fridge. The accessory we love: the clips designed to easily reseal pasta or rice packets once opened. The drama of the upside-down package will be history! Finally, the more adventurous can invest in a vacuum-packaging kit. It is very useful when cooking in advance for the whole family. It's up to you!