Anyone who loves to cook has essentials that they hold dear in the kitchen. These make cooking easier and save time. Saving time and effort helps us perceive cooking as a pleasure rather than an exhausting obligation. That's why kitchen essentials matter.
Although everybody has their own set of favorite kitchen appliances, some are everyone's favorite. In this article, we have listed five kitchen appliances that simplify meal preparation greatly. Continue to read to find out the five kitchen essentials that will make your life easier.
- Immersion blender
This small electric appliance, which takes up little space on the counter, contributes considerably beyond its size. Using an immersion blender, making soups, sauces, roux, and many more is a breeze. Immersion blenders relieve the stress of "sauce failures."
An immersion blender is very easy to operate. Just put it in the pot or jar and hit one button. That's it! The comforting bızzz sound ensures that you will enjoy your food or drink at its best consistency and texture.
My favorite foods to prepare using an immersion blender are homemade mayonnaise, mashed potatoes, Mediterranean-style red lentil soup, smoothies, and milkshakes.
Whether you are a seasoned home chef or a kitchen enthusiast, you can find several uses for an immersion blender.
- Chef's knife
I had no idea how significant a knife could be until I purchased a chef's knife several years ago. It changed the way I looked at cooking. Today, I'm the proud owner of a good-quality chef's knife set with a specific knife assigned to a particular duty. I have a meat knife, another one for chopping vegetables, and one reserved for slicing bread.
You may have noticed that professional chefs are very particular about using their own knives and carrying them around. This happens for a reason; preparing meals requires lots of knife work, and premium-quality knives ease the workload.
A chef's knife is not something cheap, that's for sure. On the other hand, it is a long-term investment. A high-quality knife can be used for a very long time, making your money’s worth, as long as you take good care of it.
- Fruit and vegetable chopper
A multifunctional fruit and vegetable chopper makes many food preparation tasks easier. These choppers, sometimes called "dicers," have removable and adjustable parts and pieces suitable for several uses.
Using the chopper, you can chop, slice, mince, and dice vegetables and fruits.
For many, making a salad is time-consuming. Manual choppers reduce the complexity of salad making. Preparing fruit salads is also fun with a chopper.
You can elevate your game to sophisticated cuts such as brunoise, chiffonade, and julienne with a vegetable and fruit chopper. The fruit and vegetable choppers have cutting apparatus in different sizes and shapes. Many choppers also have slicers and graters to meet all your cutting needs.
- Garlic mincer
Garlic enhances the flavor of savory meals and used in every cuisine of the world. Many savory meal recipes call for cloves of garlic, making it a staple ingredient.
Although tasty, peeling and chopping garlic can be a hassle, not to mention the lingering odor it leaves on the fingers. Having a garlic mincer eliminates all the unpleasantness associated with these.
A garlic mincer is a one-task tool, but the comfort it brings justifies its limited function. Crush the garlic clove with the palm of your hand, peel the clove, and pop it into the mincer. Squeeze it directly into the bowl or pot, and you have your hassle-free garlic in seconds.
- Measuring spoons and cups
No matter your level of culinary expertise, you will need at least one set of measuring spoons and cups. If you are into culinary shopping like myself, you will likely end up with more than one set.
You have probably seen the most famous and experienced chefs measure flour with a measuring cup or salt with a measuring teaspoon. That's because cooking is chemistry at its core, and measurements do matter.
Even if you make the recipe for the 100th time, measuring ingredients is still better than eyeballing. For one, using precise measurements prevents accidents that can easily happen when approximating.