Having the right kitchen equipment makes preparing a delicious meal an effortless experience, so you can focus on what you’re cooking in either a professional kitchen or household space. The most common kitchen tools can also provide chefs a more agile process without feeling pressed for time, especially in restaurant kitchens when multiple orders come in. Kitchen utensils like knives, cutting boards, vegetable slicers, whisks, and more offer the flexibility to make this possible.
Here at JB Prince, we have an essential kitchen equipment list and an overview of their uses to help you make the best choice for your needs.
Cutting Boards
As a kitchen utensil, cutting boards are used to protect surfaces when preparing, slicing, or cutting a variety of foods. When choosing one, keep in mind the material it comes in to best match what you’re going to use it most for. Choices like rubber cutting boards are great for all types of foods with features like scratch-resistance, no absorption of liquids and odors, and a soft enough texture that won’t damage knives. You can browse through our selection of cutting boards in different thicknesses to match your needs.
There are also cutting boards that come in a maple wood material. Maple wood cutting boards are popular options for a hard surface in kitchens and are resistant against any bacterial growth.
Kitchen Spoons
To serve main courses, drizzle sauces over meals, stir soups, and other liquids, kitchen spoons are an essential part of your kitchen equipment. They’re a great option when cooking foods requiring conservation of liquids in a pot like pasta, beans, and soups with choices including perforated sauce spoons or slotted spoons. These options feature openings that provide efficiency for cooks and offer many other uses.
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Measure with accuracy using utensils like cups and spoons whether you’re cooking with liquids or dry ingredients. For flexibility, use measuring cups with an angled feature to eliminate the need to go back and forth adjusting ingredients. You can simply look straight down and still be able to see its markings. You can also use them for mixing drinks when needed.
Measuring spoons usually come in a set of smaller measurements like ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon. They’re kept together by a ring that goes through the holes at the end of each spoon as they settle into each other for efficiency when storing and flexibility when a recipe needs a variety of measurements.
Spatulas
Spatulas are hand-held kitchen tools also known as turners depending on their material type. Silicone spatulas, or scrapers, are primarily used for baking for mixing ingredients together and to scrape down the sides in bowls. With their resistance against high heat, it has become a popular kitchen staple many chefs can’t imagine themselves cooking without.
A flatter spatula made of stainless steel called a turner is ideal for flipping foods. They have a wider structure that makes flipping pancakes, fish, crab cakes, and more very easy. Sometimes not having the right utensil can slow you down and makes it more difficult to cook food correctly.
Vegetable Slicers
Precisely cut onions, peppers, potatoes, carrots, zucchinis, and other vegetables with a vegetable slicer. This kitchen tool is commonly used to save time when you’re cooking bigger meals and helps you keep vegetables at a consistent size so they cook evenly. Some models feature multiple widths to cut by simply adjusting their knobs or handles, while others come in a fixed size. They’re a great way to avoid any knife problems that can sometimes happen in any culinary situation by doing the work for you.
Graters and Zesters
The biggest difference between graters and zesters is that graters have a variety of hole sizes while zesters have small holes. If you want to add citrus zest to baking goods and other foods, it’s a good idea to make fine cuts without cutting the white pith on oranges, limes, and lemons with a zester. If you’re looking to still cut these fruits but as a peel on top of a plate or beverage, you can still use graters for them.
With graters that have bigger holes of various sizes, it gives you a versatile tool in the kitchen so you can grate cheese, nuts, cinnamon, and other soft foods.
Whisks
This cooking utensil is perfect for blending ingredients while also smoothing the texture out in mixing bowls. Whisks have a long handle with multiple wired loops at the end of it to whip or whisk to a variety of consistencies. Much of the time you’ll see them used for scrambled eggs or to whip baking toppings like frosting or whip cream.
The most common type is the balloon whisk featuring large and wide loops to withstand even the heaviest mixtures. Even though you could use this whisk for sauces, there is a straight whisk or a French whisk that can work better for their texture. The French whisk is thicker and straighter than the balloon whisk. It has more compact wires rounding at the end that’ll allow you to move liquids with precision while also being able to reach to the very bottom of deeper bowls.
This list of must-have kitchen equipment makes it easier to cook and prepare a variety of foods, whether you’re a professional or at-home chef. Whatever your cooking needs, you can find these kitchen utensils at JB Prince to start your kitchen assortment or keep adding to your collection.
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