Tools — The Useful Few
Vegetable Peelers — used for removing skin from vegetables. Can also be used to make slivers for hard cheeses such as Parmesan or Cheddar.
Scissors — use to snip herbs, trimming fats from meats, removing fins from fish or other tasks in cooking where scissors might be handy.
Egg Slicers — use to make nice uniform slices of eggs.
Graters — use for all kinds or kitchen tasks from grating cheeses to vegetables such as carrots.
Metal tongs — great for use in handling vegetables when sautéing or lifting and turning meats while cooking.
Basting Spoons — for use in spooning juices of meats to keep moist while baking.
Draining Spoons — used primarily for removing solid foods from liquids when cooking. They are typically slotted or perforated for easy drainage.
Pastry Brushes — use for brushing butter, eggs or jam glazes, especially in baking.
Wood spoons and spatulas — available in a variety of sizes and shapes, are useful for tasks ranging from mixing batters to stirring as in “stir fry”, depending on the size and shape of spoon.
Ladles — used for serving soups, gravies, stews and punches or any tasks where a long-handled scoop is needed.
Mashers — used to mash cooked vegetables.
Measuring cups — used in cooking to measure wet and dry ingredients. The standard sizes are from ¼ to ½ cup, although they can also be found in measurements up to 4 cups.
Measuring Spoons — used for accurate measuring especially when baking. These range from 1/8 up to 2 tablespoons.
Whisks (wooden, flat, balloon, small round, rotary beaters, floppy) — available in a variety of sizes and shapes depending on the tasks, these are essential in any good cooks kitchen.
Wooden Hammers or Mallets — used primarily for tenderizing tough cuts of meat or to flatten meats such as chicken breast. They are also used to break apart crab claws and lobster.
