History of kitchen utensils is nearly 3 million years old. As the archaeological records tell us, the stone age was followed by bronze and then by iron age. This era eventually produced more useful utensils for food preparation. Things really started to change in the 8th century with the start of the Roman Empire. They introduced a variety of new kitchen utensils to the people, including spoons, meat grinders, meat hooks, strainers, spatulas, pots and kettles that were mostly made up of iron and bronze. However, frying pans, tongs, mallets, and slotted spoons became popular in the middle ages. By this time, the kitchens also had rolling pins, cheese graters, roasting forks and even weighing scales.
Cooking is not only a basic human need today but more of a hobby and love for the taste of various cooked foods. From dairy to green foods (vegetables) and from fresh organic meat to seafood; your kitchen requires specific tools to help yourself in a better cooking experience. Firstly, it is very important to get to know about different types of kitchen utensils, so you can be sure to use only the appropriate cooking tools while preparing the food. No matter, you are cooking at home or operating a professional cookery; you would require a good number of handy equipment to be present nearby. Cooking is not only a basic human need but also can be a great hobby and love for the taste of various entree dishes, desserts, appetizers and more!
7 Most Important Cooking Utensils And Their Usage
Here are seven of the basic and most important utensils that must be available in your kitchen for a happy, effortless and organized cooking experience.
1. Cutting Knives
- Basic kitchen knife comes in different sizes typically in a half-foot blade or larger. The first step in cooking is mostly the cutting of various food items, like vegetables and different forms of meat. The basic kitchen knife serves well for the two said items.
- The specialized bread knives are also an important part of kitchen when it comes to baking. The usual bread knife is two times larger than the kitchen knives with rough and triangle-shaped edges. This shape helps to cut through the bread quickly like a saw instead of separating it.
The ideal cutting tool for separating meat from bones (such as fish or rib bones) is the boning knife. This comes in almost the same size of the regular kitchen knife. However, with the shape of a slightly pointing nose. It easily cuts with its sharp blades, while its thin and pointing design allows to poke into the food in a more effective way. When it comes to trim special meat cuts or fillets, this knife is what you need in your hand.
2. Spatula
Another must-have kitchen utensil! A spatula has a flat yet wide and flexible blade that helps in cooking, pouring, mixing, turning, spreading and whatnot. A wide variety of spatula is introduced in the markets for your ease, including, plastic, wood, silicone, metal, flat, wide, etc. This tool can slide under the food, toss or flip it to the other side, pick it up for serving. Moreover, it works great as a stirrer as well.
Ideally, this utensil should have the ability to withstand a high temperature (around 600°F) so that it doesn’t melt while cooking.
3. Measuring spoons and cups
Measuring spoons are essential not only for professional cooks but for beginners too. Accurate quantity of ingredients is an important factor to make any dish perfectly delicious and measuring spoons can help in achieving that goal. Similarly, whether you are making a cake, pizza or bread, measuring cups are crucial in baking. It makes pouring and measuring liquid effortless, therefore, you can use it for regular cooking too. It is ideal to get a set of measuring tools rather buying them individually. It will decrease the risk of losing any piece at the time of need.
4. Tongs
Tongs are known as extended hands in the world of kitchen utensils. They are super useful not just for flipping big food pieces but they are also used for moving the ingredients of the frying pan to prevent burns.
This tool is available in different sizes and materials, from small or larger size and metal to silicon. However, regardless of the size and material, tongs can be a great BBQ partner, and it can be used for serving different food items as well. The utensil aids in preventing contamination by keeping hands out of the food throughout the whole cooking process
5. Whisk
While making an egg, preparing soup or baking a cake, you would need a power tool around you which is known as whisk! This tool is useful for manual mix, quick stir and blending. Unlike an automated mixer, you can control the function of a whisk manually so things don’t get overdone. It comes in small as well as large sizes. So now you can effortlessly beat your eggs fluffy without getting your hands messy while doing so. Whisks are available in several forms, like spiral, multi-wire, etc. You can choose a suitable one that matches your kitchen requirements the most.
6. Steel Grater
Baking a pizza and need shredded cheese to top up, what would you need? A steel grater! Roasting chicken and need lemon zest to add in the sauce, what to do? Use a steel grater! Going to make potato cutlets, how to shred boiled potatoes? Steel grater will help! In short, a steel grater can reduce your cooking time by grating big pieces of food into smaller that would take forever when done with a regular knife (regardless of its sharpness). Moreover, it can be utilized for peeling off the outer layer of fruits and vegetables too, like lemon, orange, carrots, etc.
The steel graters usually come in a box shape that has several serrations on all four sides or you can get it in a board-form with a handle.
7. Cutting Boards
Cutting, chopping, shredding; you would need a surface to do all these and that surface shouldn’t be your kitchen counter. Why? Because you wouldn’t want your countertop to get scratches from the knife and of course the mess dripping around after cutting won’t look pleasant either. That’s when you need a cutting board! It is designed to provide a clean and suitable surface to work on the food. The board has the ability to withstand harsh knife stokes and it can be easily washed later hence less mess.
Wooden boards are available in plastic and wood as well, but it is suggested to get a plastic one because wooden boards absorb food juices and can grow bacteria. Whereas, plastic is easy to clean and nothing penetrates inside the surface.
Conclusion
Cooking and baking is fun only when you have a handful of kitchen utensils in your reach. Above-mentioned are a few must-have tools that will not only make your cooking effortless but will also save a lot of your time. Just imagine chopping a carrot for desert with a knife, but it is already making you tired and frustrated. However, if you use a grater instead, you can get all the carrots shredded in less time comparatively. Similarly, if you want to cut bread or meat pieces with a grater that won’t be ideally possible so you use a knife instead which is another useful and important kitchen utensil.
The key is to think smartly! It is important to know the actual uses of utensils than stacking them idol on the countertop.