The Kitchen Counter Equipment
A guide to my favorite kitchen gadgets and tools
Hi friends!
Before we dive into cooking together, I wanted to give you a list of kitchen items that will be helpful for you as you jump into The Kitchen Counter recipes. This is not homework, and it’s not even a “must have list” to proceed. It’s a “nice to have” list, and one that will make your cooking life quicker, easier and a lot more enjoyable (and delicious!). This list is not meant to overwhelm you or create a feeling of obligation to purchase anything. But rather to spark inspiration and curiosity, and to tip toe you out of your cooking comfort zone. If any of these items don’t interest you, then just keep scrolling - you will still be able to make all The Kitchen Counter recipes by improvising and substituting. Also, many of these items you may already have (or you may already have something just like it). Nevertheless, here is a list of kitchen items that I love having around:
(This is also a great gift list for anyone in your life that loves to cook!)
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Equipment:
Having a sturdy sheet pan with a roasting rack that fits perfectly inside it, is probably one of the most versatile and useful pieces of cooking equipment you can have. Besides being able to roast pieces of meat or bacon elevated from the sheet pan for more even cooking, these racks are amazing when you are frying items to drain the oil and keep things from getting soggy. They are also great for cooling things like cookies, scones, etc. If you don’t already have a set like this, I highly encourage you to invest in one. Find it here
From grating garlic to ginger, effortlessly grating lemon and lime zest, to airy showers of parmesan cheese, grated chocolate or nutmeg, there is not a lot this magical little grater can’t do. They are inexpensive and don’t take up a lot of room either. I replace mine every year (I use mine a lot) because like anything sharp, it will dull with continued use. Find it here.
Stainless Steel Spider Strainer
I find myself grabbing for this “spider” (looks like a spiders web don’t it?) all the time. I use it when I’m frying things, blanching (boiling) vegetables, or use it to strain shaped pasta (like penne or rigatoni) that’s going straight into a pasta sauce. It’s so nice to have around. Find it here.
These are great for rinsing rice, quinoa or other small grains/legumes, straining a sauce or dusting powdered sugar onto a finished dessert. You may not use them everyday, but it sure is nice to have them around when you need them. Find them here.
I would be lost without my digital thermometer. It takes the mystery and guessing out of knowing when things are done. I use it for checking the internal temperature of cooked proteins, but also to check the temperature of oil when I am frying foods, and even for desserts like custards and ice cream. You can even check for doneness of baked goods by taking the internal temp (informative article on that here). Find my favorite digital thermometer here.
Having a mandoline slicer makes easy work for slicing fruits and veggies. You can slice paper thin red onions for sandwiches and burgers, thin slices of potatoes for scallop potatoes or chips, or radishes and cucumber slices for salads just to name a few things. An adjustable mandoline is really nice as it lets you easily set the thickness of the item you are slicing. I like to use a safety glove instead of the shield it comes with, as I can have better command of the food I am trying to slice (to me the shields feel clumsy and they tear up the food). Find both the mandolines I like here and here, and the safety glove I like here
You don’t have to be a pastry chef to own a kitchen scale. Kitchen scales are indispensable to have around whether you do a lot of baking or not. If you want accurate measurements of anything, it’s time to invest in a kitchen scale. For example, I like to weigh things like hamburgers or meatballs to make sure they are all the same size, or if a recipe calls for 4 oz of something (like ricotta for example), I can accurately measure it without guessing. Besides accurate measuring, the other reason I love using my scale, is you use way less dishes. You get to just weigh everything into the bowl and skip all the measuring cups and spoons. Find my favorite home scale here.
Metal bench scrapers are the workhorse of the kitchen. Helping you scoop up diced vegetables from your cutting board, cutting doughs and pastries and (as their name implies) scraping counters ( the bench) clean from flour or sticky doughs. I grab mine pretty much daily. My favorite one is here.
Even though you most likely already have knives, I still wanted to include a Chefs Knife in this list. And that is because it is the number one most essential tool for any chef or home cook. An 8-inch Chefs Knife is the perfect size for most jobs, and you will probably grab it for most cooking tasks. I love the Hedley & Bennett line found here for home cooks as they are sturdy, well built and fairly priced for the quality (I do have this knife and my whole family uses it). Other great brands are Misen found here or Victorinox found here. For a great serrated knife you’ll grab over and over try this one. All these knives are hardy, easy to use and easy to care for.
*For inquiring, curious minds, the knives I use most are a Japanese line called Kikuichi, the specific knives I use are here and here and here. The company is over 750 years old and got their start making Samurai swords for emperors! I don’t necessarily recommend these knives to home cooks, however, as they take some time to master, are hard to care for and are costly (But my cheffy heart just loooooves them).
A word about sharpening vs honing your knives…
Knives should be sharpened about every 6 months depending on usage, but not more than that. I like to get mine professionally sharpened but you can use home sharpening systems if that suits you better (this one and this one come most recommended for home sharpening systems). Honing should be done every few days or if you cook like me, everyday. You do that with a honing rod (many people think this is sharpening your knife but it’s simply realigning the teeth of the knife as opposed to creating a whole new edge as sharpening does. This honing rod will do the trick. For instructions on honing your knife watch this great tutorial.
*For an analogy, think of honing as conditioning your hair every day or two, and sharpening as giving your hair a trim to cut off the dead ends every few months.
6 qt Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
My most used pot is absolutely my 6qt enameled cast iron dutch oven. I use it to braise meats in the oven all day, I use it to make soups, stews, chilis, pasta sauces and even to boil pasta. I find 6 qts to be just about the perfect size for all these jobs. I have also found no difference in functionality between some of the more expensive brands and the less expensive brands, however the less expensive brands do tend to chip much easier so be aware of that. I have this Amazon Basics one and I love it, and for $56 I could not pass it up. Find it here.
Pre-Cut Parchment Paper Sheets
Unless I am high heat roasting something where I opt for foil (a better conductor of heat) I reach for parchment paper. It’s indispensable for baking things like cookies and scones, and I also use it to line cake pans. I also use it to roast veggies where I am not looking for a lot of caramelization (spaghetti squash or a baked potato for example). It makes clean-up a breeze. Having it pre-cut to fit a standard size half sheet pan like this one makes things even easier. We designate an entire drawer that fits the sheets perfectly, but if you’re short on room just roll them up like a map with a rubber band and store the sheets that way.
Cast iron skillets don’t have to be intimidating to care for, and once you get the hang of caring for them, you will find yourself grabbing for it for pretty much everything. I love to preheat them in the oven before throwing in some quartered potatoes tossed with oil for the crispiest roast potatoes ever. Searing a steak in a smoking hot cast iron skillet is a game changer. You can roast whole chickens, bake biscuits, cornbread, sourdough bread, and even make desserts in them like fruit cobblers and crisps. I also love to shallow fry in them as they are great at retaining even heat. My preferred brand is Lodge, but any brand will be fine. I love a 10.25 inch or a 12 inch, these are the perfect size for most jobs. Seasoning them and caring for them really is easy and can become a part of your routine. For easy to follow instructions on seasoning and caring for your cast iron skillet, you can watch this great tutorial here. If you are curious about the differences between cast iron and enameled cast iron, this is a great article on that.
If you have never toasted a whole spice and ground it fresh, you haven’t fully lived yet! Cumin seed for example, quickly toasted and then ground in a mortar and pestle, gives off such a different, more complex aroma than the pre-ground stuff in the bottle - piquant, smokey and almost citrusy - it’s intoxicating. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pre-ground spices, in fact I use them all the time and they are wonderfully convenient. But sometimes taking the extra steps to toast and grind a whole spice is well worth the effort for certain applications where that spice will really shine. I will only ask you to do this when I feel “the juice is worth the squeeze” as my husband Nick says. Find a great manual mortar and pestle here, or the electric coffee/spice grinder that I love for bigger jobs here.
Other helpful items:
Sturdy large cutting board or Boos Block
Stick Blender, Blender, Bullet or Vitamix
Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer or other Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Metal Tongs steamer basket butchers twine liquid measuring cups
Potato ricer (for the best mashed potatoes ever) Mis en place (prep) bowls
I hope this list was helpful and that it gets you inspired and more confident to get into the kitchen! Take your time, build your collection slowly and most of all have fun. See you at The Kitchen Counter!
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Thank you!
Ahhh V, it is so nice to read you and being (back) in your kitchen sphere!! I'm so excited as I already have several of the items you list in your staple equipments - some even same brand ;) - and the tips for some items I may add to my kitchen. Thank you for doing this substack and for sharing your amazing knowledge with us ♥️ Can't wait for what's to come.