by Julie Hall

In the blur of day-to-day living, many of us uncelebrated cooks get into habits that hamper our style. Sounds obvious, but choosing the best kitchen tool for the task at hand is a simple but often overlooked step that can save you cut fingers, lost time, and unnecessary messes:

12 Stellar Tool Tips

Functional workspace with large cutting board, compost bucket, and colander next to sink

1. Use a large enough cutting board (17″ x 15″ works well) to accommodate all your chopping and food preparation. This gives you plenty of room to make piles, prevent spill over, and avoid awkwardness that can lead to cut fingers.
2. Keep a handy compost bucket next to the sink for fruit and vegetable cuttings. A simple, inexpensive enamel pot with a lid and handle (available at hardware stores) works well.
3. Choose the right knife. Serrated knives are right for cutting bread and things like tomatoes and raw meat. Heavy flat-edged knives work well for cutting melons, some vegetables, and chopping nuts. Small paring knives are good for mincing onions and peeling. A smallish chef’s knife sized right for your hand is perfect for a range of chopping and cutting, from apple slices to cheese.
4. Use the correct grater. Most of us use the large holes for cheeses like cheddar, but the smaller holes work better for harder items and finer jobs like parmesan, chocolate, nutmeg, and orange peel.
5. Are your spatulas dried out and stiff with age? If so, they won’t do the job and should be replaced with pliable new ones that scoop and spread easily.
6. Remember to use nonscratching (i.e., wood or latex) pancake turners and spoons for nonsticking coated pots and pans.
7. Use a large, rigid spoon (i.e., wood) for stirring thick foods, like cookie dough.
8. If you’re flipping wide things like omlettes make sure to use a wide enough turner for the job. If you’re turning heavy foods like meat, you’ll do better with a rigid turner.
9. Don’t forget to use your ladle for serving soups and stews. That’s what it’s for.
10. Use the container for the job. You don’t need to heat up a large pot for steaming a few stalks of broccoli. For a salad choose a big enough bowl so you have plenty of room for tossing without spilling the ingredients.
11. Make sure you have a good colander for rinsing vegetables, fruits, pastas, and so on. A stainless steel colander with feet stands up in the sink and protects your food from mixing with the bacteria that breed there. Stainless steel colanders also are sturdier and easier to clean than plastic collanders.
12. Are there some obvious kitchen tools you need but don’t have, like a chef’s knife that fits your hand better, a small convenient pot for heating leftovers, a better cutting board, or a good ladle? Get what you need for yourself! A small investment in the right tools will help make your life in the kitchen more productive and satisfying. Considering how much time many of us spend cooking, it makes sense to equip ourselves properly and reward all that hard work.

Image by Julie Hall.

©2009 ProgressiveKid

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