Overview

Since Covid I have started cooking more, I have found a number of tools and techniques that have made my cooking much easier. The following is a list of some of these and explanations why I decided to add them to this list (note: none of the links are affiliated, they are just links).

Tools and Techniques

Large Cutting Board - OXO Carving Cutting Board

The first tool I found that made a marked difference was using a large cutting board (21.1"x14.5") rather than the size I have always used (12.9"x9"). While the normal size I had used in the pass was passible cutting more than one medium sized thing would quickly take over the whole board. By scaling up the board size it was easier to keep everything on the cutting board and maneuver the knife to make the cuts I needed to use. I have found the OXO carving & cutting board (21.1"x14.5") to be great with little grippy feet and sized between useability and maneuverability. Now I just wish it came in more colors.

Meat Cutting Board - OXO Utility Cutting Board

Quickly after a large cutting board I started thinking about picking up more cutting boards for different uses. I picked up a smaller OXO cutting board in red to act as my raw meat cutting board. I would have gotten another of the large boards but they only come in the one color for now. By having a separate cutting board for raw meat it is easier to track where the raw meat has been and prevent cross contamination.

Chef Knife - Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife

One mainstay on every list like this one is a good chef knife, this list will not be any different. A good chefs knife is something that will be used any time you cook whether it is to break down vegetables, meat or just mince garlic. A good chef knife doesn't necessarily mean expensive, there are a number of good fairly inexpensive knifes on the market today. While I haven't tried all of them, I have come to love my 8" Victorinox Fibrox chef knife. It is comfortable to hold, keeps an edge for a good amount of time and was fairly inexpensive when I bought it ($35).

Mini Spatula - GIR Mini Spatula

As I have slowly expanded my kitchen utensils one I didn't realize I would use with such frequency is a small silicone spatula. These small spatulas are great for working with 1-2 scrambled eggs, moving a small amount of something in a frying pan or scraping down small to medium sized bowel. It can do everything a large spatula can do but in a more confined space.

Skinny Tongs - Stainless Steel Tongs

My small (skinny) tongs are the one of the few things on this list I had never thought about wanting in a kitchen till I saw someone using them. A few months back I happened upon a youtuber using these tongs to rotate potatos around on a pan and immediately thought they looked useful. At the time I could not find them but hoped to find something similar in the future. Ironically a few weeks later they put together a video of useful kitchen tools and included links for the tongs, I of course immediately bought them. They are fantastic for rotating potstickers, vegetables or really anything smallish with fairly flat sides. The only thing that would make them better would be plasti dipping the ends to be safer on non stick.

Citrus Juicer - OXO Citrus Squeezer

So, this one is pretty straight forward, instead of juicing lemons and limes by hand having a tool to provide mechanical leverage to get more juice out of citrus is just easier. The size I have is to small for oranges (I need to get something else for those) but for all smaller citrus it works great.

Microplanner - Microplane Classic Zester and Grater

From zesting fruit to grating parmesan a good microplaner makes it incredibly easy. This tool is another one of those it just works and doesn't need much explanation. The only tip here would be to buy new ones as the old ones get dull, they have a limited life span you can't use the same one forever.

Liquid Measuring Cups - Pyrex Glass Measuring Cups (1 Cup, 2 Cup and 4 Cup)

With the Pyrex Glass Measuring Cups I originally only wanted the 1 Cup version. However my Mom got me the full set for the holidays... and after using them for the past year I wouldn't want to give up any size. They are invaluable for liquids especially those over a 1 cup measurement, additionally the spout on them makes it quite easy to pour without creating a massive mess.

Coarse Kosher Salt - Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt

While growing up, like many people, I only really used table salt. After hearing about the benefits of larger grain salt I decided to pick some up. While it is definitely not magical, the ability to pinch the salt to add rather than pouring or measuring into dishes has been a nice way to have a better feel for the amount of salt I am adding to a dish. Like many cooks I have also taken to a small bowl of salt next to the pepper on the counter which makes it super convenient to access.

Pepper Grinder - Unicorn Magnum Pepper Mill

For years I had had been refilling a plastic pepper grinder that came prefilled from the grocery store, it wasn't fantastic, but it worked. After starting to cook more and upgrading other tools in the kitchen I finally broke down and bought a new pepper grinder. I didn't think it would make a huge difference but it really does, from the ability to sent the grind to just being comfortable and easy to use I honestly don't know why I didn't upgrade it sooner. Sure it was slightly expensive, but for something I use on a daily basis and will last hopefully many and many years it makes the list.

Meat Thermometer - ThermaWork Pop

For years I got by with a old analog meat thermometer but as I started getting more into bbq and grilling I decided it was time to get something that would provide better accuracy so I could not under cook or over cook over charcoal. After much deliberation I decided to go with a ThermaWork pop. It is a cheap but accurate small ThermaWork that had never let me down.

Garbage Bowel

Unlike many of the other things on this list this is not a specific tool, rather the idea of using a bowel during cooking to provide an easy place to put scraps from breaking down vegetables and fruits. By keeping a bowl near by it allows me to keep my cutting board clear of extraneous bits and pieces.

Mise En Place

Like the above item this is not a thing rather a technique. Mise En Places means everything in its place, in practice this means prepping all the ingredients before starting to cook. By planning ahead there is no confusion about what comes next and timing is harder to throw off. Not everything needs to be prepped right away, some prep can be left to do while cooking is going on, but depending on the dish or dishes the time during to prep can change drastically.

Conclusion

Obviously there are many other necessary or useful kitchen tools in a kitchen (we haven't touched on pans). For me this list represents inexpensive tools and techniques I have found that has made my cooking easier, quicker and more fun. Hopefully one or more of these items help you fill out your kitchen.