The kitchen can either come with great amounts of pleasure or great amounts of stress. Luckily, with a few great kitchen tools that have multiple purposes, you'll be able to fret less and whip up many more delicious meals. These 10 affordable tools are essentials in any kitchen, and you probably have several of them in your own. Read on to find out the many uses for each tool and share your tips in the comments!
Silicone Spatulas
Silicone spatulas come in pretty colors that brighten up your kitchen, and they come in very handy while baking, but I like to use mine for frying or scrambling eggs. They're delicate on the egg and help keep things from sticking to the pan too much.
Pastry Scraper
Typically, pastry scrapers are used for handling pastry dough. This handy tool is also incredibly useful when it comes to transferring chopped vegetables from your cutting board to your pan.
Microplane Zester/Grater
One of my very favorite tools in the kitchen, the Microplane zester/grater is perfect for zesting all kinds of citrus fruits, as well as for grating garlic finely, which brings out excellent flavor. You can also use it to grate whole nutmeg and hard cheeses.
Mandoline
This simple handheld tool speeds up prep work by a lot. I use mine for evenly and thinly slicing onions so that they're more palatable, and all different fruits and vegetables to get great texture in dishes. I particularly love using my mandoline to slice vegetables for pizza toppings. You can also slice up salami and cheese for great presentation. It's not as bulky as some of the other mandolines on the market, and it's a cinch to clean.
Cheese Grater
Grate all the cheese you could ever want on this sturdy grater, but don't forget to try grating onions as well! Grated onions imparts a lot of flavor into recipes without adding texture, making it a great base for soups and stews. I also love to grate carrots for salads using my cheese grater.
Pyrex Baking Dish
I can't sing the praises enough of the Pyrex baking dish. I'm convinced that it plays a role in roasting up a deliciously moist chicken, and I am a huge fan of how it evenly bakes sweets. I use my Pyrex dish on a daily basis. Roast vegetables, meats, and bake up all kinds of sweet recipes in yours.
Pyrex Measuring Cup
The clear glass cup makes for easy measuring, but I use mine primarily for mixing up salad dressings. You can adjust your measurements along the way and easily pour your homemade dressing all over your salad. It's also incredibly useful for pouring eggs out one at a time, which many cake recipes call for.
Cast-Iron Skillet
Once you start cooking with cast-iron pans, it's very difficult to go back. This heirloom pan comes in all different sizes and it ensures even cooking. A number of recipes can be cooked using cast-iron, including bread, pizza, cakes, meat, and they will all turn out with excellent flavor.
Mason Jars
From vases for fresh flowers to more traditional jam or pickle containers, mason jars are one of the most useful containers you could ever own. Use yours to store leftovers easily in your refrigerator or bring meals to work or school (salads, soups, rice bowls, smoothies, etc.). They are easy to clean and last forever. Never again taste the undesirable flavor that comes from plastic containers in your food.
Mesh Strainer
Dust powdered sugar on your chocolate soufflé with a mesh strainer, or rinse rice and beans before cooking. Strain stocks and soups or position it on top of a pot of boiling water to steam vegetables.
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