The Right Tools For Your Kitchen

By Paul Bielinski

As a home builder and a home cook, I know the importance of a well-built kitchen. But the craftsmanship and design are just the start, you also need the perfect tools. Here are some tips for making sure you’ve got the right equipment for every recipe.

THE BASICS

Any cook that’s worth their weight in salt will tell you that the most important tool in your drawer is a trusty chef’s knife, because a good one can do almost anything. Forget all the gizmos on the market, they’re too expensive and take up space in your cabinets. Instead, spend a little extra on a quality knife and you’ll never regret it. If you treat your knife right with proper cleaning, sharpening, and storage, it will last for years.

THE MUST-HAVES

Cooking is all about time management and multitasking, so anything that makes your life easier is worth every penny. Personally, I couldn’t live without a food processor and a kitchen mixer. The food processor’s ability to chop, dice, mince, grate, and slice to any consistency will save you time, and the kitchen mixer will stiff, whip, and mix ingredients while you work on other parts of your recipe.

THE GADGETS

We like to keep it simple in the kitchen. I’m content with the staples — knives, pots, pans, cutting boards, measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls... you get the gist. And to be honest, most culinary gadgets aren’t worth the price tag. But if there’s one high-tech tool I will wholeheartedly recommend, it’s a sous vide immersion circulator. It sounds intimidating, but really it’s just a device to control water flow and temperature around a submerged, vacuum-sealed bag of whatever you’re cooking. I recently gave one to my other half as a gift, and it was so well received that I haven’t even been allowed to use it myself. If you want some of the most succulent meals you’ve ever tasted, look into sous vide.

THE LEFTOVERS

We can’t always be members of the clean plate club. So remember when storing your food to use glass. Some plastic containers have been shown to have harmful chemicals like BPA that can leach into your food. Even if you’re not an organic junkie like myself, you don’t want harmful chemicals in your food. Go glass, you’ll thank me in twenty years.

Are you an awesome home cook looking for the right kitchen? Check out our floor plans here.