Preparing food is a really big part of cooking and having the right kind of cooking utensils at hand will make your job so much easier. There`s a wide variety of cooking utensils on the market today, so it`s sometimes difficult to know what you should purchase. Here`s a brief cooking utensil guide to help you decide.
Basic Cooking Utensils
Basic cooking utensils are those multi-purpose tools used by every cook, from beginning home cooks to professional chefs. Stock your kitchen with basics, such as high-quality chef knives, measuring cups and spoons, spatulas, wooden spoons and various serving utensils. Be sure to purchase a can opener, a bottle opener and a minute timer as well. These basic utensils will save you time in the kitchen.
Specialty Cooking Utensils
Unlike the basic utensils, specialty cooking utensils were designed to be used for one specific cooking task. Useful specialty utensils include serving tongs, vegetable peelers, potato mashers and graters. Whisks will simplify your blending and mixing tasks, while a splatter screen can save you a great deal of clean-up time if you like to fry food. Although you can serve spaghetti and meatballs with a fork, using a pasta spoon will be far less messy. Purchase only the specialty cooking utensils that you really need, to save room in your drawers and cupboards.
Utensil Materials
Cooking utensils come in various materials, including steel, plastic, silicone and bamboo. All of these materials have their benefits and drawbacks. Steel utensils might scratch your pots and pans, but they are attractive, easy to clean and the least likely to encourage bacterial growth. Plastic cooking utensils won`t scratch your pans, but they melt quickly if left unattended. Silicone utensils are heat-resistant and comfortable, but aren`t very good for serving foods because of their flexibility. Bamboo utensils are an eco-friendly, attractive-looking choice that won`t scratch your pans. Other types of wood aren`t recommended, however, because they might leave splinters in your food.
Utensil Storage
Before buying any cooking utensils, you should first decide how you will store the items. If you plan to hang them on a rack, you`ll want to buy utensils made from the same material so that they will match each other. If you`re going to place the utensils in a caddy, you have more leeway to mix and match materials.
Making sure that you have the correct cooking utensils is vital for reducing both your prep time and your frustration levels in the kitchen. Remember to buy chefs knives and other basic cooking utensils first and then invest in specialty cooking utensils. Purchase high-quality cooking utensils that will last for a good, long time.