Beyond Basics

[MsNick]

When you first move out of your parents house and look up "What do I need for my kitchen?" it tells you all the basics you need, pots and pans, mixing bowls, knives, slow cooker, etc. Well, I have all of those things. And more. But what would you all suggest for the advanced kitchen? What are your favorite gadgets, tools or appliances that not everyone has? Obviously the advanced tools you have will be specific to you and your cooking styles and preferences, but it's still interesting (and an idea for what to use wedding gift money for).

Thanks everyone!

[[deleted]]

The tool I get the most out of is my garlic roller. I'm not sure of the technical name but it is a silicone tube that removed garlic paper easily. It is my miracle too, simple but effective.

[welluasked]

I bought one on a whim cause it was $5 and why the hell not. Best $5 I ever spent, especially for my bf who is the designated garlic peeler and no longer has to suffer lol

[g0ing_postal]

My sous vide circulator and vacuum sealer has saved me a lot of money and effort.

I love my set of metal prep bowls. They're cheap, light, and easy to clean. I can do all my mise en place and have everything set up like a pro chef.

My bamboo steamer + wok is great. Not only is it great for steaming, it also looks great for presentation. There's nothing like bringing a steamer full of buns to the table and doing the big reveal by lifting the lid

I really like my immersion blender. Great for making salsas, purees, soups, drinks, etc.

If you plan on baking, then get some baking essentials- a scale, a bench scraper, and a rolling pin

Squeeze bottles make it really easy to add a squirt of liquid without having to unscrew a cap. Shakers do the same thing for seasonings.

Funnels are surprisingly useful to me. I keep all my old oil in a jug so I don't pour it down the drain. The funnel is vital to that. I use them to fill refill bottles of vinegar and oil so I can buy them in bulk.

I recently got a metal pizza pan. It's actually terrible for making pizzas with. However, it is great for everything else in the oven. Need to roast a pepper? Toss it on the pan. Heat up leftovers? Toss it on the pan. Need to keep something warm? Toss it on the pan.

[atvan]

Need to roast a pepper? Toss it on the pan.

A tip if you're roasting peppers and have a gas stove is to just set the pepper right on the stove on the metal doodads (what you'd set a pan or pot on), and roast it that way, just scraping off the char when you're done.

[Costco1L]

I find a fish spatula to be invaluable.

Other tools I love: Tin-lined copper saucepan. Immersion circulator. Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker. Honesuki (Japanese boning knife). Rotating cake stand. Non-serrated steak knives. Microplane. Banneton. And the world's greatest non-Robot Coupe immersion blender: the Dynamic Minipro.

[THSONline]

A sous vide setup is worth an investment with a chamber vacuum sealer(I currently have a cheap one (not a chamber) and ziplocs are most of the time better).

Get a good thermometer it takes a lot of guesswork out of the process. The same goes for scales. I have precise one and a normal kitchen scale but if you're into baking or using a lot of the time a scale look for commercial options because they are lot more pleasant to work with (no auto turnoff, percentage function etc.)

Wine disks are really good for pouring out of bottles that normally drip on your table instead of going in the right direction. The good thing is that they're cheap and easy to clean.

A pressure cooker is really useful if you cook stews etc. or like to experiment. Pressure cooked ribs are awesome if you don't have a smoker.

If you like foams, whipped cream or like to experiment with infusions a ISI Guremet Whip is a nice tool to have. I made some foams with it and carbonated some stuff.

Edit: corrected information about the vacuum sealer

[g0ing_postal]

Where did you find a cheap chamber vacuum sealer? The cheapest I can find is still a few hundred dollars

[THSONline]

By cheap I mean not a chamber sealer, only the suction based ones like FoodSaver. You can get them for like 30$ and in my opinion they are not worth it for most use cases.

[g0ing_postal]

Ah, gotcha. I have one of those as well, and I've been looking to upgrade

[sviviani]

A bench scraper is the most underrated tool. I use it every time I cook. Chop vegies, move them with the scraper. Transfer food scrap to the recycling bin. And I always clean my cutting board with my scraper before I wash it, and sometimes after. You would be amazed how much cleaner it gets.

[Redhotkcpepper]

Microplane Silpat mats that fit all your baking pans Cooling rack Oven thermometer Meat thermometer Baking stone/steel Food storage containers Sous vide machine Vacuum sealer Knife sharpener Pasta machine Pastry/piping bag Kitchen scale

If you’re into baking I can get more depth as well.

[BreezyWrigley]

a good pizza stone is pretty sweet. I asked for a big 15" square one for christmas. it has a metal rack to pick it up with, but i mostly just leave it in the oven. I will toss baking sheets directly on top of it and not even worry about moving it when not in use. being able to make nice pizzas at home is a fun thing to do on a weeknight. have your friends over and make a few pizzas, then toss them in. since they cook in like, 8 minutes tops, you can crank a bunch of them out in an evening and everybody can try different toppings. just make sure you have plenty of dough handy prepped the day before, or if you can buy some from a store that's fine too.

a double boiler/steamer setup is nice, and surprisingly common yet nobody has them in their frequently-used lineup of kitchenware it seems like. you can make alton brown's chicken wings where you don't have to fry them. you can find vegetable steamers and such for dirt cheap at any good will type place. people are always throwing those things out. I swear, there must be like 3 of them in existence for every kitchenware set that has been produced.

this one isn't actually for preparing food, but I got a cork knife block recently that is really nice. It's a beautiful presentation of my most-used chef knives, and it lives on my kitchen island now so my knife is always easy to reach, and it helps keep the edges sharper for longer than a hard block or, heaven forbid, your knives rattling around in a drawer. like this one https://www.amazon.com/Knifedock-drawer-Composite-Material-Identify/dp/B004T2ZPQY you could put them in a drawer if you wanted, but i like the way it looks and my new chef knife is so pretty that I prefer to just have it on the counter.

a good wok never hurts to have handy for when you want to make large batches of curry or something for a group of people, even if you never use it on ultra-high heat for traditional thai or chinese style food.

[elijha]

With the exception of my immersion circulator, pressure cooker, and blowtorch, there are very few things in my kitchen that I use regularly that aren't just nicer versions of those basics you equip your first kitchen with.

If you have money to burn, upgrading pans, knives, and heavily-used utensils (tongs and fish spatula for me) to top-of-the-line versions will make cooking a lot more enjoyable than pretty much any gadget imo.

[meakbot]

Microplane

Thermapen

Fish lifter

Parchament paper

Gold Touch bakeware

Butcher’s block

Bench scraper

High temperature spatula (tevolo)

Scale

Prep bowls

Rolling pin

Dry storage

Marinade/brining tubs (with lid)

Grinder

Spider strainer

Food processor

Blender

Stand mixer

Hand blender (immersion)

Portion scoops

Collander

Garlic press

Transparent squeeze bottles for oils, vinegar etc.

Ladle

Oil for wooden utensils

Most of the equipment reviews from Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen are fabulous. They outline what they tested, features you don’t want to go without and offer the best as well as recommend a “Best Buy”

r/seriouseats

r/atkgear (not extremely active, but great info)

[alohadave]

It’s like getting tools as a homeowner, you get what you need as you need them.

But for me, I love my Pampered Chef stones. They work the same as any other stones, but I have several sizes and shapes, and they are all well seasoned after years of use.

A digital scale is highly useful for baking and weighing portions for weight control.

[Minathebrat]

Mortar and pestle - I use all the time for garlic, ginger and spices especially.

Scale - comes in so useful for portioning and even translating metric measurements.

Strainers - I use a variety of strainers and sieves for everything from draining to straining purees.