Ten of the best Kitchen essentials I choose NOT to live without. Each one of these items makes my time in the kitchen quintessentially easier and therefore a little more joyous.
It has taken me a long time to say goodbye to many non-essentials in my kitchen. I’m amazed at the accumulation of gadgets, appliances and other items I simply don’t need, but have held onto for one reason or another. I started asking myself, “Would I buy this again today?”. If the answer was no, I got rid of it. (It’s a great question to ask yourself, when cleaning out your closet too.) It’s so easy to hold onto things we have completed our relationships with, but no longer need. This is the clutter of our lives. Wouldn’t you say it’s so much better to have one amazing kitchen knife instead of ten mediocre ones?
It’s not surprising our kitchens are overrun with things we really don’t need. Everywhere we look, we’re bombarded with information on what our kitchens are currently missing.
- Cooking shows recommend their products.
- Infomercials constantly have new appliances to show us.
- Celebrity chef cookware that’s all the rage and in every magazine.
However, the ten kitchen essentials I have listed here are things I use daily/weekly for years. I would replace all of them if they wore out or became broken. Every single one of these items makes my life in the kitchen a little bit easier and therefore fills me with joy. And we all know when kitchen items bring you joy…you’re definitely getting old. Ha.
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Citrus Juicer
If you have spent any time around this website, you know how obsessed I am with this citrus juicer. So how does one become passionate about a citrus juicer? Honestly, I don’t even know when or how I ever started using this particular juicer for my lemons and limes. I just know I can’t live without it. Here’s the thing about this press, it doubles the amount of juice you can squeeze out of a lemon or lime. That’s impressive! Even citrus that is somewhat dry, this gadget is going to extract all the available juice. (You’ll be amazed at how much juice can be extracted from a lemon or lime that appears dry when you squeeze it with your hands.) With certain recipes, like my Lemon Drop Martini or my 5-Minute Spicy Lemon Broccoli, I indicate to use the juice of one lemon. You would need to use two lemons to get the amount of juice I’m getting from one lemon using this press. There are some cheaper presses out there, but they do not compare to this very well made version.
Dual Breakfast Sandwich Maker
Who wants another small appliance taking up space in their kitchen cabinets? I don’t. However, years ago I started using the single version of this breakfast sandwich maker and have since upgraded to the dual version. Breakfast sandwich making is a pleasure with this small appliance. It’s also easy to clean. You can get as fancy as you like with ingredients for your sandwich, but I especially love this BBQ Bacon-Onion-Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich when I want something more than just eggs and cheese. This takes up very little space in my kitchen cabinet.
Mango Splitter
If you have ever been tasked with slicing a mango, you know how frustrating it can be to cut around the seed. This mango splitter will change your life. I love using fresh mango in a favorite smoothie and a delicious pasta salad, but I have always dreaded slicing the mango, until this tool came into my life. Even if the mango seed is off to the side, the splitter will find the seed edges as you press down and make a perfect slice every time. This splitter is such a time-saver and you just might start buying fresh mangoes again.
Food Scale
I’ve had this food scale for about six years now. If it broke today I would replace it immediately. One of the best features is its eleven pound weight capacity. The high weight limit is so important if you’re trying to weigh ingredients in a heavy bowl or pan. If you love to bake cakes or bread from scratch, you know measuring ingredients (especially flour) by weight is so important. I would never make my favorite pound cake or sheet pan banana cake without weighing my ingredients. One extra ounce of flour in baked goods can make such a difference when it comes to texture of the final product. This scale is flat and compact and easily fits into a drawer. It’s a must have for every kitchen.
Wireless Meat Thermometer
This meat thermometer is a lifesaver. I love being able to place the thermometer into the meat before it has cooked. Poking meat with a thermometer while its cooking and having the juices run out has never made sense to me. The three foot cord is long enough to reach into the oven, with the thermometer case on the outside. The cord is heat resistant up to 600 degrees, which makes it perfect for the barbecue too. This wireless thermometer also comes with a wireless pager to let you know your meat has reached temperature, even if you’re not in the room. You simply cannot make pork tenderloin or turkey without a meat thermometer, unless you prefer them overdone. A good meat thermometer is one of the best investments you’ll make for your kitchen.
Wooden Muddler
A simple item I use for so many things. I originally bought this wooden muddler for making mojitos. However, it turned out to be useful for so many baking projects. I love using this muddler for tamping down crusts in no bake desserts and pressing pie dough into place. It’s one of the best and most used tools I keep in my kitchen drawer.
Rapid Egg Cooker
We eat so many hard boiled eggs at our house. In fact, a day rarely goes by that we don’t make a dozen eggs in our rapid egg cooker. Making hard-boiled eggs is now an effortless task. The eggs are ready in about fifteen minutes from a cold start. When the eggs are finished, I immediately plunge them into an ice bath for about ten minutes. This stops the cooking process and makes peeling them so much easier. It’s now so easy to make one of my favorite appetizers on repeat, with my constant supply of hard boiled eggs.
Egg Slicer
As simple as it is, this egg slicer totally sparks joy for me. One thing I really dislike is slicing up hard boiled eggs only to have the yolk stick to the sides of the knife and mess up the pretty slices. First world problems right? However, if we’re slicing eggs for a salad, we want them to look good. I’m also ten times more likely to use hard boiled eggs in a salad if I have this gadget around to slice them up. It’s a win-win in my book.
Whoopie Pie Pan
I have six of these whoopie pie pans in my kitchen. And guess what, I rarely bake whoopie pies. However, I do use these pans to make perfectly round shaped cookies (my obsession), mini pies and perfect brunch eggs. I always weigh the cookie dough on my baking scale (above) so all cookie balls are the same weight in grams (34 grams). I place one cookie ball in each whoopie pie cavity. The result is perfectly round cookies that are beautiful for gifting and eating. No more flat and spread out cookies when you use these.
Citrus Juicer
This is honestly one of my most prized kitchen possessions. This heavy duty citrus juicer will press your grapefruits and oranges to almost dry with the turn of a lever. Very easy to clean too. I love setting up a serve yourself cocktail bar with lots of fresh grapefruits, oranges, lemons and limes, bottles of vodka and gin and let everyone make their own drink. It’s always a hit! This juicer is also perfect for that one glass of fresh orange juice in the morning.
I want to hear about the items in your kitchen that spark joy! Leave a comment and let me know.
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