Kitchen Equipment
Notes on all my kitchen tools. Question mark in the title means it is a planned purchase.
Kitchen appliances
Standmixer?
Because kneading by hand is hard.
~30cm clearance above out cabinets
KitchenAid seems like the mixer most people go with. Not sure if the classic model or artisan? Looking to buy used or with corporate discount.
Ankarsrum is way more badass but the price is hard to justify for my baking skill level. Also most recipes and youtube tutorials are for Kitchen Aid. Serious Eats Ankarsrum review
Pressure Cooker
InstantPot. I have the one with the air fryer attachment but I'm not hyped on the air frying. Use it almost everyday, solid buy.
Immersion Blender
We have a Bosh one and it works decent but the food processor attachment can't be washed in washing machine. With all the small nooks for food rests to get stuck it this is pretty annoying.
Sous Vide Machine?
The InstantPot has a sous vide function but I don't think it works well.
Tools
Kitchen Tweezers
Got a cheap pair on Temu. Does the job.
Molcajete?
Need a Mortar and Pestle anyway maybe a Molcajete, the Mortar and Pestle bigger mexican cousin, would cover more use cases.
~40 EUR
Tortilla Press
When I'm in my Mexican cooking phases this stays on the counter top.
Pasta Machine
We were gifted a Marcoto Atlas 150 and it is great.
Spaghetti attachment? Seems to create pasta near the Barilla Spaghetti #5 my partner and I enjoy.
Pasta roller?
Cheap but useful for making Ravioli.
Strainer
I have a basic medium sized round strainer and a tea strainer, but I' like to add a big one like this:
Knives
Serval Japanese knives. Need separate note to go over these. Whetstones, good oil, and magnetic knife holder are also important.
Scale
KitchenAid KQ908 has good reviews. I found it in EU with slightly different model number, amazon.
Mandoline?
Japanese "Benriner" seems to be most popular. amazon
Small Grater
Microplane is a must. I use it daily.
Bamboo steamer baskets
Great for making dumplings or steamed fish. Way less fiddly then metal steamer baskets that go inside the pot.
Deli containers
A must! Yes plastic is bad but these are worth it. Watch any content on professional cooking and you will likely see many of these. I like how they all share the same lid so they are easy to grab and use and don't take up as much cabnite space as other options.
Baking sheet
Silpan?
I see these a lot of professional baker TikTok. Maybe better then just using baking paper everytime?
https://us.silpat.com/pages/baking-mats
Not sure how hard they will be to get here in Germany.
Cooling racks
These are nice for cooling off baked goods, but they have other uses.
Peeler
I have the cheep dollar store verity that is just replaced when dull. Wish there was a nicer Japanese version that I could sharpen, but not sure that exists.
Spatula
You know the tool to flip pancakes. I had a silicone coated metal one, but the silicone eventually cut allowing water to get in and rust the metal. Now I just go for basic plastic one or metal one depending on the type of pan I'm using it with.
Silicone Scrapers
Also normally called a spatula, according to wiki they are scrapers. I keep a the bowl scraper kind in various sizes and the dough scrapers kind. Super handy.
Spoonula is also nice.
cultflav has a nice break down of different ones. Their top pick, the Tovolo Flex-Core Spoonula, is not available in EU. I'm on the hunt for the U-Taste one and OXO ones.
Tongs
I prefer the kind with the silicone wrapped tips. I saw something like they should not be used in professional kitchens because the silicone can fall off into soup. Yeah. Not convinced about that. The silicone makes them softer on my non stick wok.
Peper grinder
PepperMate. Works great. Hard to get here in EU. Had my mother bring it over from the US for me.
https://www.peppermate.com/products/peppermate-traditional-pepper-mill-white
Thermometer
ThermoMaven F1. It was reviewed well by CultFlav
Pans
Sheet pans?
Also a staple of professional kitchen. Right now we just have the pans that came with the oven and some casserole dishes. Set of sheet pans would be an upgrade.
nymag guide 11-by-16 inches standard?
nordic ware set ~55 EUR
Standard in EU seems to be 400 mm x 250 mm x 20 mm
Search terms: Backblech, Ausstellblech
Cast iron griddle
After a few years with daily use I'm not sure how I cooked without my griddle. It spans two burners on the stove and can go in the oven at any temperature. Hard to explain how versatile it is. Let me take you through a day's meals. Breakfast Russian Syrniki
Carbon steel frying pan
De Buyer 5610.24 Mineral B Element frying pan 24 cm
When the griddle is too much a usually bring this out.
Non-stick crepe pan
Works great for crepes. We make a lot of Blini in this house.
Non-stick wok
I'd like to upgrade this to a stainless steel wok and a gas burner someday, but for now it works.
For the table
Table light?
Saw this at a Michelin Star restaurant and was impressed.
https://www.poldina.com/en/product/poldina-pro/
Off-brand knockoff maybe?
Silverware
Don't need a million things I think for us 6 high quality of each is perfect:
- forks
- spoons
- butter knives
- small spoons
- dessert forks
- espresso spoons
No soup spoons? I prefer the ceramic asian style.
Asian eating utensils
Ceramic soup spoons and chop sticks are a must.
Cleaning
Kitchen disinfectant
As I've been leveling up my cooking skills I want to double ensure a meal is not ruined by someone getting sick after. Now when ever I process meat in the kitchen I spray disinfectant afterwards. For example the cutting board.
Sponges
I've read that sponges are not allowed in professional kitchens because they harbor bacteria. So far I've been able to reduce my usage by using scrubby brush more, but not able to completely stop using them yet.
Natural scrubby brush
With the new focus on keeping the kitchen clean I've found these type of brushes really helpful when I would have reached for a sponge.
Wok Brush
Picked some up cheap on Temu. Perfect addition to the scrubby brush for food that is a bit more stuck on. Still sometimes a good deglaze is the only way.
