My Favorite Cooking Tools

Admit it. There is one tool in your kitchen that you can’t image going without. I’m not talking about the standard measuring cups, mixing bowls, stuff like that, I’m talking something a little fancier. A collapsible funnel. A Dutch oven. An apple corer.

We all have our favorites. Here is my list of top ten favorite cooking tools.

10. Non-stick silicone spatulas. I love these. Perfect for scraping sides of bowls, folding egg whites, stirring chocolate….the possibilities are endless.

9. Reusable cake tester. Super cheap, I think you can get them for a dollar fifty at Sur La Table. Also, they leave a smaller hole than toothpicks, so it’s harder to see.

8.A bench scraper. I like to use it to cut dough, but it’s also useful to scrape that sticky sugar off your counter from your taffy experiment.

7.  Mini silicone cupcake tins. Pans. Molds. Whatever you call them. Anyways, I use them the most for, surprise! Cupcakes. But they also can be used to mold chocolate, make bite-sized Jell-O pieces, and make ice cubes, if your fridge’s ice thingy isn’t working.

6. I know aprons aren’t exactly tools, but still, I love cute aprons. Also, I just recently got a chef coat, and I love that, too. I also have already stained it with sky-blue food coloring. You can find aprons pretty much anywhere, or you can make one.

5.  An Ice Cream Scoop. I love these. I have several in different sizes, and I use them to scoop cookie dough, add batter to muffin tins, add yogurt to smoothies…..or, you know…to scoop ice cream.

4. A citrus reamer. In my opinion, these are the best things to use to juice lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits….you can get these in wooden or plastic. Plastic is easier to clean, but harder to find.

3.  A Silpat. For some reason, people pronounce it siloplat. I don’t know why. But they make cleanup easier because you don’t have to really scrub ’em. I have two, and I want to get more.

2.   A Microplane. I love these. Really, really love them. I use them to zest lemons and limes, grate chocolate and parmesan cheese….I’ve also used it to get the fuzzy stuff off a kiwi.

1. Number 1, my favorite kitchen tool is…..bum bum dah….a super sharp paring knife (No I am not kidding!) Cut fruit or chocolate into small, perfectly sized bits, slash dough, rip parchment paper…. anything you want to do! Even slice your thumb. But that was an accident. And the cut wasn’t deep, anyways. I only bled a little bit.

So, there you go! My top ten favorite cooking tools. What are yours?