6 Must-have Kitchen Tools that Will Save Time & Reduce Mess
If you want to feel nourished, especially after scrambling through a hectic day of work, few things come close to a home-cooked meal made entirely from scratch. Being able to feed yourself and your loved ones is a life skill that will go a long way. It’s also more affordable and healthier! To encourage people to don aprons and get busy in their own kitchens, we are featuring 6 useful kitchen tools that can help you save time and reduce mess! Anyone can learn to prepare meals. It just takes practice, patience and a keen interest.
Handy Kitchen Tool #1: Kitchen Towels
Seasoned home chefs will tell you that the most important thing about a kitchen is keeping it clean as often as possible. That being said, that’s when a kitchen or tea towel comes in handy. Made with 100% cotton, these tea towels by Madam Stoltz are highly absorbent, allowing you to mop up accidental spills and oil splashes in a jiffy. They’re easy to wash too – you just need to put them in a washing machine.
Madam Stoltz's kitchen towel is available in Paprika and Mustard.
Handy Kitchen Tool #2: Apron
For the most part, aprons help to prevent your clothes from being splattered with oil, sauces and basically anything that could potentially ruin what you’re wearing. But that isn’t the only thing an apron is good for.
The Ekstedt Apron by Sandqvist is fitted with two large & two small pockets along with a waist tool holder to keep things on you i.e. a tablespoon for tasting the seasoning of dishes, or a food thermometer to check on the meats’ doneness. Better to have all the tools on you when you need them rather than to scramble back and forth!
Handy Kitchen Tool #3: Fruit & Veggie Keeper
Say you’ve got a piece of fruit or vegetable—like a tomato or an onion—but you’re only planning to use half of it, what do you do then? You could store the remainder of it in a vacuum sealable bag OR you could consider getting your hands on this Food Keeper Astronaute.
This little guy seals tightly, ensuring that your leftover ingredients are kept fresh for a much longer time and will stand nice and snug in the corner of your fridge without taking up much space.
Handy Kitchen Tool #4: Knife Set
Nothing can dull an experience in the kitchen more than a blunt, overused knife. As the saying goes, the sharper the knife, the lesser chance you’ll run into accidents. It’s ironic but it’s true. A good sharp blade will allow you to cut through anything seamlessly minimising the risk of you cutting yourself. The basic knives any beginner cook should have are a multi-purpose chef’s knife, a carving knife and a paring knife.
This trio of knives from Opinel will allow you to glide through your dinner prep with ease. Not only are they sharp, their handles are made from beech – which is durable and easy to work with. Next best thing to having a sharp blade is having a good, comfortable handle.
Handy Kitchen Tool #5: Chopping Boards
More than just a wooden board to chop vegetables on, what we love about wooden boards like these is that they have so much aesthetic value to them. They’re functional, yes, but they’re also perfect for serving food on. Cheese, charcuterie, pizza and even whole roasted meats—this wooden board will prove the perfect vessel to properly show off your centrepiece dish.
Our wooden chopping boards are available in round and rectangular shapes.
Handy Kitchen Tool #6: Extra Large Ice Trays
What’s a dinner party without drinks? It’s always nice to round off a meal with a whisky or even a simple cocktail—if you can spare the effort—but what kills the living joy out of a digestif is when it dilutes too quickly.
To combat that, we’d advise you to do away with your regular cubed ice and consider making larger blocks instead. For one, they’ll dilute much slower due to the reduced surface area that comes in contact with your drink and your drink will remain colder, longer—it’ll also demonstrate to your guests that you know exactly what you’re doing.