You know you’ve done it. You’ve gone out to dinner and you see the plates piled high almost defying gravity. Artsy splashes of sauces in a myriad of colors decorate the plate. Those perfectly cut vegetables that fill the spaces. How do they do it you ask. There must be a veritable army in the back dicing carrots and slicing cucumber. The truth is that with a few simple and mostly inexpensive tools, anyone can impress their guests with the art of the dinner plate. In this edition of the Constant Epicurean I’ll tell you the 10 items everyone should have to cook like a professional.
1. Good Knives
For some of you this may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many home kitchens fail in this the most basic of cooking utensils. The kitchen knife is both your best friend and most utilized item in the kitchen. Have you ever picked up a knife at a friend’s house that couldn’t cut butter. If you haven’t, I can tell you it’s awful. This is probably going to be one of the most expensive items on the list, but it doesn’t have to be.
I have used the same two Global knives for almost 20 years. They’re durable, hold an edge and in my opinion worth the investment. Also keep in mind that unless your fabricating whole cows and dissecting whale sharks a standard Chef’s knife and flexible boning knife is about all you’ll need. Paring knives seem to be popular, but I haven’t had one or seen one used since culinary school.
On a side note to knives keep it sharp. One of the first things I learned in boy scouts, a dull knife is a dangerous knife. If a blade is kept sharpened properly it will glide through the item being cut. With less force applied you are more likely to catch yourself if it slips. If the knife is dull you will apply much more force and if you slip will cause much more damage to yourself.
Keeping your knife sharp
You’ve probably seen home knife sharpeners, the v-shaped devices you pull the knife through. I don’t personally use them so I can’t recommend one. I usually use Tri-stone or wet stone and there is a link here to Stephen King’s Survival on the SKinny. A great knife sharpening tutorial
If your wary of your abilities you can always wear a cutting glove. They are usually inexpensive and can save you a trip to the emergency room. In addition I would also keep a diamond steel on hand for quick honing of your knife. After a blade is sharpened the edge gets “bent over” from use and a honing steel will straighten it back out.
If your on a budget I would stick with a santoku style utility knife. It can do all the essential work like dicing potatoes and cutting fruit and it won’t break the bank. Below I have links for the Global knives I still use and the less expensive santoku. I have also provided links for cutting gloves and a steel that I recommend.
2. Quality Cutting Boards
Ok, so this is one that is a big pet peeve of mine. I once walked into a friends house for a dinner party and when asked for a cutting board was handed a sheet of textured glass. Seeming to come from a bad idea in the 90’s, glass cutting boards still plague some home kitchens. If you have one throw it out.
A cutting board should be either wood, though they can get expensive, or plastic. They both have they’re purpose and here I’ll try to clear up the mystery of the cutting board.
Wooden Cutting Boards
Wooden cutting boards are my favorite to use, but they do have their cons. They can be very expensive and hard to maintain. Wooden cutting boards are more apt to breed harmful bacteria if not properly cared for. However, they are the easiest on your knife blade and can last, if cared for, for many years. A properly built and cared for wooden cutting board can be both an indispensable tool and a beautiful addition to your kitchen.
The larger the wooden cutting board, the higher the price and after awhile they become large, heavy and less manageable. They become harder to clean as well and wooden cutting boards should never be soaked in water. Wash them with a very mild detergent it an immediately let them air dry. Every few weeks coat them with a little food grade mineral oil.
Plastic Cutting Boards.
Plastic cutting boards definitely have a place in the kitchen, yet also have some cons. They tend to be less expensive in larger sizes than wood and can be a great option if your on a budget. However they can warp over time and with regular use can degrade much more quickly than wood. Though, given the smaller investment you’ll be making It won’t break the bank to toss it for a new one. They do make surface refurbishers but I’ve never had success with them, one it’s time just replace it.
In my kitchen at home I use a mixture of both. My medium to smaller sized cutting boards are wood while my larger ones are plastic. Sometimes you can find small ones like 8×5 on sale in grocery stores and markets. I was at a local market last year and they were selling 8×5 wooden boards for $1 each. I take them with me when I travel, they are great for small dinners in tight apartments. Since they were a dollar I don’t care if I lose them.
I do fabricate a lot of meat at home so the larger ones in my house get a workout. You will also notice that as a professional chef the cutting boards I use are color coded. Yours don’t have to be it’s just an issue I have. In addition to the color quirk, I never cut raw chicken on wood. It just weirds me out, but I’m working on that. Below you’ll find different types of cutting boards and a mineral oil to keep the wood ones like new.
3. Locking Tongs
Tongs are an extension of a chef’s hand. We use them to help stir pans, flip meats, grab mise en place from our station and drink beer. Yes I said it, drink beer. The tong becomes such a part of our appendage that everything seems to come to a stop when my pair of tongs are not within reach.
Tongs are an integral part of the cooking experience, but beware, not all tongs are created equal. Make sure to choose a pair of tongs that feels sturdy and even has a little weight to them. You’ll want to make sure they lock closed for many reasons. The main one being that it is easier to lay a pair of tongs on a thin shelf attached to a grill if they’re locked closed.
Also avoid tongs with plastic or rubber ends. The metal does not usually go to the end of the gripping edge and they tend to degrade with the constant use and variations in temperature they often are exposed to. A good old fashioned heavy duty pair of lockable metal tongs will be the only pair you’ll need. Below you’ll find a link for some well made cooking tongs.
4. Heavy Duty Pans
One of the biggest differences between professional and home kitchens are the pans. The proper pan for cooking is an absolute must. If the pan is heavy duty it will hold heat more efficiently and once it is heated more evenly. One of the reasons your standard house pans stick is the lack of heat, or the inability to maintain heat.
As a pan is heated to a high temperature there is actually a chemical reaction that takes place at its surface. If the pan maintains the proper temperature then the chemical reaction produces a repelling effect. As the pans temperature drops from the addition of food the reaction changes from a repelling effect to a bonding effect. This will probably explain 90 percent of your sticky situations and as the pan cools to the point that you can clean it in the sink the effect is magnified. Yo have essentially chemically bonded the food to your pan. This is why it is always necessary to preheat your pans before cooking in them.
You may see saute pans often kept in a 500 degree oven or stacked on a wide open grill in many professional kitchens. Therefore it is necessary to make sure the whole pan is oven safe. Heavy duty rivets, solid steel handle and no plastic or rubber coatings on said handles is paramount. For home use this is important for a different reason. As your seering that delicious steak, throw the whole pan in the oven to evenly bring the steak up to the temperature you desire. Below you will find a few options for some heavy oven safe pans for different budgets.
5. Mandoline
The mandoline is the unsung hero of the professional kitchen. It slices, it dices, it does well, pretty much anything. A mandoline is a classical french tool that allows a cook to speedily and easily produce vegetable cuts for everything from french fries to pickles. Have you ever wondered how all the cucumbers were perfectly sliced on that dish you had last weekend. I’ll bet a mandoline was involved.
Easy to use and ranging in price and functionality from slicing for a few bucks to making Chick-fil-a style waffle cuts for several hundred. I recommend starting with a cheap japanese style mandolin if your just getting started. Whether you’re making potato chips or asian style pickled vegetables, the mandolin is your tool. Below I linked to a few different styles and a description of their uses.
6. Microplane
A microplane is a tool that delicately pulls the zest from citrus fruit or shaves a piece of ginger or garlic. One of the less expensive items on the list it can quickly take you from the minors to the major leagues. Quickly zest a lemon over your piece of salmon or use it to take that key lime pie to the next level. Zest of citrus is such a simple and powerful way to break your dishes through to the realm of gourmet.
The microplane is also perfect for shaving chocolate to elevate your sweet treats or hard cheeses to garnish those salads and appetizers. It’s an inexpensive and easy way to take your skills to the next level. Avoid ones with handles as they don’t often hold up. The one linked below is a simple and elegant and sturdy one I use in my own kitchen.
7. Squirt Bottles
The cooks secret weapon that even the guy running the hot dog cart is familiar with. From adding dolops of infused oil, to designing the impossible looking decorations on dessert plates, the squirt bottle is in every professional kitchen. Cheap, abundant and indispensable, the squirt bottle will bring the presentation at your next dinner party to a level you didn’t know was possible.
I usually buy them buy the case and always use clear ones. The food stalls use yellow and red bottles for a more sinister reason than to identify it’s contents. Condiments are often the forgotten soldiers of the culinary world and if it’s out, visible and refillable it’s by nature suspect. Health codes across the nation forbid refilling manufacturer bottles so if the ketchup and mustard is in a standard brands bottle it’s probably ok. If their refilling the yellow and red squirt bottles, their probably only filling. There is a good chance they haven’t been washed out in weeks.
At home you can store chocolate sauces and infused oils in bottles under refrigeration for quite some time, but avoid holding cream based or fruit based sauces for more than seven days. If the bottles get too mucked up and difficult to clean just toss them. In addition I recommend a wide mouth bottle as they are easier to fill. Remember you can’t add to the opening so be careful when snipping the tip. The tops are interchangeable so I keep a few sized openings on hand. Below you can find a few good options that I use in my kitchen
8. A Fine Mesh Strainer
Everyone has the large strainers for pasta and the like, but what about a fine mesh strainer. Ever wonder how restaurants get the strawberry sauce so smooth and absent of seeds? Or that cream sauce that never has lumps and is always silky smooth? It was probably pushed through a fine mesh strainer. You may have heard them called chinois or bouillon strainer, they are interchangeable.
Once your finished with your sauce begin to pour it through. Use a rubber spatula to massage the sauce through the strainer, and you will end up with a smooth lump free sauce every time. You can also place them over your measuring cups to squeeze your citrus and keep out the seeds. Essential for the refinement of cooking, you’ll find a few for your kitchen in the link below.
9. Blender
The blender is probably the most worked out piece of equipment in a professional kitchen. It is the last place sauces, soups, purees and liquids go before they are pushed through the fine mesh strainer. It is probably the most expensive item on the list if you go for the best option. Less expensive blenders are functional, but the high rpm and durability of blenders like the Vitamix will produce a consistency and quality you can not get from a cuisinart.
The higher end Vitamix will conquer your moles and punish your curries. No amount of hard seeds and spices or vegetables and chiles will be able to resist the abilities of the most used blender in professional kitchens. It will be the difference between silky smooth sauces and gritty gravies. The only link below is to the Vitamix. I won’t say you can’t use a local store bought blender, But I can’t recommend it.
10. A Meat Thermometer.
The Chef’s most valuable tool for properly cooking meats is a meat thermometer. Yes Chefs and line cooks around the world are known for just knowing when a steak is done, but even restaurant cook meat wrong. I use mine particularly for chicken because I like my chicken juicy and tender. There is a fine line between properly cooked and dry and tough. The meat thermometer will tell you that moment.
There are many types from digital to an old fashioned manual biotherm. I only use digital as they are easy to use, easy to calibrate and fast. An old style thermometer can take minutes to reach the actual temperature whereas a digital is instant. I also use one with a probe for roasts and whole birds. I program it to let me know when im about 5 degrees below my target to account for resting time.
If you want juicy chicken, perfectly cooked steaks and your dinners to be safe and wholesome, then a digital thermometer is an absolute must for the home cook. I have a few options below for a few different types that I use in my Kitchen at home.
