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Must-Have Kitchen Tools

Going out to a restaurant or ordering take-out is fun, but it’s also not something you can —or should— do every day. In fact, 82 percent of meals eaten by Americans are prepared at home. Of course, not every meal has to be an elaborate five-course work of art. You can make a decent meal packed with healthy nutrients in twenty or thirty minutes. But to do so, you need proper kitchen equipment.

Good culinary tools will help you make healthier, more satisfying meals without spending all night cooking. Here are three must-have tools you should definitely have in your kitchen.

Good meat knives

The best meat is prepared with the best meat knives. You’ll need pieces like paring knives and boning knives, and you’ll also need fillet knives, as well. If you like to cook and eat fish often, an investment in good fillet knives will surely go a long way.

For less experienced chefs, you may be wondering what fillet knives do. As the name suggests, fillet knives are good for getting rid of both skin and bones. If you’re going to prepare a fish right, then you have to remove both its skin and bones. Otherwise, it’s not going to taste as good as it should.

When wanting to cook fish, look for kinds like salmon and sardines that are high in both fat and nutrients.

At least one vegetable peeler

You need to eat your fruits and vegetables, but before you do, there are some preparation steps you should take. First, you must wash the produce. Then, in many cases, you have to peel the vegetables.

If you’re tempted to use a knife to peel, don’t. Not only is it frustrating and takes a lot longer, but it’s also quite dangerous. When you’re peeling, you want to work fast. A peeler lets you do that without risking injury to yourself.

A reliable thermometer

You can eat raw sushi, but you can’t eat raw meat. Granted, most of us aren’t tempted to bring home a slab of raw steak and serve it on a plate, but undercooking your steak or chicken is an easy mistake to make. And you’re more likely to undercook something if you don’t have a good thermometer that gives you an instant reading of the dish’s internal temperature.

A thermometer will also keep you from overcooking your food. While overcooked meat may not be as immediate a health risk as something undercooked, it’s not good to eat.

Always look for ways to avoid wasting food and food byproducts. Today that might mean buying a meat thermometer, but tomorrow that might mean recycling your cooking oil by donating it to a used cooking oil collection to be transformed into biodiesel for cars. You’re more likely to find this service in or near big cities on the West Coast, but it’s worth looking into no matter where you live.