KNIFE
Classic simple knife. But it is important that you have a special “chef’s knife” – a separate item that has a wide blade, a comfortable handle and is constantly perfectly sharpened. Use it exclusively for the preparation of aesthetically designed dishes. For everyday “work”, you should have separate knives of different sizes. But the “cutting tool” with a wide blade is used if you want to achieve refinement.
When choosing, pay attention to steel: “stainless steel” is easy to use, but quickly dulls. Therefore, it is recommended to choose carbon steel. It is sharper, retains sharpening longer, but the knife requires careful care. Ideally, the blade should be sharp all the way to the handle. Speaking of handles, the best knives have a full shank, meaning a solid piece of steel runs from the tip of the knife to the end of the handle. This creates excellent balance.
MANDOLINE
A simple cutting object, called a musical instrument, has long been known to culinary specialists. The design of the mandolin has a couple of practical advantages:
– change in the height of the cutting plane;
– sliding sled for working with the tool;
— a protective cover for safe work.
With the help of the tool, you can quickly and finely chop any vegetables and fruits, giving them the shape of thin rings or slices. Ideal for preparing salads and cuts. Interchangeable blades allow you to choose the best option for creating dishes.
PELLER
The Y-Shaped piller is called so because of its shape: the handle smoothly passes into the working part. The tool is designed to solve a specific task – peeling vegetables and fruits. The design is designed in such a way as to quickly and accurately remove the skin from the fruit, while maintaining the shape and structure. There are many models of pillers to choose from: vertical and horizontal, multifunctional and oriented to a specific vegetable, simple and curly cutting.
When choosing, pay attention to the blade mount: fixed options remove a slightly larger layer than pillers with a floating cutting tool. As with knives, ceramics or steel are most commonly used in the manufacture of pillers.
KITCHEN TONGS
The workhorse of any professional kitchen. Chefs use this tool when frying any food, when working with the oven, as well as when serving ready meals. With the help of tongs, you can accurately and beautifully lay food on the dishes without damaging the structure of vegetables or fruits.
At the base of the tongs is a spring mechanism or pins. They provide tool compression and help to fix the product. The “blades” of the tool vary in shape and can be oriented both to work with large pieces of food, and with small ones. Give preference to universal options, in which the “legs” are no larger than a chicken egg – this is quite enough for working in the kitchen.
Care of forceps is extremely simple – it is enough to constantly wash them after use.
COLANDER
A simple and well-known item abroad is called “Pasta Strainer”, literally “pasta filter”. From German, “colander” can be translated as “pierced through”, which hides the main feature of the tool. With it, you can quickly wash any food, remove excess water from a cooked dish.
A colander is designed solely to separate water and food, so do not try to rub vegetables or fruits through it, as if through a sieve!
When choosing, pay attention to the volume (average value 1,5 l), the diameter of the bowl (usually 20-25 cm) and design features. Collapsible colanders take up minimal space and are easy to use. It is not recommended to choose galvanized products – they are harmful to humans and quickly become unusable. The best option is stainless steel, enameled coating, aluminum. Silicone “filters” are also common.
POTATO PRESS
Cooking mashed potatoes with it is fast and high quality. The easy-to-use item allows you to achieve an even soft texture of potatoes and make the perfect dish. Moreover, the puree is not sticky and unpleasant, but velvety and fragrant.
The design is extremely simple and resembles a similar tool for garlic. The press has a medium-sized bowl into which boiled potatoes are immersed, and a pressing element that turns the potatoes into a homogeneous mass. The tool is simple and durable, and with a certain skill, you can make mashed potatoes with it in a couple of minutes. After use, be sure to wash and clean all parts of the device.
SPICE GRINDER
Or “mill”. The device is divided into three components: a container for grains, a container for the resulting crushed mixture and working parts. No matter how hard manufacturers of ready-made spices try, it is almost impossible to recreate the aroma of freshly ground grains. Therefore, for cooking, it is recommended to use spices that have just been obtained from large grains of plants.
The mill can be automatic or manual. The second option looks especially original and makes cooking simple and “soulful”. The material for the manufacture of the chopper body can be different – ceramics, metal, plastic, wood. The product organically fits into the interior of the kitchen and creates a certain flavor.
SIEVE FOR SAUCES
A special small sieve on the extended handle. It is somewhat reminiscent of a smaller copy of a colander, but serves other purposes. The task of the sieve is to “beat” the liquid, to make the gravy (sauce or something else) velvety and fragrant. Simply pass the sauce through and it will acquire a richer taste and aroma.
The sieve is made of aluminum or other materials that do not come into contact with food, ensuring the purity of taste.
SLICER (SPIRAL CUTTER)
A simple but very effective product. The slicer is designed for making “pasta” from fresh vegetables. Feel free to experiment with fruits if you like. The design is obscenely simple: a cutting element fixed in a plastic case. Vegetables are rolled manually (or automated) through a blade that forms long, “spaghetto-like” pieces. After cutting vegetables, you can fry or boil, or just make a salad.
The design is attached to the table (special screws or suction cups) or held in the hands. Rolling vegetables is easy and you can make a lot of these unusual pasta pretty quickly. It is especially useful to use a slicer for decorating dishes, as well as for feeding children’s dishes – kids are especially interested in non-standard food.
BLENDER
Perhaps one of the most important tools of a vegetarian.
An endless variety of smoothies and smoothies, pureed soups, chopping fruits, nuts and much more – there are a lot of options for using a blender in the kitchen. This device works every day! Capacitance, mains connection and cutting element are standard device designs, which are often complemented by non-essential accessories.
When choosing, pay attention to the following points:
– the volume of the bowl (depending on your preferences);
material (plastic or glass). The transparent bowl is aesthetically pleasing and allows you to control the cooking;
– interchangeable cutters that allow you to cut products in any form;
– motor power; – the blender can be submersible and stationary. Both types have their own characteristics and are designed for specific jobs.
Equip your kitchen with useful tools and make cooking a special, enjoyable and fun experience! Bon appetit!