Top 10 Kitchen Products

Top 10 Kitchen Products that Will Make Your Life Easier

The best kitchen appliances are the most useful ones, and these are some of my favorites. These are time tested, useful kitchen appliances, that will make your life easier. From saving time to saving energy, every cook needs help in the kitchen, especially these days when everyone is busier than ever. All of these items make cooking at home easier! Plus these items are great for your kids who are living on their own.

1. Rice Cookers

If you like rice and you have varied results every time you make it, you need a rice cooker. There’s no guesswork involved at all. Simply add the suggested amount of rice, water, oil/butter and salt and off you go. These little time and dinner savers are so handy. Also, it allows you more stove top space for other foods so it’s extra helpful when you are having company over. Some rice makers are vegetable steamers too!

2. Slow Cookers

Slow cookers are simply fabulous. Load them up with all sorts of fresh ingredients like potatoes, onions, carrots and meat and come home to a perfect dinner. There’s nothing better than coming home to the wonderful smell of slow cooked food. I recommend getting one with a timer in case you are late getting home. For those who can’t stand the clean up, there are now liners available so you just take the liner out, toss it in the trash, wash the slow cooker quickly and you are free. Not only can you make stews and roasts, but chicken legs, thighs and wings come out great.HamiltonBeach, Crock Pot and Cuisinart all make nice programmable slow cookers.

3. Immersion Blenders

If you make soups and like to blend them, this is a must have kitchen appliance. Lentil soups, tomato or potato soups all come out fantastic with the help of an immersion blender. Instead of having to ladle hot liquids into a food processor, you put the blender directly into the soup. A good immersion blender can be good to mix so many other things as well. Use it to easily mix batters, whisk eggs or anything else you can think of. They don’t take up as much space as a food processor and they are extremely easy to clean.

4. Stand Mixers

There are so many things you can do with a stand mixer and KitchenAid makes one of the best ones out there. It can be used to make batter, mix meats for meatloaf or kebabs. It’s also useful for whipping egg whites and mayonnaise, not to mention kneading breads or other doughs. For the person who loves to cook, a good stand mixer is a must.

5. Knives and Chopping Block

Having a good set of knives can save you a significant amount of time and energy. Instead of struggling through cutting tomatoes or even meat, having good sharp knives will literally cut your workload and speed up the cooking process. Protect your countertop and your knives by using a good cutting board. I recommend you buy a couple of different types of cutting boards. Bamboo is the choice of many environmentalists. As a hard grass, it is a sustainable, renewable resource that needs no chemicals to thrive or to be harvested.
As far as we know, no independent studies have been done on how sanitary bamboo cutting boards are. However they do absorb less liquid than wooden boards, so many believe they are as sanitary or more sanitary than wood boards.

Be aware that they are 19% harder than traditional maple cutting boards, so many also think that bamboo cutting boards are harder on knives than wood boards. Also, the small grooves may ever so slightly catch your knife, interrupting a smooth cutting action. Just like mom used, a heavy wood board is kind to knives, and will not dull them quickly. A good maple or beech cutting board is somewhat self-healing, and thus won't scar as easily as a plastic board. Regularly oil your board with food-grade mineral oil to protect it from staining or warping, and please don't put it in the dishwasher. A well cared-for board will last you for years.

6. Pans

Having good pans will help your food cook better and more evenly. I used to think I wasn’t any good at making omelet’s, and then I realized it was the pan! The right pan can make a world of difference, so invest in some or give them as gifts.

7. Pressure Cooker

No we are not talking about your grandmother’s pressure cooker, the one’s on the market today are much easier to use! Why should you buy one? Your food will cook faster. This is the most popular reason why people buy pressure cookers, and it’s an excellent one. Your meals require only 30% of the time that traditional cooking methods need to finish. Not only does this save you time and effort, but it also saves you money, because you need less energy to cook. Furthermore, your kitchen stays cooler, lowering your air conditioning costs in the summer and keeping it more pleasant year round. Your food retains more nutrients, in traditional cooking, many of the food’s nutrients are lost in the cooking process through water evaporation. Pressure cookers require a minimal amount of water to cook the foods so fewer nutrients are lost. Your food retains the fresh taste and healthy nutrients, ensuring that much-needed vitamins and minerals remain a part of your diet. It is a safer cooking method. The very high temperatures used in pressure cooking mean that the chances are higher that any germs or bacteria are destroyed during cooking. In addition, the safety features in today’s pressure cookers have greatly improved with more safety valves and venting, reducing the types of problems associated with the older style pressure cookers. It offers a flexible cooking method. Pressure cooking works with a wide variety of recipes and cooking styles, making it perfect for any taste. Breakfasts, roasts, canned fruits and vegetables, taco meat, stews – all of these dishes and more are improved with the use of a cooker. Its easy to use and easy to clean and easy to store.

8. Bread Maker

If you have read my philosophy on food you know I prefer the freshest and most pure ingredients in my meals. 15 years ago I received as a gift my breadmaker. I used it for making everything from pizza dough, baguettes, brioche, wheat, and multi-grain breads. Its great because I know all of the ingredients that go into my bread and only the best will do. Well sad to say by breadmaker died and I had to get a new one. I am glad I did because the breadmakers of today are even easier to use, I can choose from a one pound oaf to a 2 pound oaf. It allows me to add seeds, nuts, olives, fruits at just the right time. I can set the timer before I go to bed at night and I wake up the next morning to the smell of fresh baked bread.

9. French Press

I really enjoy my one cup of coffee a day. I have tried every coffee maker on the market from Mr. Coffee- percolator –French press -espresso machine -Italian stove top coffeemaker and yes even to my almost expensive as a car my newest do-all coffee machine. But I must admit, I love the French press. You must have the right grind of coffee so the little grinds won’t come floating on top of your coffee, and you must boil water, but if you can handle those two steps then you will be pleasantly surprised with the quality of coffee a French press can deliver.

Since it’s not a highly used coffeemaker here in theUnited   States, here it what you need to do. Mix your ground( be sure your beans are ground just for a French Press) coffee beans with hot water inside the French press, let it brew for about 5 minutes then you press (hence the name) the plunger down to separate the grounds from the now brewed coffee. The French Press is small so it won’t take up space on your kitchen counter, you can actually store it with your coffee cups. Second, no more coffee filters. Not only do coffee filters cost money and degrade the environment they also make your coffee not as tasty. Not only are coffee filters somewhat annoying (at least for me) but they actually take away from your coffee's flavor. Coffee filters soak up some of the essential oils from the beans that should be adding to the taste of your morning joe. Third, you no longer have to brew up and entire pot of coffee even if you only want one or two cups. With a French press you only brew the amount of coffee you want because you can ad as much or as little water as you want. Finally, a French press coffee maker doesn't have to just make coffee. That's right. A French press can also be used to brew tea. Just replace the coffee grounds with loose leaf tea and you'll be enjoying your hot beverage in no time.

10. Toaster Oven

Toaster ovens not only toast bread and other food items, but also perform functions such as baking and broiling. For heating open-faced sandwiches and cheesy pizza, a toaster oven is indispensable. Here are the reasons why I much prefer having a toaster oven over a regular toaster, a toaster can toast toast. That’s about it. A toaster oven can toast toast. And so much more! Big thick bagels? No problem! Want to toast more than 2 pieces of bread at one time?

I do not like microwave ovens so I prefer to reheat food in a toaster oven.

Pizza isn’t the only thing I’ll reheat in a toaster oven – pretty much anything with bread involved works wonderfully. Another example, muffins on the bake setting for 5 or so minutes. Sometimes you just don’t need a full oven. It saves energy and, in the summer, doesn’t heat up your house quite as much. You can bake in a toaster oven. This is one gift both of my boys received when they moved in to their first apartment.

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