Just like an artist can’t paint without his brushes or palette, a cook can’t create masterful dishes without with right tools. While there are an abundance of gadgets and doo-dads that you can populate your kitchen with, there are ten basics you should always have on hand:

 Hydroplane – The perfect tool for getting the zest of citrus fruits, a hydroplane is infinitely easier than a standard grater for making sure you don’t wind up with bitter pith in your recipe.

 Garlic Press – Some purists will argue that chopping garlic with a knife by hand is just fine.  However, if you’re not confident in your knife skills, or just don’t want the hassle, a garlic press is fantastic for recipes that call for minced garlic. 

 Multiple Cutting Boards – Invest in a variety of cutting boards for different types of food – one for vegetables, one for chicken, one for pork and one for beef.  This way, you’ll avoid cross-contamination.

Spatula (metal and silicone) – A set of good sturdy spatulas is a must in any kitchen. Be it flipping burgers on the grill or taking cookies off the baking sheet. Use silicone for your non-stick cookware, metal on the metal cookware.

 Wooden Spoons – Baking and cooking or mixing and stirring, wooden spoons are a must-have in the kitchen.

 Tongs – Whether you use them to distribute salad or to turn something in the pan when a spatula or spoon won’t do, tongs are a necessary addition to any kitchen.

 Spider – Spiders are a multipurpose tool, as you can use them for deep-frying, vegetable removal and much more.

 Ladle – Great for soups, sauces or getting just the right amount of pancake batter on the griddle, ladles will make your life much easier than a metal spoon (trust us, we’ve tried).

Colander – Try straining pasta without one. We dare you.

 Knife Sharpener – Dull knives won’t do you much good when you’re trying to chop vegetables or meats.  Sharpeners come in all shapes and sizes, can be purchased for as little as $10 and will extend the lives of your knives.

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 9:33 am and is filed under Top 10. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.