Food writer Michael Ruhlman’s list of essential kitchen gadgets are what you’d expect from a guy who wrote a book called The Elements of Cooking — no garlic massagers or bacon wafters here.
From right to left, big knife and little knife, rubber spatula, wood spoon with flat edge, fish spatula, microplane, instant read thermometer, Sharpie, sauce whip, string, fine mesh strainer, two spoons, measuring spoons, peeler, heavy side towel for grabbing hot things, and, the most important tool in the kitchen, kosher salt.
He neglects to mention the porcelain ramekin that’s holding the salt, which is funny because I didn’t start grabbing those until Ruhlman actually suggested using them in Elements. I’m not religious about using them for mis en place — a little bowl works fine, too — but being able to toss them in water or an oven can be handy.
It’s worth checking out the whole post just for the yapping in the comments, where foodies go on about their essential tools like we nerds bicker about text editors.
My Favorite Kitchen “Gadgets” [Blog.Ruhlman.com]
Love the Sharpie!
I find pots and pans pretty useful for cooking as well, but maybe I’ve become too accustomed to all my fancy gadgets….
Seriously though, I would consider a decent pair of tongs essential as well. They can be had for less than $5.
“kosher salt”? So who was the Goy then, the Sodium or the Chloride?
Once you’ve used kosher salt you’ll never go back. I agree about the tongs. If you go through the comments on his site, he says that they are overused and damage food. I think he’s using that metal slotted spatula as a substitute. You wouldn’t get within ten feet of my non-stick skillet with that thing. I have more control with tongs. But I see his point. Sharpies for labeling and dating bags going into the freezer and I label glass jars with them and buy spices in bulk. I can just look at the spices and tell what they are but the rest of the family aren’t so savvy.