Kitchen Items That Make Your Life Easier

Posted by Jenni Barnett on Monday, November 8th, 2021 at 11:58am.

Kitchen minimalists, we respect you, but how do you cook and bake to your heart’s content with only one kitchen knife and a few pots and pans? Today, we’re talking to the home chefs, those maximalists who long for a fully kitted out kitchen that can function to its fullest potential. 

Here, then, are 18 kitchen items that are guaranteed to make your life easier. 


1.) Breville Food Processor

This robust food processor will make your smoothies, mix pancake and quick bread batter, whip up a pie crust, shred blocks of cheese, grate carrots, slice any vegetable you please—and that’s just the beginning. If you want to cut your in-kitchen time by a large margin, this food processor is for you. 

When you’re finished using it, just let your dishwasher scrub it clean for you!


2.) KitchenAid Stand Mixer

If you’re a baker, there’s no better assistant than a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Before the holiday baking arrives, treat yourself to one of these sturdy countertop mixers! Its uses include mixing sugar and butter to professional-level perfection, mixing dough, making whipped cream, whipping potatoes, making souffles and meringues, shredding or grinding meat, making homemade pasta, juicing, making homemade ice cream, and more.


3.) Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

This pressure cooker has a dedicated cult following, so you’ve likely heard that the Instant Pot slashes cooking time by more than half, all while preserving more nutrients than stovetop cooking. There are dozens of uses for this popular device. 

The Instant Pot cooks pasta, stews, chili, and soups, of course, but it also steams rice, vegetables, and potatoes, cooks poultry (from fresh or frozen!), and braises meats of all kinds. Forget the hassle of trying to time the cooking of hard- or soft-boiled eggs, too; simply pop them in the IP on low pressure and you’ll get perfect eggs every time. 


4.) Instant Pot with Air Fryer

We all know deep-frying isn’t healthy at all, but we sure do love that perfectly crisp result—especially here in Tennessee! Now, thanks to air frying, you can have delightfully crispy food without the health risks. 

The Instant Pot/Air Fryer combo comes with a separate lid and insert for perfect air frying every time. If you already have the Instant Pot, you can purchase the air fryer accessories separately. 


5.) Instant Pot Sous Vide Attachment

Whether you want to create sous vide egg bites or transform sub-prime cuts of meat into tender morsels, a sous vide attachment for your Instant Pot is all you need to get started.


6.) Cuisinart Immersion Blender

There are two types of home cooks: those who have never tried an immersion blender, and those who can’t do without them. When you want to puree a soup or broth, make a smoothie or a milkshake, make mayonnaise, refine your mashed potatoes in a snap, or beat eggs for a recipe, this blender will soon be your go-to.


7.) Cooking Tongs

No kitchen is complete without a few sets of cooking tongs. Supremely versatile, cooking tongs are great for flipping and turning food, serving salads and noodle dishes, and safely retrieving food from pots of boiling water.


8.) Strawberry Stem Gem

We don’t recommend crowding your kitchen with tools that can only perform one task, but we must make an exception for this adorable, kid-friendly strawberry stem remover. It’s simple, effective, and dishwasher safe.


9.) OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner

This salad spinner is powerful, easy to use, and doubles as a salad serving bowl. If you eat salad, you need this spinner!


10.) OXO Adjustable Measuring Cup

This handy measuring cup means you’ll never again have to pull out a stack of measuring cups when it’s time to cook. Furthermore, the push-up mechanism ensures you’ll be able to dispense every bit of peanut butter, butter, or any food that tends to cling to the walls of your measuring cups.


11.) Silicone Baking Mats

Perfect for dough prep and even better as a cookie sheet liner, these silicone baking mats are a must for every home baker. Stop going through boxes of parchment paper or adding extra fats to your cookies by greasing cookie sheets, and upgrade to silicone mats ASAP!


12.) Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

With this gorgeous Dutch oven, you’ll be able to bake, slow-cook, deep-fry, sauté, braise, broil, and sear to perfection; craft soups and stews, turn out a perfect no-knead bread, bake a whole chicken, or simply whip up delicious oatmeal.


13.) Zojirushi Bread Machine

Not every cook is a baker, but every bread baker deserves a good quality bread machine. We recommend the Virtuoso Plus by Zojirushi. 


14.) Digital Food Scale

Bakers, cooks, diet-conscious diners, and science nerds all agree: every kitchen needs a reliable digital food scale. Once you begin measuring your baking ingredients by weight, you’ll find that your baked goods are more consistently delicious than ever before!


15.) KitchenAid Electric Kettle

Are you a coffee or tea drinker? Or are instant noodles your guilty pleasure, perhaps? In either case, an electric kettle will make your life so much easier. Simply fill this sturdy, durable kettle with water, press a button, and you’ll have freshly-boiled water in a flash.


16.) Breville Coffee Grinder

There’s nothing wrong with buying coffee already ground, but it simply does not compare to the flavor and aroma one can enjoy from freshly-ground coffee. This grinder by Breville will yield a wide range of grinds for any purpose and keeps your whole beans fresh in its large hopper.


17.) Nifty Tea Bag Spinning Carousel

If you love tea, you’ve probably got a drawer or cabinet full of half-empty boxes of tea. May we suggest placing your tea options in this spinning carousel, instead? It’s pretty, it’s useful, and it’ll help you get a chunk of kitchen storage back.


18.) Bar Keepers Friend

Keep your stainless, copper, brass, enameled, glass, induction, and porcelain surfaces gleaming with this all-natural, easy-to-use cleanser. Remove hard water buildup, soap scum, calcium, and lime in mere minutes, with no back-breaking scrubbing required.

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