The 10 Kitchen Utensils I Couldn’t Live Without

It makes much more sense to buy a fab set of silicone utensils so that is what I’ve linked to here. But I want to focus on the importance of silicone spatulas and fish slices.

There are four main benefits to using them over wooden, nylon or metal utensils/spoons.

First up is the ability to properly and fully scrape food out of bowls/blenders/pans. This not only minimises food waste but makes washing up easier too.

If I’m not grabbing a silicone spatula, I’m usually grabbing a pair of silicone tongs. I keep two larger and two smaller sets next to the hob for easy reaching.

My preference for tongs is for them to be metal, with silicone ends and grip. It is also important that they lock shut by pulling the loop at the end out. Some of them have a little metal ring that slips over the tongs to close them but these are a pain in the bum and usually fall off.

The last item of silicone on this list is a whisk. Not all silicone whisks are made equal and I do try to look for one that is relatively thin but sturdy.

Many of them are either too waffy or so thick that you can’t get into the corner of the bowl so food gets wasted.

The reasons for using a silicone whisk over a nylon or metal are effectively the same as for the other silicone utensils. The ability to make a great cheese sauce in the pan without scratching it is my biggest reason!

A decent set of knives does not need to be expensive. Other than a Sabatier cleaver that I got when I was 16, none of my knives are remotely pricey.

But they are all nicely weighted, feel nice in my hand and most importantly of all, they are sharp. Blunt knives cause injuries, sharp knives are much less risky. And they make chopping so much easier!

There are many more uses for sieves than just sieving flour to make cakes or pastry.

I use mine for rinsing rice before cooking it, for draining smaller portions of vegetables and pasta and my smaller one for dusting sweet treats with icing sugar.

I find that metal sieves are much longer lasting than the nylon kind which tend to get out of shape and stained quite quickly. The metal kind always feel easier to clean and more hygienic too.

I feel that this one is really quite self explanatory.

Many tinned goods manufacturers have not yet become involved with ring-pull technology and until that time comes, a tin opener is just essential.

I mostly use tinned chickpeas for Hummus, tinned beans for Veggie Bean Chilli and creamed corn for Chowder. The corned beef for my Pan Aggie comes with its own fun opening system!

Whilst a set of sharp knives is absolutely essential and you can do everything with them, I do often turn to a pair of decent kitchen scissors for certain tasks.

They make cutting up the dates for my Sticky Toffee Cakes much easier and I almost always use them to cut up bacon slices and chicken thighs.

I actually keep several pairs on hand as I end up using them quite a lot!

There are many ways to extract the juice from a lemon or a lime. But the vast majority of them either don’t extract all the juice or are quite large contraptions which result in way too much washing up for the size of the task.

A good pointy wooden lemon reamer is therefore my go-to utensil. That could be just a little bit of lime for Guacamole, quite a lot of lime for my Chocolate Lime Pie or even oranges for my Baked Oatmeal. Every time I get maximum juice with little effort and barely any dishes to clean.

I cannot believe that I lived without a Microplane grater for nearly 32 years. I know that sounds quite dramatic but I absolutely love the fine wispy lemon zest or Parmesan that the Microplane gives you.

And I am talking about the branded grater. They aren’t the cheapest but they’re worth every penny. I’ve owned other similar graters and they just weren’t anywhere near as good. P.S. I have zero affiliation with the brand, I just really like them!

Peelers seem to be a real divisive subject. Some people like to risk all of their fingers by just using a small knife and others use a peeler where the blade runs in the same direction as the handle. But I am firmly a speed peeler girl.

A ‘T’ or ‘Y’ shaped peeler makes peeling any veg really easy. I even find that peeling thick skinned veg like butternut squash is a breeze. And with the handle placed like it is, I never slip or risk injuring myself.