Working in professional kitchens, I got pretty used to always having certain things at my fingertips: a fullystocked pantry, the highest quality produce, a large staff to battle the prep work. But most important were the tools. We couldn’t make our 4-pounds-of-butter batch ofcookie doughwithout a 20-quart stand mixer, or cook down pounds and pounds of fruit into jam without a ginormous, heavy-duty stockpot.
In comparison, the home kitchen can feel oh-so-bare—I’ve cooked with friends who don’t even have a mixing bowl, let alone a stand mixer or large pot. Of course, there are many ways to work around a lack of tools; when without, I’ve used a wine bottle as a rolling pin and a fork to whisk eggs. We don't expect you to upgrade to the professional 20-quart mixer, but these five tools are the ones I can't imagine baking without. Get ‘em, and get baking like a pro.
(These tools are in addition to some basic staples, including measuring cups/spoons, bowls, some kind of mixer, baking sheets, andkitchen towels. If you don't have them, get stocked on those first.)
Offset spatula
Thislittle tool—which can be picked up for less than six bucks—is one of my favorite go-to utensils in the kitchen. Epicurious Food Editor Rhoda Boone likes thesilicone ones, and everyone in the test kitchen agrees that having them in multiple sizes is awesome. These guys are a must when it comes to icing cakes and evenly spreading cake batter into pans, and the bigger sizes are great for lifting and moving slices of food from cheesecake to lasagna. They can also be used to spread condiments, loosen baked goods out of tins, and lift items off baking sheets. As Rhoda puts it, “All the things a butter knife can do, an offset can do better.”
BUY IT:Ateco Offset Spatula with 4.5-Inch Stainless Steel Blade, $5 on Amazon
BUY IT:Kuhn Rikon Icing Spatula, $8 on Amazon
Digital Thermometer
A lot of folks have a meat thermometer from the grocery store, and for meat, that’s a-ok. But for pastry, the temperatures can range far below and above what a typical meat thermometer will measure. Whether you are making sugar syrup forItalian buttercreamor cooking eggs and sugar into acream sauce, you have to cook it to the right temp. Adigital candy/sugar thermometerwill get you there. This thermometer works for meat too, so if you just buy one thermometer, make it one of these.
(And if you're going to buy two thermometers, an oven thermometer is also pretty important, because ovens can range astronomically. Your oven set to 350°F might actually be 400°F, and the only way to tell is with a thermometer.)
BUY IT:Thermapen, $79 from ThermoWorks
BUY IT:Rubbermaid Commercial Oven Monitoring Thermometer, $7 on Amazon
Digital Scale
Measuring cups and spoons are great and all—if you are okay with approximate measurements. Having a little extra onion in the frittata or pecans in the granola is fine, but add extra flour to your cake batter and you could accidentally end up with a dry, crumbly cake. A cup of flour or sugar can vary widely in actual amounts, depending on how tightly packed the cup was. More and more pastry cookbooks are including weights for measurements, and using these recipes with adigital scalekeeps your final product more accurate and consistent.
