Kitchen Appliances & Tools That Are Actually Worth It
We love sitting down to a home-cooked meal complete with a dessert made from scratch. Hello, flaky pie crust!
What we don’t love is all the food prep. Slicing, dicing, chopping, mixing; It takes so much time and effort. That’s why we cheat and use some pretty handy kitchen gadgets to get the job done.
These are the kitchen tools that are worth it, hands-down.
Tomato Slicing Knife
If salads and chopped fruit are on the menu often, invest in a tomato paring knife. The serrated edge easily glides through produce with soft skins, like tomatoes, berries or peaches without squishing the produce.
Automatic Rice Cooker
Scrubbing burnt rice from the bottom of a stock pot is no fun at all. That’s why every kitchen should have a rice cooker.
This multitasker also prepares lentils and quinoa with ease. Just add dry grains or pulses and water and push a button. You can even make Japanese pancakes!
Garlic Press
Fresh garlic is heavenly, but chasing garlic cloves around on the cutting board and getting sticky flakes all over your hands is not. A garlic press both removes the outer skin and minces garlic with perfect precision.
We also appreciate a good silicon garlic peeler. Sold on both counts!
Stick/Immersion Blender
If you make homemade baby food, soups or purees, a stick blender is incredibly handy. While you’re cooking the food, simply submerge the head of the hand-held blender into the hot food and blend. There’s no need to pour hot food in and out of a blender any more.
Mini Chopper
Sometimes we skip making a favorite dish because digging out the heavy food processor is too much work. Welcome, mini chopper. This scaled down version of a food processor is perfect for chopping small amounts of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that would otherwise get stuck in the bottom of a food processor bowl.
Microplane
Do you love to amp up the look of your dishes?
Grab a microplane to create fresh citrus zest, ground cinnamon or even chocolate shavings. You can also use it to grate bars of soap when making homemade laundry soap.
Individual Blender
Single-serve anything screams convenience. Grab an individual blender to whip up a smoothie for breakfast quickly. The blender carafe doubles as your drinking glass. These mini blenders also pack well for travelers who enjoy preparing protein powder smoothies in hotel rooms.
Stand Mixer
Finally, no kitchen is complete without a stand mixer that offers oodles of attachments. In addition to mixing up cake batter and cookie dough, these machines can press pasta, grind meat and even spiralize vegetables. Zoodles, anyone?
Find all of these items (and so many more cool kitchen gadgets) at Target, Crate&Barrel and Sur La Table! Here are some hot deals not to miss:
Target: Get up to 25% Off Select KitchenAid appliances and 2 percent cash back!
Crate&Barrel: Free shipping on $99+ gift registry orders. Think ahead to summer wedding gift giving!
Sur La Table: Free shipping on all orders of $59+ and KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixers starting at $259.95.
What are you waiting for? Shop online today. There are recipes to make and delicious meals to prepare! Bon appétit!
