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There are many kitchen gadgets available and most are designed to make our lives easier. Some products can be cheap and cheerful however some are expensive and you are left wondering what is actually worth buying. In this post I have round up my favourite smaller items which are a great help in the kitchen. In a later post I’ll go over some items that are more expensive but still worth the money.
Firstly I love my kitchen to be organised. It means I can find things quickly and make the most of my space. No matter the size of your kitchen, if its organised you can fit more in.
One of the first things I love to have in my kitchen cupboards are the clear storage boxes. These come in a variety of sizes and it helps to keep certain things together. I like to use them to keep my baking ingredients organised. Since they are clear you can see everything in them and certain styles can stack giving you even more space. I get my storage boxes from TKMaxx or they can be found *online.
Another great way to store items are spice racks or shelves in my case. I had been looking for something to help organise my spices for a long time and when I bought the Spicy Shelf, my first thought was it was going to be a waste of money. They took up soo much space. Once set up and having lived with it for a while I love it. It is also very satisfying to see it so organised after so long. Sad I know, but I love being organised, anyone else with me? If you use spices a lot and have trouble keeping track of what you have, I highly recommend this. I found mine on amazon but this current version is no longer available. Similar options can be found *here.
An odd choice for a kitchen gadget is the potato ricer. Many of us love the potato masher but if you have the time, using a potato ricer instead creates a lovely smooth potato mash, much smoother than you get from a masher. The ricer will push the potato through creating tiny bits of potato which are then easier to stir and incorporate any extra ingredients you add such as milk or cream. If you love mash give this a try, it does make a big difference.
In every kitchen there is bound to be a grater of some sort. There are a lot of these available but some are definitely better than others. The box grater is a very popular grater but I hate it, it’s so hard to clean if you want to zest anything. Most of the rind gets stuck on the grater and is then wasted. The best option for zest is a microplane. The bar style grater allows you to zest fruit or grate hard spices or garlic. You can grate straight into the bowl or pan you are using and there is minimum waste. It is also a lot easier to clean than the box grater. Find these online or any kitchen store.
If you don’t like the idea of grating garlic, either the garlic is too small or you want to minimise the smell on your hands you can use a garlic press. The best one I have used is the one from *OXO. It’s quite a heavy piece but it can get through the biggest of garlic pieces and the other side of the press has a raised section which pushes the garlic skin out of the press, meaning really easy cleaning.
Wooden spoons are a staple in the kitchen but some times you need something better. This is where spatulas come in. My spatula collection is starting to rival the wooden spoons and I am sure it will continue to grow. Spatula’s can be used in the same way as a wooden spoon but you don’t have to worry about scraping a pan, you can get every last bit out of the bowl, it’s easier to fold some ingredients and they are much easier to clean. Spatula’s can be found just about any where that sells kitchen items but they are so cost effective you can get a few.
My last item for this post is the ice-cream scoop because other than suppling you with tasty ice-cream it can be used in baking. When filling cupcakes cases or making cookies use an ice-cream scoop instead of spoons as these will give equal amounts each time and you’ll get an even rise or bake. Ice-cream scoops can be expensive, but if you think you will use it a lot, it is worth it. They come in a variety of sizes but you just need to get the size that works best for you. At the moment I like the spring action ice-cream scoop from Lakeland.
I hope you liked my kitchen help tips for smaller items. I will be talking about larger more expensive items later. What items can’t you live without in your kitchen, leave a note below.