One of the most important rooms in any house is the kitchen. This is the room where families share time together preparing and eating meals, where friends converge and where many a day begins. For these reasons it is always nice to have a few essential kitchen appliances that can make life easier and a lot more enjoyable for the home cook.
Of course every kitchen should begin with the usual large appliances such as the refrigerator, stove, oven, and dishwasher, but there are some small appliances that are essential to a well organized and cook friendly kitchen. With all of life’s modern conveniences it is hard to imagine a kitchen without a microwave, but go a step further and you have the first essential appliance, the convection oven. While microwaves are used essentially for thawing and warming, a convection oven can do that plus cook, bake, and roast. Convection ovens use forced heated air via fans that cooks food evenly while requiring 20% less cooking time than your normal oven. These ovens can be purchased in a variety of sizes from freestanding full-size to counter top versions no bigger than your average microwave.
For the home baker a good quality stand mixer is a must. A good stand mixer usually provides between six and twelve speeds and has a motor powerful enough to knead bread dough. Bowl sizes range from three to six quarts and most mixers come with a whisk, paddle, and dough hook attachment. Most models will allow for multiple functions and attachments such as a meat grinder or a pasta shaper. While the stand mixer will cost more than the traditional hand mixer, it provides more versatility and is well worth the extra money.
If you always seem to be short on time and would like to literally cut your food preparation in half, a food chopper is the small appliance for you. Electric food choppers can be purchased as an attachment to a blender or as a stand alone appliance and are relatively inexpensive, ranging in price from five to fifty dollars. Some choppers are powerful enough to chop raw meat, while others are made especially for vegetable. When shopping for your chopper, keep in mind what types of food preparation you will be using it for. This will help you choose the right machine for you. Food choppers are not only easy to use but easy to clean and should have a permanent place in your well-stocked kitchen.
There is a another essential appliance that makes food preparation a snap, and that is the blender. As with the chopper there are many sizes and speeds available depending on your individual uses. Some companies make a combination chopper, mixer, and blender. These are great, but take up a lot of much needed counter space. The ideal blender is one with a glass jar, these are easy to clean and are more heavy duty. Another thing to look for in a blender is the speed settings. The more classic blenders have only three speeds. These are usually very powerful and get the job done. There are other blenders that have up to fifteen speeds, and may also include an ice crusher speed. These are great for making smoothies, pureeing soups, and even making baby food. If that isn’t enough decisions to make, there is also the color to consider. Blenders are available today in every conceivable color so anyone can find one to fit their kitchen.
The toaster is yet another one of those everyday appliances that makes life simpler. Toasters have evolved over the years and yet have also retained some of their original look. Manufacturers have improved on the first toaster by adding larger slots to accommodate bagels and large breads, and have made clean up easier with pullout drawers on the bottom. The traditional toaster is not the only way to go. If you are short on counter space, an under the counter toaster oven will not only toast your bread but can be used to heat, bake, and broil. Toasters come in many sizes, and are even compact enough to store in a cupboard.
Another essential kitchen appliance is the slow cooker. The slow cooker is basically an electric pot that allows you to cook food slowly for a long period of time. Slow cookers put out less heat than an oven and use less electricity, making them economical as well as convenient. Using a slow cooker you can make anything from chili to bread pudding. For pulled pork or 12-hour roasts, there is nothing better than a slow cooker to make your meal complete. And to top it all off, most slow cookers have removable ceramic centers for easy cleanup.
While there are many small appliances out there to make your life easier, these six top the list of some of the most essential kitchen appliances for any cook, whether amateur or professional.
