Untesils & Hand Tools

A peeler is great not just for peeling potatoes, but also for many other kinds of vegetables and fruit, parmesan shaving, and chocolate.

Selecting the right peeler should depend on your preference. I prefer a Y construction peeler, but you may prefer a regular constructed peeler. You can also pay a little extra and even get a peeler as an attachment for your KitchenAid mixer.

It is important to select one which is easier for you to work with and will allow you to peel in no time. You don’t have to spend too much money, but try to select one which is sharp, durable and preferably with a blade made from stainless steel.

Piano whisks have thinner wires and are more suitable for thinner and more delicate sauces and mixtures and also for whipping ingredients to get more volume.

Read more about the whisks here.

A rolling pin is an important tool for any baker since it lets you flatten the dough to the desired thickness. The style and material should fit your preferences.

Based on your personal preference, select a rolling pin with a handle or a French rolling pin without the handles (often called a dowel rolling pin).

For me and most professional chefs, the French rolling pin is the optimal choice and these are the reasons why:

1. When rolling dough with a rolling pin, people’s hands often naturally go towards the center to get more strength and control- and handles are no longer needed. For this reason, a French rolling pin is more ergonomic.
2. The slightly bowed shape of the French rolling pin provides an easier way to reach a more even result for rolling dough.
3. A French rolling pin has no moving parts so it will most likely last longer than those with handles.

If you select one with a handle, I would recommend a 13” roller size (for a total length of 21”).

If you select a French rolling pin (the version without a handle), I would recommend the length of 20“.

You can substitute a rolling pin with a regular shaped, clean wine bottle, but since a rolling pin is more comfortable to use and is very inexpensive, I would recommend buying one.

Silicone brushes (also called silicon pastry brushes, silicon brushes) can be used for brushing pastries before baking or for brushing meat with marinade during grilling since most silicon bushes are heat resistant (up to 500°F). Commercial brushes will perform better and can hold more liquid in. They will also last longer and cost about the same as those for household use. If you already have the household versions, there is no reason to replace them as they will do the job just fine. The length of the brush should depend on your preference. I would generally recommend 9″ – 10” long brush for ergonomic use in households.

You can buy simple disposable bamboo skewers or buy metal skewers. Metal versions are used for anything on the grill, and bamboo skewers are used for fruit, vegetables, or sandwiches. They can be used for cooking too. With the bamboo skewers you will save some time with cleaning, but the metal skewers are more durable and more convenient. Because of the metal material, they will heat up and start baking the meat from inside too. They also look more upscale, but on the other hand, they are not a good option for fruit or vegetable skewers. If you plan to make regular skewers for lunch or supper, I find the size 10″ most convenient. You should also consider buying shorter ones (about 4″) for fruit skewers and similar applications.

A wire or mesh skimmer (similar to an Asian strainer) is a great helper in the kitchen (do not confuse with a fine mesh skimmer). A small size is the most useful for frying helps you remove individual pieces from a fryer without removing the basket. Large size is most useful for removing objects from boiling water such as for example side dumplings or ribs.

Slotted Cooking Spoon

A small hand grater is one of the best tools to have in the kitchen. My favorite is the Microplane® which stays sharper longer and performs exceptionally well.

I like to use my hand grater for:

1. Zesting citrus (finer than a zester – provides more aroma and a finer texture)
2. For nutmeg
3. For grating garlic (compared to a garlic press, this gives you much more flavor from your garlic)
4. Fine grating parmesan and other hard cheeses

Optionally, you can use a regular zester for zesting your citruses, a garlic press for processing garlic, a box grater for fine grating parmesan, and a nutmeg grater for nutmeg, but in my opinion, a small hand grater works better for these tasks, and is also great for reducing the amount of kitchen tools in your kitchen.

Spatulas are very important in any kitchen on so many levels.

You can buy basic plastic versions (usually white), which are not heat proof, but work great:

1. Icing
2. Pastry creams
3. Batter
4. Scraping bowls
5. Mashed potatoes
6. Stirring your salad

If you pay just a little bit more, you can get all the above and like a bonus, have the advantage of being able to use a spatula that can handle high temperatures (up to 500°). This allows you to also use it for stirring directly in a hot pan or in a pot while cooking. A heat-proof spatula is simply worth a little extra money thanks to its versatility.

For most households, the most convenient size will be 10”. I would recommend purchasing a few to have them available at any time.