Essential Kitchen Appliances for Food Preparation

Having some essential kitchen appliances is very important when preparing food.  Actually, “food prep” can actually take longer than the actual cooking! Fortunately, there are many time and labor saving devices and gadgets to make this task go much faster.

For example,  making drinks, salad dressings and gravies can involve a lot of chopping, mixing and pureeing.   Several devices are available to make these tasks easier.

• Stand mixer with attachments for chopping meat, slicing firm fruit and vegetables, and shredding crisp vegetables, nuts and firm cheese
• Meat grinder for preparing sausage, meat loaf, hamburger, and even baby food
• Full-size regular blender used for making smoothies, pureeing vegetables for soup, crushing ice and making pesto
• Small immersion hand blender used for cold drinks, hot soups and gravies
• Juice extractor for fast juice extraction with no seeds

Many recipes call for sliced, diced or shredded foods.  Doing this with just a sharp knife takes a lot of time.  It can also be hard to get it just right.  There are several kitchen appliances that can make this task easier.

• A mandoline can be used for uniform slicing, grating, shredding and making  french fry and julienne cuts
• A spiral vegetable slicer makes attractive curly ribbon-like slices
• Electric slicers are used to slice meats and vegetables just like the delicatessens
• Food processors can prepare many items.  These range from stir-fries and main course salads, to peanut butter and home-made bread

Kitchen appliances are not just for the kitchen!  Barbequing is great whether you use gas or charcoal.  There is no other way to duplicate the flavor of a great barbeque.  There are several items that can make it easier, including

• Tongs to handle food items as they cook
• Thermometers for getting the doneness just right
• Rotisserie baskets to hold small items they cook evenly
• Shish kabob skewers for cooking multiple small pieces
• Smoker chip container for hickory or mesquite chips to add a wonderful smoky flavor to meats

All of these handy tools are easy to use.  They can make food preparation a lot easier and faster.  And, they are generally available at reasonable prices.  Take a look at some of them .  I think you’ll find several of these essential kitchen appliances that are just right for your kitchen.