Your kitchen tools are your allies. The type of tools you have can either contribute to your culinary success or your failure. That's because the type and quality of your kitchen tools can actually affect a lot of things — from the ease of your preparation process, to the quality of your finished dish. They can also affect your safety in the kitchen. So whether you’re a beginner or a professional cook, here are the kitchen essentials that you need.

1. Stainless Steel Skillet

A stainless steel skillet is one of the most basic kitchen tools that you would need. This versatile item can be used to cook almost everything, except eggs. It can also tolerate cooking on the stovetop or in the oven. Unlike cast iron skillets, you can clean this skillet with dishwashing soap and water. Most importantly, there are lots of easy solutions for common issues that people encounter with stainless steel frying pans.

Knives allow you to accomplish a number of preparation tasks, such as mincing garlic and butchering beef. There are a wide variety of knives that serve different kinds of functions, but before buying a set, make sure that the knives have a carbon or carbon and stainless steel material that runs from the tip to the handle for better slicing. Choose sharp knives that can easily cut through surfaces to lessen your risk of getting knife injuries.

3. Cutting Board

The perfect companion to your knife is a cutting board. Cutting boards makes it easier to cut through different types of food, plus it also protects the surfaces of your kitchen. Wooden cutting boards are made up of a strong and sturdy material that aren’t slippery, unlike plastic or glass. Plus, its surface won’t make your knives duller after each use.

4. Serving bowls and platters

For those of you who enjoy entertaining, stoneware serving bowls and platters are definitely must-have kitchenware. Our Tsuki Round Stoneware Serving Bowl is large enough for pasta nights and spacious enough for an assortment of fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, our Marius platter oozes French farmhouse chic and can easily double as an accent piece for your kitchen with its stunning reactive glaze.

A lot of people usually eyeball the measurements of their ingredients. This can be done by pro chefs who’ve had years of training and experience, but it’s not advisable for beginner cooks and home cooks. If your measurements aren’t accurate, your food might have too much or too little of a flavor. Accurate measurements are also vital in baking, where little tweaks in the amounts of different ingredients can lead to huge changes in the flavor and texture of food.

6. Rice Washer

One of the most common mistakes that rookie chefs make is that they don’t wash rice grains before cooking them. Most people think it’s okay to skip the cleaning process because you cook rice in water, anyway. However, rinsing rice is an important step that removes debris and surface starch from the grains. The best rice washers make cleaning easy by giving you enough surface to rinse rice while protecting little grains from spilling. You’ll also be able to improve the grain’s water absorption, making your rice both clean and soft. Plus, they double as rinsing bowls for fruit and vegetables!

7. Salad Spinner

If you want to eat salads regularly, then you should be aware that it’s hard to keep green, leafy vegetables crisp and fresh. Greens have very delicate leaves that have short life spans. Salad spinners are essential kitchen tools that can help take off excess moisture and store your greens properly so that your veggies are clean and crisp for a longer time.

8. Coffee Tools

Coffee lovers can choose from a wide variety of tools that can help them get the best quality out of their favorite beverage. It’s important to note that coffee beans last longer than coffee grounds, so if you want better-tasting coffee, invest in a coffee grinder that can help you mill your beans at home! Try brewing your coffee grounds in a ceramic pour-over set, which won’t impart flavor or smell — letting you enjoy the purest taste and flavor of your drink.

9. Mugs

If you're not into using pour-over sets, you can also enjoy a perfectly brewed cup of coffee with a fancy glaze mug. With a pretty gradation of colors, our reactive glaze mug will remind you of peaceful seaside mornings of you sitting on the veranda, eyes on the far horizon, and both of your hands nestling a warm cup of coffee.

If, like most people, you are also trying to build a sustainable kitchen, you would need a variety of tea towels that can replace your single-use paper ones. Fun and practical, our minimalist tea towels are made of cotton to ensure that they are super absorbent. They also come with these cute little spreaders made of mango wood. All in all, kitchens are the hearts of most homes. They are the very places where people gather to bond, cook, and enjoy food. Without a doubt, they deserve to be filled with the best kitchen and dining pieces.

By Juliette Nash for picnicsf.com