Do You Have the Right Kitchen Equipment?
November 14, 2017One of the best things you can do for yourself is learning how to cook your own meals. Knowing that you made a delicious dinner for yourself, the feeling of independence, and it’s a huge money saver! No more paying to go out every meal. Whether you’re new to the kitchen or you’re Gordon Ramsay, we suggest this kitchen equipment to make every meal the best meal!
When You’re Slicing
Having a good knife can prevent a kitchen nightmare! They say that the most dangerous knife is a dull knife, so that makes it one of the biggest staple in your kitchen supplies. When you think about it, almost all cooking requires a knife. From slicing chicken, vegetables, fruits, and even as a tool such as opening packages, there is always a need for a knife. You will want one with a firm handle and a nice, curved edge. Make sure you always wipe the knife after each use, and wash it with warm water and dish soap after each use, making sure there’s no remnants of previous food particles on it. You can buy convenient knife sharpeners, or a wet stone to always keep a good, sharp edge on it. Simply use the coarse side 10 times, and then flip it over to the fine grit side and repeat. Pro-tip: When transferring food from the cutting board to the pan, use the dull side faced down to “scoop” it up. This way you won’t be dulling the blade dragging it across the cutting board. The versatility of a kitchen knife might make it the best investment as a kitchen equipment.
When You’re Flipping
Besides slicing and dicing, you’ll also need to do some flipping, grabbing and scooping. Your kitchen equipment needs to include good spatulas and tongs. Having these tools easily accessible will reduce frustration while cooking your meals. Metal spatulas are thin enough to get under delicate foods like omelets or cookies, while rubber spatulas are good for mixing, spreading, and scraping the last bits out from jars and cans. You’ll be using tongs to grab your proteins such as chicken and steaks to turn them over with ease. We suggest a good pair with a comfortable handle and serrated tips. They’re also perfect for tossing vegetables or salads! Having a good ladle will save you time for soups and other liquids. One quick scoop is much more satisfying than fifteen scoops with a wimpy spoon. Look for one with a deep pocket, and possibly a curve on the handle to prevent it falling into the pan.
When You’re Checking
You’ll need a good meat thermometer for your kitchen. Nothing can ruin a meal more than unintentionally under cooking your food! Having a meat thermometer can give you an accurate reading of the internal temperature of the food, ensuring it’s cooked how you like it and safe to eat! This is especially important for steaks, and can measure how hot the oil is when you’re planning to fry. An array of measuring cups and spoons is essential because eyeballing how much ⅓ of a cup is might come with experience, so it’s be safer to know the exact measurement. Having quality kitchen equipment like a can opener is not only a relief, but you won’t be able to fathom how your kitchen survived without one before. No more turning it once only to see that it’s skipped the can and broke. Having a decent can opener can be satisfying feeling it cut around like butter.
How do you feel about our suggestions about essential kitchen equipment? What do you think needs to go in your drawer?
Kitchen Equipment: Choosing the Right Cutting Board
Every kitchen, from a food truck to a large restaurant, needs cutting boards. From vegetables to bread to meat and fish, your chefs and cooks have to chop things every day. Have you put a lot of thought into this important piece of kitchen equipment? Like many other...
Catering to Generation Z
As time marches on, we continue to have new generations arising behind the ones we’ve already named. Most recently everyone has been focused on Millennials, whose tech-savvy and focus on experiences over things have shifted the face of every industry. Now, there’s a...
4 Ways to Keep Your Restaurant Employees Engaged
You can have everything you need to run an amazing restaurant – a great menu, incredible chef, the best location, perfect pricing, and top-of-the-line kitchen equipment. But even with all of that, you won’t succeed if your employees are disengaged and unprofessional....
Kitchen Fun : Food and the Oscars
Hollywood’s biggest night was February 24th, 2019, and was it ever a show. There were stars, glitz, glamour, and amazing outfits everywhere. There were also cameras catching every moment, from the red carpet to the after-parties. What happened at the show and after...
4 Keys to Successful Commercial Kitchen Design
If you’re opening a new restaurant or renovating your existing kitchen, you probably already have some ideas about how it should look. However, it’s important to look beyond your own ideas and understand the keys to good design in general. This will help you...
Bring Together Your Back and Front of House
Does your restaurant feel like a simmering battle between the back of house (BOH) and front of house (FOH)? Or do both units get along famously? If your restaurant is like many, you find yourself somewhere in the middle. Rarely do you have an all-out war, but...
Commercial Kitchen Fun: Cooking With Mustard
One of the things that make owning a restaurant so fun is the ability to be creative with your menu. With the help of your chef and cooks, you can come up with some really fun dishes to serve. To get your imagination going, we’re going to share some fun dishes that...
Drive Traffic to Your Restaurant From Instagram
You have a lot of restaurant equipment that you need to make your location run smoothly. You might think about your point-of-sale system, refrigeration units, cooking equipment, and more. But what about Instagram? That’s right, a social media platform can be one of...
Handling Theft in Your Convenience Store
Running a convenience store is challenging to say the least. You need to staff it, but not with too many people. Then again, too few and you have a lot of problems – including theft. There are three groups that can be responsible for product and money loss in your...
Kitchen Equipment Spotlight: How Clean is Your Coffee Pot?
If you were going to rank kitchen equipment based on how much work it does, the humble coffee pot has to be near the top. In almost every restaurant, people order coffee with their meal or dessert. The problem is that because the coffee pot is working so hard, it...
Should You Add a Food Truck to Your Restaurant?
If your restaurant is doing well, you might be thinking about opening a second location. After all, that’s usually the next step when it’s time to expand, right? Before you jump in, though, consider another option. Maybe having a food truck would be a better choice....
Kitchen Equipment Spotlight: How to Maintain a Commercial Freezer
Your commercial freezer can be a lifeline for your restaurant. Safe food storage is vital, and a high-quality freezer is essential kitchen equipment. However, a freezer is only as good as the maintenance that goes into it. Without proper care, your freezer will become...
Take Advantage of Your Customer’s Technology
Some restaurant owners hate seeing customers snapping photos of food – it means that the food isn’t eaten at its best, and sometimes it’s a sign of a table that’s going to be slow to turn over. Then there are other owners and managers who see an opportunity. The truth...
How to Reduce Turnover at Your Restaurant
Having the right employees can make or break your restaurant. You can have the best food and kitchen supplies, but tension in the back of the house can cause delays, poor morale, and even the loss of key staff. You can have a beautiful dining room, but surly wait...
Should Your Commercial Kitchen Consider Catering?
As a business owner, it’s important to always be looking for new ways to grow your business. There are a lot of ways to do this, and one of the most common for many restaurants is catering. Of course, catering changes how your commercial kitchen runs a lot of the...