The 12 Kitchen Tools You Need // GQ

An article in gq magazine laid out the 12 kitchen tools you need as a home chef. The idea behind each of these no-fuss pieces are their multi-functionality and ability to be a power-house in the kitchen. I know there are tons of appliances and helpful tools on the market that seem great but I often find them to be underwhelming when put to use. These guys though, they are worth their investment. 

1. dutch oven - expensive but indestructible, the heavy cast iron maintains a steady heat for roasting and braising, while the enamel finish keeps things easy to clean.

2. mixing bowl -  mixing bowls comes in handy for beating eggs, dressing salad, marinating drumsticks, or tossing baby potatoes with olive oil for a roast. Buy one in steel and make sure it has a nonslip rubber bottom.

3. tongs - a twelve-inch pair of tongs can handle anything too hot or too messy to touch: a steak ready to be flipped, spaghetti in boiling water, an untossed salad, a blistering pan. Think of them as an extra limb.

4. 4-quart sauce pan - the workhorse of the cooktop, a four-quart saucepan is large enough to boil pasta or simmer chicken stock but small enough that boiling a single egg doesn't feel like overkill. A combination of steel and aluminum works best.

5. non-stick frying pan - the secret to perfect eggs? A nonstick fry pan that lets your omelet slide onto the plate and leaves scrambled eggs soft and fluffy. The nonstick surface also works for cooking fish or sautéing onions, but it shouldn't be scraped or placed over high heat.

6. silicone spatula - heat-resistant up to 800 degrees, a silicone spatula won't melt when you scramble eggs, stir a soup, or prod a roasted leg of lamb. It's like having a fireproof appendage.

7. kitchen towels - a kitchen towel is a tool, not an accessory. Use it for everything from handling hot pans to gripping a just roasted chicken as you carve it. Get strong, absorbent 100-percent cotton towels you don't mind destroying, then destroy them.

8. stainless steel skillet - a stainless-steel skillet picks up where the nonstick fry pan leaves off; use it for sautéing pork chops, browning mushrooms, even roasting. Professional cooks will sear a steak on the stovetop and finish it in a hot oven.

9. sheet tray - a staple of any restaurant kitchen, the sheet tray is part resting pan, part flat bowl. Use one to rest a just seared steak or to bake vegetables, and double up two trays to roast meats.

10. fish spatula - designed to preserve the flaky flesh of seafood, this light, flexible fish spatula is also great for roasted vegetables, flipping pancakes, and scraping up caramelized bits to deglaze a pan with port. 

11. 8" chef knife - an eight-inch chef's knife is as versatile as a gray flannel suit: It's strong (crunch through the leg joint of a chicken), nimble (carve a roast, section a pear), and precise (mince garlic, chiffonade basil—once you figure out what that means).

12. apron - cooking is messy—at least if you're doing it right. And if you don't want to drizzle pan drippings on your new khakis, you need an apron.