For the one who loves to cook: My eight favourite kitchen gifts
I’m not really one for writing Christmas gift guides - I often find Christmas a little overwhelming and the consumerism a little too crazy. I find it’s all too easy to get sucked into thinking I definitely need to buy another gift for the kids to make them happy or a present for an acquaintance who I’m going to happen to see over the festive period. When in reality, I’m not sure that most people really remember what gifts they were given a year later. What they are much more likely to remember are spending time with the people they love and maybe doing something fun or interesting.
That being said - it is very nice to receive a thoughtful and useful gift. I’m always being asked what are my favourite kitchen tools - so I’ve put together a list of my eight ‘can’t live without’ kitchen utensils and equipment. Hopefully this will be helpful if you are looking for a useful, even beautiful, gift for the cook in your life!
1. A Micoplane grater - Microplane is the brand name, and you can of course buy non-branded versions, but in my humble opinion the microplane ones are the best. They are robust, easy to use, easy to clean and sharp. I like this Gourmet Fine Grater one and I use it pretty much every day for grating everything from garlic and citrus zest to ginger, nutmeg, chocolate and cheese. I also have the Gourmet Coarse Grater which I use for cheese (particularly Parmesan) and sometimes for ginger and chocolate but I use it much less frequently, so if you are going to buy just one go for the fine grater. They also do a narrower version which is particularly good for citrus zest, but again, I think if you buy the fine grater you can use it for everything! And these are much easier to clean than a garlic press, plus it’s multi functional!
2. A Thermapen food thermometer - The Queen of food thermometers! This is pricey but it is so quick and so accurate. I’ve had the Thermapen Classic and now have the Thermapen One - which gives slightly quicker readings and has a five year guarantee (as opposed to two years for the Classic model). These are better than other thermometers because they read the temperature quickly (between 1-3 seconds depending on the model) which is important when you are making something like jam or a steak. I use this pretty much everyday! They come in cute colours and are designed and made in the UK.
3. A brilliant chef’s knife - I have to use this as an opportunity to give my friends Helen & Tom at Kitchen Provisions a shout out. They run an absolutely amazing business in London selling Japanese kitchen knives and many other bits of gorgeous kitchenalia. They have several shops and a thriving online business. If you are looking for a really good kitchen knife this would be an excellent place to start. A chef’s knife is quite a big knife. If you always chop with a small knife then it will take a bit of getting used to, but I promise it’s easier and faster. It’s important that the bottom of the blade, near the handle, is a good bit wider than the handle. This means you can keep the tip of the blade on the board and easily chop without your hands hitting the board. It’s also important to keep it sharp so a steel or one of these sharpeners would be a good companion present.
4. A ‘cut through the toughest crust’ bread knife - If you eat/make good bread then you need a good knife to cut it. I find this one from Opinel is excellent and I also think these Japanese ones from Kitchen Provisions look great!
5. Metal mixing bowls - I use these Ikea Blanda Blank ones in both the 28cm and the 20cm size. They are really inexpensive, they are light and easy to wash and just the right size for food prep or making a loaf of bread. Not fancy but beautiful because they are so useful!
6. A stand mixer with a rubber beater - This is obviously a bit of an investment but if you like to bake you will never look back! I have a Kenwood mixer (actually I have two!), other brands are popular and pretty but this is what we used at cookery school and they got a lot of use and seemed to stand up really well. I’ve had one of mine for 11 years and it is used at least a few times a week, often very intensively, and I’ve had no problems. If you buy a stand mixer get one with a rubber beater/creamer like this - this scrapes the side of the bowl as it mixes a cake so you don’t need to stop and scrape every few minutes. It’s revolutionary! I love that the Kenwood site allows you to buy replacement attachments if they get broken so you don’t need to buy a whole new machine
7. Beautiful wooden spoons - Or really any wooden spoon! Surely one of the oldest and best kitchen utensils! They are gentle on cookware, non reactive with acidic ingredients, naturally antibacterial (which is why a wooden chopping board is brilliant too!) and heat resistant. They also look beautiful. My favourite wooden spoon is a spoon shape but also has a flat end and a slightly pointy corner so you can stir right into the edge of the pot! I aspire to a spoon from the amazing Hewn - but they are so popular they are always sold out! I’m in the virtual queue but will I ever get to the top!
8. Silicone Spatulas - Having just extolled the virtues of the wooden spoon I can’t say these are as beautiful or as long lasting but they are very useful. They are perfect for scraping the last bit out of a jar or a bowl. I particularly like these small ones with a spoon-shaped end but I’ve also bought good ones from Sosterne Grene I replace mine every couple of years when they split - but mine definitely get more use than in a domestic kitchen!
And that’s my ‘kitchen essentials’ gift guide! I’m sure I’ll think of many other ‘essentials’ now that I’ve posted this. In the meantime I’d love to hear from you. What can you not live without in the kitchen? What kitchen equipment brings you joy every time you use it because it’s just so useful, beautiful and perfectly designed?