Let’s face it — cooking (and cleaning up afterwards) could be easier.
Luckily, there might just be a solution for each one of your pet peeves. There are tons of helpful little kitchen gadgets out there, ready to improve your culinary routine.
Pan and pot protectors
‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is probably not the best approach for storing your pots and pans — I wish it were, every time I open the cupboards to see a teetering stack of cookware.
Unfortunately, piling everything in willy-nilly can cause damage and nasty scratches. The fix here isn’t to change your whole organisation system. Protect your cookware by investing in a set of simple pan and pot protectors instead.
This Baccarat 4 Piece Felt Pan & Pot Protector & Divider Set offers a cheap and no-fuss way to do just that. It comes in a set to protect different pan sizes, so you can stack away to your heart’s content.
Plus, they double as trivets and are suitable for protecting delicate bowls as well. Being made from soft but durable cloth means they’re also easy to clean, which is a must-have for any busy kitchen. Low-cost, hardwearing and easy to use — it’s the holy trio of kitchen gadgets.
Rice cooker
I find some people are sceptical about this appliance. You can just cook rice on the stove, right? Yes, you can. But a good rice cooker will do it perfectly every time (which is more than I can say of my own stove cooking method). Plus, it can be used to make full meals in one pot, as well as cooking other grains.
It’s worth it, especially if you want to eat a lot of rice without a lot of fuss.
There are a ton of different rice cookers out there, available in a range of sizes and prices. Some even have special settings for specific varieties of rice. For a full detailed breakdown, check out the Choice review.
If you’d like us to help you decide, peep the rice cooker range at The Good Guys. Each cooker is of a good size, perfect for large portions and preparing an easy dinner for the whole family.
Apple peeler and corer (and, perhaps, slinky-fier)
Some might find the classic slinky-fying apple peeler and corer a little gimmicky, but honestly, I love them. If you have a family that eats a lot of apples (or are trying to become that family), it’s a great option. You can even keep the peel on if you’d prefer.
These devices don’t just make eating an apple a little fun and silly — with a few extra chops, they’re also a good way to get fine apple pieces for pies, tarts and toppings on porridge or overnight oats. I still use mine for apple and pear crumbles!
Mandoline slicer
This is one of those gadgets I never understood the love for until I tried it myself. Mandoline slicers are like a bigger, fancier (and dare I say it, better) grater, so you can slice, shred or julienne veggies easily and uniformly.
The Kitchen Pro Prep Stainless Steel Mandoline Slicer includes a set of six blades for different slice sizes, as well as a finger guard to ensure you’re not the one getting julienned. It also has removable parts for easier cleaning.
If you do a lot of chopping, a mandoline slicer is well worth considering.
Ice cream scoop
I’ll admit, I almost never use my ice cream scoop for ice cream. Instead, I use it to make evenly sized cookies and biscuits — there’s a free cooking hack for you.
Whichever way you use it, I highly recommend getting one with a spring for a bit of extra ‘oomph’ while getting the ice cream (or dough) out. Like this Universal Ice Cream Scoop from KitchenAid. It’s perfect for getting uniform servings.
If you often make cookies (or serve ice cream), I can’t recommend it enough.
Burger press
This one is for the grillers and carnivores.
A burger press is a great way to up your grilling game — not just for restaurant-quality charred burgers, but for perfect steaks and toasted sandwiches too.
The GRYLT Cast Iron Burger Press is a heavy-duty piece of equipment which easily retains heat for a more even cook. It even has a ribbed grill surface for delicious-looking (and delicious-tasting) char marks, which can also prevent your meat from curling.
Lemon, lime and/or orange squeezer
If you’re not already on the handheld squeezer train, I suggest you hop aboard.
Using a proper juicer is always a bit of a mess and inevitably involves bits of pulp and juice going where it really shouldn’t — and can be an annoyance to clean too.
A proper handheld squeezer is a much easier option, especially when you just want to juice a single fruit or drizzle some lemon over the top of your pasta. The Scullery Lemon, Lime and Orange Squeezers are a no-nonsense, simple and clean approach to juicing citrus fruits, earning them their places in the miscellaneous kitchen drawer.
In case you were wondering, yes, you can use them interchangeably if you want to. But each is sized to the average of its titular fruit, so if you just want one, get the orange — it’s the largest of the three.
Olive pitter
Here’s another niche one, but one which I’m sure will be an essential for some households — the humble olive pitter. No longer will you need to fiddle around with a knife when you have one of these bad boys at hand. Best part is, most olive pitters also work on other small stone fruits as well.
The OXO Good Grips Cherry and Olive Pitter is a great choice, and most importantly, is as mess-free as fruit pitting gets. Its removable splatter shield stops juice from getting where it shouldn’t be, plus the whole device is easy to use and clean.
