Food and Nutrition Equipment

Baking dish

These pieces of equipment are usually made of glass and come in two standard sizes, 13" x 9" or 8" x 8". They do not have a lid. The glass absorbs heat which helps create a crust in whatever you're baking. They are used for baking items such as lasagna. They often come with handles to help you remove them from the oven.

Measuring Spoons

These tools are for measuring the volume of sall amounts of liquid or dry ingredients, a set often includes 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1/2 TBS, and 1 TBS

Dry Measuring Cups

These tools are used to measure the volume of dry ingredients, a set often includes 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup

Food Processor

This electric cutting tool is useful when cutting large amounts of items because it cuts quickly and saves time. It has a blade attachment used for chopping and mincing it also has an attachment that allows for things like cucumbers and carrots to be sliced.

Instant Read Thermometer

This instrument measures the temperature inside a food item (internal temperature). It has a spear-like tip and it is often used to determine if meat has been cooked to the proper temperature without having to cut the food open. It is also called a bi-metallic stemmed thermometer.

Serrated Knife

This knife has a saw-like edge which allows you to cut soft objects like bread and pastries without mashing the item down during cutting. A bread knife is the most common version of this type of knife.

Chef's Knife

This knife is also known as a French knife. A skilled chef or cook can perform almost all cutting jobs with this knife. It's designed for you to wrap your hand around the handle and cut without banging your knuckles on the cutting board.

Slicing Knife

This knife is used to carve meats like chicken or a roast. It has a long blade which allows you to cut through the item.

Pairing Knife

This knife is used to do delicate jobs like removing a stem or a core, peeling the skin off of fruits and vegetables or cutting fruits into wedges.

Roasting pan

This large pan is used to cook whole turkeys, chickens or other large items in the oven. It has two handles on the sides and often comes with a rack that sits down inside the pan. The rack keeps the food elevated and allows fat and other drippings to be separated from the food that is being cooked.

Straight edge spatula

This liven of equipment is used for icing or spreading out soft creamy items. It has a flat price of metal that has a handle. A off-set version of this tool allows you to do the same jobs without getting your hands or knuckles in the way.

Wok

This pan is used in a lot of Asian cuisine. The large curved edge of this pan allows heat to come up along the sides of the pan (when using a gas stove) which increases the cooking surface and the a of the pan. It is really not a practical tool to use on a traditional flat-top stove.

Slow cooker (crockpot)

This piece of equipment allows you to slowly cook items (6,8, or 10 hours). It's great for cooking things like roasts or stews. You can put the items in this, turn it on and go to work and your dinner will be ready when you get home.

Can opener

This piece of equipment can be electric or manual. It's used to open cans. Having a manual version is essential for times when your power is out.

Dutch Oven

This piece of equipment can be used on the stove or in the oven. It has a flat bottom with edges that go straight up. It has two handles and a lid and it's great for braising or stewing. It's similar to a stock pot, but it's a little shorter, which allows it to fit inside an oven.

Sauce Pan

This piece of equipment has a flat bottom and edges that go straight up. It has a lid and one long handle. It is often used to cook vegetables and other items that you might want to simmer on the stove for a while.

Electric griddle

This piece of equipment has a large, flat cooking surface perfect for making things like pancakes. It has a thermostat that controls the amount of heat in the cooking surface. It usually has a drain hole that allows liquid or grease to drip down into a tray.

Pot holders

This piece of equipment is essential for handling hot pots and pans. It's important to keep these dry because when it's wet it can burn you.

Colander

This piece of equipment is often used to drain water or other liquids away from foods, such as when you're cooking pasta.

Casserole dish

This piece of equipment is similar to a baking dish, the main difference being that this piece comes with a lot. Aside from is being used to bake items, it can also be used as a serving dish.

Range

This piece of equipment is the combination of a stove and an oven.

Baking sheet

This piece of equipment is used for baking or roasting. It has a raised edge around the sides to prevent things from dripping over the edge while in the oven. This is often called a jelly roll pan.

Strainer

This piece of equipment is used to allow liquids to pass through while removing tiny pieces like strawberry or raspberry seeds. It can also be used when making a sugars to remove tiny bits of eggs that have scrambled. It does not have large holes or slots, instead it's basically made of small mesh. It can also be used for dusting things with dry ingredients like powdered sugar.

Toaster

This piece of equipment is used to brown bread. It is important to clean out the crumbs to prevent them from heating up and catching fire.

Steamer basket

This piece of equipment is used to cook foods using hot water vapor. It sits down inside a pot about an inch above boiling water or other liquid. It's perfect for helping maintain nutrients in vegetables.

Double boiler

This piece of equipment is used to gently cook or melt foods such as chocolate. The basic concept is you fill the bottom pot with an inch or two of water and sit the second pot on top of the other pot so that the bottom of the pot on top is sitting a couple inches above the water. As the water in the bottom pot heats up it gently heats the bottom of the pot on top allowing for a much more delicate heating of the food in the top pot.

Kitchen tongs

This piece of equipment is used to handle food while it cooks. It has two edges and has a spring inside. It's great for flipping items on the grill or in a pan.

Bundt Pan

This piece of equipment is used to make items such as pound cake. It has a decorative design and a tube that rises up from the middle of the pan. The tube allows for heat to come up through the pan and heat from the inside out. It's really important to use a non stick spray or grease this pan with butter or shortening and then dust it with flour to prevent sticking.

Cookie sheet

This piece of equipment is used when baking. It is often double walled, meaning there are two pieces of metal with a little space between pieces of metal. This allows for a gentle cooking which helps keep the bottom of whattt your baking from being burned. It does not have a raised edge, so it's not good for cooking anything that has liquid that might run off the sides while in the oven.

Rolling pin

This piece of equipment is usually made of wood. It has two handles on the sides and is used to flatten out dough like when your making biscuits.

Stock Pot

This pot has a flat bottom with tall edges that go straight up. It has two handles and a lid. It is not designed to go in the oven. It's perfect for making stock, soups, and for cooking pasta (it's sometimes called a spaghetti pot).

Grater

This tool basically has 30-40 small knife blades on it. It is used to break food down into very pieces or shreds. It often has different sizes for cutting things, including a knife edge for slicing. It can be dangerous, so think of it as a knife when you are using it.

Turner

This tool has a large flat edge with a handle that extends out. It's perfect for removing cookies from a cooking sheet or flipping over pancakes or burgers.

Blender

This tool has a removable container that has measurement markings for volume. It is often used to make smoothies and soups. It often has a "pulse" button which allows the tool to work in little bursts.

Stand Mixer

This tool has several attachments including a paddle and a whisk. It also has a place where you can attach a pasta maker, a meat grinder of a cheese grater.

Wire Whisk

This tool is a muscle-powered version of a hand held mixer or stand mixer.

Hand-Held Mixer

This tool is basically and electric whisk that you hold. It has removable beaters an several settings for different speeds.

Cutting Board

This tool is often made of plastic or wood, although wood is not preferable because it can absorb liquids that may contain bacteria. It's used to prevent a knife from coming in contact with a counter or table.

Kitchen Shears

This tool is similar to scissors. They can be used to cut things like green onions, herbs, or whole chicken into pieces. They usually have additional uses like opening bottles and cracking nuts or crab legs. This tool comes apart for easy cleaning and sanitizing.

Pastry Blender

This tool is used to "cut in" butter or shortening into dry ingredients such as flour. It used most often when making biscuits or scones.

Food Chopper

This tool is used to chop items. It has a push button at the top of the tool that forces blades to come down as it rotates. It's perfect for small cutting tasks when you want to save some time. It also comes apart for easy cleaning and sanitizing.

Rubber Spatula

This tool is used to fold ingredients to help remove wet ingredients from a mixing bowl or container.

Liquid Thermometer

This tool is used to measure the temperature of liquids such as soups, sauces, and oil. It is important to not allow the tip of the instrument to touch the pot or pan, as it will give you and inaccurate measurement.

Liquid Measuring Cup

This tool is used to measure the volume of liquids. It has markings on the side, so it is important to bend down when measuring so you can get eye level with the measurement markings.

Digital Scale

This tool is used to measure weight. It's important to tare the instrument when using a bowl or cup to hold the ingredients so that the instrument resets to zero, allowing you to only measure he weight of the ingredients, not the container that holds them.

Sifter

This tool is used to remove lumps from flour, powdered sugar, or other dry ingredients. It has a mesh bottom and a rotating piece wheel. It also helps mix ingredients like flour and baking powder.

Peeler

This tool is used to remove the outer layer from fruits and vegetables. It has a swivel edge which helps when cutting curved objects. This tool is a knife, so it's important to be careful when using it to avoid cutting yourself.

Wooden Spoon

This tool is used to stir foods. It does not conduct heat and it will not scratch the bottom of a pot or pan. It does absorb liquid, so it's a good idea to replace it once in a while.

Straightening Steel

This tool is used to straighten the blade of a knife. It does not actually sharpen the knife. Since the knife blades bend slightly when they are used, it's a good idea to use this tool to straighten the blade, which allows the knife to cut better.