It is a known truth that the proper tools make a job easier. That said, for the longest time I only had my knives to do kitchen tasks since weight and space matters with military moves. Now that I'm retired from the Army and not moving any more I've gotten some tools and equipment to make prep work go faster and smoother. I am not affiliated with any of these companies in any way. I try to get the best quality for the best price and what works for me.
First up are my knives. I like Forschner knives from Victorinox since those are what I used to do red meat inspections and audits. I have set that I use for kitchen work and an additional small set that I use when butchering. It just takes a 4 good knives to get you started. My recommendation for these 4 are an 8" chef's knife, a bread knife, a semi-stiff 6" boning knife, and a paring knife. Take care of your knives properly and they'll give you a life time of service. Hand wash them and dry them and store them in a knife block not a drawer. If you must store them in a drawer use blade guards to protect the blades and your hands.
While not an urgent acquisition, a good scale is very helpful. A good scale helps if you are counting calories and is essential because many sausage recipes and bread recipes list ingredients by weight. I have a KD7000 from MyWeigh. It has 5 modes of weighing and goes up to 15 lbs which is good since I make sausage in 10 - 15 lb batches.
I have a 3 different things for making fresh pasta. I have a Fante's Great Aunt Gina's pasta machine for rolling out sheets and making spaghetti and fettuccini noodles. I have the KitchenAid Pasta Press attachment for making macaroni (large and small), rigatoni, and fusilli to go on the KitchenAid stand mixer. I also have a Fante's Grandpa Donte's ravioli form. We still have and use dry pasta on occasion but fresh pasta is not hard to make and the difference in flavor and texture will blow you away. If you don't want to buy a pasta machine you can always roll the dough out with a rolling pin, gently fold the dough, and then cut it with a good knife.
One of my more recent acquisitions is a PL8 Professional Mandolin. One of the things we liked when we were looking was that it is sturdy and had good reviews for reliability. Another feature I liked was that it had a wavy blade and a straight blade. It has 4 cutting thicknesses and 2 julienne widths. It make awesome waffle fries as well as crinkle cut cucumbers for the good wife to make out of this world hot dill pickles. The julienne blades can do anything from french fries to zucchini match sticks. Even though I have excellent knife skills I've been using this more and more for larger scale prep work.\
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I've mentioned the Vitamix before but it is a frequently used item in my kitchen. I make nut butters for the good wife and her sister, make soups, smoothies, and covert canned tomatoes into tomato sauce for fresh tasting marinara sauce. It is also used to grind coffee, make powdered sugar, grind grains for flour. It is a well made piece of equipment and well worth the price. Oh yeah, it can also be used to make ice cream. It comes with a good sized recipe book and there are many more recipes on the Vitamix web site. The only complaint we've had with it is that we got a white one instead of a black one. Yep, a First World Problem.
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Long term food storage can be problematic for some. If air can get to the product then that product will eventually spoil or have the quality degrade such that it is unappetizing. Enter the vacuum sealer. I had a Food Saver vacuum sealer for a few years but I used it beyond its capabilities and it died. It is meant for normal household use which does not include butchering and packaging multiple large animals each year. So, if you want a vacuum sealer and the largest amount of meat you get at one time is the value pack of pork chops then the Food Saver will work for you. If you are a hunter or otherwise deal with larger quantities of meat then I recommend the LEM MaxVac. The MaxVac is a commercial grade vacuum sealer and can handle whatever I throw at it. It also has a wider seal than the Food Saver. I also use the vacuum sealer when I'm curing bacon to hold the cure tight against the belly to help it penetrate and to avoid a mess.
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Something else that most probably won't need is a good meat grinder. I had a good grinder but it too met an untimely end due to over use. Northern Tool carries a good grinder if you just want to grind less frequently than I do. I've also heard that the grinder attachment for the KitchenAid stand mixer works well for small batches. I now have a LEM #12 Big Bite grinder. It is a .75 hp heavy weight machine. If you like to make sausage this is an excellent grinder. This would also be a good grinder if you want to feed your dogs a raw diet.
These are the primary tools used in Uncle T's kitchen. Like I said, they are not necessary to do what I do or to create wonderful dishes of your own but good tools make it easier and quicker. I hope this gives you some ideas for things to get to make your time in the kitchen go more smoothly.
Uncle T
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