The #1 Most Important Kitchen Tool

Whether you are an experienced cook or just getting started with the nutrition program, good kitchen tools make a huge difference in how well you fuel your body. While a full kitchen remodel can easily cost $20,000 or (much, much) more, you can drastically improve the quality of your cooking experience by investing a bit in high-quality kitchen tools. For example, if you still have the same warped frying pan from college in your cabinet – you know, the one that your mom gave you freshman year – you can replace it with a new heavy-duty stainless pan for $30 or more, and start sautéing your veggies without burning them. A complete anodized aluminum pan set can be purchased for as little as about $80. If you’re not concerned about budget, by all means, head over to Williams-Sonoma and pick up a beautiful set of All-Clad copper core cookware. Most of us do well with good old Calphalon! By the way, research is emerging that links PFOA, chemicals used in making nonstick coating (brand name Teflon), with cancer, so choose cookware that balances your risk tolerance with your level of desire to scrub pots and pans.

Gets a chef excited.

In addition to basics such as pots and pans, kitchen tools about for performing all kinds of culinary tasks with ease and style – silicone spatulas, European egg whisks, mango slicers and shrimp deveiners are all available for your kitchen. Rather than filling your kitchen drawers with every conceivable implement, we recommend figuring out which items get the most use, and buying high-end versions of these. For example, we fix eggs daily at my house, and having a great spatula makes cooking and cleanup a breeze. For just $10, you can have this little piece of awesomeness for cooking your breakfast, too.

Who knew that the spatula could be so fantastic?

Gizmos are subjective and everybody is entitled to have a favorite, but there’s one kitchen tool that can make a huge difference for ANY cook – gourmet or simple, vegan or carnivorous, novice or advanced, and that’s a GREAT KNIFE. I took a knife class (yes, they have those) a few years ago and was shocked at the difference that having a big, sharp knife can make in cooking. It’s more fun and a whole lot easier to cube chicken, slice steak, mince garlic, and perform and other cutting task with a sharp piece of high-quality steel in hand. You can get a decent knife at Target for $20, but if your budget allows, a more expensive knife is worth the cost. This set is a great value and includes a smaller paring knife for jobs that don’t require a big blade – though you can do most cutting tasks with one good chef’s knife.

Read this article to get a cooking geek run-down on knife options.

Also, taking care of your knives is important. Sharpening them regularly and always washing, drying, and putting them away immediately after use can make them last longer. Leaving knives wet (including putting them in the drainer) and running them through the dishwasher will make them go dull faster. Here’s a guide to knife care.

By the way, if a nice $150 knife is just not up to your standards, perhaps you would prefer the $40,000 Nesmuth diamond-studded knife. When’s your birthday?

I keep this in the glove box of my Tesla S, for roadside culinary emergencies.