The Personal Pantry: 6 Tips For Customizing Your Kitchen Setup
The secret to becoming a better home cook is to invest in items that make cooking easier. When choosing the best appliances or gadgets to add to your kitchen setup it’s best to sit down and think about the tasks you perform most often and if these tasks could be made any quicker or easier.
Below are 6 tips for customizing your kitchen setup.
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1. Mixing Equipment
If you own a stand mixer but sometimes forget to use it this could be because you require some better-suited mixer attachments. If you haven’t looked into the different types of mixer attachments for some time you may be surprised at just how options there are on offer. From pasta rollers to juicing attachments, there’s something to suit everyone. So the next time you think you need a new appliance, it may be worth checking to see if there’s an attachment for your stand mixer which can do the job instead.
2. Baking Tins and Trays
Do you enjoy making banana bread, but haven’t yet invested in the perfect loaf tin? A good quality baking tray or tin can be used for both roasting and baking and can last for years. Baking tins and trays come in a wide variety of sizes so think about what you tend to cook the most and choose a style that suits.
3. Pot and Pans
Whether you choose stainless steel, non-stick or traditional cast iron pots and pans, be sure to choose a style that not only helps with cooking but looks great if it’s best stored somewhere that’s visible. There are pro’s and con’s to each type of kitchen pan, so do your research and pick the right pots and pans for you.
4. Airtight Food Containers
Food containers can really help save time whilst cooking and can also help maximize storage in smaller kitchens. Airtight food storage containers will also help keep ingredients and dry food last a lot longer than if you were to simply store them in the original packaging after opening. Another benefit to keeping the ingredients you use most often in food containers is that it often makes them easier to find and you can see when you’re running low and it’s time to restock.
5. Spice Rack
Sometimes the easiest way of making your kitchen work for you is the simplest. Filling a spice rack with any of the herbs and spices you tend to reach for more regularly and placing it next to the stove can often be all it takes to make your kitchen seem more customized to your specific needs. Having herbs, spices and other seasonings on show in a decorative spice rack not only looks great but will also mean your spices don’t get forgotten about at the back of one of the cupboards and could push you to use them more whilst cooking.
6. Utensils
We all have that drawer in our kitchens that’s full of useless utensils that were purchased years ago, or that have been passed down through the generations. Updating your kitchen utensils to something that looks great and you enjoy using can be a simple yet effective way making cooking seem more enjoyable. Rubber spatulas are a really useful utensil that can be used for mixing, spreading, pouring cake batter, getting the last bits of food out of tins and jars, the list is endless!
Taking the time to think about what you enjoy cooking and how the whole process could be made simpler is often the best way of figuring out which kitchen products are worth investing in. A good way of deciding whether or not to buy a new item for your kitchen is to write a list of what you want to purchase and note how many times you would have reached for it within a week or fortnight. If by the end of the fortnight you’d have only used the item once then it may not be worth the investment. If there were multiple times you’d have used the product then it’ll be money well spent.
