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- I live in a New York City apartment, and the space in my tiny kitchen is prime real estate.
- I've had to learn some cooking hacks to make the most of my space and seriously consider the appliances that have earned their place in my kitchen.
- Below you'll find the tools and appliances that made the cut, from an $11 kitchen scale to a $304 stand mixer.
In my dreams, I cook in a huge, fully fleshed out kitchen with tools and accessories that would make Gordon Ramsey jealous. When I wake up, I cook on a countertop that's barely big enough for my cutting board and a range with three functioning burners.
These restrictions haven't kept me from cooking, but they have made me really selective about what I keep in my kitchen. Everything needs to earn its keep, whether it's a basic kitchen scale or a high powered stand mixer. At the same time, I've had to figure out ways to make the most out of my space without doing major construction in my apartment.
Below, you'll find the tools I use to trick people into thinking I have a big kitchen and the handful of tools and appliances I use often enough to justify keeping them. If having a small kitchen has kept you from getting into the kitchen, use these recommendations as a guide to make it work. It takes a little effort, but the results are fulfilling, and tasty!
Keep scrolling to check out my favorite kitchen tools and appliances.
A smart sous vide tool that lets me effortlessly cook restaurant quality meals
What it is: Joule Sous Vide, $199, available at Amazon
Why I love it: If my kitchen has a "secret weapon," it's definitely ChefSteps' Joule Sous Vide. The tool lets me make perfectly cooked meat and vegetables without much effort, and it has smart features that actually makes sense. If you've never cooked sous vide, here's how it works.
First, you take the food you want to cook and seal it inside a plastic bag. Next, you fill up a container (a dutch oven will work perfectly) with water. Then you clip the Joule onto the pot, open its app, and select the food you're going to prepare. The Joule will kick on and start circulating water to get it up to that exact temperature.
When it's ready, the app will tell you to insert your sealed food and set a timer to alert you when it's done. This might sound complicated, but the Joule makes it really simple. Once the food's done, you'll get an alert on your phone. I've used the Joule several times, and it's never failed me. My food is always perfectly cooked, and I never had to worry about a pan overheating or forgetting to turn the oven off.
A waffle maker that I actually use very often
What it is: Krups Waffle Maker, $52.99, available at Amazon
Why I love it: Krups' waffle maker is one of the few super niche appliances that I actually use very often. It has a knob that lets me set my waffles' doneness — from pillowy soft to nice and crispy — and a loud bell that alerts me when its grates have come to temperature and when the waffles are fully cooked.
Once I'm done, I can pop the grates off and wash them off in the sink. The grates are dishwasher safe, too. I always felt like waffles were one of the few foods I'd always have to order out, but Krups' waffle maker has turned them into one of my Sunday morning staples.
A powerful compact kitchen mixer that makes baking less messy
What it is: Kenmore Ovation Pour-In Top Stand Mixer, $304.99, available at Amazon
Why I love it: I don't have a lot of space in my kitchen for bulky appliances, but I've made an exception for Kenmore's Ovation stand mixer. Its five-quart glass mixing bowl is large enough to accommodate big batches of bread dough, cookie batter, or cake mix with ease, but its design is what sold me.
Instead of pouring ingredients into the mixing bowl and hoping nothing flies out, the Ovation has a sealed bowl and a hole on top. When I bake, I put my dry ingredients in the bowl, seal it, and pour wet ingredients through the hole on top. The system works wonderfully and has cut down the amount of time I spend baking because I never have to think about cleaning flour or sugar from my floor.
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