I've been trying to cook more at home recently but chopping vegetables every day gets old really fast. I tried using a large food chopper recently and it honestly saved way more time than I expected. Now I'm curious — what kitchen tool actually made cooking faster for you?
by AcrobaticSeesaw1565
36 Comments
A mandolin probably saves me the most time, but there are some dishes I simply wouldnt make the way I want to without the convenience of my stick blender.
Knife sharpener. Because I did 8 hours of cooking yesterday and one sharp knife plowed through the entire meal prep for the week. 9 lunch salads, caldo verde, stir-fry, veg sugo, fennel pesto salad, homemade broth, etc etc etc. Peel, plank, baton, cube, that’s all you need.
Sharp, sharp knife and knife skills.
The Pull and Chop when it comes to chopping onions – plus kinda get a workout with it
Potato ricer!!! My goodness. This old timey beaut.
I got a rotary grater and I love it. It has different blades and it makes food prep really easy and pretty.
Also a slow cooker or an instant pot, these are nice to be able to pretty much just throw food in and go. I refused to get a rice cooker for the longest time cuz “I can just cook rice on the stovetop” and I’m so glad to have one now, it’s nice to be able to set it and forget it essentially.
Immersion blender.
I just “invented” the cling film & tupperware combo. I hated the red strain on my Tupperware because of tomato sauces. Now I use a stripe of cling film between food an lid. It’s just so great and I am mad that I needed so long to think about it….it saves so much time in cleaning and the dischwasher is not spreading the red color everywhere
What is this crazy looking contraption?
I would add to the chopper if you do a large amount and freeze portions it’s a huge time saver. Also then you only need to use it once a week or so.
Learning how to sharpen your knives. That’s the best tool, also learn how to use one. Food is life… slow down and realize what food gives you, and how it’s perceived in society. I unfortunately have a job because people don’t know how to cook.
Instant pot because it has so many applications and recipes come out delicious every time because of the infusion of flavor. Beef stew, chili, pot roast, chicken broth, chicken soup, hard boiled eggs, curry, yogurt, rice and grains, batch oatmeal, steamed veggies, food for baby, it goes on and on.
Using the hand powered juicer that you press down on instead of blending. I use oranges for marinates. I find it easier to clean.
Rice cooker, air frier, multilevel steam pan and kitchen scales.
The kitchen club veggie shears. Hands down
Rice cooker. Set and forget: pilaf, quinoa, bulger, even refresh old rice.
Love my food processor, I can make mayo, chop veggies for sauces, i ever used it to shred a bunch of scallions and ginger. Although once I ran some strained soup mush through it and forget there was a few bones, that scared me. It survived though!
Instant pot and handheld mixer. Use it to shred meat in seconds!
We make a lot of pulled chicken / pulled pork for our weekly meal prepping via the Instant Pot and mixer.
You can cook the meat plain and then used for everything from tacos/enchiladas, BBQ, salad component, sandwiches, added to a noodle dish, etc.
Immersion blender for soups and sauces. Total game changer. Went without for decades and use it weekly
A knife
Thermomix
A sharp knife and a way to keep it sharp.
Sharp knives. Learning to sharpen knives on a diamond sharpening stone saved me a lot of time and headaches.
Air fryer for me. Heats up and cooks significantly faster than my oven. I can pop 4 lbs of chicken in and be done in 18-20 minutes
Rotary cheese shedder for the kitchenaide. I can easily pump out vast amounts of grated cheese with little to no effort.
Mandolin
* food processor
* mandoline
* rice cooker (not necessarily quicker, but less stressful)
* hand/stand mixer
* good knives and cutting boards (epicurian, bc light and quicker/easier to wash between steps)
Many of these items make meal prep faster. Also complicate clean up. Food processors, blenders, mandolins all more clean up as compared to cutting board and knife. For me, I’d rather spend time drinking wine slowly prepping food than speeding up prep and then slaving over dishes after dinner.
Air fryer
What the fuck is this AI slop image
Ok apologies in advance if I’m off base, but why post an AI photo to go with this question? Why not just the question?
rice cooker
Food processor is my go to every time.
Electric kettle. Stovetop percolator is far faster when you pour in the boiling water that only took 3 minutes. Making oatmeal or Jello? Start with boiling water. What is left in kettle, do a quick rinse hot water on prep tools and cutting board. Mineral buildup in kettle? A small amount of citric acid and fill with water to boil. Gone.
I can’t live with my electric kettle.
I am no good with a knife. Everytime I use one I cut myself.
So
I have a mini electric chopper for onion chilli n garlic. A manual dicer (this is mostly cus i like my veggies chopped into lil squares) and a mixer grinder to make my life easier.