Must Have Kitchen Equipments

Thanks to technology, gone are the days where we have to use rocks to grind pepper or manually pound yam with a mortar and pestle.  There are so many devices that make cooking so much easier and faster these days. 

I can only imagine how people must have reacted to the first prototype of a blender back in 2002, which must have been clunky and heavy. Now, eighteen years later, blenders are sleek, modern and you can do all sorts of things with them like mix pancake batter or make soft-serve. 

Thankfully, blenders are not the most resourceful kitchen equipment technology has given us. Here are a few others that you didn’t know you needed which we consider must have kitchen equipments for the Nigerian kitchen

Food Processor 

Image from goodhousekeeping.com

Food processors are very versatile and can do almost anything: chop, grind, blend, slice, shred and even beat. Yes, some models can mix the batter for cakes, knead bread dough and even grind meat. For us Nigerians, we can be just as innovative with the use of food processors. It can be used to make pounded yam, very fluffy- might I add. Also, think okro soup, grinding pepper etc. 

You can check out this pounded yam video made with a food processor on our IGTV

Air Fryer

Image from businessinsider.com

An air fryer is a healthier alternative to a deep fryer and can do everything a deep fryer can do, and more. Air fryers can also be used to bake. It saves time – as you don’t have to pre-heat the oven, and is also a healthier option. The only drawback is that it can only bake small items like cookies. 

Ed note: I’ve had an air fryer for over 4 years now and sadly I never remember to use it. Trying to eat healthier so definitely going to try this to fry chicken and reduce oil use

Sous Vide Water Oven

Image from Sous Vide Wizard

Sous vide is French for  ‘under vacuum’. It’s a slow method of cooking that involves placing food in a pouch or bag and cooking it slowly in a water bath for a long period of time.

This method is said to lock in flavour and retain the nutritional value of meals, and there are gourmet chefs that specialise in it specifically. Though this method of cooking has been popular for decades, this oven is a recent development. 

The oven was specifically designed to cook using this method, which brings results that are impossible with any other method of cooking. 

Steam Oven

Image from Pinterest

A steam oven is another option for healthier cooking. It does exactly what its name says, which is cooking food with hot steam rather than direct heat – thereby retaining nutrients, moisture, etc. It can also be more effective than a microwave in re-heating food. 

Dehydrator

Image from Amazon

Dehydrators are pretty much self-explanatory. These devices use hot air to remove moisture from meat, fruits and any other food item you can imagine. I imagine that they are very useful in making dried fruits or plantain chips. 

What other must have kitchen equipments have we missed? Do share with us!

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