We’re all about making due with less — A wine bottle in place of a rolling pin? Sure. A shot glass to stand in for 2 tablespoons? Definitely! — but some kitchen tools just make life so much easier that they’re worth every penny. And let’s face it: At some point, you have to relegate red Solo cups and plastic cutlery to parties only.
1. An electric mixer — It doesn’t have to be fancy-pants stand mixer (though oh, how we love them), but any electric model will rev up your desserts to the next level. Get ready to make cakes, puddings and frostings like nobody’s business. And stop sweating when you see a recipe that calls for an electric mixer.
2. Oven mitts — Yes, a dishrag could do the trick, but do you really want to be playing hot potato with a heavy casserole dish full of sloshing tuna surprise? No thanks.
3. Grill pan — Who needs to bother with charcoal when you can get your grill on indoors, no matter the weather? Bonus points if it’s cast iron.
4. A can opener — Because as ruggedly cool as it seems to open those baked beans with a knife, this ain’t a campfire, and your roommate is sick of all the dented cans and knives in the kitchen. (By the way, if you’re buying one, splurge on the Kitchenaid version. Yes, it’s $13, but you’ll never fight to open a can again.)
5. Non-plastic plates. Or paper.
6. Wine glasses. Because at 25, you’re sophisticated like that. Even if you sometimes fill them with Crystal Light, because they’re the only clean cups you have.
7. A few basic spices (beyond salt and pepper): Ground cinnamon, onion powder, dried oregano, chili powder, paprika, vanilla extract, allspice, thyme, basil
8. A cookbook. Yeah, there are plenty of great recipes on the interwebs (at least we’d like to think so), but there’s something about having a tried-and-true classic you can dogear, annotate and use again and again that’s extra special. You can find a few of our favorites here.
9. Four knives: An 8-inch chef’s knife for chopping fruits and vegetables (even thick-rind melons); a 3 1/2-inch paring knife for making small cuts, like carving through cheese or chopping the ends off carrots; and a serrated one for slicing bread.
10. Slow cooker. All it takes is one recipe to convince you that this thing is as close to a robot butler as a human can get in 2014. Scratch that: A slow cooker taped to a Roomba is the closest to a robot butler. With an iPhone mounted on top. (But in all seriousness: you just dump ingredients into a slow cooker and a few hours later, a delicious meal appears. It’s basically magic.)
11. Two nonstick pots, so you can cook two dishes at once, instead of playing that “dump it, cook the potatoes, then nuke the first one before serving” game.
12. Measuring cups for liquid and dry goods. Because dry goods, like sugar or flour, tend to settle, so a cup could weigh anywhere from 3.5 ounces to 5 ounces. Plus, liquid measuring cups have a spout, so they’re a little easier to pour. …And shot glass math just gets obnoxious when you’re filling it 16 times to add in two cups of flour.
13. A silicone spatula. Because as one culinary school teacher remarked, the difference between good and great desserts is how well you wipe down the edges of the bowl. This tool ensures that you don’t miss a droplet.
14. An impressive cake stand with a dome lid. You need something to display your sweet baking skills, and the dome keeps your treats from getting all dried out and crusty.