This is an incomplete list of all the kitchen utensils someone may need if they’re cooking.
Dividing food
Graters grind off small amounts for further processing:
- Nutmeg grater
- Ginger grater
- Box grater
- Zest grater
- Microplane grater
- Rotary grater
Presses also grate, but with larger amounts of food:
- Potato ricer
- Pasta mill
- Food mill
- Citrus press
- Garlic press
- Nutcracker
Grinders roughly separate food:
- Pepper grinder
- Mortar and pestle
- Grain mill/wheat grinder
- Spice mill
- Coffee grinder
Blades cleanly separate food:
- Clam knife
- Fish knife
- Bread knife
- Santoku knife
- Chef’s knife
- Paring knife
- Mezzaluna
- Meat knives
- Cleaver
- Boning knife
- Slicing knife
- Cheese knives
- Soft cheese knife
- Parmesan knife
- Scissors
- Kitchen shears
- Poultry shears
Slicers are specialty blades for specific situations:
- Potato peeler
- Cheese slicer
- Egg slicer
- Mandoline
- Cheese plane
- Fruit divider
- Dough cutter
- Pizza dough cutter
- Wheels
- Pastry wheel
- Pizza wheel
- Blender
- Food processor
Strainers separate food components:
- Handheld strainer
- Salad spinner
- Sifters
- Drum sifter
- Sugar shaker
- Sifter
- Colander
- Scoop colander
- Chinois (conical strainer)
- Fat separator
- Spider
Manipulating food
Mashers crush food:
- Meat tenderizer
- Potato masher
Spoons, spatulas, tongs, and whisks mix and control food:
- Spatula
- Slotted spatula
- Rubber spatula
- Fish spatula
- Turner
- Salad tongs
- Metal tongs
- Balloon whisk
- Flat whisk
- Electric mixer
Pastry tools prepare bread products:
- Cookie cutter
- Rolling pin
- Pie weights
- Pastry blender
- Pastry bag
Basters manipulate liquids:
- Meat baster
- Basting bulb
Scoopers and servers transfer food without requiring contact:
- Ladle
- Wooden spoon
- Ice cream scoop
- Serving spoon
- Slotted spoon
- Melon baller
- Spaghetti server
- Serving fork
- Cake server
Other needs
Pots, pans, and bakeware make food safe and convenient to heat:
- Saucepan
- Large cooking pot
- Skillet (both non-stick and cast-iron)
- Casserole dishes
- Cake pans
- Woks
- Pressure cooker
- Slow cooker
- Waffle iron
Some items have their own heating element included:
- Electric griddle
- Toaster oven
- Toaster
- Coffee maker
- Espresso machine
- French press
- Moka pot
- Tea kettle/hot pot
- Doughnut maker
Bowls and containers allow food to be stored, consumed, and manipulated further:
- Prep bowl
- Mixing bowl
- Batter bowl
- Food canisters (including packaging it came in)
- Plastic containers
Openers break packaging:
- Can opener
- Bottle opener
- Corkscrew
Protectors keep food preparers and surfaces safe:
- Heat protection
- Pot holders
- Oven mitts
- Cutting boards
- Prep cutting board
- Butcher block
Measurers help preparers follow recipes:
- Temperature measurement
- Oven thermometer
- Candy thermometer
- Meat thermometer
- Volume measurement
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Weight measurement
- Digital scale
- Scale
- Time measurement
- Egg timer
- Kitchen timer