These kitchen appliances are the ultimate hosting must-haves.
After the long quarantine period, we are again free to welcome the loved ones we didn't meet for a long time, of course, with the exercise of necessary health precautions. If you are to host mini gatherings or holiday parties at home, it might be a little daunting to prepare meals while entertaining your guests. This is where essential kitchen appliances come in handy to help you achieve your recipes on time. On ordinary days, essential kitchen appliances also make your daily cooking a breeze.
But what do we mean by essential?
Before browsing every online store to see an overwhelming number of appliances, take a look at this quick list to determine what to prioritise for your next kitchen venture.
Major Kitchen Appliances
Every home in Singapore, whether a three-room HDB flat or a sizable house, needs these major kitchen appliances. In fact, the three major zones in your kitchen revolve around these. They help you with daily cooking and take on loads of manual work when preparing big meals on holidays.
Refrigerator
We all love storing and preserving goods in our kitchens. To make sure your groceries remain fresh or keep your leftovers consumable for the next day, you need a refrigerator in your kitchen. Don't forget your favourite ice cream and frozen foods.
Fridges come in different styles: top-mounted, bottom-mounted, two doors, and French-door. Your choice depends on your needs and preferences.
Cooking Hob
Your cooking hob is your daily buddy when it comes to cooking. When paired with the right pots and pans, you can do lots of basic cooking, including frying, deep-frying, boiling, sautéing, steaming, poaching, and more. Although some manual processes take more time than using specific appliances, your cooking hob is a highly versatile appliance that you can't miss in your kitchen. There are various cooking hobs, from gas-operated to electric to induction and more.
Oven
Modern kitchen designs include a baking zone with a reliable oven for home bakers and food explorers. But aside from conventional baking, an oven can do more. Reheating or defrosting food is a breeze with an oven, especially with its automatic functions. It can also cook, grill, roast, blanch, boil, or steam food. Unlike what most people think, ovens don't consume a hefty amount of electricity. In fact, more innovative varieties, like a convectional oven, cook food faster, thus saving time and electricity. More compact varieties, like microwave ovens and toasters, are great for smaller cooking tasks. They also save more space since they are designed to fit your kitchen countertop.
Food Preparation
Blender
From smoothies to sauces to dressings and other recipes, a blender is a handy tool to help you mix ingredients and reach your desired consistency. This powerful appliance can also crush ice effortlessly to make your favourite fruit shakes.
Food Processor
If you're an avid fan of cooking and exploring more complex recipes, you may want to upgrade your kitchen by getting a food processor. You might be confused about using a blender and a food processor, so we'll help you distinguish some differences. While blenders are great at mixing liquid and solid ingredients, food processors work amazingly with solid food that you want to turn into smaller pieces. What you do with a blender is drinkable or used as a sauce, while the food processor's final product is something you can consume with a spoon.
Mixer
A mixer is beneficial for both cooking and baking. It can be used for mixing or beating ingredients. It comes with various attachments that can help you achieve your recipe. If you are a home baker who spends a lot of time manually mixing your ingredients and making dough, it might be time to get a mixer. Depending on your lifestyle and the size of your kitchen, you can opt for a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
Main Course
Griller
One healthy way to cook is to grill food, as this process uses little to no oil. Grilling also brings flavourful meals that your guests will surely love. While some conventional grillers are great for outdoor use, smaller units are great inside your kitchen. These are easy to use and take less time to grill.
Hotpot
Having a hotpot party? We love a scrumptious hotpot in our Singaporean homes, where we heat the pot and fill it with tasty broth and ingredients. Having your own steamboat pot can help you enjoy the savoury taste of this mix in the comfort of your home. Hotpots come in different types: gas-operated, electric, and induction. Some hotpots already come with a grill.
Slow Cooker
There are certain recipes that require more time to achieve, like broth, chicken casseroles, and other intricate meals that you simply can't watch all the while, especially when you have other meals to cook for a gathering. For a multi-tasker like you, a slow cooker is a must-have. It cooks food at low heat, making the meat tender and sauces or broth more flavourful.
Rice Cooker
Don't forget about the rice. A rice cooker is a reliable appliance that cooks rice without supervision. This appliance is also versatile, as it can cook soups, steam vegetables, and other recipes that involve water and sauces.
Cleaning
Dishwasher
Of course, after sharing meals and hours of conversation, you'll reach the point when you have to send your guests home and clean your place. This includes washing the dishes. To save you time and effort in washing and sterilising your plates and kitchenware, you need an automatic dishwasher in your home. There are big dishwashers for industrial use and bigger gatherings, and smaller ones for your limited kitchen space.
Make your kitchen tasks easier with these additional kitchen appliances and gadgets:
- Juicer
- Coffee Maker
- Electric Kettle
- Chest Freezer
- Wine cooler
- Portable Ice Maker
- Toaster
Whether you are updating your old kitchen appliances or completing a new one, you can never go wrong with the right appliances that will make your cooking experience more enjoyable. Save yourself from stress and spending more effort on cooking, and give yourself more time to relax with the people dear to your heart.