10 Essential Tools New Homemakers Need For A From Scratch Kitchen -

Are you a new homemaker? Do you struggle with knowing what essential tools you need for from scratch cooking? Do you want to learn how to cook from scratch but don’t even know where to begin? Join me as I share my favorite top 10 tools every new homemaker needs for a from scratch kitchen.

10 essential tools for a from scratch kitchen grafic

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Essential Tools Every New Homemaker Needs

As a new homemaker, I was eager to learn more and more about from scratch cooking. I looked up recipes, collected old kitchen tools and cook books from family and garage sales. As I’ve grown older and have more skills (and more impatient children) I have found a few favorite’s that make from scratch cooking easier in my kitchen. I call them tools because some are appliances that make my life easier and some are just my favorite things to use in the kitchen.

#1 Essential Tools- Cast Iron and Stainless Steal

Cast Iron

I love cast iron! It is so versatile and will last generations if taken care of. Even if it was not taken care of correctly, you can always strip it down and start over with the same pan! You can cook and any surface with them and they are the most nontoxic non stick option out there! I love that you can cook in them, bake with them, and even go camping with them! Cast Iron is heavy duty and is sure to do the job.

Cast iron Heats food evenly and can hold its temperature for a long time making it perfect for everyday use. All you have to do is wipe it down and its ready for the next time you cook! If you feel it needs a good wash in the sink, you can wash it with soap and water. Just remember to dry it immediately and re-season it so it doesn’t rust!

Enameled Cast Iron

Enameled cast iron is a great option as well! I love my enameled Dutch oven for baking artisan loafs and making delicious soups.

Stainless Steal Pots and Pans

For the days you want to make sauces and boil water use Stainless steal! They are a great option for acidic things like tomatoes so they wont brake down the seasoning on you cast iron. Stainless Steal is a great option for pots and pan because non stick pans tend to be harmful and toxic, especially when they start to get scratched. I don’t have these yet, but they are the next on my list to get!

pink and glass pyrex bowls for essential tools for homemakers

#2 Essential Tools- Glass Pyrex Bowls

Pyrex bowls are great for mixing! I particularly love them for sourdough and other ferments. Fermented foods can have a bad reaction to metals so its safer to just stick with glass. You well find so many uses for these bowls! If you get a set of bowls with lids or their storage container sets they are great for leftovers. you can pop the container right into the oven from the fridge. I put the container in while i preheat the oven so I don’t put freezing cold glass into a hot over.

#3 Essential Tools- Glass Jars or Mason Jars

Glass mason Jars are so versatile! You can use them as cups, canisters for dried goods, storing fruit or leftovers, freezing, ferments, and of course canning your home grown fruits and veggies. Need I say more?

#4 Essential Tools- Wooden Spoons and Silicone Kitchen Utensils

Wooden Spoons

Wooden spoons are great from scratch cooking tools! Wood is naturally antibacterial. They also don’t get as hot as easily as plastic of metal would. Plastic spoons melt easily and are very flimsy. That is why I love wooden spoons because they are sturdy and wont bend while I’m trying to stir something thick or flip something heavy. They come in all shape and sizes and in every utensil you can think of and will last lifetimes if they are high quality and taken care of correctly.

Silicone Kitchen Utensils (particularly spatulas/bowl scrapers)

A nice set of silicone utensils will go a long way. They are great if you still have non stick coated pans so you don’t scratch them and make coating come off into your food. I don’t like food waste so the bowl scrapers are a favorite of mine. I can get every last drop of batter out of the bowl!

Stainless steal

Having a few stainless steal spatulas is a great tool to have as well. It can help scrape something off cast iron or flip something big and heavy.

Danish Dough Hook

Finally in the Utensil section I have my beloved danish dough hook. I love this thing for all types of mixing. Its great at mixing dough but it can also be used as a whisk! I love using it to mix pancake batter or muffins, it helps to make the perfect consistency without over mixing!

essential tools wooden spoons, silicon spatulas and dough hook

#5 Essential Tools- Baking Pans

USA pans

Every home baker needs baking pan! My personal favorite brand is USA Pans. They are nonstick and are so easy to clean everything just wipes right off even if you made a disaster in them! And no need to grease them. They are made of aluminized steal for even heat distribution and coated with silicone for a safe nonstick finish!

The set I have listed below is a perfect starter or gift set for a new homemaker so you can have everything you need. I also linked to some of my favorite USA pans. There’s the pullman loaf pan to make a big sandwich loaf that is perfectly squared. I also Use the mini loaf muffin pan for banana breads perfect for an on the go breakfast or snack. They are about 1.5X bigger then one regular sized muffin. They also have mini loaf pans for mini bread loafs that make perfect toddler sized slices. To make sure you get a long life out of these make sure to only hand wash and never use metal on them so they wont get scratched!

Glass pans

I also love to use glass pans. I use Pyrex bread loaf pans and Pyrex pie pans the most. These are a prefect option if you want something that isn’t so delicate and won’t scratch as easily. They are also dishwasher safe!

#6 Essential Tools- Berkey Water Filter

I use my Berkey water filter everyday! I just fill up the tank with my sink water and let it do its thing. It filters out so many (if not all) nasty contaminates that our city waters can have. It is very important to have a filter like this for not only your drinking water but also for ferments. Most city waters have chlorine in them to kill off bacteria, but the chlorine will also kill the good bacteria like the ones in sourdough, kefir, and kombucha!

#7 Essential Tools- Wooden Cutting Boards

Cutting boards Will be a multi tool in your kitchen. It can be a pot holder for hot pots and pans, then turn into a charcuterie board for a party or a light snacky lunch. And of course a cutting board! I suggest getting a few in different sizes, but my most favorite is a heavy duty high quality extra large cutting board. Like i mentioned earlier, wood is naturally antibacterial and actually harbors less bacteria then the plasic cutting boards!

#8 Essential Tools- Knife Set

Everyone needs a nice knife set. You can find a collective set at garage sales and thrift stores and just sharpen them right up. If you can only have one good knife I’d go with a nice chefs knife.

if you are on a budget I have been using the pioneer woman set from Walmart and find it works great but I will be upgrading to something better like what i have linked or Cutco knives in the near future.

#9 Essential Tools- Food Processor/Blender/Immersion Blender

You can have one or all or even buy one that does it all! I have an old blender with a glass top from a garage sale years ago. It still works great and I love that its glass but you wont find many like that these days. I also have an immersion blender that came with a few attachments including a small food processor attachment. We do love my actual food processer way more, I have to say. I also have a Nutribullet I got as a baby gift for purees but it usually gets used for smoothies.

Food processor

The food processor can be used for so many things. I like to shred cheese in my kitchen aid food possessor as well as mixing pie dough. I am saving up for my dream food processer that can peel and dice into prefect little cubes! imagine how much time can be saved in the kitchen with that!

Blender

There are many options you can get for a blender. Think about what you like to eat and make the most and what would be best and cost effective. I do however recommend a high quality blender that can handle big projects! I would love a nice high quality blender that i could make flour, peanut butter, powder sugar and all the things!

Immersion Blender

This isn’t necessary especially if you have a blender, but I love my immersion blender! It is great for blending soups right inside the pot! Mine also has a whisk attachment that is great for a hand held mixer!

#10 Essential Tools- Instant Pot

The instant pot is not necessary for a from scratch kitchen, but it can play a huge role in your from scratch life style. It can take the place of so many other tools that make it worth it to me. I have 2 instant pots. a 3 quart and a 6 quart. I have a small family so this works out great! If you have a large family go with a bigger size. Cooking from scratch doesn’t have to take a ton of time. I can pull out dried beans and have them ready in 30-45 minutes with the instant pot. Having trouble with hard boiled farm fresh eggs? the instant pot cooks them just right and the shell come right off perfectly!

My 3 quart has a yogurt button that makes making yogurt simple and easy. I also use the 3 quart for side dishes, apple sauce, and small lunches. You can also use the instant pot to heat up leftovers. The 3 quart is the perfect size for a rice cooker as well.

The 6 quart I have does not have a yogurt button but I find the 3 quart the prefect size for yogurt. I use the 6 quart for dinners, main dishes, bone broth, and cooking frozen meat that I forgot to lay out. The instant pod does an amazing job getting all the good nutrients out of the bones and into the liquid to make an amazing nutrient dense broth. Another favorite of mine is cooking a whole chicken right in the instant pot even from frozen! The meat falls right off the bone.