As 2024 begins, it is time to make an honest and thorough inventory of our kitchens to make life easier for everyone in the household. Check which items have been overused and need to be replaced. Determine whether to get an appliance’s newer or bigger model. Decide whether it is time to invest in an air fryer or whatever gadget food editors are going gaga over. 

Vegetable peeler 

Undoubtedly the hardest working chef’s helper, the peeler could be one of the greatest inventions of our time. It is also the simplest and cheapest, which makes one wonder why it is absent in some households. One reason could be disappointment over an expensive plastic-and-metal peeler, which broke after a few weeks. No one has told us that the best peel is also the cheapest: the all-metal EKCO brand, which lasts for years. It is sold online and in kitchen sections of department stores. 

Can opener 

This is another basic tool that is absent in some households. No problem for households with many household helpers, who can open cans with the best, sharpest, and most expensive knives they could find in their employer’s kitchen. But if you do not have such a luxury, a can opener is the equivalent of a battery of helpers.

Knives 

Great chefs like Martin Yan demonstrate how to survive with only one knife—a hefty Chinese cleaver that could butcher an entire hog or lamb while also capable of producing delicate paper-thin sukiyaki beef slices. My own basic set includes a cleaver, a chef’s knife with a 12-inch blade, a serrated bread knife and a very thin knife to filet fish. No one is allowed to use or touch my knives. There is a separate set for the rest of the household. 

Graters 

A small three-inch grater is useful when grating, instead of smashing, garlic. Use it also to grate chocolate bars over coffee, cakes, and pastries. It’s the only way to zest lemon and lime peel. A larger, standing four-sided grater is more convenient when grating a large amount of cheese for pizza or lasagna. 

Measuring cups and spoons

My Lola never used measuring cups and spoons. She’s like those Italian grandmothers who follow no written recipes but cook by feel, adding a pinch of this and a fistful of that. I was like my Lola, my best kitchen mentor. I had to learn to use measuring cups and spoons as well as scales when I started writing about food. Now I cannot imagine cooking without precisely measuring my ingredients. No accidents, no guesswork, no surprises. 

Pizza cutter 

This is a useful tool even for people who do not make pizza. You can use it to slice toast, pancake (before pouring syrup), and fresh herbs. 

Microwave 

Now in almost all homes and offices, the microwave is used to cook entire meals, heat leftovers, or make a cup of coffee. Everybody loves it, but few know how to keep it clean. Users leave oven trays sticky with overflowed chocolate, gravy, or soup while the inside walls are crusted with splatters from longganisa, liempo, sisig, and bacon. The greasy mess could erupt in flames if heated long enough in the microwave. Inexpensive microwave oven plates and covers are the answer. 

Fish scaler 

Handy and cheap, fish scalers save your hands from getting cut while gutting and scaling fish. 

Chopping boards 

Every home should have at least two, preferably three, chopping boards to prevent cross contamination—one for fruits and vegetables, a second for meats, and the third for fish. BTW, health experts recommend plastic over wood chopping boards.