10 Cheap Restaurant Tools Home Cooks Are Missing Out On

Summary

This video is a guide to 10 practical tools Brian Lagerstrom uses in professional kitchens and recommends for home cooking. It contains no recipe or ingredient list.

1. Dispenser bottles

Use dispenser bottles to control the amount of oil you pour and to drizzle thicker sauces neatly over food. Choose one with a secure, two-piece screw-top lid; Lagerstrom notes that some designs leak over time or don’t hold up in the dishwasher.

2. Portion scoops

Lagerstrom keeps 2 oz and 4 oz scoops. They help portion cookie dough evenly so cookies bake consistently. Scooping dough directly onto the tray also avoids extra handling and rolling, which he says can make cookies tougher.

Portion scoops are also useful for meatballs, falafel, filling muffin tins, and portioning pancake batter.

3. Plastic bowl scraper and metal bench scraper

The plastic scraper is useful for clearing a work surface, moving chopped ingredients, gently removing dough from a bowl, and scraping dough residue from bowls.

The sturdier metal scraper is useful for dividing dough and shaping bread or pizza. Lifting and tucking dough with it can help create tension. The tools have some overlap, but the plastic scraper is gentler and the metal one is stronger. Avoid scraping dough with the metal scraper, which Lagerstrom says can damage it.

4. Pre-cut parchment sheets

Lay a pre-cut sheet flat on a baking tray and add food. These sheets are easier to handle than parchment from a roll. After baking, discard the paper and rinse the tray rather than soaking and scrubbing it.

5. Spider strainers

A spider strainer is a wide, shallow mesh scoop with a long handle, used to lift food from hot oil or boiling water. It drains food as it lifts, keeps your hand farther from the liquid, and can remove more food in fewer scoops than tongs or a slotted spoon.

A small spider is handy for delicate foods such as dumplings or potatoes; a large one is better for bigger batches.

6. Conical fine-mesh sieve

Strain blended soups and sauces through a conical fine-mesh sieve to catch small fibers and seeds for a smoother texture. Lagerstrom especially recommends it for very smooth mashed potatoes. He also uses it to drain legumes and wash rice.

7. Cotton kitchen towels

Keep a generous supply: Lagerstrom suggests at least 12, with 24 or 36 as a comfortable reserve. Towels can be used to dry hands, wipe and dry the work surface, and handle hot pots or pans.

He keeps one towel partly wet and partly dry to wipe up messes and then dry the board. He also says the towels can go in with regular laundry.

8. Tweezers-style cooking tongs

Use tweezers-style tongs for precise tasks such as turning a mushroom or shrimp, testing a piece of pasta, or retrieving a bay leaf or thyme sprig. They offer more control than bulky tongs for small foods and can help place food neatly when serving.

Keep regular, larger tongs for turning large pieces of meat.

9. Quarter-sheet pans

Quarter-sheet pans are useful for small quantities of vegetables or nuts, mise en place, and carrying ingredients around the kitchen. Two can fit side by side on an oven rack, allowing different foods to cook separately and be removed at different times.

10. Fish spatula

A fish spatula’s thin tip slides under food, its curved shape helps lift and flip, and its wide, slotted surface supports delicate items. It’s useful for fish, eggs, pancakes, burgers, sandwiches, cookies, and transferring tender foods such as meatloaf or lasagna.

The spatula is metal. Lagerstrom says he uses it carefully on non-stick pans, despite the possibility of scratches.

Presenter and referenced sources

Presented by Brian Lagerstrom on the Brian Lagerstrom channel. He mentions his blog, BrianLagerstrom.com, and says links to the featured tools and related soup and mashed-potato recipes are in the video description. The video also includes a Wildgrain promotion.