In this update we’re going to look at a variety of pots and pans which are used for cooking and just what makes each one different!

Words:
“Fork” — “Knife” — “Soup Spoon” — “Chopsticks” — “Tea Spoon” — “Carving Knife” — “Paring Knife” — “Butter Knife” — “Bread Knife” — “Cleaver” — “Meat Tenderizer” — “Pizza Cutter” — “Tongs” — “Ice Cream Scoop” — “Can Opener” — “Bottle Opener” — “Cork Screw” — “Peeler” — “Whisk” — “(Egg) Beater” — “Ladle” — “Strainer” — “Spaghetti Spoon” — “Spatula” — “Garlic Press” — “Grater” — “kitchen Timer” — “Rolling Pin” — “Cookie Cutter” — “Measuring Cup” — “Measuring Spoon” — “Wooden Spoon” — “Funnel”

Fork - A fork is one of the three common table utensils in the West. it has a long handle which you hold and 3-5 “tines” at the end which allow you to pick up objects you want to eat or hold things you want to cut.







Table Knife - Another common table utensil the Knife comes in many different styles. What you see to the right is the common table knife, it has a handle for holding and a dull blade. A table knife can be used to cut food that is not very hard as well as to push food that is small and hard to pick up, like peas, onto your fork.









Soup Spoon - The last of the common table utensils, the spoon has a handle for holding and at the end it has a small bowl shaped area which is commonly used for either eating liquids like soup or stirring liquids like coffee and tea.







Chopsticks - Very popular among Asian countries, the chopsticks take a little more practice getting used to but are very useful when eating Asian food! Don’t worry about your technique when first starting, just get the food in your mouth, but if you can use them properly and well, people will be impressed.









Tea Spoon - Tea spoons tend to be much smaller than soup spoons and have a more fancy looking handle and/or end piece. Used for stirring liquids like coffee or tea, you will see these at cafes or in fancier restaurants.








Carving Knife - A carving knife is a sharp style of knife that is commonly used for carving meats and other foods that cannot easily be cut by a table knife. With a longer handle and a long sharp blade, this is the most common sharp knife in most kitchens.







Paring Knife - A paring knife is a sharp knife with a regular handle but a smaller, but still very sharp, blade at the end. It’s most common use is for cutting out the “core” or inside of a fruit like an apple or pear.








Butter Knife – Though many just use table knives for butter and often people will call a table knife a butter knife, a real butter knife is smaller and has a more fancy looking blade often. It is also dull and at most restaurants and houses you will not see them, if there is no butter knife offered, just use your regular table knife for butter as well.






Bread Knife - A bread knife is distinguished by it’s longer blade as it is not a simple flat sharpened blade, it is serrated in design which allows it to properly grip the bread and cuts like a saw. Serrated means there are many smaller points of contact which allow the blade to cut more effectively even if the bread is fresh from the oven and still very soft. If you try to use a carving knife to cut fresh bread you will only crush the bread flat because the blade has no places that grab the bread to cut it.





Cleaver - Cleavers are large, strong knives with a typical handle and a very wide flat blade. They are most commonly used for cutting through meat and bone so they are very strong and sharp usually. Cleavers will never be seen on the table as they are not a knife you would use to cut your steak.





Meat Tenderizer - This scary looking tool is very useful if you want soft, tasty meat. It has a handle to hold an a large flat end, usually with large bumps covering it. You use it by hitting the meat you wish to cook with it in a firm manner, this softens the meat as well it pokes holes in the meat which allow you to marinate the meat with a nice sauce before hand and the flavours will more easily enter the meat.






Pizza Cutter - A pizza cutter is a simple tool with a handle on one end and a large round piece of sharped metal on the other. You place it at one side of the pizza and using pressure to cut through completely you simply roll it to the other side of the pizza. Sounds easier than it is but still much easier than using a knife.









Tongs - Probably one of the most useful but often over looked kitchen utensil is the tongs. Made of two long flat pieces that you can use to pick up hot objects or flip and move around things while they are cooking. Go get a pair of these if you are planning on doing a large amount of cooking.








Ice Cream Scoop - Ice cream scoops are exactly what they sound like, a large strong spoon used to scoop, or pick up, balls of ice cream. They are generally shaped so that as you scoop up the ice cream it will roll into a nice ball, perfect for placing in an ice cream cone for eating.







Can Opener - A can opener is a tool, it can be electric or manual, which is used to open metal cans. The electric ones tend to hold the can with a magnet and you push a button which turns the can and a sharped blade cuts a hole in the top. The manual ones tend to work more like scissors with a top and bottom piece you old together to maintain your grip on the can, and there will be a lever you turn which moves the can and allows the knife to cut through the metal.






Bottle Opener - A bottle opener is used most commonly beer and soda or any other type of bottle with a lid that is not able to be twist off. They are usually a simple handle with a round, eye shaped hole at the end which you can use to pry the lid off of bottles.





Cork Screw - A cork screw is used most commonly for bottles of wine or other drinks which are sealed with a cork in the neck. There are two kinds, the older style is just a simple handle with a long spiral shaped piece of sharpened metal at the bottom, you twist it in to the cork and then pull the cork out using the handle. The more modern types are similar except they are designed that as you twist the metal into the cork, two arm like pieces will come out on the sides which you can then push down together and it draws the cork out of the bottle easier and with less struggle for you.





Peeler - A peeler, often called a vegetable peeler, is similar to a knife, it has a handle to hold but instead of having an outward facing blade it will usually have two inward facing blades which, when dragged along a fruit or vegetable, will peel the skin off of whatever you want. Be careful with these as they will also peel the skin off of you if you are not careful!







Whisk - A whisk is a tool with a large handle at the top and a tear drop shaped piece at the bottom made up of strings of metal. If you hold them by the handle and move them around in liquid it allows air to enter the liquid which can help when you want to make egg whites more solid or to make whipping cream








(Egg) Beater - A beater, often called an egg beater, is a tool the one or two large whisks at the bottom and a handle with a level on the side you can spin which automatically turns the whisks. This is much easier than a manual whisk and saves you from tiring your arm out too much.










Ladle - A ladle is a large spoon with a very deep spoon ending, it is used for soups and anytime you need to take a large amount of liquid or semi-liquid substance out of a pot.












Strainer – Strainers are similiar to a colander except that it is a smaller size with a handle attached. Used for straining home-brewed coffee or other small amounts of liquid/solid blends.









Spaghetti Spoon - A combination of a large spoon and a strainer, the spaghetti spoon is, as it sounds, made for getting cooking spaghetti out of the pot without needing a colander or a strainer.







Spatula (type 1) - This type of spatula is often called a “Flipper” as it is used to flip things over. Used in the west most commonly for frying eggs, a spatula has a long handle to hold with a large flat end piece that is perfect for sliding under food and flipping it over. Also very useful for taking cookies off a cookie pan or cutting very soft foods while they are cooking.






Spatula (type 2) - To make things a little more confusing, there is actually another type of spatula that looks like the picture to the right, these are very useful when making cakes as when you are mixing a cake the cake batter (un-cooked semi-liquid dough) is very runny and when you pour it into the cake tin the sides of the bowl will be covered in it still. You can take a spactula and easily scrape the sides of the bowl clean because the spatula is soft plastic and will bend easily.






Garlic Press - A garlic press is used to crush garlic. Generally it is similar to scissors except instead of a blade, one side will have a hollow space with small holes in the bottom where you should place the garlic clove and the other a large flat piece while will fit into the hollow and crush the garlic out the small holes.








Grater - A grater is used commonly for cheese and other foods which you want to “grate” into small thin pieces. There are many different types and styles of graters but most agree that the square grater to the right is the most useful and strong.










kitchen Timer - A kitchen timer is a small alarm clock useful for up to an hour or two which will go off to tell you when things like cakes or cookies are done.








Rolling Pin - A rolling pin is a long cylinder with a handle on either side, you hold onto the handles and using some pressure you can roll the cylinder over dough or whatever you want flattened. If you can, try to find one where the handles are actually the same piece of wood as the center cylinder, otherwise the handles will slowly bend and fall off and that’s no good for anyone.





Cookie Cutter - A cookie cutter is simple a piece of metal or plastic which is shaped with a hollow center. When making cookies you can use your rolling pin to flatten the dough and then press the cookie cutter down through the dough to cut out cookies in whatever shape you want.








Measuring Cup - A measuring cup is exactly what it sounds like, a cup made of glass or clear plastic with measurements written along the side so you can measure whatever you need.








Measuring Spoon - A measuring spoon is like the measuring cup above except it is smaller and in spoon form. They are usually made of metal or non-clear plastic as you will generally be filling it up to the top anyway so it’s not so needed to see through the side. They usually come in four of five different sizes all together.







Wooden Spoon - A wooden spoon is a spoon that is made of wood, hence the name. They tend to be larger and stronger than most spoons and are especially good for mixing things in metal bowls and pots as the softer wood wont scratch the bowl like a metal spoon would.








Funnel - A funnel is used to put liquids from one larger container into a small one. They are very useful when working with oils especially as oil is very hard to clean off a counter top!

I’m sure I have missed some important kitchen utensils, please let me know below in the comments or by email if you find some that are not here!