List of food preparation utensils

thumb|right|An assortment of utensils

A kitchen utensil is a hand-held, typically small tool that is designed for food-related functions. Food preparation utensils are a specific type of kitchen utensil, designed for use in the preparation of food. Some utensils are both food preparation utensils and eating utensils; for instance some implements of cutlery – especially knives – can be used for both food preparation in a kitchen and as eating utensils when dining (though most types of knives used in kitchens are unsuitable for use on the dining table).

In the Western world, utensil invention accelerated in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was fuelled in part by the emergence of technologies such as the kitchen stove and refrigerator, but also by a desire to save time in the kitchen, in response to the demands of modern lifestyles.

List

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+ List of food preparation utensils

!scope=col|Name

!scope=col|Alternative names

!scope=col|Purpose in food preparation

!scope=col|Design

!scope=col|Image

!scope=row|Apple corer

|To remove the core and pips from apples and similar fruits

|150px|alt=|A plastic apple corer

!scope=row|Apple cutter

|To cut apple and similar fruits easily while simultaneously removing the core and pips.

|Cf. peeler

|150px|alt=|An apple cutter

!scope=row|Baster

|Used during cooking to cover meat in its own juices or with a sauce.

|An implement resembling a simple pipette, consisting of a tube to hold the liquid, and a rubber top which makes use of a partial vacuum to control the liquid's intake and release. The process of drizzling the liquid over meat is called basting – when a pastry brush is used in place of a baster, it is known as a basting brush.

|150px|alt=|Baster

!scope=row|Beanpot

| A deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes

| Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though pots made of other materials, like cast iron, can also be found. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evaporation and heat loss, while the deep, wide, thick-walled body of the pot facilitates long, slow cooking times. They are typically glazed both inside and out, and so cannot be used for clay pot cooking.

|150px|alt=|Beanpots

!scope=row|Biscuit press

|Cookie press

|A device for making pressed cookies such as spritzgebäck.

|It consists of a cylinder with a plunger on one end which is used to extrude cookie dough through a small hole at the other end. Typically the cookie press has interchangeable perforated plates with holes in different shapes, such as a star shape or a narrow slit to extrude the dough in ribbons.

|150px|alt=|Biscuit press with a number of shaped plates

!scope=row|Blow torch

|Blowtorch, blowlamp

|Commonly used to create a hard layer of caramelized sugar in a crème brûlée.

|align=center|100px|alt=|A small blowtorch

!scope=row|Boil over preventer

|Milk watcher, Milk guard, Pot minder

|Preventing liquids from boiling over outside of the pot

|A disc with a raised rim, designed to ensure an even distribution of temperature throughout the pot. This preventing bubbles from forming in liquids such as milk, or water which contains starch (for instance if used to cook pasta). Can be made of metal, glass or ceramic materials.

|150px|alt=|Stainless steel boil over preventer

!scope=row|Bottle opener

|Twists or pulls the metal cap off of a bottle

|150px|alt=|Bottle opener

!scope=row|Bowl

|To hold food, including food that is ready to be served

|A round, open topped container, capable of holding liquid. Materials used to make bowls vary considerably, and include wood, glass and ceramic materials.

|150px|alt=|A simple ceramic bowl

!scope=row|Bread knife

|To cut bread

|A serrated blade made of metal, and long enough to slice across a large loaf of bread. Using a sawing motion, instead of pushing force as with most knives, it is possible to slice the loaf without squashing it.

|150px|alt=|Bread knife

!scope=row|Browning tray

|Browning plate, Browning bowl

|Used in a microwave oven to help turn food brown

|Generally made of glass or porcelain to absorb heat, which helps colour the layer of food in contact with its surface.

!scope=row|Butter curler

|Used to produce decorative butter shapes.

|150px|alt=|Butter curler

!scope=row|Cake and pie server

|Cake shovel, pie cutter

|To cut slices in pies or cakes, and then transfer to a plate or container

|This utensil typically features a thin edge to assist with slicing, and a large face, to hold the slice whilst transferring to a plate, bowl or other container.

|150px|alt=|An assortment of cake and pie servers

!scope=row|Cheese cutter

| Designed to cut soft, sticky cheeses (moist and oily).

|The cutting edge of cheese cutters are typically a fine gauge stainless steel or aluminium wire.

|150px|alt=|A cheese cutter

!scope=row|Cheese knife

|Used to cut cheese.

|150px|alt=|A soft cheese knife

!scope=row|Cheese slicer

|Used to cut semi-hard and hard cheeses. It produces thin, even slices.

|150px|alt=|A cheese slicer

!scope=row|Cheesecloth

|To assist in the formation of cheese

|A gauzed cotton cloth, used to remove whey from cheese curds, and to help hold the curds together as the cheese is formed.

|align=center|100px|alt=|A cheesecloth hanging above a sink

!scope=row|Chef's knife

|Originally used to slice large cuts of beef, it is now the general utility knife for most Western cooks.

|150px|alt=|Chef's knife

!scope=row|Cherry pitter

|Olive stoner

|Used for the removal of pits (stones) from cherries or olives.

|150px|alt=|Metal cherry pitter

!scope=row|Chinois

|Chinoise

|Straining substances such as custards, soups and sauces, or to dust food with powder

|A conical sieve

|150px|alt=|Chinoise

!scope=row|Clay pot

|A cooking pot made out of clay

|150px|alt=|Lobio in clay pots covered with mchadi

!scope=row|Cleaver

|Hacking through bone or slicing large vegetables (such as squash). The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation (such as garlic).

|A large broad bladed knife.

|150px|alt=|Cleaver in use

!scope=row|Colander

|Used for draining substances cooked in water

|A bowl-shaped container with holes, typically made from plastic or metal. It differs from a sieve due to its larger holes, allowing larger pieces of food, such as pasta, to be drained quickly.

|150px|alt=|A metal colander

!scope=row|Cookie cutter

|Biscuit mould, Biscuit cutter, Cookie mould

|Shaping biscuit dough

|Generally made of metal or plastic, with fairly sharp edges to cut through dough. Some biscuit cutters simply cut through dough that has been rolled flat, others also imprint or mould the dough's surface.

|150px|alt=|Examples of simple star, crescent and heart-shaped biscuit cutters

!scope=row|Corkscrew

|Pierces and removes a cork from a bottle.

|150px|Corkscrew

!scope=row|Crab cracker

|Lobster cracker

|Used to crack the shell of a crab or lobster

|A clamping device, similar in design to a nutcracker but larger, with ridges on the inside to grip the shell.

|150px|alt=|Egg slicer

!scope=row|Egg timer

|Used to correctly time the process of boiling eggs.

|Historical designs range considerably, from hourglasses, to mechanical or electronic timers, to electronic devices which sense the water temperature and calculate the boiling rate.

|align=center|40px|alt=|Classic egg timer in hour glass model

!scope=row|Fat separator

|Device used to defat or separate fat from stocks or gravies.

|150px

!scope=row|Fillet knife

|A long, narrow knife with a finely serrated blade, used to slice fine filet cuts of fish or other meat.

|150px|alt=|Filet knife

!scope=row|Fish scaler

|Urokotori

|Used to remove the scales from the skin of fish before cooking

|150px|alt=|A Fish Scaler

!scope=row|Fish slice

|Spatula, turner

|Used for lifting or turning food during cooking

|150px|alt=|A fish slice

!scope=row|Flour sifter

|Blends flour with other ingredients and aerates it in the process.

|150px|alt=|Two mechanical flour sifters

!scope=row|Food mill

|Used to mash or sieve soft foods.

|Typically consists of a bowl, a plate with holes like a colander, and a crank with a bent metal blade which crushes the food and forces it through the holes.

|150px|alt=|Food mill

!scope=row|Funnel

|Used to channel liquid or fine-grained substances into containers with a small opening.

|150px|alt=|Grapefruit knife

!scope=row|Grater

|Cheese grater, Shredder

|Used to grate cheeses, spices, citrus and other foods

|150px|alt=|A box grater

!scope=row|Gravy strainer

|Gravy separator

|A small pouring jug that separates roast meat drippings from melted fat, for making gravy.

!scope=row|Lemon reamer

|A juicer with a fluted peak at the end of a short handle, where a half a lemon is pressed to release the juice.

|150px|alt=|A wooden lemon reamer

!scope=row|Lemon squeezer

|A juicer, similar in function to a lemon reamer, with an attached bowl.

|Operated by pressing the fruit against a fluted peak to release the juice into the bowl.

|150px|alt=|A pressed glass lemon squeezer

!scope=row|Lobster pick

|Lobster fork

|A long-handled, narrow pick, used to pull meat out of narrow legs and other parts of a lobster or crab. multi-cooker

|Boiling pasta, steaming vegetables

|A pot and a slightly smaller tightly fitting colander

|150px

!scope="row" |Measuring cup: DRY

|metal or plastic with straight handle. no spout

! scope="row" |Measuring cup: LIQUID

|Measuring jug, Measuring jar

| The Pyrex-brand traditional measuring cup (the Anchor Hocking-brand look-alike is shown, right) is available in sizes of , , , and ; and includes U.S. customary units in quarter, third, half and two-thirds cup increments, as well as metric units.

|150px|alt=|A glass measuring jug

!scope=row|Measuring spoon

|Typically sold in a set that measures dry or wet ingredients in amounts from up to .

|150px|alt=|An assortment of plastic measuring spoons

!scope=row|Meat grinder

|Mincer

|Operated with a hand-crank, this presses meat through a chopping or pureeing attachment.

|150px|alt=|Meat grinder

!scope=row|Meat tenderiser

|Used to tenderize meats in preparation for cooking. Usually shaped like a mallet.

|150px|alt=|Meat tenderiser

!scope=row|Meat thermometer

|Thermometer used to measure the internal temperature of meats and other cooked foods.

|150px|alt=|Meat thermometer

!scope=row|Melon baller

|Small scoop used to make smooth balls of melon or other fruit, or potatoes.

|150px|alt=|A ceramic mortar and pestle

!scope=row|Nutcracker

|To crack open the hard outer shell of various nuts.

|150px|alt=|A nutcracker made of metal

!scope=row|Nutmeg grater

|A small, specialized grating blade for nutmeg.

|150px|alt=|Nutmeg grater, England, 1800-25

!scope=row|Oven glove

|Oven mitt

|To protect hands from burning when handling hot pots or trays.

|150px|alt=|Red oven glove

!scope=row|Pastry bag

|To evenly dispense soft substances (doughs, icings, fillings, etc.).

|150px|alt=|A simple pastry bag for home use

!scope=row|Pastry blender

|Cuts into pastry ingredients, such as flour and butter, for blending and mixing while they are in a bowl. It is made of wires curved into a crescent shape and held by a rigid handle.

| Needle, about 20 cm long and about 3mm in diameter, sometimes with a blade at end for pushing through poultry

|150px|alt=|Trussing Needle

!scope=row|Twine

||Butcher's twine, Cooking twine, Kitchen string, Kitchen twine

|For trussing roasts of meat or poultry.

|Twine must be cotton—never synthetic—and must be natural—never bleached—in order to be "food grade".

|150px|alt=|Spools of twine

!scope=row|Whisk

|Balloon whisk, gravy whisk, flat whisk, flat coil whisk, bell whisk, and other types.

|To blend ingredients smooth, or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping

|Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. Whisks are also made from bamboo.

|150px|alt=|Three whisks

!scope=row|Wooden spoon

|For mixing and stirring during cooking and baking.

|150px|alt=|Wooden spoons

!scope=row|Zester

|For obtaining zest from lemons and other citrus fruit.