Spend a little more on the few things you use every day, like a chef's knife and a heavy pot, and keep the rest simple. Below you'll find each tool grouped by job, with what it's for and what to look for, and at the end, how the TM7 fits in next to the stove and the oven.
With or without a Thermomix®
If you don't have a Thermomix®, the tools on this page are what you need to cook every recipe on this site with a stove and an oven.
If you have a TM7™, you won't need several of them, because the TM7 does those jobs for you. They are listed in If you have a TM7, you can skip these at the end of this page.
Cutting
A sharp knife is safer than a dull one: it goes where you guide it, while a dull blade slips. Two good knives are all you need to start.
| Tool | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Chef's knife, 20 cm (8 in) | Your everyday knife: chopping onions and peppers, slicing meat, crushing garlic with the flat of the blade. Hold it before you buy it: it should feel balanced and comfortable in your hand. |
| Paring knife, 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) | Small jobs in your hand or on the board: peeling, trimming, cutting the ends off plantains, making the cuts in a pernil for the adobo. |
| Serrated bread knife | Bread, ripe tomatoes and splitting a cake into layers without crushing it. |
| Two cutting boards | One for raw meat, poultry and fish and one for everything else, so raw juices never touch food you won't cook. Wood and plastic both work; plastic can go in the dishwasher. |
| Honing steel or knife sharpener | A few strokes on the steel every week or two keep the edge straight; a sharpener brings it back when the knife gets dull. |
| Vegetable peeler | Carrots, potatoes, cucumbers and long strips of citrus peel. |
| Box grater | Cheese, carrots, cabbage for slaw and fine citrus zest. |
| Kitchen shears | Herbs, trimming chicken, cutting parchment to fit a pan, opening packages. |
Wash knives and cutting boards in hot, soapy water after raw meat, poultry or fish, before you use them for anything else.
Cooking on the stove
Heavy pots and pans spread the heat evenly, so food cooks instead of scorching in one spot. Three pieces cover almost everything.
| Tool | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Caldero or heavy pot with a lid, 4 to 6 L (4 to 6 qt) | Rice, beans, stews and soups, and frying tostones or alcapurrias in deep oil. A heavy caldero is also what gives you pegao, the crispy rice at the bottom. |
| Skillet, 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) | Eggs, pancakes, searing a steak, browning chicken, sautéing vegetables. A nonstick skillet is easiest for eggs; cast iron or stainless steel give a better sear. |
| Saucepan with a lid, about 2 L (2 qt) | Boiling eggs, warming milk, small sauces and the caramel for a flan. |
| Wooden spoon | Stirring hot pots without scratching them. It doesn't get hot in your hand. |
| Silicone spatula and a flat turner | The spatula scrapes bowls and pans clean; the turner flips eggs, pancakes and fish. |
| Tongs | Turning meat and lifting tostones out of hot oil while your hand stays away from the splatters. |
| Ladle and slotted spoon | Serving soups and lifting food out of oil or boiling water. |
| Colander | Draining pasta and potatoes, rinsing beans and washing vegetables. |
Baking and roasting
Thin, flimsy pans can warp and brown the bottom of a cake too fast, so choose sturdy metal pans. Start with these and add others as you need them.
| Tool | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Rimmed sheet pan, about 46 x 33 cm (18 x 13 in) | Roasting vegetables and chicken, baking cookies, catching drips under a pie. Two are better than one. |
| Baking dish, 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) | Lasagna, pastelón, bread pudding, sheet cakes and casseroles. |
| Two round cake pans, 20 or 23 cm (8 or 9 in) | Layer cakes and bizcochos, and a flan if you don't have a flan mold. |
| Muffin pan, 12 cups | Cupcakes and muffins. |
| Cooling rack | Lets air reach the bottom of cakes and cookies so they don't steam and turn soggy. |
| Parchment paper and aluminum foil | Parchment keeps cakes and cookies from sticking; foil covers roasts and lines pans for an easy cleanup. |
| Oven mitts or thick pot holders | Anything that comes out of the oven, and hot pot handles. Use them dry: a damp mitt lets the heat straight through to your hand. |
Measuring and mixing
Baking is chemistry, so measuring well matters. The recipes on this site give grams first, with cups and spoons in parentheses.
| Tool | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Kitchen scale | The most exact way to measure, in grams. The TM7 has one built in, but a separate scale is handy for dividing batter between pans or weighing meat. |
| Dry measuring cups | A set of 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup for flour, sugar and rice, filled and leveled with a knife. |
| Liquid measuring cup | A clear cup with a spout and lines on the side, for milk, water and broth. Set it on the counter and read it at eye level. |
| Measuring spoons | From 1/4 tsp to 1 tbsp, for salt, spices, baking powder and vanilla. |
| Mixing bowls | Small, medium and large, for mixing, marinating and holding chopped ingredients. Glass or stainless steel, ideally ones that nest inside each other. |
| Whisk | Beating eggs, mixing dry ingredients, smoothing out a sauce. |
| Kitchen thermometer | An instant read thermometer tells you when food is safely cooked, with no guessing. The USDA safe minimums: 74°C (165°F) for chicken and turkey, 71°C (160°F) for ground meat, and 63°C (145°F) for fish and for whole cuts of beef and pork, plus a 3 minute rest. |
| Timer | The one on your phone works. Set it every time, even when you're sure you'll remember. |
Cups, spoons and grams side by side: Measurements and equivalents.
Nice to have later
- A pilón (wooden mortar and pestle) for mashing garlic and making mofongo by hand.
- A tostonera, or the bottom of a heavy plate, to flatten tostones.
- A potato masher for mashed potatoes, yuca and plantains.
- A rolling pin for empanadillas, pie crust and cookies.
- Airtight containers and freezer bags for leftovers, sofrito and cooking ahead.
- A fine mesh strainer for sifting flour and straining custards and sauces.
- A second, bigger pot, 6 to 8 L (6 to 8 qt), for pasta and big batches of soup.
Where the TM7 fits in
In Wanda's kitchen the TM7 is the main tool. It chops, weighs, cooks, stirs, kneads and steams, all in one mixing bowl: it grinds sofrito, cooks rice and stews, makes sauces, doughs and custards, whips cream and meringue, and steams fish or vegetables in the Varoma on top while something else cooks below. Because it stirs and holds the temperature for you, you can follow a recipe step by step without standing over the stove.
The stove and the oven still have their jobs. Frying tostones, alcapurrias and empanadas, searing a steak and getting a crust on meat happen on the stove; cakes, bread and pernil bake in the oven. That's why the tools above still matter, and why every recipe here tells you which one each step uses.
| Job | Where it happens |
|---|---|
| Chopping onions, peppers, garlic and herbs | TM7: chop 5 sec/speed 5 |
| Weighing ingredients | TM7, with its built in scale |
| Sautéing sofrito, cooking rice, beans and stews | TM7, on reverse and speed soft so the pieces stay whole |
| Sauces, custards, doughs, purees and whipped cream | TM7 |
| Steaming fish, chicken, vegetables and tamales | TM7, with the Varoma in position |
| Deep frying, searing, a crispy crust | Stove, in a caldero or skillet |
| Baking and roasting | Oven |
The TM7 works with its own accessories: the spatula, the simmering basket, the butterfly whisk and the Varoma.
If you have a TM7, you can skip these
These tools do jobs the TM7 already does in its mixing bowl, so with a TM7 you can leave them off your list.
| You can skip | Because the TM7 |
|---|---|
| Food processor or chopper | Chops onions, peppers, garlic and herbs, and grinds sofrito. |
| Blender | Blends soups, sauces, smoothies and purees. |
| Kitchen scale | Has a scale built in: you weigh right into the bowl. |
| Stand mixer or hand mixer | Whips cream and meringue with the butterfly whisk and kneads dough. |
| Rice cooker | Cooks rice in the simmering basket. |
| Steamer | Steams fish, chicken, vegetables and tamales in the Varoma. |
| Slow cooker | Has a slow cook mode. |
| Double boiler | Melts chocolate and cooks custards at a steady, gentle temperature. |
You still need the stove, the oven and the tools that go with them: frying, searing and baking happen there.