Tools & Ingredients I Use
All of my favorite tools, ingredients, video making gear & more all in one place.
Below is an ever-evolving list of my favorite Kitchen Tools,Ingredients/Cleaning Supplies, andVideo Equipment I use in all of my recipes and content.
Amazon storefront link here for those who want to skip the prose and just shop.
Remember, having more toys to play with is fun but doesn’t necessarily make you a better cook or filmmaker. You can rock out killer recipes with just a knife, cutting board and one pan or killer videos with just an iPhone.
Later!
Kitchen Tools
If you live in the US, try checking out a TJ Maxx or Homegoods to score good deals on the equipment below.
1. Knives
$40 Budget Chef Knife - Mercer Culinary 8 Inch
$90 Upgrade Chef Knife - Tojiro Santoku (Tojiro rules, this is an excellent knife at this price point)
$8 Paring Knife Victorinox Paring Knife
$18 Serrated Bread Knife Dexter-Russel Bread Knife
Notes: Skip the brands heavily marketed on social media, you’re paying for that marketing instead of the knife.
2. A big cutting board
$15 Budget Board - Hiware 18’’x12”
$90 Larger Budget Board - Teakhaus Carving Board 24x18
$200 Really Nice Board - John Bood 24x18 Maple
$450 Splurge Board - Boardsmith Maple End Grain 24x18
Notes: I know a cutting board isn’t the most exciting thing to buy but it will hands down be the most used piece of equipment in your kitchen and if you can afford to, go with the one of the more expensive/larger ones.
The more expensive boards are significantly thicker, have better workmanship, and will last a lifetime with proper care.
3. Pots & Pans
$35 Budget 12" Clad Stainless Steel Frying Pan - Tramontina 12" 3-Ply
$140 Upgrade 12" Clad Stainless Steel Frying Pan - Made In Cookware 12" 5-Ply
$35 Budget 10" Clad Stainless Steel Frying Pan - Tramontina 10" 3-Ply
$120 Upgrade 10" Clad Stainless Steel Frying Pan - Made In Cookware 10"5-Ply
$35 Nonstick Frying Pan T-Fal 10" Nonstick
$18 Nonstick Frying Pan T-Fal 8" Nonstick
$70 Budget 4 Quart Pot Tramontina 4 Quart 3-Ply
$160 Upgrade 4 Quart Pot Made In 4 Quart 5-Ply
$39 Budget 2 Quart Clad Stainless Steel Pot Tramontina 2 Quart 3-Ply
$149 Upgrade 4 Quart Pot Made In 2 Quart 5-Ply
$23 Sheet Pan with Rack Nordic Ware Half Sheet with Grid
Notes: If you’re on a budget, just get the largest size of each of the products I linked because it’s more versatile. You can always add the smaller sizes later.
A clad stainless steel pan is by far the most versatile pan you can have in your kitchen and will kick the crap out of a non-clad pan when it comes to delivering consistent temperatures with no hot spots (see explanation from America’s Test Kitchen below). Please do yourself a favor and save for one of these rather than a cheap single ply pan.
Cladding is a technique for making cookware. It involves layering sheets of metal and bonding them together. Most commonly, a sheet of aluminum (or copper) is sandwiched between sheets of stainless steel.
Why? Each metal has unique pros and cons—and combining them offers the best of two materials.
The advantages of stainless steel are that it doesn't react with acidic foods such as tomatoes and vinegar. It's durable and retains heat well. Some stainless steel is induction compatible. The downside is that it's not very responsive to changes in temperature, making it sluggish to heat up or cool down when you adjust the heat level on the stove.
Aluminum is very responsive to changes in temperature, heating and cooling quickly. But it's highly reactive to acidic foods. Copper is even more responsive to heat than aluminum (and even more reactive to acidic foods), but it's expensive so it's used less frequently. And neither aluminum nor copper is induction compatible.
We find that a fully clad pan with aluminum (or copper) sandwiched between layers of steel becomes more heat responsive, while spreading and retaining heat exceptionally evenly. It’s nonreactive to acids and can be made induction compatible. And the walls on fully clad pans offer protection against scorching and ensure that food cooks evenly.
4. Measuring Cups/Spoons
$23 OXO Angled Liquid Measuring Cups
$20 OXO Measuring Cups
$10 OXO Measuring Spoons
Notes: They measure stuff. These are my favorites and the most accurate according to a few sources on the internet.
5. Misc Odds & Ends
$17 OXO 12’’ Tongs
$16 OXO 9” Tongs
$12 OXO Chef Squeeze Bottles
$13.50 Oxo Good Grips Fish Spatula
$13 GIR Silicone Spatula
$25 Zeppoli Classic Dish Towels
$24 Kuhn Rikon Vegetabel Peeler 3 Pack
$40 Thermoworks Thermo Pop
$10 Salt Cellar
$17 OXO Pepper Grinder
$18 4 inch small glass bowls, set of 16
$23 Meal Prep Mixing Bowls
$7 Stainless Steel Funnels
$13 Mesh Strainers
$12 Spider Strainer
Ingredients/Cleaning Supplies
My favorite spices, ingredients, and cleaning supplies I think should be in every pantry. I’m not putting the basics, just the stuff you might not have but totally should.
1. Spices
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt - The salt I use in all of my recipes.
Morton Flakey Salt - Crunchy, flakey, pyramid shaped crystals. So good.
Tellicherry Black Peppercorns - Much tastier than standard pepper.
Korean Chili Flakes - Very mild and super flavorful.
Chipotle Powder - AKA instant smokey flavor.
Sumac Powder -A rare way to add acidity without adding liquid.
Herbs de Provence- Instantly make any ground meat taste like gyros, great stuff.
2. Sauces/Pastes
50 Hertz Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo AKA instant protein marinade.
Mild Mina Harissa Sauce Great color & flavor but it’s more of a pepper sauce than it is harissa paste.
Pearl River Superior Light Soy Sauce My favorite widely available soy sauce, kicks the crap out of Kikkoman
Kevin’s Choice Sesame Oil An absolutely incredible product, blows any widely sold brands out of the water.
Calabrian Chili Paste Great for adding heat & acid to dishes, love this stuff.
3. Cleaning Supplies
O-Cedar Sponges - Hands down the best sponges on the market.
Barkeepers Friend THIS CLEANER WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE it’s seriously the best. Make sure to get the powdered version, it’ll clean your stainless steel stuff in seconds.
Cafiza Espresso Machine Powder - Use it in your metal mugs and coffee pots to eliminate that coffee residue that makes your coffee taste weird.
Scrub Mommy - A Scrub Daddy but better.
Easy-Off Oven Cleaner - It’s time to clean your oven. Seriously.
OXO Bottle Brush - I prefer this version that has a replaceable head so you don’t need to toss the whole thing if it gets messed up.
Video Equipment
Invest in lighting first, nice lenses second, quality of life upgrades third, and your actual camera body last.
1. Cameras & Lenses
Budget Camera - Sony A6400
Upgrade Camera - Sony FX 30
Whatever the newest iPhone Pro is
Variable Lens (My overhead) Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8
Prime Lens (My B Cam) Sigma 30mm F/1.4
2. Lighting
Key Light Godox VL150
Softbox for Key Light Godox Softbox
Fill light Godox LDX50bi Panel LED
3. Stands & Tripods
C Stand (I used for my key light and for my overhead camera) Neewer C Stand
Camera Tripods Neewer 74" Video Tripod
Mini Phone Tripod Manfrotto Mini Tripod
4. Audio & Accessories
On-camera Microphone Rode VideoMicro
Voice Over Microphone Shure SM7b
External Monitor for Cameras Atmos Shinobi
Clamp to Attach Monitor to Tripod Smallrig Clamp
Memory Card for FX30 Sony Tough 160gb
Memory Card for A6400 SanDisk Extreme Pro
Express Memory Card Reader Sony MRWG2
External SSD for Footage Sandisk Extreme SSD 4tb
External HDD for Backups Seagate 5tb HDD
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