Real cooking tools for kids

18 Best Cooking Tools for Kids 2021

18 Best Cooking Tools for Kids 2021 | The Strategist

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Making pancakes with a 4-year-old (or 6-year-old, or 10-year-old) can be a messy affair. But it’s also a super-beneficial one. When you cook with your kids, you’re teaching them — not just about food, but basic math, fine motor skills, multitasking, and time management. Plus, if you have a picky eater, including them in the process can help get them excited about new foods. According to Chiara D’Amore-Klaiman, a cheese expert at Murray’s Cheese and parent to a 3-year-old, “Children are much more likely to eat something they have helped prepare. As soon as a child can walk, they can begin to help out in the kitchen.”

All that’s needed is a bit of patience from the supervising adult — and the right equipment. “In my mind, you should buy kids real tools, not toys,” says Jessica Battilana, author of Repertoire and mom of two. A lot of what she has used with her kids over the years are just smaller, safer versions of adult tools — things she often makes use of herself in the right scenario. We spoke to Battilana, D’Amore-Klaiman, and five other chefs with plenty of culinary kid experience about the best cooking tools for budding cooks, bakers, and pastry chefs.

I’m a Big Helper, Counter Stool for Kids by Naomi Home

$99

If they can’t even reach the counter, they definitely can’t help you chop carrots or mix batter. A step stool may work fine for older children, but toddlers need something more sturdy, which is why both D’Amore-Klaiman and Jeanne Chang, mom of two and co-owner of Lil Pop Shop in Philadelphia, own and recommend this learning tower. Chang’s kids have been cooking with her from the time they were 20 months old. She says “hands down, this is the best tool for getting little kids to cook in the kitchen. It has a platform that is enclosed so they can move around without me having to worry about them falling off.”

$99 at Walmart

Buy

R&M Mini Potato Masher

$10

Mashing potatoes is a fun and totally safe activity for little kids, and D’Amore-Klaiman says a potato masher is a “must-have.” Chang suggests using one to make banana muffins like she did with her kids when they were small.

$10 at Amazon

Buy

$10 at Amazon

Buy

Farberware Easy-to-use Pump Spinner with Bowl

$31

$33 now 6% off

$31

This kitchen tool might as well be a toy. “I got a lot of mileage out of the family’s salad spinner when I was little, and my kiddo loves using ours too,” D’Amore-Klaiman says. Bonus: It can also serve as a carousel for action figures if you’re looking for creative ways to keep kids busy while you’re working from home.

$31 at Amazon

Buy

$31 at Amazon

Buy

Cuisinart Set of 3 Mini Baking Tools

$11

“A kid-size whisk is a good idea because when a little one uses a big whisk it seems to always result in a huge mess,” says D’Amore-Klaiman. Franklin Becker, chef and co-founder of 100 Pleats, also recommends a small whisk both for mixing and “defending against unwanted attacks from their siblings. ” In addition to whisks that fit kids’ hands, Becker, Chang, and Max Hardy, chef, owner of COOP Detroit, and father of two, recommend a silicone pastry brush for egg-washing pastries and milk-washing scones. This set from Cuisinart includes a mini silicone whisk, brush, and spatula.

$11 at Amazon

Buy

$11 at Amazon

Buy

Chef’n Mortar & Pestle

$44

“My kids are really into pounding things,” Battilana says. This mortar and pestle means they can do that with food. It has a silicone base, so it won’t slip and tip over, or fall off the counter.

$44 at Food52

Buy

OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set

$60

Limiting the potential for a cake-mix explosion will make cooking with kids a lot less stressful. That’s why Sara Kate Gillingham, a James Beard Award–winning food writer and a co-founder of the Dynamite Shop, a cooking school for kids, recommends these OXO mixing bowls with rubber on the bottom, which keeps them from hopping across the table when you’re whisking something. “I actually use these myself, and we have them in the shop for kids when we teach in-person. They’re really great,” she says. D’Amore-Klaiman is also a fan of stainless steel mixing bowls because they are “virtually indestructible.”

$60 at Amazon

Buy

$60 at Amazon

Buy

Hedley & Bennett The Kids Apron

$45

Buy at Hedley & Bennett

Buy

Whitebark Workwear Child’s Apron 5-8 Years

$49

Buy at Whitebark Workwear

Buy

Childs butchers stripe apron 5-8 Years

$13

Buy at Etsy

Buy

In keeping with the idea that real kitchen tools in kid sizes are best, Food Network Magazine editor-in-chief, Maile Carpenter, who just finished editing The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook, told us about the aprons she bought for her own kids: “Rather than having to wear a sort of childish apron, we bought them kid versions of the butcher Stripe apron their dad (chef Wylie Dufresne) and other chefs wear. I think they like looking and feeling legit in the kitchen,” she says.

Ateco Offset Spatula with 7.63-Inch Stainless Steel Blade

$14 now 36% off

Among the many recommendations we got from Carpenter (she is also a big fan of candy melts) is an offset spatula — especially for kids who watch a lot of baking videos. “It’s not easy for kids to ice by hand if they’re frosting a cake or a cookie, and this makes it so much simpler,” she says. Her own kids fight over the one they have at home.

$9 at Amazon

Buy

$9 at Amazon

Buy

Flour Shop Multi-Colored Measuring Spoons, Set of 4

$13

Carpenter’s kids also love these rainbow-colored measuring spoons, a collaboration between Williams Sonoma and Flour Shop (the bakery you can thank for all those confetti explosion cake videos on Instagram a couple of years ago). She recommends them along with the rest of the collection, which includes spatulas, mixing bowls, and oven mitts for kids and adults because they’re fun to use and very well-made.

Al Mather Biscuit Cutter

$30

Every expert we consulted recommends buying some form of cookie-cutter. Chang loves this pretty wooden biscuit cutter “because it’s beautiful and has a nice little handle for kids’ hands.”

$30 at Food52

Buy

Whetstone Woodenware Child’s Rolling Pin

$11

Battilana likes this small, wooden rolling pin, which her kids used to roll out cookie dough. It’s well-made, “without any plastic parts that fall apart or metal parts that rust over time,” she says. “I even use it for rolling out smaller things, like pita bread.”

$11 at Whetstone Woodenware

Buy

Bella Luna Child’s Sifter

“I try to give my kids tasks in the kitchen that can’t be messed up, mostly because it wastes food,” Battilana says. “And it’s pretty hard to mess up sifting.” This is another tool that is the same as its grown-up counterpart, just smaller.

Though handing your kid a sharp chef’s knife may sound scary, nearly everyone we spoke to prefers real kitchen tools over plastic options marketed for kids. With supervision, real tools help teach children real kitchen skills, including knife safety. For children younger than 5, Chang and Gillingham recommend starting with a butter knife and having children cut soft things like a boiled potato or banana to get them to understand how to hold the tool and the movement of cutting.

Little Kitchen Helper Knife Set

$49

This knife and peeler set from French brand Opinel, which was recommended by Gillingham, Battilana, and D’Amore-Klaiman, is made for kids, but the tools aren’t gimmicky. They’re basically adult kitchen tools designed to fit kid hands. The set includes a four-inch stainless-steel knife and vegetable peeler, an apron, and a finger guard that supports the food being cut and teaches proper finger placement. “The knife has a ring for them to put their finger through that I think is really brilliant,” Gillingham says. Hardy says tools like these give kids the confidence needed to begin experimenting in the kitchen.

Kuhn Rikon Mezzaluna Knife, Green, 6”

$16

A mezzaluna is another great tool for kids learning how to handle a knife, since the upper handles — whether they are arch-shaped like this one from Swiss brand Kuhn Rikon or have two knobs — keep little fingers away from the blade while cutting. “Kuhn Rikon tools were staples in my knife roll for their quality, and their tools come in fun colors,” D’Amore-Klaiman says. She recommends kids use this mezzaluna as it is intended, to chop herbs, but also to slice things like pizza, quesadillas, fruits, veggies, pita bread, and more.

$16 at Amazon

Buy

$16 at Amazon

Buy

Wusthof 6-inch Gourmet Chef’s Knife

$100

When parents of Gillingham’s students ask her what to get their kids for a first knife, she always recommends a six-inch chef knife. “It’s a really good investment that everyone in the family can use,” she says. But also, when compared to traditional eight- and nine-inch chef knives, “it’s shorter and less heavy for small hands.” Just make sure you know proper knife skills before you try to teach them to your kids: “Being observant and teaching a bear claw saves many fingertips,” she says.

$100 at Amazon

Buy

$100 at Amazon

Buy

Bella Luna Vegetable Crinkle Cutter

Although it’s not quite a knife, Battilana’s kids (now a bit older) were obsessed with this crinkle cutter when they were in preschool. “It’s basically impossible to cut yourself with,” she says, “and it works for carrots, potatoes, apples, and more. I used to have them use it for vegetables in soups.”

Additional reporting by Liza Corsillo.

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What Are the Best Cooking Tools for Kids?

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The Best Tools for Cooking With Kids

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Baby & Kid
Cooking Tools and Utensils

Photo: Sarah Kobos

FYI

We’ve updated prices and availability on several of our picks.

October 13, 2022

Whether they’re dumping boxed pasta into boiling water or cranking out handmade dough on a pasta machine, kids can get involved in the kitchen in all kinds of ways from a very young age. And while having your little ones assist won’t get dinner on the table faster, it can help improve fine motor skills, get picky eaters more invested in their meals, and offer opportunities for learning (for them and you).

For this guide, we invited five kids, ranging in age from 2½ to 8, along with their parents, to the Wirecutter test kitchen to try out a variety of cooking tools. They chopped vegetables; squeezed lemonade; rolled, cut out, baked, and iced cookies; and decorated dish towels. And they had a ball—which is really what it’s all about.

Knives

Photo: Sarah Kobos

If you want to introduce knife skills to your kids, you need two things: a lightweight blade that’s easy to wield and lots of supervision. The Joie Fruit and Vegetable Wavy Chopper is a good starter tool. This chopper was the most popular “knife” with our kid testers because the bold-hued plastic top handle is easy to grip, and the corrugated blade leaves a fun wavy pattern on everything you cut. Said one 3-year-old tester’s mother of the Joie, “After watching her cut a cucumber, I need to get it. She loves cucumbers, and I think it will be great to start teaching her how to cut it.”

The Joie Wavy Chopper leaves a fun pattern on everything kids cut. Photo: Sarah Kobos

Even our youngest testers had no trouble using the Joie Wavy Chopper. Photo: Sarah Kobos

The Joie Wavy Chopper leaves a fun pattern on everything kids cut. Photo: Sarah Kobos

When your kid is champing at the bit to start slicing and dicing like the adults, we think the Victorinox Swiss Classic 4½-inch Serrated Utility Knife is great for developing their skills. It’s lightweight and has a rounded tip so you don’t have to worry about accidental pokes. Our kid panel didn’t test the Victorinox, but after we observed the difficulty they had with larger chef-style kid knives like the Opinel Le Petit Chef and Kai My First Knife, we decided to ask an expert for recommendations. Michelle Dias, creator of the Cooking Club at the Montessori Children’s House in Redmond, Washington, told us that she lets her first- and second-grade students use nylon serrated knives and ones similar to the Victorinox Swiss Classic. Dias says that plastic lettuce knives are a crowd favorite in her class. But their utility is limited to leafy greens and soft fruits, while a steel serrated blade, like the Victorinox, can cut everything from berries to carrots.

Dias advises parents to halve round foods (apples, potatoes, lemons) so they sit flat on the cutting board, making it easier for a child to do the rest. She told us how she instructs kids about proper knife usage: “I tell them, ‘Keep your fingers as far away from the blade as possible while still holding the food firmly in place.’ And frequently remind them to look down to make sure their fingers aren’t under the knife.” Understanding that attention spans run short at this age, Dias repeatedly tells her students, “Don’t hold the knife unless you’re using it. If you want to talk to a friend or do something else, put it down with the blade facing in.”

Aprons

Photo: Sarah Kobos

A pint-size apron not only protects your kid’s clothes from splashes and spills but also looks super friggin’ cute! We compared six aprons and think that the colorful kid aprons from Hedley & Bennett are the best because they’re easy to put on, well-made, and sized for kids ranging from toddler to tween. Our kid testers found the around-the-neck style easier to take on and off compared with the cross-back aprons we tried. Hedley & Bennett’s thick cotton-blend twill is an especially effective barrier between normal cooking splatters and a favorite outfit, and the construction is more durable than other around-the-neck aprons we tested. We love that these aprons are available in two sizes (2 to 4 and 4 to 8 years old). Both size fit kids well in our tests. Both sizes fit kids well in our tests. The colors we tested are discontinued, but the current options range from bright solids to pretty florals. While Hedley & Bennett aprons are more expensive than other brands, we think the quality is worth it. They make great gifts, too.

Hedley & Bennett’s kids aprons, like the Tug Boat pictured here, have a neck strap that adjusts with a D ring, which will hold up better through washing than Velcro. Photo: Sarah Kobos

The Art Style Design Draper Denim apron is made from sturdy denim, but it secures with Velcro, which may lose effectiveness through multiple washings. Photo: Sarah Kobos

Hedley & Bennett’s kids aprons, like the Tug Boat pictured here, have a neck strap that adjusts with a D ring, which will hold up better through washing than Velcro. Photo: Sarah Kobos

The Art Style Design Vintage Draper Denim apron, made from thick and durable denim, is a good budget-friendly choice. But while the Hedley & Bennett aprons have a stitched neck strap that adjusts with a metal ring, the Young Chef uses Velcro, which may lose its effectiveness after multiple trips through the washer and dryer. It’s only available in one size, which we estimate will fit kids between 4 and 8 years old. We like that the dark denim will hide stains, but you can also get it in railroad stripe or white denim.

We also tested Bay Stripe and Classic kids aprons from Williams Sonoma and the Rough Linen Child’s Pinafore. The Williams Sonoma aprons have a Velcro neck strap that doesn’t adhere as well as the one on the Young Chef. As for the Rough Linen Pinafore (the gray apron second from the left in the group shot above), we can’t deny that it’s devastatingly cute and well-made—we have the adult version in three colors in our test kitchen, and we love it—but it costs $60, and our kid testers needed help putting it on because the fixed crisscross straps can be a bit confusing to figure out.

Spatulas

Photo: Sarah Kobos

We tested out three pint-size spatulas and found that the narrow, grippy silicone handle of the GIR Mini Spatula was the easiest for little hands to hold and allowed our kid testers to stir food coloring into royal icing with reckless abandon. It’s a mini version of the spatula we recommend in our guide to the best spatulas. When we asked our young testers why they liked the GIR spatula best, 2½ -year-old Andie exclaimed, “It’s the perfect size!” We also tested the Curious Chef Medium Spatula, but the handle was so flat and wide it was awkward for tiny hands to grasp. The Mini Kitchen Silicone Spatulas were fine for mixing small bowls of royal icing, but we think their diminutive blades would be ineffective for bigger tasks, like scraping batter from a bowl. A parent of one of our testers said she would get the GIR since it could also double as a jar spatula. Other parents said they preferred the GIR spatula because it doesn’t have any grooves or crevices that would make it difficult to clean, unlike the competition.

Whisks

Photo: Sarah Kobos

The GIR Mini Stainless Steel Whisk is the ideal size for kids to grasp in their small fists, and our testers of all ages had an easy time using one to whisk food coloring into royal icing. We like that the handle is covered in silicone, which makes it less slippery and more comfortable to grip than stainless steel. The handle also has a fun, faceted texture and comes in a wide range of colors. This is a well-built tool that won’t end up relegated to the toy box—grown-ups may want to borrow it for everything from vinaigrettes to scrambled eggs. It has 12 wires for efficient whisking and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Scaled-down tools can be easier for little hands to handle.

From bottom: GIR Mini Whisk, OXO Good Grips Balloon Whisk, GIR Spatula, and GIR Mini Spatula. Photo: Sarah Kobos

If you want a larger whisk for larger tasks, the OXO Good Grips Balloon Whisk is the top pick in our guide to whisks and has a soft, grippy handle that’s pretty kid-friendly. Same goes for the GIR Ultimate Whisk, the full-size version of our favorite small whisk. Just keep in mind that the handles are a bit too fat for the tiniest hands, and that a bigger whisk has the potential to fling bigger messes out of the bowl and across the kitchen. Speaking of messes, make sure to steer clear of whisks with silicone-coated wires. They look fun and kid-friendly, but in testing for our guide to whisks we found them frustrating for even adults to use. The coated wires are too flimsy to cut through thick mixtures, and stick and stutter against the sides of a bowl, spraying ingredients everywhere.

Rolling pins

Photo: Sarah Kobos

We offered our kid testers a choice of four rolling pins for rolling out cookie dough, and almost all of them gravitated toward the diminutive Bamber 11-inch Wood Rolling Pin or its slightly longer sibling. These simple dowel pins are lightweight but sturdy and just the right size for even our youngest 2-year-old testers to maneuver easily, while still being useful for older kids or even adults (they’re great for rolling flatbreads and dumpling skins). The J.K. Adams 19-Inch Wooden Rolling Dowel, which is the runner-up in our guide to rolling pins, is hulking in comparison and seemed to intimidate the kids—none of them wanted to try it. It’s also a bit rougher than the Bamber pins, which have a smooth finish that doesn’t stick to dough and cleans up easily. As senior editor Christine Cyr Clisset noted, the Bamber pins are small enough that they could double as a tool for Play-Doh, and easy cleanup is especially useful if you want them to migrate between kitchen and craft table.

We focused mainly on dowel-shaped pins in our test because they’re simpler to use than tapered rolling pins (like our top pick for adults), which take some finesse and fine motor skills. But we did throw in one old-school rolling pin with handles—a vintage one that writer Lesley Stockton brought from home. Eight-year-old Jacob said he found this one easier to use, and we’re guessing it’s because the center rolls independently from the handles. He wasn’t the only kid who had trouble getting the hang of pushing down on the dowel while also letting it roll under his palms (some of the youngest kids tended to just grip each end of the Bamber pins and smoosh the dough). But we think children can get the hang of a dowel with a little practice, and it will ultimately help them get a better feel for how thick and evenly they’re rolling the dough (even if, like some of our testers, they prefer their cookies 1-inch thick).

When they were done rolling out cookie dough, our testers used some of the kid-friendly plastic cutters from the Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set we recommend in our guide to holiday cookie baking. Like the 4-year-old who originally helped us test these cutters, the kids found it easy to press down evenly on the flat plastic tops and were able to get clean shapes even without a sharp metal edge.

More of our favorite baking tools

Sheet pans

Photo: Sarah Kobos

Even before a gaggle of children showed up in our test kitchen to make cookies, we were big fans of the quarter and eighth sheet aluminum baking pans from Nordic Ware. They’re toy-size versions of the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Baker’s Half Sheet, the top pick from our guide to the best baking sheet, and they’re just as durable and versatile. When baking with kids, it can help cut down on the chaos (and reduce the chance of any bickering over whose cookies are whose) to give each child their own small pan to fill with cookies. We also like the idea of using them to bake off just a couple of cookies for dessert if you’ve got a pack of premade dough in the fridge. And, as senior editor Christine Cyr Clisset noted, they’d even make a fun addition to a child’s play kitchen.

One thing we heard a lot from parents is that they’d prefer to buy tools that they can use too. Especially when kitchen space is at a premium, it’s often best to choose real, good-quality gear that’s kid-friendly over junky gear that’s kids-only. These tiny pans really fill that bill: You can use them for everything from toasting a handful of nuts to baking a piece of fish. They also fit easily in a toaster oven. And, of course, you can always use them to bake a couple more cookies for yourself after the kids go to bed.

Learning tower and stool

Photo: Sarah Kobos

Though we didn’t include learning towers or dedicated kitchen stools in our recent testing, some of us have personally found that they’re indispensable tools for successfully getting kids involved around the house. The Little Partners Original Learning Tower gives very young children a secure spot at the counter so they can help in the kitchen or just be a part of what’s going on. Writer Jackie Reeve bought one when her daughter was about 20 months old (she’s now 6). Because she didn’t walk until she was 18 months, and struggled with balance until she was at least 4, she needed more support than a step stool could provide. The Learning Tower allowed them to adjust the height as Hannah grew; it was stable and never rocked; it kept her from falling to the floor; and the sides gave her something to lean on for leverage when she was stirring cake batter or using Play-Doh. If you’re handy with tools, you could also consider building your own or using an IKEA hack.

The Original Learning Tower takes up a considerable amount of space, so families with a small kitchen may want something like Little Partners’s adjustable step stool. Regular step stools might be more compact and lightweight, but they’re usually not tall enough to bring toddlers up to the counter or, like dining chairs, can be precarious for them to stand on. “As someone who loves to cook, it was important for me to have some way to involve my daughter in the kitchen as soon as she was steady on her feet. But because I live in a small New York apartment, I needed something that would fit in a cramped kitchen,” said editor Winnie Yang, who has been using the Little Partners step stool since shortly after her daughter’s first birthday (she’s now almost 3). She likes that it’s sturdy and too heavy for a little kid to move on their own, but it still gives her daughter a sense of independence. And while it lacks front and back guardrails, the safety rails on the sides are easy to grab.

Dish towels

The Utopia Towels Kitchen Bar Mop soaked up all our spills very well, leaving no mess behind. Photo: Michael Murtaugh

We didn’t need a test to know that the littlest chefs make plenty of big messes. To assess what materials are best for cleaning, we tried several cloth and paper towels, comparing how well they wiped up spills and removed stubborn cookie dough from kitchen counters. Parents reached for the Bounty Select-A-Size Paper Towels the most in our tests because they’re absorbent and great for scrubbing surfaces and cleaning little hands. We found that the Utopia Towels Kitchen Bar Mops are ideal for big spills or wiping down countertops. And since they’re so cheap, you won’t mind if they get stained or tattered with persistent use. We also cleaned up splatters with several other kitchen towels with kid-friendly prints, including these owl Mu Kitchen towels. While these printed towels are cute, they’re not very absorbent for mopping up spills, and several parents who took part in our testing said they wouldn’t want to spend money on printed towels exclusively for their kids because they’d get ruined quickly.

Flour sack dish towels can be tied like a bib to protect clothes from splatters and can also be the canvas for a potato stamp art project. Photo: Sarah Kobos

We also recommend the large Aunt Martha’s Flour Sack Dish Towels for tying around kids like a bib to keep their clothes splatter free. Folded into quarters, these towels also make a wonderful canvas for kids to express their imagination using fabric paint applied with potato stamps or brushes. Parents will also appreciate these towels for food prep tasks like squeezing excess moisture from watery vegetables or straining liquids. For other towel recommendations, see our full guide to the best kitchen towels.

Citrus juicer

Photo: Sarah Kobos

The Proctor Silex Alex’s Lemonade Stand Citrus Juicer from our guide to electric citrus juicers is inexpensive, easy to use, and makes quick work of juicing lemons for your budding entrepreneur’s lemonade stand. We brought one in for our kid testers, and they agreed. It can also do limes, oranges, or grapefruits. The youngest of our testers needed a little help pushing down hard enough on each lemon half to get all the juice out, but they still had fun.

Popsicle molds

Photo: Katie Hausenbauer-Koster

Because no hard work should go unrewarded, we made the kids popsicles in the delightful Zoku Fish Pop Molds we recommend in our guide to popsicle molds. We also tried out a set of dinosaur-shaped molds from Zoku, which are identical to the fish pops in all but the adorable frozen creatures they produce. Our testers loved the fun shapes, while their parents loved the diminutive size of these pops—the perfect serving for a little one.

About your guides

Marguerite Preston

Marguerite Preston is a senior editor covering kitchen gear and appliances at Wirecutter, and has written guides to baking equipment, meal kit delivery services, and more. She previously worked as an editor for Eater New York and as a freelance food writer. Before that, she learned her way around professional kitchens as a pastry cook in New York.

Lesley Stockton

Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world—from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart. She is perfectly happy to leave all that behind to be a full-time kitchen-gear nerd.

Michael Sullivan

Michael Sullivan has been a staff writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter since 2016. Previously, he was an editor at the International Culinary Center in New York. He has worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade.

Winnie Yang

Winnie Yang is the former supervising editor of Wirecutter’s appliance coverage and formerly the editor of guides to baby and parenting gear. In a previous life, she served as the managing editor of Culinary Backstreets and The Art of Eating, and she has written for Condé Nast Traveler, Feast, Jamie, Saveur, and Tasting Table, among other publications.

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Toolbox: Essentials.

Useful information from the confectioner @galaart_cake

"Oh, how much we confectioners often get extra tools in our favorite confectionery stores)
Don't feed bread, let me buy another dye 105 pink shade, or 10 heart molds - never without using the first 9😏 And about sprinkles, kandurins, sequins, molds, rugs and other tinsel, I generally keep quiet 😤
Yes, yes, you won’t believe it, but a pastry chef is not a profession - it’s a diagnosis 🤤

But believe me, he is treated with experience)) So, in order not to initially acquire mountains of unnecessary tools and then not cry to your husband about a small kitchen and lack of working space, you just need to learn to separate the important from the secondary!
Let's start probably)

So, what is useful for a novice confectioner in his hard work initially:
✅ baking molds: round extendable from 16-30 cm and square extendable of the same dimensions ✅ Acetate tape:
For increasing the height of the mold, assembling mousse cakes
✅ leveling spatula: one wide and one narrow
✅ turntable: convenient when leveling and decorating
✅Food coloring: basic set of colors 5 basic, plus black, white, brown
✅Pastry disposable bags
✅Pastry nozzles: basic 3, Wilton d2, m1, c1
✅mastic iron: smoothing when tightening ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅Mastic scalpel or cutter
✅Silicone or plastic rolling pin
✅Mastic stack set
✅Mixer: manual or stationary
✅Silicone spatula
✅Kitchen scale
You can also use a plastic sheet to roll out.

For the first time, and not only for the first time - these are the most basic things for a confectioner!!! And everything else, of course, will also be bought, but it will definitely be needed for a certain order, and not just because my eyes ran wide 😅😉❤️ nine0003

Confectionery equipment

Various confectionery equipment is used to create cakes, pastries and other sweets, without which the cooking process will be complicated, and sometimes even impossible. Consider the main types of such devices that should be in the kitchen of any confectioner. nine0003

Pastry equipment for cakes

It is possible to make a cake without sophisticated equipment, but such a product will have little aesthetics. Another thing is if you arm yourself with special devices and use them to create real confectionery miracles. You can mix the dough and whip the cream in the old fashioned way, but it is much more convenient and easier to do this with the help of modern devices, because that is what they are designed for.

Molds

To bake a simple cake or a multi-tiered masterpiece, you will need special molds. Traditionally, they are round, but curly ones are also on sale - in the form of hearts, flowers, animals. Round shapes are the most practical, especially if they are detachable - it is more convenient to take out the cake without fear of damaging it. nine0003

Cake stand

Not the most necessary, but very convenient professional pastry equipment - a rotating tray-stand, on which you can decorate the finished product with cream. This design can be with a horizontal or inclined turntable, and the second option is more successful, especially when working with a pastry bag.

Pastry bag

The finishing touch in the preparation of any cake is its decoration. To make all kinds of roses, curlicues, leaves, you will need a pastry (culinary) bag or syringe. Professionals use large-volume reusable linen and silicone bags, and disposable ones made of parchment or cellophane are perfect for home use. nine0003

Of course, one bag will not do, because nozzles give cream different shapes when squeezed out. They are sold both individually and in sets. Syringes are used more often by inexperienced confectioners, especially if cakes are rarely baked. But such devices have a wonderful tube nozzle, with which you can fill eclairs and other cakes with cream.

For mastic

Modern confectioners often use mastic as a “cover” for a cake, as well as for making various decoration figurines. To create all this beauty, you need a lot of small and not very tools: a mastic iron, scrapers, plungers, special confectionery syringes, rollers, rolling pins and mats with a curly surface, a mastic cutting roller (culinary wheel), modeling rollers, press templates, brushes. This list is far from complete, as sets with small tools include dozens of different items that only a professional can know. nine0003

Pastry All-in-One

Cake making is just a small part of everything that can be made as a dessert. To make the work a pleasure, you will need various confectionery utensils and equipment that are suitable for a variety of culinary masterpieces.

Containers are required for kneading dough and cream. It is desirable that they be light and durable. For this purpose, plastic and stainless steel bowls of various capacities are perfect. nine0003

For baking muffins and cakes, you will need small paper and silicone molds with corrugated sides. And for larger products, you can buy large silicone molds - fortunately, there is a large selection of such goods in stores.

Do not forget about measuring utensils - glasses with graduation are very convenient for the correct dosage of ingredients, although electronic scales are increasingly seen in modern kitchens.

Real cooking tools for kids

18 Best Cooking Tools for Kids 2021

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Further reading

9 Tools to Organize Your Kitchen Like a Pro

Our Favorite Baby-Proofing Tools

The 30 Best Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids

Toolbox: Essentials.

Confectionery equipment

Pastry equipment for cakes

Pastry All-in-One

Learn more