• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

A microplane: This type of grater, which is sometimes called a “ginger grater” or “micro-zester,” is great for zesting citrus fruits and grating ginger or nutmeg.

A metal spatula: Perfect for the vegan grill-master in charge of flipping veggie burgers. A metal spatula also is useful for turning pancakes or sautéed tofu in a skillet.

Knives

You can remove that huge butcher block of knives cluttering your counter; vegans don’t need all those steak and boning knives! However, a few good knives are essential for any chef — vegan or otherwise. I use the following knives most often (see Figure 7-1):

A serrated bread knife that’s at least 10 inches long (this knife is great for bread but also perfect for thinly slicing tomatoes)

An 8- to 10-inch chef’s knife for chopping vegetables

A paring knife, used for peeling fruit and broccoli stems, coring apples and pears, and several other basic kitchen tasks

You also want to get a sharpening steel that you can use to sharpen your knives at home. High-carbon steel knives are easier to sharpen at home.

Is my old cookware considered vegan?

A common concern among new vegans is whether their old cooking equipment, which once cooked and prepared animal foods, is considered vegan. For example, a baking dish that was used to broil meat can still be used to roast cauliflower, but is it still vegan? The answer lies with you and your personal comfort level. In my opinion, we already consume more than our fair share of material goods, so I choose to allow my family and friends to use my kitchen tools for their nonvegan cooking. Doing so is more earth friendly and takes up less space in my cramped cabinets. For me, these values are more important.

If you feel terribly uncomfortable with using old dishes and utensils that once touched meat and can afford to do so, consider donating or selling your used kitchen tools and buy new, unused items. Vegans are obliged to consider their consumption based on several levels: environmental friendliness, personal health, and animal safety. If you share a kitchen with nonvegans, discuss your wishes with your housemates if you prefer to keep cooking tools separate. For more in-depth discussion on living in harmony with meat eaters, see Chapter 8.

Note: If sharing gadgets doesn’t bother you, be sure to make the necessity of extreme cleanliness clear when it comes to preparing animal foods. Cross-contamination of food-borne illnesses can easily occur in a mixed diet kitchen.

Figure 7-1: The basic knives that any cook should have.

Go to a home or kitchen store and hold several brands and styles of knives to get a feel for which ones you like best. Consider how heavy the knife feels, how easy the grip feels, and whether you like the balance of the weight as you rock it back and forth across a cutting surface.

Sharp knives are safe knives! Have your knives professionally sharpened one or two times per year, and then use your steel at home regularly. The sharper the knife, the less pressure you need to cut, which prevents spastic flailing of knives in the kitchen.

Special equipment to consider

The preceding sections cover the basics, but in this section I want to introduce you to a few more fun and useful kitchen items that can add a lot of power to your recipe repertoire. These items allow you the versatility to save time and dish washing and increase your success when attempting more complicated dishes and party menus. These specialized tools include the following:

An immersion or “stick” blender for blending soups in the pot and creating smooth, creamy sauces without using the extra dishes that a counter top blender does

An electric rice cooker for cooking all kinds of grains and saving space on the stove

A toaster oven for quick reheats and toasting without having to use the whole oven or the microwave (whose safety and healthfulness is questionable; see the nearby sidebar, “Rethinking the microwave”)

A food processor for chopping,