9 of the Best Accessories for a Stress-Free Vegan Cooking Experience
The difference between a stressful and smooth vegan kitchen experience is in the details. Whether these details are inbuilt features in your vegan kitchen design, or vegan cooking accessories and appliances, the vegan kitchen experience can be greatly enhanced with attention to the details of how your kitchen functions as a whole.
The ideal vegan kitchen has the potential to cope with a wide variety of seasonal produce and cooking methods, and can facilitate the cooking style of the many different food cultures that feature vegan cuisine. It should be possible to collapse or expand your vegan cooking production line as needed. For example, your vegan kitchen should make it easier to process a large amount of greens and vegetables when your local farm-share is overflowing in the summer months.
Preparation is key. You should be able to process preserves and grains efficiently and then transfer them to convenient storage. The following are 10 of the best accessories to help you have a stress-free vegan cooking experience:
Good Quality Knives
The number one tool in any cook’s toolkit is a set of high quality knives. You should have a variety of knives for cutting needs including a heavyweight knife, a carving and peeling knife and a serrated knife. The best quality knives are made from high carbon stainless steel, which makes them extra sharp but less prone to rusting. The balance between the weight of the blade and handle is also an important design factor in the quality of a knife
Blender and Food Processor
Vegan cooking typically involves a lot of prep. These tasks are made more efficient by relying on a food processor and a blender. Food processors and blenders handle slightly different things, and it’s usually a good idea to have both appliances. Food processors usually have multiple blade inserts and can process a wide variety of foods. Blenders have fewer options and are better for processing liquid foods. It’s worth investing in higher quality appliances that are made with glass or non-toxic plastic which doesn’t leach toxins into foods.
Eco-Friendly Non Toxic Food Storage Options
Storing food is a big part of home cooking, but unfortunately, many food storage options use toxic or resource heavy materials that don’t biodegrade. Vegan cooks can turn to options like beeswax wraps, which mold around food in the same way as plastic wrap, glass mason jars with metal lids, wax treated food-safe cotton lids for bowls, silicon lids and silicon food bags.
Restaurant Style Mandolin Slicers and Spiralizers
If you are on a mission to get serious about your vegetable prep, using restaurant style mandolin style slicers and getting a food spiralizer can make bulk prepping vegetables much easier. It will also make your prepped vegetables look more attractive. A food spiralizer can make it possible to consume veggies like squashes and zucchinis as you would pasta.
Instant Pot
An instant pot is a handy device for vegan cooks who don’t have a lot of time and want easy meals on the week-days. It combines the functions of pressure cooking, slow cooking and food warming to cook food slowly while you work. The pressure reduces cooking time and the heat settings keep food warm so it is ready for you to eat.
Tofu Press
A tofu press is a useful tool that can make the process of drying out tofu before cooking easier and less messy.
Vegetable Steamer
Steaming vegetables is one of the most healthy ways to eat cooked vegetables. Fewer nutrients and antioxidants are lost in steaming than other methods. Owning a set of stainless steel steamer pot inserts allows you to cook several different kinds of vegetables on the hob.
Convenient Cupboards
Since vegan cooking often uses many stored ingredients such as canned food, preserved food, and spices, organizing your storage facilitates a stress-free vegan cooking experience. If you can quickly pull out a storage rack from your storage cupboards and see all the spices or cans, it saves the hassle of reaching to the back of a cupboard for a key ingredient. A lot of energy can be saved if you incorporate your storage needs during the design or redesign of your kitchen.
Nut Milk Bag
To process nut milk and cashew milk, a nut milk bag is a less messy alternative to cheesecloth. Washable, organic cotton also makes it re-usable and eco-friendly.
How to Integrate Appliances with Your Vegan Kitchen Design
Owning the most convenient vegan cooking tools can greatly improve your relationship with vegan cooking, especially if you are a beginner at vegan home cooking. Using the right tools helps you gain confidence as a vegan chef. Whether you are embarking on your vegan home cooking journey, or you are an experienced vegan cook who wants to fine tune your vegan cooking experience, kitchen redesign could be in the future.
It isn’t enough to own the latest gadgets, you need to be able to work in a space where these appliances can serve your needs. Vegan cooking design could involve re-thinking the placement of wall outlets. If you are dependent on slow cooking, air frying, food processing and blending, these fixes will improve the experience. Vegan cooking design reimagines the location of storage, and the division of work-space, cooking space and dining space.
If you are ready for a vegan kitchen design overhaul, our vegan cooking design consultants can help. We have thoroughly researched the elements of vegan design and non toxic design. We are vegans who are committed to a healthy, cruelty-free lifestyle, and have encountered all the practical obstacles you are likely to meet on your path to becoming a vegan. We are available for remote or in person consultation at our National and International offices in San Diego, CA, Brooklyn, NYC and Paris, France. Please contact us to learn more about how we can help you enhance your vegan cooking process.
