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Ten Items for Your Kid's Cookware Kit

(Chapter 22 of the book)

 

In This Chapter

Giving kids their own kitchen equipment
Providing a suitable space for kids to store their tools

 

Why did the lemon go to the doctor?

Because it wasn't peeling well.

 

Give your young chef a set of simple cooking tools that's his or hers alone—and set aside a place to store them. Kids develop more pride in their cooking, take on kitchen and cleaning responsibility, and are more eager to cook when they have their own set of tools.

 

Kids' Kitchen Tools and Pint-Size Equipment

You'll want to include these cookware essentials, shown in the photo, in your kid's cooking kit. You can find out more about them in Chapter 3.

 
 
 
 

Young chefs cook best with their own personal set of tools.

• Measuring spoon set
• Measuring cups: one for dry ingredients
         and one for wet ingredients
• Wooden spoon
• Apron or large t-shirt
• Potholders and/or oven mitts
• Small knife (plastic, paring, or
         as appropriate for your child)
• Vegetable peeler
• Safety scissors
• Rubber spatula
• Small cutting board

 

A Place for Everything...
...and everything in it's place.

After your young chef has a personal set of equipment, think about providing a permanent place for all these great tools. It can be just about any type of container, as long as it's easily accessible to the child and not stuck away in a closet piled under stacks of linens or other things. Here's a few suggestions for places in which to store your kid's cookware:

 

• A large, lower kitchen drawer
• An industrial-sized lunchbox,
         the kind used by construction workers
• A portable tool kit
• A cardboard file box, known as a banker's box
• A plastic storage box, with handles and lid

 

Assemble the items first (before deciding on a container), adding any equipment from your own kitchen that you want your child to have (like a melon baller, rolling pin, whisk, or other tools—see Chapter 3 for more ideas). Then, make sure that the area for your child's tools is large enough to hold all of the tools comfortably. When in doubt, go for a larger space than a smaller one, so that items aren't cramped and difficult to find

 

Other Handy Items

Giving kids their own set of these tools encourages them to become more independent. While not essential, these items can be quite helpful to young chefs as they develop their kitchen skills:

 
 

• rolling pin
• fork or whisk for mixing
• nylon heatproof spatula
• dishtowel
• sponge
• salt and pepper shakers with closeable lids
         (like the disposable sets used for picnics)