What You Need in Your Homestead Kitchen
If you have, or are in the process of creating, a homestead kitchen, you’ve learned to work with tools and rely on your own skills to make and preserve wonderful dishes and meals. You may have learned several tips on preserving foods from your mother or grandmother.
Maybe you’re new to this idea, or might be looking to acquire ideas on other tools that are helpful around the kitchen. Did you see my post on how much land you may want to acquire to live the do the things that are important to you? Life w/o The Acreage
Is your homestead kitchen lacking? Here are some ideas for what you need in your homestead kitchen. Having the right tools in your kitchen is more important than anything. You will use these tools to cook, prep, can, and create food for your family.
A food dehydrator is one that every homestead kitchen should have. You’ll be able to dry meats, fruits, and vegetables while preserving them for a much longer period of time. Just think of all the homemade jerky and sweet potato chips you’ve been missing out on.
Mason jars are extremely useful in many ways, but most commonly used for canning foods. My family even uses mason jars as regular drinking glasses.
Wide-mouth mason jars with the snap lids and rings are the easiest to use. Mason jars can store salsas, juices, fruits, vegetables, and more. It’s time to use the skills grandma taught you about making delicious jellies and jams. And of course, canning fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
Do you enjoy canning and storing food? Then you’ll also want to have a pressure canner while preserving some of your favorite foods. Not to be mistaken as pressure cookers, a pressure canner preserves low-acid foods safer at a higher temperature.
We also recommend you having a stand mixer to whip any dough (not whole wheat flour) or batter for your next bakery treat. Stand mixers have more power than a hand mixer and you don’t have to do any of the work. It can also thoroughly beat through the batter much quicker than by hand. I recommend a Bosch Bread Mixer for those making bread.
How else are you supposed to whip up an amazing milkshake? While you can survive without a blender, it certainly makes your time in the kitchen a whole lot easier. A blender can help you create baby food, fruit or vegetable smoothies, sauces, and delicious cream soups.
While heading to the grocery store and picking up a loaf of bread may be easier, nothing beats fresh-warm bread directly out of a bread machine.
Warm sourdough bread with melted butter on top becomes a meal in itself. If you don’t have a bread machine, you can find one at almost any garage sale in the neighborhood.
A meat grinder is not something you see in many kitchens today, but is a tool that every homestead kitchen should have. It takes care of all the mincing, minus all the blood and sweat on your end. I use mine for ham salad and making sausage patties.
It also saves you money at the grocery store instead of paying more for meat that’s already been ground for you. A meat grinder will allow you to make your own sausage and hamburger patties. A meat grinder can also be used on vegetables and even fish.
Have you ever cut yourself while trying to peel an apple or potato? Most of you probably can raise your scarred hands. Well, how about an electric peeler that does all the damage instead? It not only peels your food quicker, but actually does a better job in the process.
Of course, we still need a manual peeler. If we lose power, we have to be prepared to peel lots of potatoes for that big pot of soup, right?
Another set of tools that will make cutting, slicing, and dicing much easier in the kitchen is a good set of quality knives.
While you can get an entire set of knives, all you really need is a chef’s knife, cleaver, slicing knife, filet, and a paring knife. Be sure to get a knife sharpener that will keep your knives in good working condition.
When you get married, you might get a number of slow cookers as wedding gifts. Even if, for the strangest reason, you didn’t receive one, it’s time to invest in a crockpot.
They do all of the work and slow-cook so well, that meat falls right off the bone. It’s easy to throw a meal in the crockpot and then return home in the late afternoon for a dinner that’s ready to go.
Cast iron cookware can be costly but is worth the investment. Cast iron is perfect for frying and baking food more evenly without having to rotate the pan. They also last forever. Nearly indestructible in fact.
You also want to have a large stockpot that’s extremely versatile. You can make stews, porridge, boiled foods, and other great recipes. You can even boil a lobster or whole chicken in a large stockpot.
A pressure cooker is a ticking time bomb if you don’t know what you’re doing, but there’s no faster way to prepare amazing meals. A pressure cooker is every mom’s best friend.
A pressure cooker also tenderizes meats and other foods in a very short amount of time. Just be sure to follow the directions in the manual for safety and efficient use of the unit.
You might be asking, “why do I need a food processor if I already have a blender?” Blenders work better with liquids, while food processors are better at slicing and dicing fruits and vegetables. You can even shred cheese with it!
Stainless mixing bowls are much easier to manage, and even pour out the food contents much easier than a glass bowl.
Are you a big coffee drinker? People that have never used a french press before may think this be something you could live without. I beg to differ. You will not get a creamier or richer steaming cup of coffee any other way. I’ve heard people use this brand French Press.
In order to have a homestead kitchen, there are several tools and hacks that you might have been missing out on that can make your life a lot easier.
Feel free to agree or disagree with the tools and equipment that we mentioned. What are other tools that you need in your homestead kitchen? May God bless this world, Linda
If you are looking to purchase cast iron skillets, etc. keep your eye on the ” megalarge online-only no brick and mortar stores internet retailer”. A few years ago, right before Halloween, they had put nearly all of their cast iron on a huge sale. I was able to purchase a 5 quart Lodge Dutch oven for less than $15.00, and other cast iron for that amount or less. Basically I outfitted my kitchen with 5 or 6 cast iron pieces for less than 60.00 total. Money well spent, and I can hand the pieces down to my kids. Watch the “deals of the day” and their ” flash sales” as well to find those bargains.
Hi Kate, thank you so much for this awesome tip! Halloween is right around the corner. I love sales for items like this! Linda
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I’m Linda Loosli. I’m the owner and editor of Food Storage Moms. I’m so happy you’ve found us. Our goal at Food Storage Moms is to help “one family at a time.”
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What You Need in Your Homestead Kitchen
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