This page lists the cooking equipment I use on a daily basis. Some of my equipment is older, so I recommended the newest version of what I own and use. If that list can help you on your cuisine and health journey, I am happy to help !
Cooking Equipment for steam cooking
To practice steam cooking with the Vitaliseur is real pleasure, of course, but on a daily basis of course, you may need a few more things.
Learn about and buy the Vitaliseur
Steam cooking in the Vitaliseur goes through several steps: prepping and cutting, steaming with the right tool, i.e. the Vitaliseur, then mixing and seasoning all ingredients in a sauté pan.
Steam your foods
There is a special page for that!
Some ingredients like grains such as rice require cooking in a bowl. I prefer stainless steel bowls. And to not burn yourself, better get a good grabber to catch the bowl once rice is done cooking!
Interested in ingredients themselves? Check my “ Sourcing Ingredients” page.
Cooking grains in a stainless steel bowl
- Stainless steel bowls, to cook grains like rice, quinoa or anything you like the safest being 18×10 or 18×8. I researched it at Amazon and found a few good quality ones for you: 1) The smallest bowl of this set would fit in the steam basket 2) The Rösle brand makes quality bowl, 0.74 qt and 1.5 qt are the sizes I use the most. This is quality stuff that will last a lifetime.
- Don’t burn yourself, get a grabber!
- To reheat a plate, you may want to lift your plate a bit, or steam a plate over another bowl. This little rack come in handy!
Finishing in a skillet or sauté pan
- To sauté vegetables and mix ingredients, I use a stainless steel sauté pan. The one I own was discontinued, but if I had to buy one these days I would probably go for this 6qt sauté pan from Tramontina. Many times I also use a large granite non stick sauté pan or a Lodge cast iron skillet.
Baking
- If you like baking cakes you’ll need a round mold this size. I don’t really like aluminum for its toxicity but I prefer it to typical non stick and I use parchment paper disks to shield my food from toxicity and get the cakes out easily.
- If you use a cake mold, make sure it is shorter than 8 inches (20.3 cm).
Other helpful equipment for your kitchen
Electric appliances
- I use my electric kettle a lot, but also a big thermos so I don’t have to reheat water all day, since I use a lot between my hot drinks and the steamer!
- I often use an immersion blender to cook, for sauce or baby foods, it’s an easy one to travel with if you do go on camping trips or on week end somewhere, I use it a lot to blend soup! I own a kitchen aid for 10 years now, so I feel good about recommending this one.
- I often use a food processor for salads, to blend vegetables into a dip like hummus ! I’ve owned This cuisinart a decade and just upgraded to this other Cuisinart! If I had to do it again I’d buy a food processor part with a compatible Vitamix!
- A good blender like the VItamix of course. For using them a lot, Vitamix are great machines you won’t have to buy over and over again. A great wedding registry gift… NB if you are into food safety and stay away from plastic, Vitamix makes a stainless steel blender container that works awesome. I bought it a few years ago and it is great ! I don’t mind that I can’t see through it.
- Coffee amateur? I like a coffee machine with a small footprint. I use that De Longhi one ( you can use it with espresso cup or a normal cup. And contrary to the De Longhi machine you find at Costco, coffee pours and stops on its own. Ilove it! Simple, not technical. I’ve been using a stainless steel percolator for decades and although I love it, it’s a nice change !
Bread making
If you want to bake bread on a regular basis, here are a few must haves you may want to slowly gather as you go ! In order or importance
Grinder
If you are into bread making with freshly ground flour, do like me and invest ! I purchased my Komo Classic grinder ( this one ) 6 months ago after using the Kitchen Aid grinder attachment for years. It was truly the best investment I made in years! The texture of the flour is very fine, whereas the Kitchen Aid’s flour was very coarse and I couldn’t manage to get it to go through the grinder twice. It’s night and day. I chose Komo because it has more capacity than brand like Nutrimill, and you also can add a sifter add-on later if you like. I like the look of Komo better than the Nutrimill Harvest. And Germans and Austrians are awesome engineers, so they have my total trust. Besides, Pleasant Hill Grain customer service has been great !
For affiliate discounts and codes, just wait a little bit, I will post it shortly !
What else do you need to bake bread?
- Large mixing bowl – ceramic is best of course. From what I read, metal is not great for fermentation.
- Digital scale. I don’t own an OXO scale TERRA, I own a French brand scale I brought back with me. But in the US, I prefer OXO because I have EXCELLENT experience with their customer service. Great quality products too.
- Plastic wrap or beeswax wrap, so the dough can rise. I prefer beeswax because I avoid food contact with plastic. Plastic contains hormonal disrupters.
- A dutch oven – about 4.5 qt. I own this one which is very reasonably priced.
- A wire rack, to cool down your bread. A wood cutting board will do well as well!
- A banneton basket or proofing basket, 9 inches diameter; if you don’t own one, use a clean kitchen towel or linen cloth to wrap the shaped dough, and let it proof in a mixing bowl.
- A Dough scraper: highly recommend it to ease scraping dough out of your bowl;
- Tea and tablespoons set
- Wooden spoons
- Piece of unbleached parchment paper to line your dutch oven. I find it makes it easier for my breads to keep their shape and not go as flat.
For cooking ingredients
Please check this page.
