02331 Useful Kitchen Equipment for the Permacultured Kitchen

Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home. I always tried to make my home like my mother's, because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food. Like a true Italian, she valued beautification in every area of her life, and I try to do the same. — Rachael Ray

This list is not a suggestion to go out and buy all of this stuff. You could share some of this equipment with others. You may never do some of these things so you won’t need that equipment.

Equipment for a Minimal Kitchen without a Stove (like a dorm room or tiny apartment)

  • Crockpot
  • Electric skillet
  • Hot plate

Three more items that are useful in minimal kitchens

  • A tabletop oven (roaster oven, toaster oven, convection oven, etc.)
  • Blender or food processor.
  • A microwave (depending on how you feel about microwaves)

Food Preservation

  • Boiling water canner. This is a large pot at least 13 inches deep, for processing jars of high acid food items like fruit, pickles, and fermented foods.
  • Canning jars in a variety of sizes
  • Freezer, manual defrost
  • Pressure canner. For processing vegetables and meats.
  • Dehydrator. Plans are readily available for solar food dehydrators.
  • Food grade storage containers, variety of sizes
  • Jar lifter, funnels, colander, strainer, sifter, measuring cups and spoons
  • Crocks for fermenting/storage (or use canning jars)
  • Roaster oven (can be used with smaller jars for boiling water canning, holds more jars than a typical canning kettle and they come equipped with racks to hold the jars.

Food Processing

  • Food processor/blender
  • Grain and meat grinders.
  • Strainers
  • Jelly funnels
  • Knives
  • Apple corer, cherry pitter

Brewing and Wine/Cider Making

  • Glass carboy
  • Airlock stopper
  • Racking equipment (tubing)
  • Bottle capper
  • Hydrometer

Food Preparation

  • Outdoor cooking equipment
  • Crockpot.
  • Oven-ware — casserole pans, loaf pans, baking pans.
  • Solar oven/cooker
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Cutting board
  • Kitchen knives
  • Kitchen scissors
  • Pastry cutter
  • Peeler
  • Pressure cooker
  • Crockpot cooker
  • Retained heat cooker
  • Solar oven

Food Production

  • Sprouting container(s)
  • Mushroom growing containers/media

Other

  • Kitchen scale
  • Food grade storage containers