Make homemade Italian cuisine like the pros with these must-have cooking gadgets.
Cheese Grater
No self-respecting Italian can call themselves so without owning a cheese grater. How else would you shave such beautiful fragments of Parmesan over your pasta? Or shred fresh mozzarella for a homemade pizza? A basic stand grater, like the Cuisinart Box Grater, is best for many cheeses, but if you want that restaurant style shred try a rotary grater instead.
Available for $12.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond.
Pasta Maker
If pasta from a box isn’t good enough, you’ll just have to make it yourself. The Marcato Atlas Wellness 150 Pasta Maker is the perfect gadget for the intense pasta pro. Made from nickel- and chrome-plated steel for durability and corrosion resistance, put on your chef’s hat and create up to 15 different pasta types from ravioli to capellini by purchasing the attachments (sold separately). If you don’t need a stand alone pasta maker, purchase the pasta attachment for your Kitchen Aid mixer instead.
The Marcato Atlas Wellness 150 Pasta Maker is available for $79.95 at Sur La Table and Amazon.
Garlic Press
You can’t cook Italian cuisine without several major ingredients. One of those is garlic. The Williams-Sonoma Stainless-Steel Garlic Press is heavy enough to crush garlic into one uniform, minced pile without the smell of garlic on your hands.
Available for $44.95 at Williams-Sonoma.
Wooden Spoon
What else would you stir the Sunday sauce with? (Yes it’s sauce, gravy is brown). While many people opt for bamboo in a cooking utensils, a trusty wooden spoon made of oak or walnut blends ingredients just fine. Williams-Sonoma’s Wood Spoons come in a set of four and are perfect for mixing and beautiful enough for serving.
Available for $49.95 at Williams-Sonoma.
Bread Knife
A good, quality bread knife can make or break a loaf of bread. Made of high-carbon steel, the German-crafted Wüsthof Classic Ikon 9” Double Serrated Bread Knife slices through bread without cracking the crust. Hand wash only.
Available at Crate & Barrel for $159.95.
