If you’re a farmer or a homesteader, you probably spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Especially during the harvest season, when there is a lot of extra work to be done. Crops come in fast toward the end of summer, and folks often have difficulty keeping up with all the cooking, canning, and dehydrating. Having the right kitchen tools makes the work much easier and saves time. Getting more food processed faster results in less waste, too.

Regardless of the time of year, it’s important to have an efficient kitchen. We want to help you get the most work done in the least time, so we’re sharing our list of the top 7 must-have kitchen tools every homesteader needs. Check it out and see how your kitchen stacks up!

By the way, many of these Items come with FREE SHIPPING! Check the product descriptions on our website for details.

Must-Have #1: Grain Mill

Whether it’s holiday baking time or anytime you need to feed your family, a grain mill is one of the most versatile kitchen tools. With a grain mill, you can grind your own flours, so you’ll know your flour is always fresh. A grain mill can grind wheat, rye, rice, or any type of grain. The WonderMill Junior Delux Manual Grain Mill even grinds wet grains, so you don’t have to dry them after soaking.

Is your household grain free? No problem! You can use a grain mill to grind alternative flours, such as almond flour, bean flour, and coconut flour.

You can also use a grain mill to make your own fresh nut butters by grinding peanuts, almonds, cashews, or any other favorite nuts.

If you enjoy coffee, you know what a difference it makes to use freshly ground beans. A grain mill is the best way to grind a fresh batch of coffee beans.

 Must-Have #2: Spiral Slicer

A spiral vegetable slicer cuts vegetables and fruits into curly, ribbon-like slices. You can use it to make beautiful garnishes or fresh veggie noodles. Noodles made from fresh vegetables, like squash, make a great alternative to conventional noodles made from grains. They’re higher in nutrients, lower in calories, and gluten free!

It’s super simple to make continuous spiral strands. All you have to do is place the vegetable or fruit on the prongs of the wheel. Then, turn the wheel while pressing the base toward the vertical blade.

 Must-Have #3: Juice/Sauce Maker

When the summer tomatoes and berries are ready to be processed and preserved, you’ll be glad you have the original, all-metal Squeezo strainer in your arsenal of kitchen tools! Making homemade tomato sauce, applesauce, and preserves is no longer a chore when you use a Squeezo. It’s truly a canner’s best friend!

And then, when fall brings in the pumpkins and hard squashes, you can use the Squeezo to puree them before canning.

The Squeezo is easy to use and large enough to handle a harvest of any size. It’s made of heavy-duty stainless steel and built to last a lifetime.

 Must-Have #4: Fermenting Tools

Fermenting best way to make foods chock full of lactobacteria, which is essential for a healthy gut. You can ferment virtually any food: vegetables, sauces, salsas, condiments, and more!

One of the most important kitchen tools for fermenting is Homesteader’s Supply’s Pickle-Pro Fermenting Lid. Our Pickle-Pro Lids come in two sizes, made to fit large- and small-mouth canning jars.  All you need to provide are the canning jars and sealing rings.

Our Fermenting Kit gives you everything you need to get started. You’ll get three Pickle-Pro Lids, veggie starter culture, our own Prepper Pro tool (used for packing veggies into jars), and Wardee Harmon’s book, “Fermenting Foods.”

Must-Have #5: Dehydrator

A dehydrator is another indispensable kitchen tool. Dehydrating is a great way to preserve vegetables, fruits, and meat. You can use your dehydrator to make healthy snacks like fruit leather, jerky, and kale chips (just as addictive as potato chips, only a lot better for you).

Must-Have #6: Canner

Canning is a traditional method for preserving vegetables and fruits. It’s great for foods like tomato sauces, salsas, beans, applesauce, sliced peaches, cherries, and homemade apple pie filling.

Folks have been canning for a long time. You probably remember your grandmother canning, and it’s just as effective today as it was back then. Unlike grandma, though, we’re lucky to have modern kitchen tools that make canning easier.

We suggest our Victorio stainless steel, multi-use canner. It works well for either water bath or steam canning. And when you’re not canning, you can use it as a stock pot!

If you plan to do some canning, be sure to follow the recommended safety guidelines. For more tips, check out our blogpost on how to avoid canning disasters.

Must-Have #7: Mandolin 

Have you ever had to slice a bumper crop of cukes by hand to make pickles? Or, spent hours slicing tomatoes or apples to dehydrate? Well, you’ll save your hands and lots of time if you have a mandolin!

Our Smart Slice mandolin comes in handy for slicing veggies and fruits for salads, canning, dehydrating, and fermenting. You can easily slice, julienne, shred and grate with this one great tool. The Smart Slice has four blade settings, so you can adjust the desired thickness of your regular or julienne cuts. As an extra bonus, this mandolin has a non-skid surface to help ensure safety and provide stability when you use it over a bowl. And the best part is, you can pop it in the dishwasher when you’re done!

Of all the kitchen tools on this list, this is the one you’ll probably use every day. When making salads, you can slice and julienne fresh produce in seconds. You can also use a mandolin to prep potatoes for fries, carrots for salads, zucchini for stir-fry, onions for burgers, and much more!

 

Which of your kitchen tools do you use most often, and what do you use it for? To share your thoughts, scroll all the way down to the bottom and leave us a reply.