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poultry, such as when making medallions or paillards.

    MELON BALLER This simple tool can do more than scoop a melon into uniform balls. Use it to seed a halved cucumber or core a halved apple or pear; when making hors d’oeuvres, use it to hollow out cherry tomatoes or form soft cheese into little orbs.

    MIXING BOWLS A set of wide stainless-steel nesting bowls will be able to handle almost any task in the kitchen. Those with a generous width are helpful for prepping, folding, and whipping. Get at least five different sizes so you can do more than one job at a time.

    PIZZA PEEL This shovel-like flat wooden board with tapered edges and a long handle is used to slip pizza in and out of a hot oven and onto a pizza stone. When the peel is lightly dusted with semolina or cornmeal, the pizza may be formed directly on it.

    PIZZA STONE Essentially a heavy round or square slab of stone, this simple piece of equipment can dramatically improve the quality of home-baked breads and pizza crusts. When bread is placed directly on the stone, heat is distributed evenly, from the bottom; this is essential for heating the dough quickly and encouraging a light, airy loaf. The porous texture helps absorb excess moisture, creating very crisp crusts. To use the stone, set it on the lowest shelf, then preheat the oven with the stone in place. Pizza stones vary in size, so be sure to measure the width and depth of your oven rack before purchasing one.

    PIZZA WHEEL Besides being the perfect tool for slicing through pizza and flatbreads, a pizza wheel can be used to cut pie or pastry dough into strips or other shapes and to trim the edges of rolled-out pie or cookie dough. It is also great for cutting homemade pasta dough to make ravioli.

    SIEVES Sieves are available in fine, medium, and coarse mesh, as well as in several sizes, so you may want to buy an assortment. Use a fine-meshed sieve for sifting dry ingredients and dusting cakes and other sweets with cocoa or confectioners’ sugar; use others for straining soups or sauces.

    SPATULAS Silicone spatulas are great for folding cake batters or transferring them from bowl to baking pan. They are heatproof up to 800°F., won’t pick up or impart flavors from other foods, and are safe to use on nonstick pots and pans. A set of three (1-, 2-, and 3-inch) silicone spatulas is ideal. Metal spatulas are useful for other purposes: Choose at least one thin, flexible spatula for flipping pancakes or patties and removing cookies from baking sheets; a long, wide spatula is ideal for lifting fish out of a pan or for transferring a cake to and from a turntable or stand. Offset spatulas, which have angled handles for easy maneuvering, are good for icing cakes and spreading batters in pans.

    STEAMERS Collapsible metal baskets are fine for steaming a batch of vegetables. The larger, 10-inch baskets will allow vegetables enough room to cook evenly, without becoming soggy.
    Because they can be stacked, Chinese bamboo steamers are terrific for steaming different types of food at one time. Before using, soak a new bamboo steamer for at least 20 minutes in cool water to rid it of its bamboo odor. To prevent the food from sticking to the bamboo during cooking, line the basket with lettuce leaves or a ceramic plate.

    THERMOMETERS
    candy This is an indispensable tool for making candy, syrup, jams, and jellies. Choose a model that is easy to read, with an adjustable clip on the back for use with pans of different depths. Since it measures temperatures up to 400°F, a candy thermometer can generally be used for deep frying (when the oil needs to be maintained at 350°F), but we recommend buying a separate one for each purpose.

    meat A meat thermometer allows you to determine whether a roast is ready to come out of the oven, without having to cut into the meat and lose precious juices. There are several models: some are inserted into the meat before it goes into the oven; others, called instant-read or rapid-response