These items are not as exciting as the fanciest ingredients, equipment, or techniques featured in many published articles. After all, they’re all too common and ubiquitous, but that’s what makes them universal, practical, and accessible. And to us, that deserves appreciation and admiration.

They may be simple ingredients and tools, but the benefits and solutions they bring chefs and cooks are undeniable. Let’s show these 7 not-so-secret weapons some well-deserved love in this article.

7 Culinary Not-So-Secret Weapons That Deserve More Appreciation

1. Salt

Salt is one of the most versatile condiments in the arsenal of cooks and chefs. Aside from being a seasoning, it’s also used in many food prep applications. It’s a centuries-old preservative, a binding agent, texture aid, color controller, and fermentation agent.

As explained by Samin Nosrat in her book-turned-Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, salt is “fundamental to all good cooking. It enhances flavor, it even makes food taste more like itself. In short, salt brings food to life. Learn to use it well and you’re food will taste great.”

2. Eggs

According to a 2019 Bon Appetit video, there are 59 ways to cook an egg. There could be more, we don’t know for sure. By themselves, eggs are pretty much amazing already. And with the various applications for egg whites and yolks, we can call them one of the MVPs of cooking and baking.

As ingredients, eggs are used as emulsifiers, binders, aerators, leavening, coating, and thickener to name a few. Thanks to the versatility of eggs, we enjoy perfectly shaped meatloaves, delightful and airy cakes, and many other products!

3. Rubber Cutting Boards

In the spectrum of food safety and knife protection, rubber cutting boards are the champion. They’re subtle on blades and can be extensively cleaned to avoid the growth and spread of harmful bacteria in any kitchen.

4. Towels

In the kitchen, towels can do more than wiping and drying. Placing a damp towel under your cutting board can save you from unexpected slip-ups and chopping mishaps. They can also work well as insulators when your oven mitts and pot holders wear thin over time.

Chef Sac recommends Classic Kitchen Towels by Zeppoli

5. Digital Food Scale

There’s nothing wrong with eyeballing ingredients but there are times, especially in baking, when precise measurements can make or break a dish. Digital food scales can help with that and more!

These scales can also help in exercising portion control, especially when cooking for people watching their food intake as part of their healthy lifestyle.

Aside from accuracy, you can use fewer dishes for quicker clean-up with the help of a digital scale. Setting them to tare (0.00) will let you measure new ingredients accordingly. No need to use many bowls, cups, and spoons.

6. Knife Guards

Knife maintenance is a big deal to chefs and cooks. Their knives are one of their most important money-making tools and they tend to have sentimental value. Not to mention that quality knives are also very expensive.

Highly Recommended Knife Edge Guard 10 Piece Set by Chef Sac

Knife guards like our very own abrasion-resistant Chef Sac Knife Edge Guards help in keeping chefs’ beloved blades safe from getting damaged when stored and transported. Check out knife guards here.

7. Chef’s Knife Bags

Many culinarians are often on the go. From restaurant jobs to catering gigs, they move around a lot carrying their kitchen tools and equipment.

Chef Sac's Chef Knife Backpack Set with Roll Bag

Chef’s Knife Bags are an excellent solution for chefs and cooks looking for storage and transport solutions for their precious tools.

Our line of chef’s knife bags, for example, is designed to securely hold up over 30 kitchen knives and tools while giving users the utmost mobility and comfort. We made them for culinary mavericks with a great sense of taste and style. Check out Chef Knife’s Bags here.