5 Must-Have Kitchen Appliances Every Modern Filipino Home Should Have

It’s been a long-held belief all over the world that the kitchen is the heart of any home, and for good reason. As the primary place where food is prepared and stored, it’s likely to be one of the most used rooms in any household. Furthermore, meals cooked in a home kitchen are not only nourishing to the body but to the soul as well. It’s common in many cultures for families to cook and eat together as a bonding exercise, which makes the kitchen a small hub of social activity and a place of immense practical value.

Given our culture’s love of food and global reputation for exceptional hospitality, it’s no surprise that the kitchen is often the highlight of any Filipino home. Many Pinoy homeowners will take particular pride in having attractively designed, well-stocked kitchens that contain everything necessary for top-notch meal prep. And for families that have only just moved into new houses or apartments, there’s a good chance that getting their kitchen up to snuff will be one of the first and most important items on their agenda.

Naturally, modern, high-quality cooking appliances are a must for an efficient home kitchen. If you’re kitting out a new kitchen or simply considering upgrading your current setup, then you’ll definitely want to prioritize the following essential items:

Stove

A stove or cooking range will probably be at the center of almost all your cooking endeavors, which is why investing in a high-quality one is a must. Different types of stoves are available for you to choose from, depending on your budget and other preferences. 

Many Pinoy households prefer gas stoves as they’re relatively cheap to purchase and maintain, and they’ll also continue to work even in the event of a power outage. Despite these conveniences, do note that gas stoves can be a fire hazard if you don’t use them properly. If you choose to get one, read up on how to spot a gas leak, how to turn it off properly, and other vital maintenance practices. You’ll also have to change your stove’s gas periodically.

More modern alternatives to gas stoves include induction cookers and electric stoves. These can be significantly more expensive than gas ranges upfront, and they also typically take more time to heat up than a cooking range that uses an open flame. However, they’re also generally safer and easier to use than gas ranges.

Range Hood

A range hood is a common sight in many professional kitchens and in an increasing number of households as well. In essence, it’s a fan that you mount above your cooktop to suck air upward and away from you. Range hoods work to prevent any excess heat, gas fumes, steam, smoke, and unpleasant cooking odors from dispersing throughout the rest of your house and entering your lungs. By dispersing any contaminated cooking air produced by your kitchen appliances, a range hood thus ensures that the air quality in your home stays safe and healthy for your entire family.

In addition, one little-known fact about range hoods is that they clean more than just the air in your kitchen. They can also help keep your surfaces, floors, ceilings, and appliances pristine for longer. This is because range hoods are also excellent at capturing any small oil particles that might float up into the air from your cooktop. Without a range hood, it’s likely that these particles will simply drift through the air until they splatter against a particular surface in your kitchen, leaving an unpleasant, greasy film behind.

Refrigerator

A good refrigerator should definitely count among the first kitchen appliances you buy, since you won’t be able to store your fresh ingredients without it. Choose your fridge according to the size of your household and your anticipated food storage needs. If you have a large family or like buying ingredients in bulk, larger models with lots of freezer space are a worthwhile investment. If you’re cooking for just yourself and one or two roommates, you’ll probably be fine with a basic, inexpensive two-door refrigerator. As long as you keep your fridge clean and well-organized, you probably won’t have to replace it for many years.

Microwave Oven

For days when you just don’t have the resources, energy, or time to put together a meal from scratch, a microwave oven can be a real lifesaver. Besides speeding things up, like defrosting considerably, it will also come in handy for reheating any leftovers you’d like to finish off. One particularly useful meal prep hack involves making something you want to eat for the week in large batches and then freezing it. After that, all you need to do is portion out enough for yourself each day and microwave your food until it’s ready to eat.

Rice Cooker

Rice has been a Filipino staple food for centuries, and modern rice cookers now make preparing it simpler than ever. You won’t have to worry about accidentally burning your rice, as most rice cookers will only run for a set period of time and turn off automatically when the rice is fully cooked. Some rice cookers even come equipped with a feature that keeps the rice warm until you’re ready to eat it.

Good kitchen appliances can often spell the difference between good meals and great ones. Once you invest in the perfect hardware for your kitchen, you should have no problem at all producing meals that are simply to die for.

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