Useful Utensils for the Zero Waste Kitchen

The zero waste kitchen does away with umpteen kitchen gadgets, often going dusty and rusty under kitchen sinks. It’s best to think carefully on what you really need and use, and invest in a few quality items that make cooking a pleasure.

It’s UK law that whoever sells you an electrical appliance, has to take the old one back for recycling. A good excuse to treat yourself to a quality stick-blender for smoothies and sauces (to replace big clunky blenders). And a quality air-fryer (to replace chip-fat fryers, the biggest cause of kitchen fires).

Before cooking, read our post on food safety for people and pets (many foods including onion, garlic, spices and fresh dough are unsafe near animal friends). It’s best to just bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives) as like tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, acids could harm compost creatures. 

For tinned ingredients, pop lids inside cans (or pop ring-pulls back over holes) to avoid wildlife getting trapped). Also read our post on nontoxic cookware.

A Multi-Use Mixing Bowl & Colander Set

This mixing bowl & colander set is not just made from quality stainless steel and sold with a lifetime guarantee, but you can use it to do far more than mixing up your salad and rinsing your vegetables.

Made responsibly in China, the nesting design is ideal for compact kitchens, and the bowl has internal measurements and a wide triangle spout, for easy pouring.

The run-off space between the bowl and colander allows liquid to drain from foods (like salad leaves). Rust-resistant and easy to clean, it’s also dishwasher-safe and easily recycled (though you likely can use it for life).

Wash Your Veggies

Use as a water bath to remove dirt. Dunk veggies inside and the colander’s micro-perforated holes provide edges for particles to dislodge. Then simply strain.

Cook Noodles

Add ‘straight-to-wok’ noodles to the colander and pour over boiling water to soak for a couple of minutes, then pour water away and drain noodles (be mindful of hot water, when removing colander from bowl).

Strained Tinned Legumes

If making aquafaba (vegan meringue), strain strain tinned legumes into the colander over the bowl. Then clean the canned food in colander (inside bowl) to save water.

Soak Potatoes (for making chips)

Soak fresh-cut chipped potatoes in cold water for 20 minutes, using the colander as a water bath to remove amylose (the starch that makes soggy chips). Change water after 10 minutes, then dry on a clean tea towel before air-frying or roasting.

Collect Fruit/Veggie Clippings

Use bowl to collect fruit/veggie choppings (or use the colander for root veggies). Then transport to your food waste box or compost bin.

Soak Dried Beans & Pulses

The colander’s micropores are ideal to soak beans and pulses, just cover with water (with the bowl beneath) to soak for required time (place overturned plate on top, if soaking overnight). Then lift colander out of the bowl and pour away water.

Kidney beans contain a toxin that’s difficult to remove unless boiling, so you may wish to use tinned.

Use for Marinating Vegetables

Use to spice or marinade roasted veggies or chips, the colander ensures excess oil drains away (bin in kitchen paper). For larger amounts of oil, use an oil recycling container which has a filter to prevent solids passing, and a drip-catch system for easy emptying.

Joseph Joseph (affordable quality cooking utensils)

The difference of a few pounds between spending hours grating and peeling (and cursing) and easily peeling potatoes and grating vegan cheese is immense):

Joseph Joseph makes wonderful items (along with amazing knife sets). They cost a few pounds more, but will last you years, save you money (as you’ll be inspired to cook with fresh seasonal ingredients), and most also store easily away.

Potato mashers are comfortable to hold with a unique D-shape design and a non-slip grip. They feature quirky designs like pan-scraping edges and curved mashing plates, that fit into the edges of pans.

Peelers don’t just peel vegetables, but have special features to julienne carrots for salad. And even have little gadgets included, to remove potato eyes. The main version has a guard, to safely store in the cutlery drawer, protecting the blade.

Graters & Zesters are also comfortable to hold. You can use them to grate vegan cheese, or zest lemons and limes. They have an ergonomic design, making grating a bunch of carrots so much easier. Keep citrus fruits away from pets.

Collapsible can openers don’t just open cans. These can also open bottles and pull up on ring-pull cans too. One folds away, so it’s easy to stash away in a kitchen drawer.

Measuring Cups & Spoons nest into each other, to easily store away. They feature both metric and imperial measurements, sold in a range of colours to match your kitchen decor.

These stainless steel bowls nest inside each other, perfect for space-saving kitchens.