3 Kitchen Tools That Need to Be Much, Much Bigger

We love cute, mini stuff as much as the next home cook — have you seen this teeny tiny cast iron skillet? — and we’ll admit that bigger isn’t always better. Except for when it is. We can think of three really good instances when you’re going to want to size up. Choose a tool that’s too small and you’re bound to end up with a mess, frustration, or both!

These are the three tools that really should be bigger (even bigger) than the ones you’re probably already using.

For most of our recipes, we recommend getting all of the chopping out of the way at once. A large cutting board lets you chop a veggie, push it to the side, and keep going without needing to dirty a bunch of prep bowls. It also gives you more room to chop and slice and mince.

A good rule of thumb: When your knife is laid diagonally across the cutting board, there should be at least an inch of cutting board on either end of the knife. Following this rule, you can use a smaller board with your paring knife and you’ll want to size way up for your eight- or 10-inch chef’s knife.

• Epicurean All-In-One Cutting Board, $28
• The reBoard, $35 at Material

If you’re baking, the last thing you want is flour flying everywhere when you’re whisking. If you’re making a salad, you want to really be able to toss the greens with the dressing without worrying about lettuce going overboard. Ditto if you’re massaging kale and really need to get in there. And if you’re kneading dough, you’ll need room to work. And — well, you get the point. It’s better to have too much room to mix than not enough.

Our favorite mixing bowls: Cuisinart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls, $23 for a three-piece set

You can pretty much do anything in a big stock pot, but you’ll find a too-small one incredibly limiting. For example, it’s annoying when you overfill a small one and water boils over, and it’s frustrating when you’re making soup and start adding ingredients only to realize you won’t be able to fit everything in the pot.

Our favorite stock pot: Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 12-Quart Triple-Ply Stainless Stock Pot, $133 at Walmart

Got any other heavy hitters to add to this list? Leave them in the comments below!