After I first moved into an condo by myself, I felt misplaced when it got here to kitchenware. To inventory my house with provides rapidly, I grabbed what was most accessible and on price range, which meant I used to be gathering items doubtless riddled with microplastics and toxins reminiscent of Teflon. Since changing into settled, I’ve been on a journey to switch these bowls, baking sheets, and cookware items with higher alternate options. And, because of my chef pals, the journey has been seamless. 

In the event you’re having the identical realization that I did, then it’s time to begin investing in high-quality kitchen gear. Based on my unimaginable community of cooks, together with James Beard award winners and accredited restaurant house owners, we compiled an inventory of chef-recommended merchandise. Store non-toxic Cuisinart mixing bowls, John Boos wooden chopping boards, Caraway cookware, OXO cooking utensils, and GreenPan baking sheets on Amazon for as little as $9. 

Toss: Plastic Mixing Bowls

Purchase As a substitute: Stainless Metal and Glass Mixing Bowls

These 5 plastic-free bowl suggestions stem from Chef Joseph Prepare dinner, Chef Joseph L. Paire III, Chef Nigel Palmer, Chef Leo Davila, and cookbook writer Jackie Alpers. They prioritize supplies like chrome steel and glass as a result of they’re sturdy, gained’t soak up odors, and stop undesirable stains. 

Chef Prepare dinner makes use of the Prepare dinner With Colour 6-Piece Stainless Metal Mixing Bowls as a result of they provide “long-lasting reliability” and “make cleanup simple.” Chef Palmer loves the stackable Viking Stainless Metal Mixing Bowls, since they’re “sturdy and non-reactive,” best for cold and hot substances or storage. Plus, Alpers has been utilizing the Anchor Hocking 6-Piece Glass Mixing Bowl Set for years, including that the “number of sizes works for nearly any job.” 

Toss: Poisonous Baking Sheets

Purchase As a substitute: Ceramic and Aluminum Baking Sheets

Nonstick baking sheets can generally comprise PFAS inside their coatings. To keep away from this, cooks suggested reaching for supplies like aluminum, glass, chrome steel, and ceramic. Three extremely acclaimed cooks — Chef Cole Lawson, Chef Kayla Tabb, and Chef Paire — doubled down on the Nordic Ware Naturals line, as a result of it’s rust-resistant, supplies wonderful warmth switch and distribution, and consists of galvanized metal. Chef Jane Olivia is a fan of each Nice Jones’ and Caraway’s units, as the previous comes with a cooling rack, and the latter is “completely nonstick” and “sturdy.”

Toss: Plastic Reducing Boards

Purchase As a substitute: Wood Reducing Boards

{Most professional} cooks I’ve spoken to choose picket chopping boards as a result of they stand up to heavy use, are mild on knives, and provide an alternative choice to microplastics. A number of of the chef-recommended varieties embody maple, olivewood, and cherrywood. You’ll discover that every of those boards is at the very least 1 inch thick, which implies they’ll deal with the fixed affect of chopping, not like thinner plastic boards. 

Movie star cooks like Rachael Ray and Ina Garten take a selected liking to the John Boos chopping board, with MasterChef contestant and personal chef Derrick Fox citing it as probably the most constant. Plus, the fashion is reversible and options etched finger grips that mean you can preserve it safe whereas chopping. Chef Sakari Smithwick prefers an olivewood board for a desk setting as a result of it’s “visually gorgeous,” and likewise finds that the Hinoki Cypress board “helps preserve knives sharper for longer.” Chef Chris Hastings loves the Boardsmith board for vegetable preparation. 

Toss: Poisonous Cookware

Purchase As a substitute: PFAS-Free Cookware

Endlessly chemical substances (like PFAS) may also be present in nonstick cookware coatings. As a substitute, Mindfulness Educator and Chef Melanie Underwood recommends Caraway’s ceramic non-toxic nonstick cookware set, which is “purposeful, thoughtfully designed, and sturdy for day by day use.” 

And, in case you’re on the lookout for one heavy-duty buy, Non-public Chef Chuck Hayworth of The Resort Chef advises investing within the Stargazer Forged Iron Skillet, which is of course nonstick and made in the USA. Hayworth recommends spreading a contact of oil across the skillet utilizing a paper towel, then inserting it within the oven at 400°F for 20 to half-hour. Then it’s seasoned and able to be cooked with. 

Toss: Plastic Kitchen Utensils

Purchase As a substitute: Stainless Metal and Wood Utensils

My chef pals have additionally really useful some non-toxic kitchen utensils that eschew plastic altogether. Chef Vivian Villa, founding father of UnButter, describes the Hoshanho kitchen knife as a “game-changer.” It’s rust-resistant, sharp, and manufactured from premium high-carbon chrome steel with a picket deal with. Chef George Ryle of Swaledale Butchers additional provides that his go-to chrome steel spoons have a titanium end, so there’s no plastic to reveal to the warmth, which is ideal for basting steaks. Then, we included a few of our favorites from Caraway and OXO.