15 Kitchen Utensils That Will Give You Abuela-Status Cooking Skills

Taking those first few steps away from the family home into some sort of adulthood is a painful process. As the keys on our ring multiply, things get complicated: there’s the expense, the responsibilities, the interminable laundry. The cruelest gut-punch of them all may well be having to abandon all that good home cooking: the rice and beans, the tostones, homemade salsa. If you work all day or live on your own or — gasp! — are the one in charge of getting dinner on the table, there is nothing more comforting and nostalgia-satisfying than the smells of home from your own kitchen right now.

Of course, you don’t have all day to simmer stock for the pozole or fold tamales, so make sure you grab a box of stock and pre-ground masa at the store. Below, we’ve got you covered with all the gadgets you will need to make the dishes you crave at home. Some of them are the same the same utensils the abuelas use, while others are updated versions of classic tools that will make your life even easier. No one is suggesting that it is even possible to top your abuela’s ajiaco, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying

13 Molinillo

molinillo Kitchen BeLatina

Another masterful tool that fits easily in a drawer and produces the frothiest Mexican or Colombian hot chocolate is the molinillo. Since both preparations begin with solid chocolate tables that will dissolve slowly in warming water or milk, the ridged sides of the molinillo beat against the tablets, helping the process along. Placing the chocolate and liquid in the stovetop pot, the molinillo is held between both palms so that the motion of rubbing the hands together twists it, turning the ridged end back and forth like the tiny windmill it’s named for. The result is a well-blended cup with a layer like the crema on an espresso. Throw some cubed queso blanco in the bottom of your cup and you have a wonderful 4 pm repast, Bogotá-style.