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

4 Tortilla Keeper

Tortilla Warmer

Once you have your perfectly chewy and warm tortilla, how do you keep it that way for serving? A tortilla keeper, of course. Just like the ones at the restaurants, these simple, plastic vessels with a lid retain the heat and moisture that the tortillas need to stay delicious, while you’re guests work on their first taco. Check out this cute one from Tupperware, the queen of Americana, proving how powerfully Latina culture is represented in the kitchen.