Making Pesach? Your Pesach Equipment Buying Guide is Here!
Feeling clueless? Don’t know what to buy for Pesach? Here’s a Pesach equipment buying guide to help solve the “do-I-really-need-this?” riddle!
Whether you are making Pesach for the first time or you have been making it for many years and have a system down pat, it is always a daunting task to get everything done and “turned over” on time. During the pandemic, when the world was shut down, I was frantically pumping out recipes, trying to help desperate couples forced to make Pesach years before they ever dreamed they would be in that position. Having only made one Pesach myself at that point, I was extremely grateful to have that one year of experience, but I was also able to really feel the angst of those who were clueless. One night, I decided to help the klal by pulling an all-nighter and creating an ebook with my Pesach recipes from Instagram as well as a full list of everything you need to know about how to prep for Pesach, how to turn over and when, what to buy, what you can do without etc. It went viral — this little 30-page pdf reached places I never dreamed of. It was shared in family chats, shul community boards, friends chats… And this really is how my journey to the land of creating a Pesach cookbook with ArtScroll began, as I somehow became the “Pesach Queen.”
When Rabbi Zlotowitz approached me about making a Pesach cookbook, I told him he’d come to the right address! My Pesach Kitchen isn’t simply a book with recipe after recipe; it’s a guide, a how-to, and it contains everything you need to know about making Pesach from beginning to end.
The entire first chapter is dedicated to turning over your kitchen, what to buy, how much, and includes a timeline of when to buy everything so you don’t end up spending thousands of dollars in one grocery run. I break down turning over your kitchen and menu planning and guide you on what to cook when, so you can be as organized as possible without all the stress.
All the recipes included are simple, easy-to-follow, yet full of delicious flavor — foods that your family will want to eat. In addition, they’re all non-gebrokts (except the matzah balls!), using minimal processed ingredients. And since I’m a list girl, I included a whole chapter with printable lists for grocery shopping, menu planning and more! Check it out here, or you can purchase it at your local Judaica store.
The Pesach Equipment Buying Guide
Some of the most common questions I get asked are “What should I buy? Should I invest in this? Can I get away with that?” This Pesach equipment buying guide post helps you figure out some of the answers!
Disclaimer: The items on this list are just suggestions; by no means should you view this as a “bible.” I am sure there are things I forgot to add and I am sure there are things on here that will be irrelevant to you and maybe even things that will leave your mouth hanging open in horror. (Yes, I am not a big fan of the Betty Crocker pizza maker at any time of the year, and for sure not for Pesach. It’s great for vacations but I really can’t understand the thrill of having that big hunk cluttering up your kitchen!)
The first thing I bought when I made Pesach for the first time was my Braun food processor. I call it “my food processor” because it’s so beloved to me! I use it for everything. I even whip up egg whites with it! Fair warning, it’s a bit pricey, but if you can swing it, I see it as an excellent investment. It will last many, many years and is well worth it. It is extremely user friendly, the parts quickly come together and one feature that I absolutely love over other processors is that the hole in the middle of the bowl is sealed so if I am making a big batch of potato kugel, it won’t start seeping out the middle of the bowl and dripping everywhere. It also comes with the famous “potato kugel blade,” which I actually think is a parmesan cheese blade that we Yiddishe mammes have adopted as our own.
The small, blunt white plastic s-blade is perfect for making cakes and I use the white piece with spokes to beat up my egg whites and whips.
To me, this is really an all-in-one piece of equipment!
Although I do use my food processor to make cakes, I also have an inexpensive hand mixer to quickly whip up cake batters. This isn’t a must, but it’s something I purchased eventually. I do know that a lot of my friends have invested in good-quality mixers and find them to be worthwhile, so you have to figure out what makes sense for you on this one.
I use these so much for sauteing on the stove top and mixing cake batters by hand. Here is a link for wooden spoons, but I like to buy them at Dollar Tree or any local store where they are most inexpensive.
I have bought some cheap ones from the dollar store, but I eventually found that investing in a good set of stainless steel bowls in multiple sizes was worth the few extra dollars.
Cutting Boards
I probably will one day buy some good wooden boards, but for now I always buy the double package of cutting boards from the dollar store. I buy a bunch and throw them out at the end of every Yom Tov.
Please don’t lecture me on this. I have been getting speeches about my Victorinox knives since the day I went public with my recipes. Yes, these knives are tiny. Yes, they are “wrong” for cooking. But they’re what I grew up with and what I am comfortable with. Over the years I have tried all the fancy butcher knives that the real chefs use, but I keep coming back to these! My mother-in-law uses those big, scary knives, and when I go to her for Yom Tov I actually bring these with me!
This is my favorite peeler. It peels very quickly and smoothly without taking off too much. I love that the blade is stainless steel and never gets rusty.
This is a great set of measuring implements but, in all honesty, I just buy mine from Dollar Tree or Amazing Savings. I don’t find measuring cups need to be good quality or more expensive to work well.
The first few years I made Pesach I told myself I didn’t need an immersion blender. But then I realized how much I use them. They’re the best for blending soups and making quick dips and salad dressings. It’s a small enough gadget that it doesn’t take up so much room so it’s easy to store and pretty inexpensive too.
The first time I made Pesach, I told myself I could get away with only having one soup pot. They are big and bulky, and I wasn’t having that much company. I could make my soup in batches. I was wrong. Very wrong. It was at the top of my to-do list for the next Pesach to purchase a second soup pot. I found I needed it for multiple uses, and making two soups at once was extremely helpful. I know some people like making a huge 20-quart soup and freezing it. Obviously, do what works for you. But even though I like making smaller soups, I still definitely need two large pots. I always like to make sure my soup pot is fully stainless steel, so it’s oven proof and I can warm the soup directly in the oven if need be or slow-cook it overnight in the oven.
Of course, lots of people like having pots for Pesach of various sizes, but I personally like to keep my number of pots to a minimum and tend to do more oven cooking than stovetop.
For years and years, I always used nonstick frying pans. That’s what I grew up with and what my mother bought me when I got married. And then I started hearing people rave about stainless steel pans, how amazing they are, how they conduct the heat so much better, how they’re so much easier to clean… But I thought there was no way you can make schnitzel in a stainless steel pan — you need non-stick for that! Apparently, I was wrong. Once I switched, I never looked back! My schnitzel fries beautifully and it does not stick to the pan. And the best part is that it washes so well. You can scrub it and nothing happens to it. It also sautés onions and other vegetables very well.
I make most of my cakes and baked goods by hand. I usually start off using a whisk to mix the wet ingredients and then switch to a wooden spoon.
A lemon zester is not a must-have gadget but I use so much fresh lemon zest and minced garlic on Pesach that it makes my life a lot easier.
This needs no introduction! A good can opener is essential for me to have for Pesach, especially with all the cans of tuna we go through on Chol Hamoed.
I love, love silicone spatulas and how easily they bend around your bowl when trying to scoop up what’s inside. I usually buy them cheap in the dollar store or at Amazing Savings, but here’s a link for a set of five spatulas on Amazon.
Hot Water Urn/Electric Kettle
I always purchase this locally, but this is the hot water urn that I have. You may also want to have a plug-in electric kettle for boiling water when it’s not Shabbos/Yom Tov.
I own a Crock-Pot for Pesach and haven’t used it in years. I feel like it’s a good thing to have, but when I make yapchik or Pesach cholent, I always do it in the oven.
I make lots of mashed potatoes over Pesach, and I also use a masher to make egg salad.
Typically I buy inexpensive ladles locally, but here is a link for one.
For years, I told myself I did not need baking sheets. I could make do with disposables, and they’re one less thing to store, especially given their bulky size. And then I got one baking sheet — just one — and then I had to buy one more… And eventually I acquired about six of them. I love using them. When roasting vegetables or schnitzel, it really does come out so much better when you use a real pan.
I don’t own any real milchig dishes or equipment, except for an egg pan and spatula. If I make pancakes, I mix the batter in a disposable pan. Maybe one day I will stock up and get more equipment, but for now this is what works for me.
I also don’t have many oven-to-table dishes for Pesach. Although I love them and have many of them to use during the year, I find that for Pesach it’s just easier to go with disposables. In fact, I will shamelessly admit that on Pesach I try to use as many disposable containers, pans and other items as possible. This way, I don’t have to worry about storage and it’s one less thing to clean up. I just throw it all out when Pesach is over!
I hope this Pesach equipment buying guide was helpful. Feel free to reach out to me at faigy@mykitchenmystudio.com for all your questions! I’m here to help!
Faigy