10 Kitchen Tools That Make Cooking Easier After 50

I don’t remember jars being this hard to open when I was younger. Did manufacturers suddenly start hiring professional weightlifters to tighten the lids? Lol!

There are a lot of little kitchen jobs that require more hand strength than you realize. Opening a can, chopping an onion, peeling potatoes, squeezing a garlic press, and lifting a full skillet don’t sound like much until your hands and wrists start telling you otherwise.

I’m certainly not giving up cooking, but I am all for finding easier ways to do the jobs I do over and over.

Today I’m sharing kitchen tools that can cut down on some of the gripping, twisting, squeezing, chopping, and scrubbing that goes along with cooking. I own and use the electric can opener below, and the rest are products I found because of the way they’re designed to make common kitchen tasks easier.

And we’re starting with the jar opener because I’m tired of being defeated by a pickle jar.

This post has been updated with current recommendations and links for a better reader experience.

Kitchen Tools That Make Cooking Easier After 50

Kuhn Rikon Compact Jar Opener

A stubborn jar lid can turn into quite the wrestling match, especially if your grip isn’t as strong as it once was.

The Kuhn Rikon Compact Jar Opener is designed to give you extra leverage, so your hand doesn’t have to do all the work. I also like that it’s fairly compact. I’m all for helpful kitchen gadgets, but I don’t want to sacrifice an entire drawer to them.

This would be especially useful for jars you open frequently, like pasta sauce, pickles, salsa, and jelly.

Smooth Touch Electric Can Opener

Now we’ve arrived at the item on this list that I use all of the time. I LOVE the Smooth Touch Electric Can Opener. When I first ordered it, Joe argued with me because apparently our old handheld can opener was perfectly fine. Except it wasn’t. Lol!

Once he started using this one, he finally said those beautiful words every wife likes to hear: “You were right.” Music to my ears!

Instead of squeezing a manual opener and turning the knob over and over, you let the electric can opener do the work.

Another thing I really like is that it cuts along the side of the can instead of through the top, so you don’t end up with that sharp metal edge.

This is one of those little appliances that earns its counter space in my kitchen because we actually use it.

Chef’n GarlicCone Garlic Peeler

Peeling garlic is a tiny job, but goodness, it can be aggravating. The thin skin sticks to your fingers, the garlic gets under your fingernails, and somehow your hands still smell like garlic six hours later.

The Chef’n GarlicCone Garlic Peeler is designed to loosen those papery skins without all the picking and scraping with your fingertips.

If you cook with fresh garlic often, this is the kind of inexpensive gadget that could make prep a little less fiddly.

OXO Grid Vegetable Chopper

If a recipe starts with “dice three onions,” I’m already looking for a shortcut. Ha! A vegetable chopper can eliminate a lot of repetitive knife work when you’re preparing onions, peppers, potatoes, and other vegetables.

The OXO Grid Vegetable Chopper also collects the chopped vegetables in the container underneath, which means fewer little pieces escaping across the cutting board.

You also get fairly uniform pieces without standing there trying to hand-dice an onion into 147 matching squares. Homemade is wonderful. Hand-cut perfection is not required.

T-fal Essentials 5-Quart Jumbo Cooker

Cookware is something I think we should pay more attention to as we get older. Some of those beautiful pots and pans weigh a TON before you put a single thing in them.

This Essentials 5-Quart Jumbo Cooker gives you room for larger meals and one-pan recipes without automatically reaching for an enormous Dutch oven. A larger pan can also mean fewer pots and skillets for certain meals. Less washing afterward? Now you’ve really got my attention.

One thing I would always check before buying cookware is the weight. Don’t just lift the empty pan and think, “Oh, that’s fine.” Imagine it filled with dinner. That’s the weight you’re actually going to be carrying from the stove.

T-fal Essentials 12-Inch Everyday Pan

A versatile everyday pan can save you from constantly digging through a cabinet trying to find the right skillet.

The T-fal Essentials 12-Inch Everyday Pan gives you plenty of cooking surface for eggs, vegetables, meat, stir-fries, and lots of everyday meals. Again, I’d look at the weight and handle before ordering any pan.

A handle that feels comfortable when the pan is empty may feel completely different once you’ve added several pounds of food. That’s one of those practical things you don’t always think about until you’re standing over the stove.

Swivel Vegetable Peeler

Sometimes the problem isn’t the task. It’s the tool. A dull vegetable peeler makes you grip harder and go over the same spot again and again. A sharp blade should do more of the work for you.

I’d also look for a peeler with a substantial handle instead of a skinny one. If you can hold the tool comfortably without squeezing it for dear life, peeling several potatoes or carrots becomes a lot less annoying.

Comfort-Grip Garlic Press

I love fresh garlic, but some garlic presses feel like one of those grip-strength tests at the doctor’s office. No, thank you. This comfort-grip garlic press has a larger handle and also comes with a peeler and cleaning brush.

A garlic press can also eliminate the tiny knife work involved in mincing garlic. If you use fresh garlic regularly, I would pay much more attention to the handle and squeezing action than how pretty the press looks hanging in your kitchen.

My hands don’t care if it matches the backsplash. Lol!

Caraway Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware Set

This Caraway ceramic non-stick cookware set might win the beauty contest for today’s roundup. The cream cookware with gold hardware is gorgeous. But pretty isn’t enough for me to recommend cookware.

The reason I included a ceramic non-stick option is cleanup. Food releasing easily from the pan can mean less soaking, scraping, and scrubbing after dinner.

If I were considering this set, I would still look carefully at the individual pan weights before ordering. Non-stick can make cooking and cleanup easier, but a pan that’s uncomfortable for you to lift isn’t going to make your life easier.

That’s the kind of detail that matters much more to me these days.

OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner – FIX LINK

OXO is a brand I often notice when I’m looking for kitchen tools with comfortable handles and easy-to-use designs.

Instead of cranking a small handle to spin your lettuce, this Salad Spinner uses a large push-down button on top. That means less twisting and repetitive wrist movement. There is also a brake button to stop the basket once it gets going.

This is exactly what I mean by making simple swaps. A salad spinner certainly isn’t necessary, but if you eat a lot of salads and wash fresh greens regularly, a push-button version might be easier to use than one you have to crank.

What I Look for in Easier-to-Use Kitchen Tools

You don’t need to replace everything in your kitchen. In fact, please don’t read this post and suddenly decide you need ten new gadgets. Your kitchen drawers will revolt. Lol!

Instead, pay attention to the tasks that bother you.

• If opening jars is difficult, look for a tool that provides leverage.
• If repetitive twisting bothers your wrist, an electric can opener or push-button gadget might help.
• If chopping makes your hands tired, consider a vegetable chopper.

When you’re looking at kitchen tools, I would pay attention to:

• Larger, comfortable handles that don’t require a tight grip
• Tools that give you more leverage
• Electric options for repetitive tasks
• Sharp blades that do more of the work for you
• Cookware you can comfortably lift when it is full
• Non-stick surfaces that make cleanup easier
• Simple designs you will actually use

This last one might be the most important. A complicated gadget that lives in the back of the cabinet isn’t making anything easier.

My Takeaway

Getting older has made me much more willing to admit that there are no bonus points for doing things the hard way. I don’t need to prove that I can wrestle a jar open with my bare hands or crank a can opener 14 times when an inexpensive gadget can do it for me.

My Smooth Touch Electric Can Opener is a perfect example. I bought it because I thought it would be easier. Joe thought it was unnecessary. Guess who uses it now? Exactly. Lol!

If one little kitchen tool makes something you do every day easier or more comfortable, that’s enough reason for me.

Now, if somebody would invent one that unloads the dishwasher, puts everything away, AND remembers where Joe decided the glass containers belong this week, I’ll be first in line.

Did you find something helpful in today’s post? Share it with a friend or save it to Pinterest so you can find it again later. That simple click also helps more women over 50 discover our little corner of the internet, and I truly appreciate it.

Are You One Of The GURLS?

Join the Gurls and get my newest posts delivered straight to your inbox. I’ll share everyday outfit ideas, honest fit details, beauty finds, and a little life along the way.

To GOD Goes The Glory!

Verse Of The Day

1 John 5:10 (NIV)
¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.