The Best Kitchen Tools for People With Disabilities
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My wife grew up with a father who had contracted polio as a child in Puerto Rico, which left him without full use of his legs and one of his arms. Partly inspired by his experience, she is currently working on her doctorate in occupational therapy, and she loves pointing out the many ways that our world — from storefronts and subway platforms to the products that line our shelves — is often completely inconsiderate toward people with disabilities, whether physical or cognitive. Our family frequently encounters instances in which everyday tasks are made more difficult for someone with different abilities.
As a chef, I wanted to know how cooking, one of the most everyday tasks, could be made a little easier. I spoke to a number of experts — occupational therapists, nutrition educators, and disability advocates — to gain a better understanding of which adaptive tools can be effective in the kitchen and why the act of cooking can be so important for someone living with a disability.
In all of my discussions, it became apparent that tools that are useful for people with disabilities can be useful foreveryone— making cooking safer for an anxious learner, preventing hand injury through ergonomic design, and reducing the risk of burns for any cook. Many helpful tools are simply ergonomically designed for anyone, such asOXO’s Good Grips line, or are appliances that simplify cooking, such ascountertop multi-cookers.
How useful and safe these tools are largely depends on the individual using them. A tool or appliance that’s great for one person may not be safe at all or accessible for another. This list is also nowhere near exhaustive: For seemingly any kitchen task, a variety of tools are designed for those with limited use of their hands, legs, and even vision.
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The fear of injury can be as much of a barrier as the risk of injury itself, and kettle tippers virtually eliminate the chance of scalding yourself when you’re pouring hot water for tea or coffee. You simply tilt the kettle, which sits in a sturdy base, to pour the water without needing to lift it from the counter. The Uccello electric kettle comes in an attractive, high-contrast finish that also helps those with low vision, and the ergonomic handle makes it easy to lift and pour from even for users lacking grip strength.
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Sammons Preston Hi-D Paring Board, Single-Handed Cutting Board With Aluminum Nails for Peeling and Slicing
Even a tool as simple as a cutting board can present challenges for those with limited hand functionality, as the board can slip or food can slide under the knife. Designed to work with only one hand, this cutting board addresses some of those issues: The suction feet secure the board to the countertop, and the aluminum spikes and raised corner tabs hold food in place.
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Everyone I spoke with recommended plastic lettuce knives, like this one from Norpro, to help tackle most kitchen prep tasks. They efficiently cut vegetables and other ingredients while making it very difficult to accidentally cut yourself. For someone with a fear of a slipped knife or without the hand dexterity or stability to safely grip a more traditional one, these can expand meal options beyond precut vegetables and build confidence in knife skills.
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If you’re looking to do prep work that requires a steel knife but feel uneasy about the sharp edge, consider these stainless-steel knife guards to protect your knuckles from nicks while reinforcing proper knife-handling etiquette. My father, a longtime fan of both gadgets and kitchen equipment, has recently taken to ordering surplus tools in auctions from shuttered restaurants. These stainless-steel cutting guards were one of the treasures from his hauls, and I can testify firsthand that, after some practice, they greatly reduced the risk of an accidental slice.
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This oven-rack gripper serves two purposes. It’s safer than pulling out an oven rack with a nearby hand towel, as many are liable to do, and it offers another safety benefit for those who are of shorter stature or lack stability in their hips and legs: Rather than reaching over the hot oven door (and into the hotter oven), you can stand farther from the door to pull out the oven rack so your pans will be easier to grab safely.
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When you do grab those hot pans out of the oven, make sure to use the safest oven mitts with the most coverage you can find, like thesegloves we recommend, to minimize the risk of burns. This is particularly important for those who may lack dexterity or have conditions that cause loss of sensation.
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Homwe Professional Silicone Oven Mitt
If you prefer a more traditional oven mitt, which may be easier to put on if you deal with hand pain or limited movement, this extra-long pair comes recommended by Lindsey Mullis, inclusive health and wellness director atWellness4KYat the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute. It comes in a range of colors and includes a textured, nonslip gripping surface for increased safety.
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For microwave cooking or whenever you need to carry a hot bowl, this “bowl cozy,” as Mullis calls it, is a staple of the kits distributed by Wellness4KY, and it’s one of her favorite tools for personal use. In addition to making it safer to grab hot objects fresh out of the microwave, the corners provide an alternative grip when carrying dishes from the kitchen to the dining table.
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Instant Pot Duo
In theRam Chefsprogram at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn culinary skills, food safety, and nutrition education. One of the tools they use is an Instant Pot Multi-Cooker, which offers the chefs-in-training a range of benefits, including the speedy results ofpressure cooking. “It’s counter level, so they don’t have to bend down and put things into the oven, which can be a real fear factor for a lot of chefs,” saysRegina Subach, a nutrition professor and director of the program. It’s also flameless, and with the pot’s sauté function, it can serve as a replacement for stovetop cooking.
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Rather than relying on hard-to-read etchings, these measuring cups differentiate themselves from one another by color. This can be handy for visual recipes, says Anna Moyer, creator ofAccessible Chef, a site that makes cooking more inclusive for persons with developmental disabilities, like Moyer’s brother, who has Down syndrome. In addition to product recommendations, the site’s key feature is a compendium of adapted recipes as well as a tool to make recipes more accessible by using visual aids and breaking down tasks to their most basic component steps. “You can use color-coded measuring cups that match up with colors in the visual recipes so you don’t necessarily have to understand how much is three-quarters of a cup — you just know that you need three of the blue-colored measuring cups,” Moyer says. To further differentiate between measurements, check out thesecolor- and shape-coded cupsandspoons.
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Cuisinart 625-30D Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Everyday Pan with Medium Dome Cover
Traditional skillets typically have only one handle and can be unwieldy, particularly when they’re stainless steel or cast iron. For someone with weak hand or grip strength, it’s recommended to use equipment with bigger handles, saysRachel Hingst, an occupational therapist at the NIH Clinical Center and a researcher who explores the role of cooking in promoting health and well-being.This allows a more even weight distribution and reduces the need to maintain as tight a grip. The one-handed version of the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic pan was named the best less expensive skillet in ourguide, and this two-handed Everyday Pan comes in both nonstick and stainless steel.
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It’s important to think about more than just food prep and cooking — cleaning and storing present their own challenges. These containers create a tight seal without the edge latches used to close most containers, instead using a single button at the top, which both creates the seal and can be used to open the container with a single hand.
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
