These handy items -- every one of them under $21 -- can help you get the most out of the ingredients you're already cooking with.
Restaurant-Style Cheese Grater
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Pregrated cheese may be convenient, but if you aren't going to use the entire container within a week, it will probably start to go bad. The solution: a quality cheese grater (about $17) and a block of cheese.
How it'll save you: If you buy a half-pound block of, say, imported Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged two years (about $9), it'll keep in your fridge for up to three months, and you can grate however much you want as you need it. (Bonus: You'll score points in the authenticity department, since we've yet to meet an Italian who doesn't sprinkle his or her pasta with just-grated cheese.)
Kitchen Shears
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You probably know that buying a whole chicken is significantly cheaper than purchasing separate breasts, legs and thighs (to be specific, the average cost of a whole chicken is about $1.50 per pound; while boneless, skinless chicken breasts cost about $3.50 per pound). If you're thinking, "Yes, but cutting up a chicken is such a pain in the neck," then you haven't tried doing it with poultry shears ($10 to $20).
How they'll save you: You won't hesitate to take on the whole bird if you have shears. Their tapered, serrated blades will make you feel like an accomplished surgeon when trimming, cutting and dividing any type of poultry, from chicken to turkey. Plus, you can make stock with the unused parts, such as the backbone.
Oil Dispenser
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It's all in the pour. While many bottles of olive oil do have some sort of spout (so the oil doesn't just glug out in huge amounts), oil dispensers ($3 to $10) -- which you can use for any oil, from olive to grape-seed to sesame -- allow for precision pouring.
How it'll save you: They're outfitted with nozzles that carefully control the flow of liquid, so you can drizzle the "sunlight in a bottle" on salads and other dishes, or easily use exact amounts, minimizing overpouring and drips. The other reason these bottles are economical: You can purchase olive oil in a large tin can (a 3-liter container can cost around $56, so you pay about 55 cents an ounce, versus, say, a 17-ounce glass bottle that costs $13.50, which comes out to 80 cents an ounce). Then, decant the oil into your dispenser as needed. Just store it in a cabinet to keep it away from sunlight.
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Pineapple Slicer & Dicer
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We're sometimes skeptical of single-use tools, but there are times when they're worth it. The cost difference between buying a whole pineapple and cutting it yourself and paying for precut rings or chunks is significant enough to qualify: an 8-ounce container of pineapple chunks costs about $3, while you can get five times that amount—about 40 ounces of the fruit—for $5, or even less if you buy a whole fruit (it's a difference of 38 cents an ounce versus 13 cents an ounce). A pineapple slicer and dicer ($20) makes quick work of the prickly-skinned produce. (As with the other tools, you'll want to make sure you're going to use this more than once to make the savings worth it.)
How it'll save you: There won't be nearly as much waste as there is when you attempt the job with a knife. You insert a shaft into the top of a trimmed pineapple, press down lightly and twist; the flesh will come right out of the peel, and then you can slide the dicer down the stack of rings (or leave them whole).
Mason Jar
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The glass jar with a lid (about $1.50) is one versatile item in the kitchen. And not because it makes everything from salads to soups look better (a trend we hope sticks around).
How it'll save you: Beyond canning and storing food, these containers are ideal for making and storing your own salad dressing. Load the ingredients in, screw the lid on and shake; when you've used it all up, the oil-slicked glass jar is much easier to clean and reuse than a plastic container would be, and you'll have spent much less to dress your salad than you would have if you'd gone the premade route. Plus, they're also great for whipping warm milk for a homemade latte, so you can make a $4 coffee for a fraction of the cost.
Also on HuffPost:
4 Tips From Restaurant Chefs
They Like Cheap Mushrooms(01 of04)
Perhaps because white button mushrooms are plain-looking, or maybe even because they're inexpensive, home cooks tend to pooh-pooh them, says Adam Halberg, executive chef of the Barcelona Restaurant Group, instead paying top dollar for porcini or chanterelles. And while those varieties are delicious, Halberg says basic white mushrooms can taste just as incredible -- and are one of the best deals in your supermarket. (Plus, fancy mushrooms are often harder to clean and require more complicated cooking methods.) Halberg likes to eat them grilled on bread, with a glass of wine; try them in this recipe with crostini or in this classic Spanish preparation. (credit:Shutterstock)
You're Using Your Knife Too Much(02 of04)
Overdoing it with knives is one of the top mistakes Halberg sees home cooks make, even though we've all seen chefs on TV hacking away, onions flying everywhere. The less time the blade can spend on whatever it is that you're cutting, the better, Halberg says. Work strategically, so that you can make as few cuts as possible. The goal is to not go back and forth over the food, which will soften it and, in the case of herbs, turn it black. Use this technique for onions; for herbs like rosemary, line up the needles first, so you only have to pass through each part once. (credit:Shutterstock)
You Don't Need To Always Start With Olive Oil (03 of04)
Home cooks tend to rely on olive oil for sautéing foods (understandably, since many recipes advise them to), but, says chef Robert Irvine, who has appeared on "Restaurant: Impossible," chefs often do the bulk of their cooking with another oil, such as canola, grapeseed or safflower, and save the olive oil for finishing dishes. Those other oils have a higher smoke point, so you can get the pan and the oil very hot, which helps give whatever you're cooking -- say, a chicken breast or fish fillet -- a nice browned crust, without it absorbing tons of oil. Halberg prefers to save his high-quality olive oil for drizzling over food just before serving, to give it a little extra flavor (and, if it's a pasta dish, to help cheese adhere to the noodles). (credit:Shutterstock)
They Aren't Into Kitchen Gadgets...But They Do Have Some Weird Tools(04 of04)
Using leftovers is a frugal home cook's favorite way to stretch a buck -- and it's also something chefs do all the time, because they don't like to waste food any more than you do. The difference, though, is that professionals are waaay more organized than most of us when it comes to storing and labeling that extra cup of chicken stock. Their tools are also more drugstore than specialty store: Clear plastic containers, painter's tape and a Sharpie are key items in restaurants from The French Laundry to your local French bistro. Slap a piece of tape on the container, scribble the ingredient name and date on it, and you're more likely to use whatever is inside, whether it's egg yolks or chicken stock. Irvine tosses odds and ends in soups; here are more smart ideas for using everything from wilting herbs to half-finished blocks of cheese. (credit:Kim Steele via Getty Images)
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