Gadgets create clutter and don’t save you time. So invest wisely: With just a few low-cost, low-tech essentials, you can conquer nearly every cooking challenge your kitchen throws at you.

Keep reading for the only 5 tools you need in your kitchen.

1) The Flat-Edged Wooden Spatula

It flips! It stirs! It transports food from pan to plate! The flat edge is great for scraping up tasty bits of caramelized meat for a simple pan sauce. Look for a spatula with several square inches of surface area, good for lifting large cuts of meat with ease. Plus, wood won’t nick up your skillet.

Try Oxo’s Good Grips Wooden Turner ($6, oxo.com).

2) The Timeless Castiron Heavy Skillet

Pricey nonstick pans will lose their “non” over time—but a good cast-iron skillet can last a lifetime.

We like Lodge’s sturdy 12-incher ($37, lodgemfg.com). To preserve the pan’s searing power, wash it by hand in hot water with mild detergent. Then spread or spray on a light coating of cooking oil.

Crud stuck to your skillet? Heat the pan, toss in a fistful of kosher salt, and use a ball of paper towels to scrub the gunk from the surface. Now wash and reoil the pan.

3) The Mighty 8-Inch Stainless-Steel Knife

Cooking without a good knife is like stepping up to the plate with a tree branch. You need a strong, balanced one to hit home runs in the kitchen.

Try the 8-inch Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Chef’s Knife ($54,swissarmy.com). In a 2014 evaluation by America’s Test Kitchen, it performed nearly as well as a $300 competitor.

4) The Large Wood Cutting Board

Large, because small boards hamper your efficiency. Wood, because glass or granite boards dull your knife, says Bob Kramer, master bladesmith at Kramer Knives.

Your cutting board may slide around the countertop if you don’t secure it. Prevent dicing your digits by putting a damp paper towel or kitchen rag underneath.

Scrub the board with hot, soapy water as soon as you’re done prepping, and then let it air-dry, he says. 

5) The Massive Stainless-Steel Bowl

You’ll use this to mix, toss, whisk, marinate, and store grub. Glass breaks. Plastic chips. But stainless steel shrugs off everything.

Don’t buy any size smaller than 3 quarts; these bowls cost just a few bucks (foodservicewarehouse.com).

Bonus: Overturn the bowl on top of your castiron skillet, and you have an instant lid.

Written by Men's Health.