Cooking / Serving

Get your independence back in the kitchen: why ergonomic tools matter

For a simple, pleasant time in the kitchen, explore our easy-to-use ergonomic daily living aids for cooking and serving with less effort, and on your own. The kitchen is often the heart of the home, but it can quickly become a place of risk or frustration with a loss of mobility, hemiplegia, or vision trouble. Modern occupational therapy, backed by the latest guidance on aging in place, stresses adapting the space so you tire less, avoid burns and cuts, and make up for motor deficits.

Aids for cooking with one hand: safety and results

If you cook with one hand (after a stroke, an amputation, or temporary hemiplegia), keeping food and containers steady comes first. When you cannot hold food while you cut it, or hold a bowl while you mix, adaptive equipment made for that job fills the gap.

• Holding things in place: Cutting boards with stainless steel spikes and raised edges pin bread, vegetables, or meat in place without a second hand.
• Taking the twist out of the motion: Add automatic tools such as one of our Oxo salad spinners with a pump mechanism (one press is enough), or an automatic pepper and salt mill that starts with a press of the thumb or by gravity.
• Holding containers steady: Solutions such as the Bricks bottle holder are essential for keeping a container still so you can open it without it sliding on the counter.

Making up for muscle weakness, osteoarthritis, and rheumatism

Joint pain, common among seniors, along with musculoskeletal disorders or Parkinson's disease, can make gripping small objects very painful. Fine motor control is reduced, and so is lifting strength.

A larger handle and an easier grip

Ergonomic knives with a "T" handle or a right-angle handle let you use the strength of the arm and shoulder instead of the wrist. With the wrist in a neutral line, strain eases right away on joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis.

Pouring heavy, hot liquids more safely

Lifting a pot full of water, or a kettle that is just off the boil, is high-risk when muscles are weak. A sudden loss of strength can cause serious burns. To help prevent that, a tipping pour stand for a kettle or bottle is very useful. This clever device holds the kettle and pivots on an axis, so you can pour boiling water into a cup without lifting the weight of the appliance. Occupational therapists recommend this everyday aid for making the cooking area safer.

Solutions for vision loss and low vision

Vision loss (AMD, glaucoma, cataracts, or blindness) does not have to stop meal prep. Cooking calls for precision (measuring, weighing, cook time) that sound and touch can cover.

• A scale that talks: If you have trouble seeing, we recommend one of our talking kitchen scales. It clearly speaks the weight to the gram, with adjustable volume, so your recipes turn out well without relying on your sight.
• Visual contrast: Two-tone cutting boards (for example, black on one side for light foods such as onion, white on the other for dark foods) make the edges easier to see.
• Tactile markers: Raised dots on oven and cooktop knobs let you set the temperature on your own.

Buying guide: how to choose equipment for cooking and serving

Choose utensils based on the condition, the abilities that remain, and eating habits. This summary chart can guide your selection of ergonomic equipment.