The spring kitchen deep clean

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Published Date 5/22/2024

Spring has officially sprung. So aside from washing down the patio and dusting off the outdoor furniture why not start the season with some hearty spring cleaning in the most important room in the house — the kitchen?

Realtor.com’s Geraldine Campbell says whether you’re in the mood for a quick spruce-up or ready to roll up your sleeves for a deep cleaning session, the kitchen is as good a place as any to begin—especially if you’re hosting this summer. Not sure what to tackle first? She asked five chefs how they prepare their kitchens for the new season and while you may not go to the lengths they do to get ready, it’s fun to peek into their worlds.

“My home kitchen is a special place for me, where I cook everyday meals and where I tinker with recipes for my restaurants,” says NY-based chef and restaurant owner Michael Lomonaco. While regular cleaning and organizing is a mainstay for him, his spring checklist is especially thorough. He starts by emptying all his cabinets and drawers of kitchen equipment, giving them a quick wipe down as he goes. He also takes inventory of small cooking and prep tools like graters, peelers, and zesters, gives unused tools away, and sorts through his knives, sharpening all of them thoroughly.

Next, he cleans “all the china, cutlery, and glassware that isn’t used daily as well as the shelves and drawers. On to the refrigerator and the freezer, discarding out of date items as he goes; and his range and oven are tended to per manufacturer instructions. Finally, he cleans the floors, including the areas behind the range and the refrigerator and the counters and the spaces between the counters and appliances. His go-to for most kitchen cleaning? Plain old dish soap. No residue.

If you’re in the mood for a slightly less intensive spring cleaning session, DC-area restaurateur Mike Friedman recommends focusing on clearing out your refrigerator, spice drawer, and pantry. For spices that are nearing their sell-by date, he likes to make pickling liquids or buzz them up into spice mixtures or dry brines. And in the pantry, he’s a fan of seal-topped containers that can help extend the shelf life of flours, sugars, and grains like rice and beans. If you’ve got kids and want them to help out (or even if you just want to make things a bit more fun for yourself), he suggests getting a label maker. Once he’s gotten rid of old sauces, spices, and snacks, he likes to stock up on unique and artisan products.

West coast pizza founder Anthony Mangieri says spring is a great time to check on your kitchen tools. He suggests investing in a Microplane, paring knife, and immersion blender if you don’t have these kitchen essentials already, and replacing them if they’ve seen better days. He loves having a few different grating sizes on hand. For paring knives, he recommends anything from your local restaurant supply store. Mangieri also likes to check on the foods that “have been sitting on that hard-to-reach shelf or hidden away in the very back of the freezer or fridge.” Even if the dates are still good, he suggests doing a quick soul search and ask yourself — “Am I ever going to use this?” If not, he says “dump it and enjoy the feeling of spring cleaning.”

NY-based pizza chef Melissa Rodriguez admits she doesn’t cook a ton at home, “so my kitchen remains pretty civil throughout the year.” She does like to “give a little extra love to my pots and pans with a scrub with an old standard —Bar Keepers Friend. Otherwise, the change in seasons is about making sure her kitchen is well stocked with the basics: “a good bottle of olive oil, salt, coarse salt, pepper, and a plethora of condiments.”

Warm weather has (online and nationwide) pastry chef Tyler Malek completely defrosting and cleaning his freezer to make room for more ice cream. “This is significantly easier when you have multiple freezers,” he explains, but if you “wait until you’re really low on groceries,” you can store them “in a big cooler with a couple bags of ice.” Once your freezer is clean and dry, you could stock it with pints of your favorite flavor—or you could make your own.

Realtor,TBWS

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