You’re an adult now. You’ve graduated from that stage where all you cook for dinner is Shake ‘n’ Bake chicken and stir-fry-in-a-bag. You’ve come to a point where you actually enjoy cooking and you don’t always have to follow a recipe. Good for you! So why are you still working with that basic IKEA kitchen starter kit your mom gave you when you finally moved out on your own? If you’re ready to take your kitchen supplies to intermediate level and really start sharpening your cooking chops, you’ll need some more advanced tools. Provided you already have the basics such as a corkscrew, garlic press, can opener, etc., here are our top five kitchen gadgets every home chef should have:

Mini food chopper/processor: One of my best friends gifted me one of these and it’s probably one of my favorite kitchen gadgets of all time. Don’t feel like crying over chopped onions? Want to whip up a quick batch of hummus? Toss it all in the food chopper and it’s done in seconds.

Rasp: Ever try to zest a lemon with that one weird side of your grater only to be left with a ¼ tsp of lame lemon pulp? You need a rasp. Originally a woodworking tool, this bad boy creates the most perfect tiny ribbons of zest with its tiny, ultra-sharp grater blades. It’s perfect for grating Parmesan, too.

Lemon squeezer: Want to get as much juice as possible out of your lemons without busting your knuckles trying to squeeze it out by hand? Pop your lemon halves in a squeezer and juice that sucker dry.

Immersion blender: I have fond memories from my childhood of my mom blending concentrated orange juice into frothy goodness in a pitcher using one of these hand-held mini mixer wands. They’re also great for pureeing homemade soups when you’d rather not have to pour the hot liquid into your blender, possibly resulting in a broccoli and cheese infused smoothie the next morning.

Really good knife: The right kitchen knife can change your life. Or at least help you go from mildly indenting the skin of a tomato to slicing through that mother like a samurai. Take good care of your nice kitchen knife and it can last you through thousands of gourmet meals. Gizmodo did a nice investigative piece rating the best chef’s knives. When using your super sharp knife, be sure to use proper technique to protect your digits from bloody massacre.

What are some kitchen gadgets you can’t live without? Share them in the comments or over on Twitter @luvoinc