A really big mixing bowl is an essential piece of cooking equipment

Of all the oversized items that I've bought in my life – oversized jeans, oversized sweaters, oversized pencils (do you remember?) And oversized whisks – the only one I make do not regret is my big bowl to mix.

It's so big that I could bathe my cat, if he allowed me, so big that he did not nest well with my other bowls of preparation and so big that it was designated as his own space of the kitchen. But what do you know? It's worth it.

For, with the exception of your boss in the waiting room of your therapist, nothing is more embarrassing than using a bowl too small for the task at hand. Not only do things fly or slide everywhere (a mess!), But you just can not do a brewing job that's as efficient as baking cookie dough or making a salad.

If you have ever tried to dress a salad in a bowl too small, know that it is almost impossible to cover evenly this nest of leaves in the middle while keeping the corrugated rocket contained. In our book, the bowl should be at least 25% larger than its contents. Otherwise, it's as if your leaves were trying to make Cha Cha Slide in a mosh bin.

Large bowls are not just practical for salad dressings. They are perfect every time you have to mix thoroughly. Potato salad. Pasta salad. Okay, I guess these are the two salads by name – but you understand the point. What about white pesto or red pesto or green pesto? If you have to marry noodles and sauce off the heat to get that perfect emulsion, you'll need a big bowl.

But enough pasta. An XL bowl is also essential for marinating a large piece of meat or just a big volume of meat without losing a plastic bag (of course, you may need to clear some space in your refrigerator). This is the right size for an ice bath, as you shock a candied boiled eggs bouquet, whitening a vegetable boat for a large aioli (hey, it could happen), preparing this salad for Water, chilling a bottle of wine, or chilling a custard for ice cream. And it's perfect for foods that get fatter, like dry beans that load when dipping or pizza dough that (hopefully) will grow and increase. My bowl is spacious enough that I can knead the dough inside, which saves me from having to transfer it to a work surface.