Taken from the Raw Gourmet, by Nomi Shannon

Sharp Knives: If you don't already own some, invest in a good set of sharp knives to make cutting vegetables fast and easy. It could make the difference between staying on a raw food program or not. You will need at least 1 paring knife and 1 large knife. Buy knives that can be sharpened at home!

Cutting Board: There is a lot of controversy over whether wood or plastic is more hygienic. While plastic can go through the dishwasher, new evidence seems to suggest that wood has some special "disinfectant" properties. Whatever you decide, scrub the board until it is scrupulously clean each time you use it.

Blender: Make this one of your first purchases, after a grater and some sharp knives. An important piece of kitchen equipment, and relatively inexpensive, a blender is useful for purees, dressings, soups and more. Benders are used when liquid is involved or soft smooth results are desired. For mixing large quantities of foods that are not liquid based, such as pie fillings, pates, and loaves, a food processor is a better choice. The most important feature to look for in a blender is a strong motor. Often, older models are more powerful than more recent models. Many a newer model has had its motor burned out when attempting to blend soaked nuts or seeds. Garage sales are a great way to find an older blender with a powerful motor.

     While you can function indefinitely with a traditional blender, the Vita-Mix brand is the ultimate in versatility, power and durability. This powerful machine can blend or puree just about anything, including dry grains and nuts. This an expensive machine and not essential. Buy one only after you already own the necessities: a good regular blender, a juicer, wheatgrass juicer and a good food processor.

Juicer: Perhaps the most important piece of equipment you will buy. There are many juicers on the market but few that do an adequate job. Some juicers waste food, leaving behind a lot of wet pulp. Others heat up the juice from too much friction, damaging the delicate nutrients. Resist the temptation to buy a juicer from a department store or large discount store. To date, there are no juicers available from these sources that will serve you well.

     There are several types of juicing machines. A centrifugal juicer expels the pulp into a basket as it spins. This type of machine does not do an adequate job of extracting the nourishment from the food and results in a lot of waste. Another type of juicer is a triturating or masticating machine that crushes the food, rupturing the cells and extracting high-quality nourishment. Slow-moving machines that use an augur do an adequate job, especially for wheatgrass. A meat grinder is an augur-type of machine in face, an old meat grinder will do a good job on wheatgrass if you happen to own one.

     A tried and true juicer on the market is the trouble-free Champion. It is a masticating machine that will make juices, pates, ice cream, finely grated vegetables and more. The only thing the Champion cannot do is juice wheatgrass, certain herbs and other grasses. The only changeable parts of a Champion are its filters. The blank is used for pates and ice cream, and the screen is used for juicing. By not using any filter at all, you can finely grate vegetables. Using the machine without any filter is not recommended by the manufacturer because when the blade is exposed, it can be very dangerous.

     The newest juicer on the market is the Green Life machine, a simplified version of the popular Green Power Juicer. It has a twin-gear design, where the food is pressed and crushed between the gears. It is expensive (more than twice the cost of the Champion) but it does all that the Champion does (except a fine grate) plus it will juice wheatgrass and all types of herbs and greens. (Attachments for pasta making and other processes can be purchased separately.) It operates at a much lower speed than the Champion so it doesn't create heat from friction. Oxidation is further minimized by a feature that magnetized the juice. The juice remains fresh much longer than with other juicers. If you are starting out with no equipment and are planning to use wheatgrass juice, it is worth the extra money to purchase either a Green Power or a Green Life machine. In the long run, you may save money because of the superior job it does extracting the juice, thereby needing less produce.

Wheatgrass Juicer: To properly extract the juice from wheatgrass, an augur-type, slow-moving machine (or the twin-gear method as described above) is necessary to avoid creating heat from friction, If you won a juicer that doesn't work with wheatgrass, buy an inexpensive electric wheatgrass juicer, not a manual one (too much work!) A decent home-use wheatgrass juicer is less than $150. An old meat grinder might work, as well as the Wheateena, which was once very popular for wheatgrass only. Keep your eyes open a garage sales.

Food Processor: This multi-purpose machine saves a lot of time, especially when you are preparing for a crowd. It comes with several blades that allow you to shred, grate and slice very quickly. But the most important feature is the steel blade, called the "S" blade, used for cutting, chopping and mixing. It makes all sorts of procedures virtually effortless - from chopping nuts to mixing all the ingredients for a pate or loaf.

Dehydrator: Dehydrators are used to partially or completely dry or warm food, while leaving the enzymes intact. Certain recipes for cookies, fruit leathers, stuffed vegetables, fruits, crackers, breads and many other items rely on the dehydrator for their texture, taste and shelf-life. Using a dehydrator can greatly expand your repertoire of delicious recipes, but it not the first thing you need to buy.

     The most important feature of a dehydrator is temperature control. Your dehydrator should also have a way to deliver the warm air as efficiently as possible so that your food will dry or warm evenly. The Excalibur 9 tray model is a good choice, as it gives you 15 square feet (4.5 meters) of drying area, along with an efficient fan and a thermostat that allows you to set the temperature. It is also quite compact. The dehydrator comes with tray liners that resemble a plastic screen. Buy the solid liners, too, for cookies and fruit leathers. The Excalibur manufacturer calls them teflex liners.

Food Mill, Coffee Grinder or Spice Mill: A small electric

coffee grinder comes in very handy for grinding small quantities of nuts and seeds. Although you can grind nuts and seeds in a food processor, you can't always adequately work with small quantities in a processor, nor does a processor grind them as finely as a mill. An electric coffee mill will cost less than fifteen dollars and is perfect for a few tablespoons of nuts or seeds. 

Hand Grater: The old standby Grandma used to have still works just fine. The type that is just one flat piece of metal with several cutting sized is good because you can work directly into a serving bowl. A hand grater can be indispensable when preparing food for one or if you do not own any other equipment.

Peeler: A high-quality, sharp vegetable peeler is essential.

Garlic Press: There are several different types on the market, all of which are capable of extracting small amounts of garlic, ginger or onion juice. Choose one that appeals to you.

Apple Peeler-corer-slicer: A fun but non-essential gadget to have, this will make apple pie a snap. Use it to peel, core and slice apples and vegetables like turnips very quickly.

Mandoline: This stainless steel, French-made piece of equipment can take the place of graters, cutting blades, salad shooters and a lot of hand-slicing, dicing and julienne. Professional chefs use the mandoline extensively to make short work of mounds of vegetables.

     The mandoline is a rectangular piece of equipment with changeable blades that the food is drawn across, quickly cutting it into various shapes. Country fairs and kitchen equipment stores often sell inexpensive plastic versions. But, be warned that the mandoline is an extremely dangerous piece of equipment; its razor-sharp blades are not for the novice or the average home cook. However, if you are preparing large quantities of food and have skilled hands and a careful nature, a mandoline is a time-saving piece of equipment.