I've been cooking for 20 years and I've learned that certain items outlive others in the kitchen. That 20 in 1 plastic kitchen gadget does less as you lose or break pieces over time and a "Strawberry Corer" only does one thing while a decent pairing knife can do that and so much more. There are certain kitchen staples in my home that are multi-functional without any gimmicks. They are what I consider staple pieces that last long enough to last a life-time, or even be passed onto the next generation.
Great items create stories. The Sunday roast your Grandma makes in her crockpot every week. The cast iron pan your Parent or Partner uses to sear a steak. The wooden cutting board you use for every single meal you enjoy over binging shows. Food brings people together and makes memories, and I've always felt the kitchen was the heart of my home, so I hope to bring some of that feeling to you.
That being said, sustainability also comes from reusing items. While I share 12 Heirloom worthy pieces, I'll share how you can find similar things to thrift and gift or use in your own home. Maybe you are the Grandma! Maybe you have some of these pieces in your home you could part with and pass onto the next generation. As a millennial, some of my favorite pieces came from family or friends who no longer needed something and thought of me.
If you fall in love with any items I've shared, don't worry! They are all really great for people and the planet. A portion of the profits from each heirloom item from Kakkoi! Kitchen Collection linked are donated to Food Banks across the United States. A portion of profits on Kakkoi! Home items go towards programs for people experiencing homelessness. A portion of profits also go to me, the creator, to help continue my work.
So let's dive into 12 Sustainable Heirloom worthy pieces, and how to thrift them and/or gift them.
- Cast Iron Pans
(Credit for the above photo goes to Healthline. Here's a great blog of theirs all about Cast Iron Cooking)
Cast Iron, when treated right, will be a gift that keeps on giving. Every cook puts flavor in the pan making each dish just slightly better than the last.
Cast Iron pans are great for searing a crispy duck breast skin or a steak. Once seasoned well, they cook a mean fried egg. This is great for those who travel, do the van life, or camp often, as they can go straight on hot coals for cooking. They are also a staple in my home kitchen. I don't have a lot of space in my kitchen to store items. I bake pies in this pan in the oven, it makes a great quiche pan, and I can sear anything really well on the stove top, so it is absolutely a multi-functional piece.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design, 12 inch cast iron pan. Click here for details.)
For thrifting, I love a larger cast iron pan paired with a recipe for shepherds pie. You can brown the meat in the pan, add the other ingredients as the recipe calls for, and put the mashed potatoes right on top before the whole thing goes in the oven. You could also find a vintage tea towel, or something with a Holiday theme if that's your vibe to pair with this for a pop of color.
I also love a recipe for Apple or Blueberry pie. You could include the recipe with it, maybe an oven mitt if you find one you like, or go all out and fill glass jars with the ingredients to your favorite pie crust recipe.
When you are on the look out for cast iron, you want to look for pans with no rust. If they seem slightly sticky, that's ok. This is fixable. I personally love a mix of salt, baking soda, and Dawn dish soap to do a super scrub of a cast iron in a poor state. There are also tons of YouTube tricks out there to help bring a cast iron back to life.
2. Cast Iron Dutch Ovens
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design, If you are looking to invest in a sustainable, heirloom cast iron piece, check this out.)
If you come across one thrifting I implore you to scoop it up. Cast iron Dutch ovens are a highly versatile piece for your kitchen.
Just as with the cast iron pan, these can go directly on hot coals. Withstanding high temperatures, they are great for the oven for baking bread. Think that sourdough you have been perfecting, this is the perfect vessel for that.
I am a soup fiend. As I am writing this, it's early November so we are in prime soup season. For a thrifted gift, I love soup recipes to pair with this. Think thrifted wooden spoon and hand written recipe. Or, get yourself a glass mason jar and some spices and mix up some pot roast seasoning. Dutch ovens are great for braising beef and slow cooking pork, so dry rub mixes pair well with this item as a gift. If you've perfected your sourdough starter, consider gifting a jar with directions for "feeding" and the dry ingredients to make 1 loaf. Or go all out, bake the bread, and gift it directly in the Dutch Oven.
3. Condiment Jars
(Photo Credit, Sketch created in Canva and Dall-E by Tori McKinley.)
I have a love/hate relationship with condiment jars.
Love them in my home. It's great to have storage for sauces and spoons, and it makes my cooking process a bit faster. I also store sugar and salt in similar jars for easy daily use. I don't mind sitting them out for family to use if we are all eating together.
Hate them in restaurants. Anyone who has to clean out ketchup jars every night should get paid more. And I don't care how sanitary your staff are, the "Average Joe" that didn't wash his hands before he sat down just used my hot sauce. I don't like it.
Photo Credit, Tori McKinley, Created in Canva.)
You can find vintage condiment jars all over E-bay and Etsy, but they are there due to "professional thrifters" grabbing them to resell. And I don't use quotations there to poke fun at full time thrifters. Honestly, what a cool job! But these are sought after items so certain ones sell quickly. Keep on a look out for ones you like each time you thrift!
I like these paired as a thrift gift with a homemade jelly. You could include the recipe too! Checkered Tea Towels are another great pairing, I think because Smuckers has that checked top, it just goes with Jelly in my eyes and feels nostalgic.
But not all condiment jars scream vintage anymore, so if that's not your thing there are modern options.
I love a clear glass hinged jar. If you can find them they are great to gift or add to your home. As a gift, small wooden spoons or vintage silver spoons pair well to scoop out that homemade blackberry jam. There are also sustainable options out there.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. If you are looking for a modern, sustainable approach, look at this 10 piece ceramic and bamboo set here.)
4. Wooden Serving Bowls
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi Design, Acacia Salad Bowl Set. See here for details.)
When I look at sustainable products, I think of what happens to the item the day it eventually ends up in a landfill. I feel a rant coming on. I am about to dive in.
Is it compostable or bio-degradable? How long will it remain after I'm gone? Does it harm our water or soil? And how long will this piece last for my use?
Wooden bowls and utensils are certainly trending right now. They are long lasting pieces, often made from more sustainable wood sources like Olive Wood, Acacia Wood or Bamboo.
I'm going to dive a bit deeper into each of these wood types so you know what to look for when thrifting or shopping with sustainability in mind.
(Photo Credit: Olive Wood Bowl from Webstaurant Store, I don't have a partnership with them, I just love this store.)
After the Olive harvest to make Olive Oil, the trees are trimmed back to ensure a good harvest the next year. So these beautiful Olive Wood bowls are a by-product of another product and a way to use every part of the plant. Highly sustainable and built to last, the wood grain is one of my favorites and every piece is unique.
(Photo Credit: Sustainable Ninja "Is Acacia Wood Sustainable?")
Acacia grows much faster than traditional hard woods, which makes it an excellent option for long lasting pieces. A faster growing hardwood with a longer lasting product creates a lower ecological impact over time. It is naturally resistant to pests and diseases, which reduces the need for chemical treatments.
However, if you are truly looking for sustainability, FSC-Certified Acacia is the safest option, as it's grown in controlled farms rather than harvested from old established wild forests, which isn't sustainable and can be damaging to the environment.
If you want to shop for a set of Acacia serving bowls, these ones from our store's Home - Living section donate a portion of profits to battling homelessness across the USA.
(Photo Credit, Bamboo Switch, no partnership here, just a great find! Check it out.)
Bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials on Earth. It's technically a grass, not a tree and grows insanely fast with some species growing up to 3 feet per day.
Harvesting Bamboo doesn't kill the plant as once chopped, they regrow from the same root system. They require little water and zero pesticides so have a low input on the planet. On top of this, you can get up to 20 times more material from a single acre than traditional timber.
Bamboo is strong, durable, and antibacterial, making it great for the kitchen.
So now you have a few wood types that are great for the planet, let's keep in mind when thrifting (or gifting) that it's better to have ANY type of thrifted wooden bowl that you are saving from a landfill or gifting to a friend rather than throwing in the trash.
(Photo Credit, Kakkoi! Design, Large Acacia Wood serving bowl with coordinating serving pieces. Read details here.)
I love this paired with a jar of home-made salad dressing and a recipe card for your favorite salad. Could be a pasta salad, potato salad, even a fruit salad! Think home-made strawberry vanilla syrup to pour over fresh fruit or a champagne vinaigrette to go with a spinach salad. This could also be paired with Oil and Vinegar condiment jars to go with the salad theme.
If you find a set of "eating bowls" rather than serving bowls, I love this paired with linen or cotton napkins, or bright and bold woven placemats.
5. Wooden Cooking Utensils
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design, sustainable Olive Wood Cooking Utensils. See details here.)
My first set of cooking utensils came from my Sister's Mom when I was moving into my first apartment at 17. They were mismatched certainly, just duplicates she had extras of, but they were so appreciated as I certainly didn't have the ability to buy my own at the time.
The first set I purchased for myself was actually in Culinary School and required for the classes. I still have some pieces from that set (a couple of which are cooking staples I will touch on in this post.)
The next matching set of utensils I bought from a store didn't go well. They were cheap and the heat would melt them if too high... I just had to wonder, what was I putting into my food?
Now, whenever I thrift I look for wooden pieces or kitchen grade metal. Both of these are far more food safe, both are durable and long lasting, and the wooden ones are far better for the environment if they do end up in a landfill.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design, 8 piece Bamboo sustainable kitchen utensil set. Shop Here.)
I love bamboo wooden utensils as a thrift gift due to the nature of the wood grain. Bamboo wood grain is all very similar, it has that distinctive bamboo look. While trying to thrift a hard wood spoon or utensil set at the store, you may have difficultly matching wood types if that's your vibe. So bamboo is great, because it all kinda matches and screams sustainability.
For a gift you can thrift, I love this with dish towels, hot pot pads, or oven mitts. If you are a crafty crocheter or can knit, handmade dishtowels for washing up would be a great thrift/handmade combo, just make sure to choose a yarn that is more hygienic and holds up in water. If you're a home cook with a few recipes, think of writing a few that work well with the items you thrift. For example, the wooden spatula works great for folding dessert mousses, or stirring mushroom risotto.
6. Wooden Serving Trays
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. Sustainable Acacia wood serving tray. Shop here.)
Serving trays can be multi-functional pieces, or offer different uses depending on the persons needs or style.
A wooden serving tray paired with ingredients for a charcuterie board, or with a home-made loaf of bread and some compound butter make for an excellent mix of a thrifted gift with my ultimate favorite gift...snacks.
Alternatively, people use trays like this on their Ottomans and coffee tables as a both functional and statement piece. You could pair this with a mug or tea cup and saucer, or with a small trinket bowl to hold keys and important items.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. Rectangle Acacia Wooden Tray. See details here.)
7. Tea Set
(Photo Credit, Kakkoi! Design. Available in Pink and White (Pictured) or White and Blue, this is a fun tea or coffee set for 6)
My Grandmother on my Mothers side had an amazing amount of beautiful tea sets. Usually, She'd have 1 or 2 tea pots, and several cup and saucer sets. Full of fun classic floral prints, I felt special using her sets and being allowed to use one (except her favorites of course!)
(Photo Credit: Williams Sonoma. This is their "Bridgerton" tea cup and saucer set, which reminded me of my Grandmothers vintage floral cups. I don't have a partnership, I just think these are fun!)
Tea sets are a beautiful and traditional gifting item, and if you can find a matching pot and cups, it's a gift set all by itself! But finding even just a matching cup and saucer or two, paired with some silver teaspoons, or a sugar jar is an amazing gift. Or, pair a cup and saucer with your favorite tea. If you find just a tea pot you like and you are crafty, think thrifted tea pot with a crocheted circular hot pad to rest the pot on. Metal loose leaf tea strainers for cups or pots are also a great pairing and can sometime be found at thrift stores.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. A beautiful take on floral tea cups with a modern twist. See it here.)
Tea sets for me just make me think of the trending "Cottage Core" vibe. Florals, pastel tones, and chintzy patterns remind me of my Grandparents home. This is big for us millennials right now and I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon... at least I hope not. I'm here for it.
8. Chefs Knife / Knife Set
Before my fellow Chefs yell and scream at me, I am gearing this list towards avid home cooks, not knives for a commercial use setting. Yes, they are for every day use, but only to chop one cabbage, not a whole case.
That being said, one of the best kitchen knife sets I used was from Emeril Lagasse. I found it at a thrift store, it had almost all the pieces except the kitchen shears, which I didn't need anyways. And those steak knives are still the sharpest I've ever had.
Knife sets from Food Network Stars are usually made with a decent amount of quality. They seem to tow the line between appealing to fellow Chefs and at-home Cooks, and you can usually find a few at the thrift store as some people replace their knife sets often with the new person they are following.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. If you don't want a traditional black kitchen knife set, this one gives a pop of color. See details here.)
Think a thrifted knife set with a cookbook from the Chef who collaborated on the knives. If you are having trouble finding a cookbook author that matches a set at the thrift store, I highly recommend Thrift Books. They have a ton of cook books online and usually they ship free (depending on your location.)
A solo Chef Knife is a great gift. They aren't as easy to find in my experience as the thrift store usually bundles these, but not all do. Keep a look out at incomplete sets, or the sets they've hand bundled for the occasional quality Chef Knife mixed in. You want something that feels a bit heavier, and has what called a "Full Tang" which means the metal runs all the way through to the back of the handle. You can usually tell by the rivets on the side of the knife travelling all the way to the back of the handle, or by metal showing at the bottom of the handle.
(Photo Credit: Williams Sonoma. Japanese Miyabi Kaizen Chefs Knife. I don't get credit here, but if you want the best, go with a Japanese Chef Knife.)
A Chefs knife as a thrifted gift paired with a steel for honing it is a great set. Or, if you can find a metal spatula and tongs, it's a great BBQ set. It could also be paired with a pairing knife and a boning knife as a three knife set. Find a burlap or chintzy floral tea towel to wrap them sustainably without knives tearing through paper, or wrap in an apron as a final gift piece.
(Photo Credit, Kakkoi! Design. A full tang Japanese inspired Damascus Chefs Knife. A good in-between for avid home cooks that don't need a professional knife. but still need quality and durability for everyday use. Click here to shop.)
9. Clear Glass Water Jugs (Pitchers)
(Photo Credit: Webstaurant Store. A great mix of classic beauty and functionality. See it here.)
I love pieces that are multi-functional as gifts.
For a thrift gift, fill it with flowers, and when the flowers are gone they can use this year round for their favorite drink or as a water pitcher. Or you could include a pack of Sunflower seeds for growing so they can continue to use it as a vase.
You could also gift it more intentionally as a pitcher by adding your recipe for sweet tea or iced tea, and the ingredients to make it, maybe with a wooden spoon for stirring.
(Photo Credit: Sketch created in Canva and Dall-E by Tori McKinley)
If it's summer time, fill it with lemons and pair with a wooden hand juicer and a hand written recipe for your favorite lemonade. Although I love citrus year round, so this is a great gift anytime in my opinion.
As your thrifting, look out for water jugs that have been separated from their glasses. Sometimes these sets are packed in different boxes for donation and don't come back together. You are also likely to find a set of 4-6 glasses that may pair well with a jug without actually being a set! Clear glass comes in so many different finishes you can pair things together for style and tone rather than a full match.
(Photo Credit, Kakkoi! Design. While this piece is less functional for pouring, it makes a bold and timeless statement as a vase. See more images here.)
10. Wooden Cutting Boards
I'm going to keep this short and to the point since I already wrote a mini-blog within this post about sustainable wood. I am if nothing else, self aware.
That being said, my top choices for cutting boards since they see daily use and wear and tear from Chefs knifes and such, vary slightly on wood types for this item.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. Large Black Walnut cutting board. See details on this more sustainable hardwood cutting board.)
Genuine North American Black Walnut that's sustainably sourced is an excellent choice for a cutting board. With daily use, I find bamboo wears down more quickly than I'd like as an "Heirloom" piece. You do want a harder wood, like walnut, for a long lasting board that holds up. Longevity is key in sustainable items that see daily use.
(Photo Credit, Kakkoi! Design. Acacia Wooden cutting board set. See it here.)
Another great hardwood for daily use is Acacia. We've already gone over this in depth, but I will add that I love the wood grain as it varies between light and dark while still being a solid slab of wood.
As far as bamboo goes, you don't get slabs of bamboo. Strips of it are pressed and glued together to make boards. There's nothing wrong with this. The FDA makes sure they are food safe (for now) but I do find this problematic after washing a board everyday. For the same reason, I'm not a fan of wooden cutting boards that have strips or checkboard patterns. I prefer one solid slab so there are no small gaps in my board over time and they are more water resistant. I once had a small wooden checkerboard cutting board I bought at a thrift store. My every day use and frequent washing did erode the glue overtime, causing it to fall apart. This was a sad day, and if I can help anyone avoid this pain, I will.
A large wooden cutting board can be gifted as a Charcuterie board. Either place the items in a small basket, or slice them up and prepare it fully made. Think of heading to friends or family hosting you for the Holidays, so you bring snacks on an Heirloom piece they can use daily. That's a core memory.
Another great way to gift this is with a small bottle of Tung Oil or another wood oil for upkeep and longevity.
(Photo Credit, Kakkoi! Design. Acacia wooden cutting board set.)
One more fun way to gift this is with a bunch of fresh herbs, a Chefs Knife, and a recipe for Basil Pesto or Chimichurri. You could gift just the herbs, a bottle of olive oil, or all the ingredients depending on your gifting budget.
I haven't gone into this much, but I love gifts that are a mixture of instant gratification (Cutting Board, Dutch Oven, Water Pitcher) with an experience or DIY moment (Making Pesto, Baking Sourdough, or juicing lemons for lemonade.)
I find these gifts particularly thoughtful and impactful. Not only are you gifting a piece that's potentially an Heirloom, but you are gifting an experience that creates a core memory with something gifted by you. Then it remains in their home to make more memories or be used every day. A piece from you can become apart of their every day life. That's just so powerful and feels really connected.
Our final two items focus on that concept. Instant gratification in a gift, an experience that makes a memory. and the potential to be a day to day staple in the home.
11. Cake Stands
(Photo Credit: Pampered Chef, Wooden Cake Stand. Again, no partnership here, just a beautiful find. Click here for more photos.)
My focus in Culinary school was Baking and Pastry, but it wasn't until recently I obtained a beautiful glass cake stand from my Partners Mom. The one gifted is clear glass with a large dome lid. She gifted it to me on my birthday with a Birthday Cake. I love it and use it to store all our cakes now after every occasion.
A cake stand is the perfect vessel for... a cake! Of course! You could bake one to gift, or pair the stand with a cookbook on cakes and baking. If you are thrifting for this, take a look over at utensils and see if you can find a wooden spatula and metal cake spatula (for spreading icing) to pair as a gift set. This also pairs well with an apron because baking can get messy!
If you're a baker yourself, you can gift this with a recipe card and/or the ingredients for your favorite cake.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. 12 inch round classic white cake stand. Shop here.)
If you aren't the best baker, or you have trouble cake decorating, a Bundt cake is a great way to go. You can usually find at least one pre-loved Bundt pan at the thrift store. Get yourself a box cake mix, follow the directions making sure to really grease and flour the Bundt pan before putting the batter in. Bake it for about the same time as an 8 inch round, but do check with a tooth pick or skewer to see if it's done as ovens vary in temperature.
A yellow cake mix with the addition of lemon zest makes a great lemon cake. Use the juice from the lemon and powdered sugar to make a glaze for the top.
A chocolate cake mix (as pictured above) can be delightful too. Adding a few chocolate chips to the recipe, and substituting the water for coffee brings out more chocolate flavor. A sprinkle of powdered sugar finishes it off beautifully, or you can make a glaze with a little milk, powdered sugar, and a touch of cocoa powder.
After your Bundt cake bakes, remember that the top of the cake while in the pan is about to be the bottom of that cake. Let it cool in the pan a few minutes before turning it over. Once cool, trim the (now bottom) part of your cake so it sits flat, this is the part that rose in the oven, otherwise your cake looks like it's floating or sitting funny (like in the picture above.)
(Photo Credit: House Becoming Home. Here's their how-to blog on how to make a wooden cake stand.)
If you want to skip the cake altogether, don't have cake recipes to share, and still want to make this an experience gift, go for a fully thrifted gift set. Pair it with the Bundt Pan and a spatula! Let them make their own creation. Don't forget, Thriftbooks has some great baking books on cakes that would be a great addition to a cake stand. Or you could find a mixing bowl and metal measuring spoons to give them all the tools they need to make a great cake.
The wooden cake stand in the above picture was handmade! So if you are into hand made gifts this is a great one for DIY.
And finally, even if you aren't a fan of cake at all, a wooden cake stand makes a great piece to hold trinkets and important items. It's a great statement piece on the coffee table or kitchen counter, adding storage space too. You could gift it with a coffee table book, and a small thrifted metal bowl for storage for keys or to get someone's coffee table statement piece started.
12. French Press
(Photo Credit: Axil coffee roasters. Check out their blog on brewing French Press coffee to perfection.)
Maybe most of America "Runs on Dunkin" or "Star-bies" but when I think of what fueled Chefs over the years, it's whatever coffee the restaurant is buying, and we drink it by the pot.
This blog post was brought to you by 3 cups of coffee in my system today. You can take the girl outta the restaurant, but she now runs on coffee.
Every. Single. Morning. The first thing I do is start boiling water for my French Press. I bought a little $15 spice/coffee grinder so I grind fresh beans right before I brew. It takes me 15-20 minutes, but I make space for it and this routine every morning because I love it just that much. Millennials and Gen-Z capture their daily coffee routines and recipes to millions following along too.
(Photo Credit: Kakkoi! Design. Stainless Steel French Press that's built to last. See it here.)
For a thrifted gift, take a look at the kitchen section for manual coffee grinders, or the electronic section for a small spice or coffee bean grinder. A French press with a sugar jar and spoon or a little ceramic pot for creamer is a great gift too!
As a mixture of thrifting and buying, you could pair this with a bag of locally roasted whole bean or ground coffee. If you're a coffee drinker, this combo may just change your life.
There's something beautiful in the time it takes to brew the perfect cup. The oils from the beans aren't pulled out through a coffee filter, they stay inside and make it super flavorful. After breaking a few glass ones over the years, I do prefer a stainless steel one these days if you are going to purchase new, I highly recommend it.
(Photo Credit: Joe Gardner. Check out his video on composting coffee grounds here.)
One of the reasons a French press becomes an instant heirloom is its simplicity. Unlike electric coffee makers that break, burn out, or rely on disposable pods, a French press needs no electricity, no filters, and creates no single-use waste. Just hot water, fresh coffee, and time.
And the best part? Coffee grounds are fully compostable, making this brewing ritual a truly zero-waste option. It’s one of the most eco-friendly ways to enjoy your morning cup, whether you’re at home, camping, or keeping your kitchen low-impact.
For your truly eco-conscious coffee drinker, a thrifted French press and a purchased compost kit works as a zero waste gift option that becomes part of a daily routine, benefiting the planet.
(Photo Credit: Tori McKinley, created in Canva.)
When writing this, I tried to think of things from 3 distinctive perspectives. Myself as a Chef with kitchen staples, myself as a home cook and the things that get the most daily use, and myself as part of a generation becoming more and more eco-conscious and concerned for our planets future.
Whether it's passed down to a new generation, a thrifted gift item, or an investment in a people and planet conscious heirloom piece, I hope this has sparked some ideas for how to gift long lasing, memorable, and sustainable pieces to family and friends.
I started Kakkoi! Design in 2020 without much direction. Upon refection, I've reworked the concept to work towards becoming a collective that is people and planet focused. If you want to learn more about Kakkoi! Design and our mission, check us out here.
Thank you for joining me on this journey! If you'd like to read more tips and tricks, check out our blog page here.