The Simple Reason Chefs Always Have A Box Of Graham Crackers On Hand

There are a few things a professional chef needs to effectively do their job. Perhaps the most important is a chef's knife – a versatile tool with a 6- to 10-inch blade that serves as an extension of your hand as you slice and dice. Because it's key to keep your knife sharp, it's also vital to have a honing steel made of stainless steel, ceramic, or diamond. Additional needed tools are a wire whisk, bench scraper, kitchen scale, and a meat thermometer among a few others.

It's not always about tools, though. Specific ingredients are important too. Right off the bat, chefs need to keep a wide array of sauces and spices, and flour plays a significant role as well. "With flour, one can make pasta, pizza, bread, cakes, and so many more things to feed your family, making it a great staple," Reina Morris of Buenos Aires Café said to Country Living. Pasta, canned vegetables, hot sauce, and honey are also good to keep around. There's another thing chefs have on them more often than not, and there's a pretty simple explanation for it.

Though they may not strike you as a common pantry staple, professional chefs almost always keep graham crackers on standby. "I don't know any chefs that don't have a box of graham crackers or crumbs," Black Chef Series co-founder Lance Knowling said to Food & Wine. "Not only do they make a great snack, but they also are crucial in making so many quick and easy desserts, various tarts, and pie crusts." When it comes to snacking, Knowling recommends pairing graham crackers with milk and a banana.

Graham crackers can actually be purchased in crumb form for convenience. If you don't have crumbs on hand, however, it's pretty simple to create them with the honey-flavored crackers themselves. Food processors aren't the best way to go about this; instead, you should opt for a rolling pin or a pestle for mashing. This type of crumb is most commonly used for cheesecake crust, but with a little creativity, it can be implemented into several recipes.