The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word RICER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
R
I
C
E
R
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Kitchen item" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case kitchen item = ricer.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does RICER mean?
RICER noun- A person, especially a Native American, who cultivates and harvests rice.
- A utensil used to extrude soft foods (such as, and especially, cooked potato) through holes about the diameter of a grain of rice.
- An imported automobile from an Oriental country, deemed inferior because it is low-powered and/or cheap.
- A person who drives such an automobile.
- A person who modifies such an automobile using after-market parts to give it the appearance of being more powerful or sporty.