All kitchen gadgets are not created equal. We're wondering what your favorites are.
Are you in the middle of a torrid affair with your tomato knife? Or is it low-key sentimental attachment to an heirloom spatula?
There is no one right answer of course. There's different tools for different folks.
We asked two designers at Prime Studio, the artistic minds behind kitchen tools for Joy of Cooking, Calphalon and many others, to share their picks.
Lindsay from Prime says her favorite is this old wooden spoon.
"I love this tool because it's a hand-me-down. My mom had it in her kitchen for years and was ready to give it up when I went to college. The nature of wood allows it to obtain more character and charm as it gets older. Plastic never looks better with age. I think the discoloration is beautiful and after years and years of use it has this amazingly soft texture to it, almost velvety with all the hard edges worn away," says Lindsay.
But her attachment isn't only sentimental. A wooden spoon is also one of the most multi-purpose tools in the kitchen, as Lindsay told us. "It's definitely the item I grab most often."
Stuart (that's him in the picture at the top of the post) from Prime Studios uses a one-of-a-kind stainless steel Egg Topper-Offer, handmade by his grandfather in England. Stuart reports that this is the perfect tool to take the top straight off soft-boiled eggs without even having to touch the hot egg.
"Soft-boiled eggs with toast soldiers for breakfast are an institution in my household," he says. "Ergonomically it could be improved but what could be better than having a one-of-a-kind tool made for you by your grandfather?"
Faith confesses to using teaspoons for everything. "I really shouldn't do this because they're my grandmother's heirloom silver spoons." Me? I'm a spatula guy. I use old plastic spatulas for scrambling, stirring, stir-frying, prodding a roast in the oven.
How about you?
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Definitely my bamboo rice server. It's short (about 8 inches) and flat with a curvy paddle that's perfect for gently mixing batter.
1. My Garlic Peeler/Roller -- the small rubber tube that you press down on and roll on the counter.
2. My rubber moulding jar twister
3. My new AMAZING 8" Shun knife.
(I know that's three, but I love them all)
I have a spatula/spoon kind of thing that I wish I had about 3 of - it's wonderful and I use it constantly.
Chopsticks. I eat with them, I cook with them.
my silcone spatula
TONGS!
My Silpats, definitely! But my new pizza stone runs a close second.
my cheapie silver mesh strainer from a Chinese grocery: perfectly sized for draining single servings of pasta, delicate enough to wash berries in without smooshing them, and a great sifter as well. Plus, it was 79 cents.
A close second is my rice cooker/salmon steamer/dumpling steamer/aromatherapy diffuser (water plus rosewater makes the whole kitchen smell nice but not obnoxious).
My collection of 20's wire whisks....functional, beautiful art, and second to none when making an omlette
My microplane grater. How did I ever live without it??
I have a sort of flat "paddle" thing that sounds like what pearl is talking about that I LOVE. It is the first thing I grab when I reach for a cooking utensil.
I also love my bamboo cutting board and my Wusthoff Santoku knife. I use that thing almost exclusively.
~Monica
My silicone spoonula is my most used tool these days, with my microplane grater a close second, but the gadget I'm really crushing on are silicone poach pods. They're awesome.
My beautiful Wusthof chef's knife. I've had it for 12 years and it is an indispensable kitchen tool.
2 wooden spoons that I've had since college. Both suffered serious burns during my younger days but that's part of the charm of them now.
It's a toss up between my French press and my blender.
I don't know what I would do without a smoothie and a coffee every morning.
I don't think of my knives as gadgets, so as much as I LOVE my Lamson Santoku, as far as gadgets go:
#1 Microplane - use it all the time
#2 Batali Silicone Spatula
#3 The Garlic Twist
My lemon zester. It's also the perfect size to lift capers out of their narrow little jar.
What's a garlic twist?
My $5 bread knife. It cuts so much better than more expensive knives and I can use it on just about anything.
I have to second the vote for tongs. They rock.
Pearl's vote for her bamboo rice server has me thinking about mine in a completely different way. It always saw it as a single-use gadget.
I have two, actually. A knife from tramontina (brazilian international cutlery and others) which I use for everything cooking related, and my set of wooden spoons, which grows every chance I get. One, all these items are essential, and two, they look so cute in my shelf over the stove...
http://www.garlictwist.com/
I believe that's what Dennis was talking about.
I've got one too and it is pretty handy, you use the outside to smoosh and break the skin to peal it, and put the cloves in it and twist to get minched garlic.
I have a slotted spatula that I use almost every time I cook. It's not particularly fancy or special as a spatula, but it's super useful.
I also use my microplane all the time. 1. because I love lemon zest and 2. because it's easy to clean and 3. because I can grate all sorts of things on it (nutmeg, for instance).
FINALLY, I was given a garlic press not long ago and it's awesome. I was always in the mince-the-garlic-yourself camp, but for some reason the press is just so easy (and I don't find it too hard to clean). I eat more garlic now, actually, sometimes a simple bread dip of olive oil with garlic and basil, or adding garlic when I sautee vegetables.
I love my Aviron from Les Pagaies du Gourmet. It's a long wooden stick with a wider end, perfect to mix sauces or get the last drop of cake batter from the mixer. Click my name to see the full collection, I love all of their products and have about 4 of them.
I also have an extensive collection of pressed glass lemon juicers and I use them all.
My OXO garlic press is also a favorite.
Grapefruit knife and spoon. When I lived with many roommates I hoarded these in my own corner of the pantry. Growing up in the 70s I figured every family had these, but alas, I was wrong, and had to go to Williams-Sonoma for my own set as an adult. Nothing like a quickly and perfectly liberated grapefruit half with honey!
I also love my wooden toast tongs even though I learned to paw the toast out of the oven in darker, tong-free days.
Most useful gadget hands down is a pair of kitchen scissors. What's with the evil packaging these days, anyway?
my favorite kitchen gadget is a 1950s citrus juicer made by sunkist.
Basically a big motor, covered in chrome, with a ceramic reamer on top.
by no means a multitasker, but it juices lemons for summertime lemonade like no ones business.
Oooh, I forgot about the kitchen scissors. Those are awesome, and I certainly use them more than the microplane or the garlic press.
Chris
the garlic twist is amazing if you cook with a lot of garlic. Check it out:
http://www.utilitieshome.com/store.php?crn=95&rn=571&action=show_detail
My new grill pan is my new love.
Who knew a panini with whole wheat bread, a banana, a drizzle of nutella could be so delicious for a late night snack.
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