Gadgets and Utensils

Remember those disk attachments that came with your food processor? It’s time to dig them out from the depths of the pantry. Instead of standing over a box grater, endlessly shredding carrots, look to them for an easier way to grate your vegetables. There should be two disks that generally come with your appliance: a slicing one (it has just one, slim opening on it) and a shredding one (dotted with a handful of holes). Both can save you serious prep time in the kitchen.

Sometimes personal preference dictates your choices, but when you have an immersion blender and a stand blender in your kitchen, which do you reach for to help you do some mixing? While both have their merits, there are instances where one is better than the other. When it comes to blending, whipping, and puréeing, you’ve got choices: You can get out your stand blender or use a smaller, handheld immersion blender. Both appliances generally accomplish the same task.

Q: I just switched from nonstick pans to stainless steel pans, but now everything I cook sticks on there, unless I use copious amounts of oil. What can I do to make cooking with these a little easier? Sent by Alexandra Editor: Alexandra, the solution isn’t in adding more fat, but rather when you add it. Stainless steel needs to be preheated before you add fat to the pan.

Size matters, and so does shape. This truism is never as true as when you are baking in tube pans. Each has a specific purpose and usage, and they aren’t easily interchangeable. Does that mean that if you want to bake a Bundt and a chiffon cake or an angel food cake that you need different pans? The answer is a firm yes. Tube pans share one distinction: the tube down the center. But some have sloped sides, some drop straight from top to bottom, and some are decoratively fluted.

Have a newbie cook you’re eager to support in the kitchen? If they’re already set with the basics — a few pans, a good chef’s knife, measuring cups and spoons — you’re left with the fun part: picking out a classic cooking tool to give them that’ll go far and live long in their kitchen. Here are 10 ways you can show them you believe their best cooking days are yet to come. Le Creuset Heritage Baker, $49.

I don’t cook a lot of fish, but when I do, I most often bake it in foil packets. So how did a fish spatula even enter the vocabulary of my kitchen? For all the other small, but mighty, things it’s good for. My fish spatula makes itself useful and earns its keep in my kitchen every single day. A fish spatula has a surprising number of things going for it.

Q: Why do so many big colanders/strainers function so poorly? Most of them can’t drain out all the water — instead of getting dry pasta or veggies, everything is left in some water that won’t ever drain out of the holes! My mom has an old, beat-up metal one that does work, but we’re not sure why this one drains water properly.

I’ve spent many years of my life living in and loving the city of Chicago, where interior spaces are small and people can’t wait for the warmer months (40 below, no thank you). As soon as summer hits, folks flood the parks, beaches, and rooftops to host picnic after picnic. Before you follow suit and head out, make sure you have these three things with you. You’re almost guaranteed to need them!

I’m not a fan of unitaskers, so if a gadget finds a permanent home in my kitchen, it’s got to pull its weight and hopefully do more than just its original task. In fact, I get a fun rush when I figure out new uses for gadgets, and ice cream scoops are no exception. I rarely eat ice cream at home, but I proudly own three (yes, three!) different sizes of ice cream scoops and would never give up a single one. I use them constantly for everyday cooking.

Item: Slope iPad Stand from Dekke Price: $44.99 to $49.99 Overall Impression: The gripping power is a bit startling at first (it is extremely grippy!), but the Slope quickly became an everyday fixture in the kitchen. An iPad stand with the gripping power of the mighty gecko, known for its gravity-defying wall-clinging abilities?

Q: I recently remodeled my kitchen, and need to downsize the amount of utensils and cookware due to lack of space. How do I decide what to keep? Sent by Kathy Editor: Well, it really depends on what you cook the most! And while you’re not setting up a kitchen from scratch, here’s some helpful posts that talk about essential cookware and utensils that all cooks should have.

Who: Eva Katz of Cook’s Country and My Front Burner Where: Jamaica Plain in Boston, Massachusetts See her kitchen: Cook’s Country Editor Eva Katz’s Homey, Hardworking Kitchen Eva Katz’s favorite measuring spoons do something a lot of other measuring spoons can’t do. Can you guess what it is? They fit into spice jars!

If you like to cook, it’s hard to imagine life without a Microplane zester. In fact, this little gadget even made it onto our list of The Top 10 Most Useful Kitchen Gadgets! While there’s no other tool that does such a fine job of turning thin citrus skin into fluffy piles of fragrant zest, here are a few more foods that this tool can handle with great finesse. 1.

Who cooks and eats here: Allen Coin and me, Lisa Pepin! See the kitchen: What It’s Like to Search for an Apartment (and a Good Kitchen) in Hanoi, Vietnam Where: Hanoi, Vietnam Rent or Own? Rent Living near a restaurant supply store is a dangerous thing. If you’re like me, you’ve gotten good at justifying buying too many loaf pans (they’re only $5!), too many little one-use tools (I can make that dessert I saw on Pinterest!

You might think that squeeze bottles are only used by chefs in restaurant kitchens to artfully plate chocolate sauce or raspberry coulis, but here are 3 practical ways they can be put to good use in the home kitchen! Squeeze bottles are great because they give you more control than wider-mouth bottles when pouring, allowing you to get just the right amount out. Plus, they’re inexpensive and can be run through the dishwasher when they get sticky or dirty.

Item: Suede Mitt from Jane Domestic Price: $29 Overall Impression: Surprisingly practical and a really great potholder! I don’t know about you, but I have trouble with oven mitts, hot pads, potholders — whatever you want to call them. These are essential and heavily used in my kitchen, but I’ve never been able to get comfortable with one. Until now. I finally found my all-time perfect, practical, ovenproof potholder, and — bonus! — it’s beautiful too.

Yesterday we explored Anne’s gorgeous rental kitchen, with its packed pantry and pretty details. Today we’re getting a personal look at Anne’s cooking style, including a few of her favorite tools and her special way of making a homemade vinaigrette. Anne is an avid home cook and entertainer. She’ll throw dinner parties for friends at a moment’s glance and is often hired as a food or prop stylist for events in and around Oregon, California and New York.

Looking to add a last minute spook to your kitchen for Halloween? Check out these five skull-inspired kitchen gadgets to add a ghoulish flair to your cooking this week. Don’t worry — priced at $30 and under, these spine-chilling frivolities won’t scare your budget. Plus, some are so stylish you’ll want to use them year round! 1. Halloween Skull Spatula, $10 from Williams-Sonoma: This silicone spatula is perfect for whipping up a ghostly confection. 2.

Q: My last peeler broke, and since then, I’ve bought three others…and they’re all awful! The serrated one barely takes anything off the vegetable (though it’s fantastic at taking skin off my fingers), and the non-serrated ones are ineffectual. Last night’s butternut squash was the last straw — I need help finding a strong and effective peeler! Sent by Christine Editor: Christine, I use and love the OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler.

Do you love your wooden tools and utensils? Then you’ll love Allegheny Treenware. This husband-and-wife shop features wooden utensils hand-carved from West Virginia hardwoods, but they don’t stop at wooden spoons; they have hand-carved wooden gravy bowls, butter dishes, even an egg separator!Allegheny Treenware pieces are made from cherry, maple, birch, beech, or walnut, and sanded to a super smooth finish.

I’m a big fan of keeping unnecessary tools and gadgets out of my kitchen, but I find that there’s one item I don’t mind owning a few extras of: measuring cups and spoons. The reason is simple. There are very few recipes that require just one teaspoon of something or don’t need more than one measuring cup. These utensils are used daily in my kitchen, if not several times a day, and they don’t take up a lot of space. So why not have a few extras around?

If the title of this post makes you think we’re being a little nit-picky, we beg to differ. One may think a ladle is a ladle is a ladle, but if you make a lot of soup, you know that’s not true. If the ladle is too short for your pot, it sinks; if it’s too long, it can be heavy or awkward. If the handle has no bend in it, it’s very hard to get a clean scoop, but if it has too much bend, then it’s hard to dip the ladle into a tall pot. So what to do?

Serving a green salad with grace and competence is actually a tricky thing to do. Success ultimately depends on how comfortable you are with your salad serving implements. The classic salad server set usually consists of one spoon-like and one fork-like implement, but these days there are a dizzying number of options to choose from, including spoon, fork, and flat implements as well as the short, chubby salad ‘hands’. And for some, a pair of tongs or chopsticks is the only way to go.

Choosing my favorite baking tool was a difficult challenge. I thought first about the things that I use often like my favorite zester or my Silpat. Then I thought about things with emotional significance like my grandmother’s cookie cutters or my mom’s old sheet trays. But when it comes right down to it, there’s only one favorite. And for me it’s the tool that I find both useful, practical, and beautiful. My french rolling pin is a true champion.

There are three basic methods of removing pasta from its cooking water: the drain, the claw or the scoop. Read on for my descriptions and pros and cons of each, and let us know your preferred method in the survey! The drain method is the most classic: You simply pour the pot of pasta and water through a colander set in your sink. If you are interested in keeping some of the pasta water, place your colander over a bowl.

I discovered this beautiful and intriguing object in the kitchen cupboards of my sublet. It definitely has a culinary application. Do you know what it is?Here’s a hint, above. Yes, it’s a pepper mill!The mill is made of pieced teak with an iron handle and has a lovely soft patina from what I can only guess to be many years of use. It’s easy to operate: you simply turn the handle and out comes the pepper from the bottom.