Oh, Chef of the Future! Yes it can core a apple!! (Zip zip zip)
(Excellent "Honeymooners" reference!)
Rare/uncommon kitchen tools
- Thread starter ixiboneheadixi
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Oh, Chef of the Future! Yes it can core a apple!! (Zip zip zip)
(Excellent "Honeymooners" reference!)
mandoline
As a rule, I try to stay away from gimmicky "un-taskers" as Alton Brown calls them. My wife does a lot of baking, so our kitchen is filled with things a lot of household kitchens aren't though. Surprisingly, a lot of these come in really handy in just about every cooking situation. There are a few items I use that are a hangover from working in a restaurant.
-lots of offset spatulas
-plastic scraping knives
-lots of stainless bowls
-pastry bags and tips
-parchment paper- its sup rising how many people don't use or stock parchment paper in their kitchen. If you can, buy the pre sheeted ones made for full size (commercial) sheet pans. We get ours in large packs from a restaurant supplier.
-large roll of "food service film". I'll never buy the small rolls of saran wrap again. We go through about 1 roll a year. Its also wider than the rolls you buy at a normal store, so its easier to cover things. You can get this from restaurant suppliers too.
-immersion blender (not for baking, but one of my favorite kitchen appliances)
-dedicated spice grinder (blade style coffee grinder).
Also, there are some attachments/components to some of our appliances that come in really handy.
-grater/slicer insert for a food processor. Makes grating an entire block of cheese a snap. I don't consider this gimmicky since I already own and use a food processor a lot. The insert is just a stainless wheel that takes up less space than my normal box grater.
we don't have an egg separator. Lets all be honest here. The easiest way to separate an egg is using the shell and your hands. My wife's mother owned a bakery for years, and there isn't an egg separator in her kitchen either.
-lots of offset spatulas
-plastic scraping knives
-lots of stainless bowls
-pastry bags and tips
-parchment paper- its sup rising how many people don't use or stock parchment paper in their kitchen. If you can, buy the pre sheeted ones made for full size (commercial) sheet pans. We get ours in large packs from a restaurant supplier.
-large roll of "food service film". I'll never buy the small rolls of saran wrap again. We go through about 1 roll a year. Its also wider than the rolls you buy at a normal store, so its easier to cover things. You can get this from restaurant suppliers too.
-immersion blender (not for baking, but one of my favorite kitchen appliances)
-dedicated spice grinder (blade style coffee grinder).
Also, there are some attachments/components to some of our appliances that come in really handy.
-grater/slicer insert for a food processor. Makes grating an entire block of cheese a snap. I don't consider this gimmicky since I already own and use a food processor a lot. The insert is just a stainless wheel that takes up less space than my normal box grater.
we don't have an egg separator. Lets all be honest here. The easiest way to separate an egg is using the shell and your hands. My wife's mother owned a bakery for years, and there isn't an egg separator in her kitchen either.
Hey now, salt cellars are a required item at my house.
Really though, nobody mentioned a pie bird?
or Cherry stoner:
Maybe I missed them.
Really though, nobody mentioned a pie bird?
or Cherry stoner:
Maybe I missed them.
I've been meaning to buy a salt pig for a while now. Who can resist something with that name? Sadly not made of bacon.
A related question: what about kitchen tools that have no real use? I've dug out my old juicer and checked it's working, I now need to come up with a use for it. Throwing away the pulp from foods just seems silly.
Mr. Gluestick's rule, inherited from his father, is "nothing with only one job."
So no hamburger press for me
So no hamburger press for me
We usually keep a covered bowl on the stove filled with kosher salt. On several occasions, overnight guest mistook it for sugar and put it on their cereal. 
Hmm.. I have a mezzaluna, an apple de-corer and a mandoline... In fact I just used the mandoline to slice some onion really finely for putting a beef tataki salad onto.
I find it hard to understand that it seems that most American homes don't have a kettle to heat water. Here in Britain, every home has one and it's probably the first thing on the want list when your kids move away to university and the like!
Also kitchen scales, digital or otherwise. Essential for a lot of recipes. Mind you, you cook a lot with cups as measures where we've always used scales. Scales are easier and less to clean up afterwards!
I still think that the most useful kitchen gadget is a good, sharp chef's knife. Can be used for so many preparation jobs for slicing, dicing, chopping and so on. Much easier to clean than a gadget too!
Gareth
Also kitchen scales, digital or otherwise. Essential for a lot of recipes. Mind you, you cook a lot with cups as measures where we've always used scales. Scales are easier and less to clean up afterwards!
I still think that the most useful kitchen gadget is a good, sharp chef's knife. Can be used for so many preparation jobs for slicing, dicing, chopping and so on. Much easier to clean than a gadget too!
Gareth
I'm not sure if it's uncommon. I have a mango slicer and it beats slicing them by hand.
Antique hand held fruit press/juicer...good for squeezing one or three fruits without messing up a whole juicer.
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they make those for apples and other fruits tooI'm not sure if it's uncommon. I have a mango slicer and it beats slicing them by hand.
I'm not a fan of uni-gadgets either, but I bought a potato ricer at a flea market in Vermont this summer - it's fantastic.
You load the whole boiled potatoes, skin and all, squeeze the handle and instantly have shredded cooked potatoes. With butter, mile or cream added it's actually quicker and does a better job than a food processor.
A Danish dough whisk. Indispensable for making homemade bread.
It's not really a tool but one of the most useful things we have is a rice-cooker. Put the washed rice and appropriate amount of water in the pot, close the lid and switch it on. It cooks it to a perfectly steamed-rice-state automatically. The pot is non-stick so the cleaning up afterwards is dead easy and it will keep the rice warm until it is needed. They are as cheap as chips out here, you can get a basic one around SGD25. We have brought them for friends in Europe hand carried and they swear by them for curry nights.
It's a great shaver too
What in the world does a pie bird do?
I thought the pineapple corer was the stupidest thing ever until I used one. Literally takes a pineapple to the bare bones in seconds.
I thought the pineapple corer was the stupidest thing ever until I used one. Literally takes a pineapple to the bare bones in seconds.
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