Foodie Finds: Our favorite kitchen tools
I recently conducted an informal survey among my family and friends, asking about their favorite kitchen tool. The results were interesting and I'm curious what kitchen tool is your favorite.
Almost everyone wanted to say a good knife or set of knives, so I made this a given. Essential tools are appreciated by any level of cook or chef. If you were a painter, you would have a wide array of paint brushes to create your art. The same holds true in any kitchen. A good set of knives are your paint brushes.
If you couldn’t include knives as your favorite tool, what would your go to tool be? Mine is my bench scrapers. I have three I use all the time. The metal one is good for scraping up vegetables after prep work, but it can also divide dough, cut pasta and clean up the workspace. The plastic ones are good for scraping things out of a bowl like cookie dough. I do love it when my tools are multitaskers!
My son-in-law really likes his electric knife. Even though it’s kind of a throwback to the '70s, he says when carving meat the control is incomparable. I still have my harvest gold colored electric knife tucked away somewhere. I would never dare throw it out!
One of my daughters is fond of her mandoline slicer. I don’t have one for fear of injuring myself, but she swears by hers. I feel much safer using my food processor (a close number two tool in my kitchen) for slicing jobs.
The other daughter is a big fan of her citrus squeezer. Although it, too, is a one task tool, it is very efficient for getting the job it is made for done.
One friend said her best tools are a set of nesting stainless steel mixing bowls she acquired in the summer of 1973 using Betty Crocker coupons. They aren’t huge bowls but the size allows them to be real workhorses in her kitchen.
The rotary cheese grater was a favorite tool of another friend. I agree it’s one of the easiest ways to quickly grate cheese with little mess or effort. She also mentioned another favorite tool she can’t live without but only uses seasonally – the cherry pitter. And she’s right, no other tool can do the job of pitting cherries. This one may be the exception to my rule that the tool must be used for many tasks. I think mine must be at least fifty years old, but it’s still in my kitchen drawer and is used when the cherries are in season.
I’ve left out lots of great kitchen tools like a good microplane that grates citrus zest, hard cheeses, garlic and nutmeg. Every kitchen also needs a good rubber spatula. Would a whisk, apple corer, mesh sieve or salad spinner make your top 10 list?
Consumer Reports is a great source if you are getting ready to purchase a new appliance or tool. Cook's Illustrated (available digitally or in print) often tests and rates popular kitchen tools and gadgets, helping you make good decisions about what you should invest in.
