The Gear: Gadgets

Do you have a favorite gadget? You know, the one that you never knew you could do without until you bought it?

With all the options out there, it will be interesting to see what people love the most...

For me, right now, it would have to be my dehydrator (that I just can't seem to shut up about.) I did recently get a dumpling press for making pot stickers. I'm hopeful about that one. Could shave a lot of time off of prep.

Potato gloves, injectors, panini presses, egg slicers, food mills, you name it!

I guess when you say gadget you mean something that you dont use every day, right? I pretty much follow Alton Brown on this...no unitaskers. If it only does one thing I dont want it (excludes fire extinguisher). That said I do make the exception for my Victorio food mill/strainer. I cant imagine trying to process a large batch of tomatoes without it.

I guess when you say gadget you mean something that you dont use every day, right? I pretty much follow Alton Brown on this...no unitaskers. If it only does one thing I dont want it (excludes fire extinguisher). That said I do make the exception for my Victorio food mill/strainer. I cant imagine trying to process a large batch of tomatoes without it.

Wow....small world! I was just sitting here checking out my latest Ebay tool find......... a Squeezo strainer by Berarducci Bros. Can't wait to try juicing some of your mators next season.

BTW John, do you know of a source for bushels of tomatoes this time of year that would be suitable for juicing?

BTW John, do you know of a source for bushels of tomatoes this time of year that would be suitable for juicing?

I was able to pick some local tomatoes(greenhouse, but good) two weeks ago at the Bardstown Rd. farmers market from Jacksons Produce. Cant seem to find a phone number right now. You could always go to produce lane for some"terminal" tomatoes.

Stephen,

The first one that comes to mind is my Kuhn-Rikon corn cob corn remover ( The Corn Zipper) . Thought it was really gimmicky when I saw it in their wholesale catalog. But once I used it for corn chowder, I started to sing its praises. One of those tools that makes an frustrating job, so incredibly quick and easy, and takes up very little space. During corn season I find myself making so much more use of fresh cut corn for chowders, salsa, sides, etc.

http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/tools/tools.php3?id=207#buy( Unfortunately I don't know of anyone who carries it locally now that we closed..)

Deb

Annamarie,

You are welcome- glad you liked the idea. It's unfortunate that, to my knowledge, no one in Louisville carries Kuhn-Rikon tools: they really make great kitchen tools ( I hesitate to call them gadgets as these are high quality tools.)

Deb

My Chef'n one-handed pepper grinder. I love being able to keep one hand free whilst cooking and grinding pepper at once. I keep meaning to pick one up for salt as well. Bonus: the handles look like bunny ears.

http://www.choiceful.com/choiceful-id-4 ... inder.html

Deb- thanks I used this a few years ago at a friend's and never knew the manufacturer- I just ordered one too.

As to the question, I love my Oxo mango pitter- I know it's a one use item, but it makes that task a breeze.
I also finally bought a digital scale and have been doing some baking from my French cookbooks. Viva les grams!

Mine is probably the Microplace zester. I hated zesting until I found this tool. I think I have every other Microplane grater/zester but the original one is my "go to" for zest, nutmeg, etc.

Deb- thanks I used this a few years ago at a friend's and never knew the manufacturer- I just ordered one too.

Wow, I should be getting a commission...

The digital scale would definitely on my list too, as is my Microplane grater/zester ( think I'm going to need a new one soon, I use it probably every other day and its more than 5 years old).

Other additions:
Kuhn-Rikon Piranha Peeler ( peeler for thin, smooth skins like peach, tomato and mango) http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/tools/tools.php3?id=178

Good old-fashioned apple corer slicer ( Oxo makes what looks like a good one, but mine is 20+ years old and still works fine)

Digital Instant- read Thermometer that goes high enough for candies ( when I think about how many batches of fudge I've made tn the past trying to constantly check on when it's reached the "soft-ball stage"... )

A cookie-sized racket scoop ( when I think about how many batches of cookies I've made in the past trying to constantly get uniform-sized tablespoons of dough... ) I made all my dozens of cookies this year in a quarter the time - my 4 year old can even do it!. something like this: http://bayvillagestore.com/cookiescooper.html


Deb

Tough question! I have so many "favorites", it's hard to pick one. Love my electric pepper grinder (battery operated). Then there's the pasta and sausage-making attachments for my KitchenAid mixer. But I just can't get along without my collapsible silicone strainer.



http://www.amazon.com/DEXAS-Expandable-Collapsible-Silicone-Strainer/dp/B000G5ZI10/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1230599919&sr=8-2

I was going to mention the microplane too, but I use it so often it's like a spoon or fork not a gadget.

Lois,

Is there something in addition to them being collapsible that makes them so wonderful ? I've never used one....

Deb

We can have more than ONE favorite gadget?

Yes to the microplane graters. I have a mess of them because I can't bear to throw them out once they've outlived their usefulness. Also the digital thermometer which I should probably just put on a string and wear around my neck, I use it that much.

And a new favorite that I've started using a lot, the Chinese wire mesh strainer which I use for pastas and for deep-fried cookies. I love this thing (I'd post a pic but I'm having trouble loading pics these days for some reason):

http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/ac ... immer.html

But I'd like to know more about that collapsible silicone strainer too. I use strainers for a lot of things. Is it smallish?

Deb, I like the fact that they collapse down flat and thus are easy to store. Mine hangs from a cuphook on the underside of a shelf. I don't have to dig through the cabinet to find it; it's always handy. Also, they are dishwasher safe and can be washed in the collapsed state, so it doesn't take up much more room than a dinner plate in the dishwasher. My metal colanders always migrate to the back of the cabinet and they take up so much room in the sink or dishwasher. The silicone strainer is always handy for draining browned ground beef, pasta, whatever.

I think they may be available in various sizes. Mine is about 8" or 9" in diameter.

Lois