Kitchen items you'll never be able to replace

[snowangel]

My AMCO mushroom, my AMCO tongs and a spatula thing I got years ago at Crate and Barrel.

The mushroom. Smash garlic, use as a pestle, plus it looks pretty. The black one from Crate and Barrel is perfect for stirfrying and using in non-stick -- I've seen wooden ones, but none with the slots. This is my go to utensil for frying everything but eggs.

But, the tongs. You ask why they are so special?

See the locking mechanism? You don't need a second hand to lock the tongs; any counter or deck edge, or for that matter, the opening of a pocket works beautifully. I know I've seen similar ones under the Martha Stewart name at K-Mart, but they are crap -- shorter, lighter weight, and the "lips" of the tongs don't match up.

Why has AMCO discontinued so many great products?

[heidih]

My AMCO mushroom, my AMCO tongs and a spatula thing I got years ago at Crate and Barrel.

The mushroom.  Smash garlic, use as a pestle, plus it looks pretty.  The black one from Crate and Barrel is perfect for stirfrying and using in non-stick -- I've seen wooden ones, but none with the slots.  This is my go to utensil for frying everything but eggs.

But, the tongs.  You ask why they are so special?

See the locking mechanism?  You don't need a second hand to lock the tongs; any counter or deck edge, or for that matter, the opening of a pocket works beautifully.  I know I've seen similar ones under the Martha Stewart name at K-Mart, but they are crap -- shorter, lighter weight, and the "lips" of the tongs don't match up.

Why has AMCO discontinued so many great products?

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My favorite tongs look very similar. They have that hook thing on the end and the front part is just like yours but they are made by Edlund and I got them from Williams Sonoma at least 8 years ago. Maybe check their site and see if they work for you. This is the only product I have bought from them. The store is a 10 minute walk from me and I just try to restrain myself because I know I would make mindless purchases.

[natasha1270]

One kitchen item I cannot replace or get is the coconut/cantaloupe grater?( not really a grater but a tool that can make long strands of young coconut or cantaloupe for summer drinks in the Philippines). My grandfather used to make them during the war (WWII). Now only a handful remain in my family, coveted by my aunts and mother and sometimes held as a threat of not being passed on as an inheritance should you lose their favour. I'll get my Dad to take a picture of one of them.

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I'm sure you will never fall out of favor with your aunties but in the unfortunate event that the scrapers get lost or snatched up by other family members, perhaps this will ease some of the pain: http://www.pilipinomart.com/addcart.asp?productid=918 (I've been looking on and off for one myself and also trying to track down proper llaneras for leche flan. This site seems to have both.)

N.

[Toliver]

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Fifi's mushroom! A rare item to be coveted.

My mom gave me what I call her "meatloaf" spatula. It is a large over-sized metal spatula with a definite curve to the blade. It's great for picking up large objects (meatloafs from a pan, corn beef roasts from a slow cooker, etc) in one fell swoop.

I'll see if I can take a picture of it and post it later.

[andiesenji]

Things I can't replace exactly.

The Robinson's spatula/turner, old, very strong and very thin at the tip. I bought it when I had a Garland range with a flat grill top. The one at the top is used with my cast iron 2-burner griddle.

The wooden one at bottom was at least 3/4 inch longer but has been worn down and sharpened by me over the years. It is so well oiled nothing will stick to it or get absorbed into it, and it doesn't discolor at all.

The pie server and the tongs were part of a set made to match Corning's "blue cornflower" stuff, so you can guess how long ago I bought them.

Here are two nylon spatula/turners, one with the Revereware logo (and it has a sharp cutting edge).

The other has the "Max. 220 C. and Made in Hong Kong" identity. Both are rigid and tough. I have not been able to find anything similar that works as well.

Speaking of the Acme Safety Grater and here is another vicious grater that will attack without warning! The kids called this my "gator-grater"

Edited December 31, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[snowangel]

My favorite tongs look very similar. They have that hook thing on the end and the front part is just like yours but they are made by Edlund and I got them from Williams Sonoma at least 8 years ago. Maybe check their site and see if they work for you. This is the only product I have bought from them. The store is a 10 minute walk from me and I just try to restrain myself because I know I would make mindless purchases.

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Thanks, Heidi. Appears on the W-S web site that they still have them, and I think I'll call my fairly local W-S and see if they still have them in stock or whether I should order. No kitchen should just have one pair of tongs, and come to think of it, The Cabin could use with two pair -- one for the grill, and one for the sweet corn ( ).

[I_call_the_duck]

I have an Acme Safety Grater!! It belonged to Mr. Duck's mom, who used it to make latkes. That does that thing really work? It kind of scares me.

[maggiethecat]

I gave my mother-in-law this Campos Filhos bowl/baker/what have you for Christmas and inherited it when she died. I think I've used it four times a week, minimum, for twenty years. It's a perfect size for gratins, chicken pot pies and cobblers, and a terrific serving piece. My daughter ascribes magical properties to it: "I make your ragu recipe, but it never tastes as good as yours. I think it's because I can't serve it from The Dish."

[barbhealy]

My Robot Coupe RC3500 food processor. I love the fact that the lid is NOT used to turn it on and off and, I think because of that, it's still working after 25 years. I've washed it by hand for all those years which I'm sure is why it's still with us.

The Bodum 4-cup borosilicate glass pitcher I broke 3 years ago. They discontinued it shortly after it was released for some reason or I would have bought more of them. It was the perfect size and shape -- elegant but useful -- and I've never seen another one I liked as much.

The small wooden tongs I bought at Pier One 20 years ago. They are lightweight and the tips are thin, not like the fat unwieldy ones they sell now, so you can winkle them under something or stick them in the toaster without fear of electrocuting yourself. I've already repaired them twice -- they keep getting shorter -- but I refuse to let them go!

My Delonghi convention toaster oven. It makes 6 perfect pieces of toast (all at once) and it's big enough to hold 3 pork tenderloins or an 8-cup casserole but takes up hardly any room on the counter and is efficient to operate. DH uses it, rather than the microwave, to grill sausages and heat leftovers because it's so easy to use and clean. I've had it almost 25 years, too. The new models are all much bigger.

That's all I can think of at the moment....

[SuzySushi]

The small wooden tongs I bought at Pier One 20 years ago.  They are lightweight and the tips are thin, not like the fat unwieldy ones they sell now, so you can winkle them under something or stick them in the toaster without fear of electrocuting yourself. I've already repaired them twice -- they keep getting shorter -- but I refuse to let them go!

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Aloha, Barb! We don't know each other... yet!... but I use exactly the same kind of toaster tongs, which I periodically replace at the Japanese 99 cent stores here. If you PM me your address, I'll pick up a pair for you next time I see them. We're about ready for a backup pair anyway.

[barbhealy]

Thank you, Suzy! I just PM'd you.

[grayelf]

I'm not sure if this counts as a kitchen product, but my "can't replace" items are reusable shopping bags from a store that has long since closed. I have five, they are white and yellow mesh with Produce City tastefully emblazoned in green across the top. They can be carried over the shoulder (very important for one who does the bulk of her shopping on foot) or in hand (possibly only because I am tall, but still). They are strong, light and capacious. They also resist stains etc because they are mesh. And I recently discovered they can be washed on gentle cycle to great effect; I was afraid to try for fear of loss of structural integrity but a run in with a leaky tub of molasses left no alternative . Long Live the Magical Bags!