Most-used kitchen gadgets?

[elyse]

I don't consider a toasteroven a gadget either, and I use mine everyday too even thought the top's burned out.

Lame's - do they make them for lefties, and where would that be?

[tommy]

Another for the microplane.  Although my boss insists it is not for cheese, it is for trim carpentry.

sher. they were originally used in the woodshop. then some crafty cooks got involved, and out came the plastic handles, and up went the price.

[torakris]

Bamboo chopsticks - for checking oil temp, stirring food that is cooking, use them more than tongs or spatulas or whisks and I'm not even Oriental - but learned from a Japanese friend!  Cheap gadget - 1.39 CAD for 1/2 dozen pair!

Anna N,

how could I have forgotten my long chopsticks, I do everything with them. The ones (have 4 pairs next to my stove!) I use are the long cooking ones over a foot long. I can do with them everything I would do with tongs , spatulas, spoons, whisks, etc. they are used for deep frying, sauteeing, stir frying, even outside on the grill.

another favorite is the bamboo skewer, the ones traditionaly used fro yakitori, about 4 inches long. I use them to test baked goods to see if they are cooked, as well as closing a chicken.

[joiei]

The bit of folklore that I was told about the tomato shark is that it was invented for McDonalds. I do not know if this story is true or not, but it sounds good.

I have 4 different microplanes and use them all.

My little butane torch is a lot easier to store and use than the big one I used for service at Criolla's. In fact, I used it Thursday nite when I served Ricotta Brule's with Fresh Raspberries.

Something that I find useless are the shaker tops on spices. I get rid of them and use my measures. Accuracy counts.

I love my Benriner curling mandoline.

Going into shops like Kitchenique is dangerous for me. What do they have that I might need. Kind of like going into a good bookstore with an excellent cookbook selection.

[fifi]

Microplanes, melon baller, multiple sized strainers, tongs (even used to reach things on high shelves).

I don't think I want an egg cuber. I have never seen a cube shaped egg. I don't think I want to. Kinda creeps me out. (The poor Chicken!?)

[Jason Perlow]

The Oxo Good Grips Peeler. Its not just a gadget, its a necessity.

[fimbul]

Hrm. Using Jin's criteria as I understand them, my gadget use is mostly limited to blenders, mixers, mandolines, and the like, but I must also confess to more than occasional use of the controversial rice steamer. It makes having a tiny stovetop less of a burden.

I also own, and have even used once or twice, an olive/cherry pitter (it's nowhere near as good as the side of a knife). In my defense, it was a gift from my mother, who got three of the things for Christmas that year. In my mother's defense... well, her friends are obviously from outer space.

Also, I want an ice cream maker. And room to keep it.

[coastcat]

Taylor probe thermometer/timer - how did I ever roast meats without this thing? Shove it into a pork tenderloin, set the desired temperature, and kick back until the alarm goes off.

It has created a Pavlovian trigger in my cats - they associate the beep beep beep with fresh roasted chicken, and stampede into the kitchen whenever they hear it. Unfortunately for them, I also use this gadget as a timer. "Sorry kitties, I'm just making hard-boiled eggs."

[nightscotsman]

I also own, and have even used once or twice, an olive/cherry pitter (it's nowhere near as good as the side of a knife).  In my defense, it was a gift from my mother, who got three of the things for Christmas that year.  In my mother's defense... well, her friends are obviously from outer space.

I love my cherry pitter, and while I don't use it often, it really is the best and fastest way to do the job. I would think trying to pit cherries with a knife or any other common utensil would be an exercise in frustration and futility.

[jeniac42]

Frequently used: KitchenAid, Benriner slicer, Quick Chop™ (just seeing if you were paying attention ), digital scale, probe thermometer and oven/refrigerator/freezer thermometers.

Less so: Cuisinart (mostly I use it for making things like hummus, pesto, cilantro chutneys, etc, and for that I find it indispensible), Oxo peeler for when I don't feel like peeling with a knife.

Almost never: Ice cream maker (but again, indispensible when I do use it), immersion blender.

Never, ever: Foreman grill (gift - I tried to use it but would rather just, you know, grill outside).

I really want a Microplane and one of those measuring cups Alton Brown has for semi-solid ingredients like honey, peanut butter, sour cream, that type of thing. Also a waffle iron and a commercial-power blender for making frozen drinks, and otherwise I'm happy with my tongs, knives, and whisks.

Edit: I have a friend who got a Quick Chop for her wedding, so I actually tried using it once. Oh, man. Does anyone else hate the TV ads for this type of product, where they have someone exhibit obviously incompetent behavior to try to convince you that oh, using a knife/flipping pancakes/draining pasta is SO DIFFICULT? "You flip, but they flop. You flip, but they flop!" Using a turner isn't that difficult, and actually neither is flipping without one for omelets and the like - just takes a tiny bit of practice.

Edited March 31, 2003 by jeniac42 (log)

[bigbear]

I love the little, Braun, whirly ex-coffee-grinder-thing for making bread crumbs.

[Suzanne F]

Gee, I just use an old hairpin (the schoolmarmish-bun type) as a cherry pitter. Works great.

BUT:

I was in Century 21 today (a discount department store par excellence across from the WTC site), and they had a special on Pedrini gadgets. I bought:

1. pasta crimper to crimp and cut wavy edges

2. cheese plane (one of mine died recently, and this one is really sturdy)

3. a rolling cutter for lasagne (straight edge)

4. a rolling cutter for circles of dough

5. a "stampo pasta" to crimp and cut wavy-edged round ravioli

6. two small pastry brushes (can NEVER have too many); these are labelled in English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, and Russian!

7. yet another sieve (can NEVER have too many of these, either).

Now I'm wondering, at what point does a "gadget" become a necessary tool (such as the microplane)????

[jeniac42]

How do you use the hairpin - do you just push it straight through the cherry?

I love cherries. I would wish them to be less seasonal but I know that would take much of their goodness away. Much like tomatoes - being that good ones are now difficult to find even in season because apparently nobody cares if they taste like pink styrofoam.

[fimbul]

Now I'm wondering, at what point does a "gadget" become a necessary tool (such as the microplane)????

I was wondering about that myself. I think "gadget" implies something gimmicky, while a tool is a straightforward, shooting-from-the-hip, no muss, no fuss, everyday sort of product. At any rate, I think it's agreed that the microplane is well nigh indispensable. When the gadget police come looking for mine, they'll need to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. And I'll take a few of them with me -- I intend to go down zesting.

[bilrus]

I use my bench/dough scraper so much I have three in regular rotation. I also seem to use my instant read thermometer a lot and it is so common I don't know if it is a gadget, but my can opener gets a workout.

I have also been using the new Saran Wrap cutting mats for meats quite a bit.

As for never uses - I bought a silpat for dealing with doughs but it doesn't work nearly as well as an old fashioned slab of marble.

[bigbear]

Now I'm wondering, at what point does a "gadget" become a necessary tool (such as the microplane)????

When you're comfortable enough to use them blindfolded.

[JSD]

I really want a Microplane and one of those measuring cups Alton Brown has for semi-solid ingredients like honey, peanut butter, sour cream, that type of thing. 

I have one of those measuring cups but never use it. One of the gadgets I really love is my OXO locking tongs with rubber handles, which I use all the time. I also love my Fiskars kitchen scissors, and use them to open packages easily rather than struggle, and to trim green beans, among other things.

[torakris]

Taylor probe thermometer/timer - how did I ever roast meats without this thing? Shove it into a pork tenderloin, set the desired temperature, and kick back until the alarm goes off.

It has created a Pavlovian trigger in my cats - they associate the beep beep beep with fresh roasted chicken, and stampede into the kitchen whenever they hear it. Unfortunately for them, I also use this gadget as a timer. "Sorry kitties, I'm just making hard-boiled eggs."

I just checked this out!

My old thermometer just broke and with grilling season upon us, I don't want to do with out it.

They are impossible to find in Japan and I was going to ask my mom to look for one but she is clueless.

Speaking of mom, she is the most gadgetless person I know, her kitchen consists of 2 things: a paring knife and a wooden spoon, nothing else!

I bought a chef's knife and a cutting board to keep at her house for when I visit.

and the thing is , she can make wonderful stuff with just those 2 things!

[Suzanne F]

How do you use the hairpin - do you just push it straight through the cherry?

Push the two prongs in the stem end, along side the pit. Then twist -- either the cherry or the pin, doesn't matter. Remove pin, squeeze cherry lightly, and out pops pit.

Doesn't work for olives, though.

[guajolote]

Speaking of mom, she is the most gadgetless person I know, her kitchen consists of 2 things: a paring knife and a wooden spoon, nothing else!

My Mom cuts everything with a paring knife too. She has lots of gadgets but never uses them.

One of my favorite gadgets is a salad spinner.

My Mom has one but she still dries her lettuce in towels .

[Varmint]

How do you use the hairpin - do you just push it straight through the cherry?

Push the two prongs in the stem end, along side the pit. Then twist -- either the cherry or the pin, doesn't matter. Remove pin, squeeze cherry lightly, and out pops pit.

Doesn't work for olives, though.

God, that reminds of the time 10 years ago when I went cherry picking in Wisconsin. I had never picked the sour red Montmorency cherries that are common in pies, but I happened upon a farm where the picking season had just begun. It took me less than an hour to fill up a 5 gallon plastic bucket with cherries. I got home and realized I had to pit them. Armed only with a hair pin, I managed to get them all pitted . . . . by 9:00 the next evening. My hands still ache from that event. I also ate more cherry jam that summer than in the rest of my 39 years.

Next time, I'll have the farm pit them for me, which would have cost me only 5 additional dollars!!!

[jeniac42]

Next time, I'll have the farm pit them for me, which would have cost me only 5 additional dollars!!!

Ah, but you had the satisfaction of knowing you'd pitted them yourself, and that, my friend, is priceless.

I forgot the salad spinner. I use mine a lot. Do Cambro buckets count as gadgets? I've got a bunch of them (yes, at home) and find them to be hugely useful. Especially for Thanksgiving - brining big turkeys, mixing large batches of stuffing, etc.

Oh, and they're also great for storing flour, sugar, prep work for tomorrow's dinner, potato salad; thawing stuff under running water; etc etc etc.

Edited March 31, 2003 by jeniac42 (log)

[oraklet]

I don't think I want an egg cuber. I have never seen a cube shaped egg. I don't think I want to. Kinda creeps me out. (The poor Chicken!?)

best walt disney comics story ever, "lost in the andes" by carl barks, features square eggs. lovely lovely story.

if a dough scraper is a gadget, i'm on that team too. and my whisk. spatulas. kitchen scale.

[elyse]

So how do you really define a gadget? I wouldn't classify a thermometer as a gadget because it serves a purpose that is necessary and can't be substituted with anything else. An ice cream maker? For today's standards and time constraints, I don't know about that one either. I use my rubber spatula just about every day, but nothing else could take it's place other than my fingers. I mean, it it were a contraption which fits on the rim of the pot/bowl/pan/can and instantly cleans the pot/bowl/pan/can with one swift movement of the turning of the "hand crank," that would be a gadget as far as I'm concerned.

I use a small portion control scoop when I bake. Is that a gadget? Well, I'd have to take a lot more time making thing a uniform size. It makes my job faster and consistent.

Those of you who have cherry/olive pitters, maybe it's your brand that makes you love/hate them? Which brands are they? I've been thinking of getting one, but am dubious. My grandmother had a cherry tree on her property, and the one time I did all of the pitting, I got horrible cramping too. I, stupidly made my own gadget. Three x-acto blades hot glued together. Ouchie.

[EJRothman]

So how do you really define a gadget?  I wouldn't classify a thermometer as a gadget because it serves a purpose that is necessary and can't be substituted with anything else.  An ice cream maker?  For today's standards and time constraints, I don't know about that one either.  I use my rubber spatula just about every day, but nothing else could take it's place other than my fingers.  I mean, it it were a contraption which fits on the rim of the pot/bowl/pan/can and instantly cleans the pot/bowl/pan/can with one swift movement of the turning of the "hand crank," that would be a gadget as far as I'm concerned.

I use a small portion control scoop when I bake.  Is that a gadget?  Well,  I'd have to take a lot more time making thing a uniform size.  It makes my job faster and consistent. 

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I'd have to say that a "gadget" has to have some sort of mechanism. It can't be a scoop or a bowl. It must have some type of moving part. It must also make the intended job easier.

-Eric