Sure I've got gadget-envy. I've also got limited kitchen space. How I learned to streamline my vision of a million-tool ktichen.
In Essential Cook's Tools we looked at equipping our kitchen with a smart array of good gadgets. Let's take a look at cook's tools we can live without.
Admit it, you like the porn just like me. Williams-Sonoma, Dean & Deluca, Napa Style...the catalogs arrive and we're breathing heavy, pulse racing, reaching for the phone and our credit card. Wait! Do we really need a Mozzarella slicer? Who really needs a laser temperature gun?
Here are toys to avoid - unless you have unlimited funds and space.
Egg slicers, tomato slicers, specialized choppers – these are completely unnecessary. Why wash and store a slicing contraption that has only one task? When you consider a good knife is all you need and the bulk these items bring...
Garlic presses – all one needs is a good chef’s knife and cutting board. These are generally difficult to wash and bulky in a gadget drawer.
Other garlic tools – I’ve seen tubes for removing garlic peels and special mincers some the size of peanut butter jars. Knife, cutting board.
Egg timer – The only egg tool more ridiculous are self-timing eggs. How hard is it to keep track of three minutes? If you can’t do it, self-timing ink or a timer probably won’t help.
Rolling herb slicers – unnecessary bulk, if you make pizzas at home and feel you must have a rolling herb tool, use your pizza wheel. I prefer a good knife.
Popcorn poppers – paper lunch bag and one staple. No oil, no fuss, no bulky single use appliance.
Steamer baskets or specialized steaming equipment. Use your pasta pot, most come with a shallow steaming basket and a deeper pasta basket insert.
Bread boards with trays to catch crumbs. Think about the last time you sliced a boule or baguette. Did the crumbs fall straight down or flip all over a 2 ft radius? That's the problem with the crumb catching tray on these boards, they miss half the crumbs and take up space for their incomplete work.
Corn zippers. This tool is designed to zip corn kernels off the cob. Repeat after me: all I need is a good knife.
Seasonal items. A heart shaped bundt pan just for Valentine's Day. The penguin cookie jar for Christmas time. I guess if you have space, but I know I'd forget that cake pan, or where I stored it!
One tool I allow myself is my cherry pitter. I use it for cherries as well as olives and that's about it. It is compact and efficient so it's earned its keep.
The copyright of the article Cook's Tools You Don't Need in Gourmet Food is owned by Jacqueline Church. Permission to republish Cook's Tools You Don't Need in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
I may not <i>need</i> gadgets, but as a man, I must have them. Perhaps not as much as some men must, but the need is there. It is in the DNA. Speaking of which, what is this laser temperature gun of which you speak? Is it exactly what it sounds like? You point it at the slab o' meat, pull the trigger and get an instant temp read? I have seen such devices, but dismissed them because I do not understand how they work. <i>Do</i> they work? I must know!
Aug 16, 2007 3:40 PM
Jacqueline Church :
My gadget guru is AB - Alton Brown. He uses one on Good Eats. He also has the cutest damn spritzer I've ever seen - the spray comes out of a little dino-head - T-rex, I think...
Aug 17, 2007 11:43 AM
fft5305 :
Alton Brown is the man. His is the recipe (slightly modified) that I use when I make beef jerky.
Aug 21, 2007 6:26 AM
Gail Dobson :
Ok, so your article prompted me to take a look in that box in the back of my utensil drawer, and I found some interesting (?) things. Like a butter pat slicer... and some kind of squeezer... and a mushroom brush/knife. Guess it's time to put together a donation box - unless, that is, another gadget addict might want these things? (Sorry, I don't mean to be enabling, just part of my nature, wink, wink.)
