Here are my ten favorite cooking gadgets, in order of preference:
1) Digital meat thermometer –every time I cook meat or chicken I test them with a thermometer to assure they are properly cooked. But there are other uses for this handy tool. I use mine to test the water temperature when using yeast, and it’s also great to test the temperature of freshly baked bread. Lots of uses and if I could only have one gadget in my kitchen, this would be it.
2) Microplane zester – these are perfect for zesting citrus, grating cheese and chocolate. There are 3 types of Microplanes; citrus zester, cheese grater and ribbon grater. If I could only have one, the regular zester would be the one to buy. But they are small, inexpensive, and don’t take up much room in your kitchen so why not have for all three! They are about $13 each.
3) Cuisinart Smart Stick – this is one of those dual purpose gadgets. At about $50, it is a mini chopper, stick blender and egg whipper. I use it all the time. Easy to clean and easy to use.
4) Silicone spatulas – They are perfect for stirring and don’t scratch your non-stick pans. My favorite is Le Creuset silicone. They can go up to 800 degrees and not have a problem. There are other brands available, but this is my favorite.
5) Mini scoops (dishers) – I have these in various sizes. They are perfect for making meatballs, cookies, scooping batter into muffin pans….lots of things. You can get these for around $10; but if you have arthritis or your hands are weak, I prefer the Zeroll scoops. They around $20, but you can find them online for around $16 and are well worth the extra money.
6) Silpat baking sheets – Silicone baking sheets are great for keeping cookies and other baked goods from sticking to your pans. If you are a candy maker, they’re also great for that. I wouldn’t make caramel or brittle without one. They are eco-friendly since I don’t have to use parchment paper. They last for about 2000 uses which for most people is a long, long time.
7) Melon baller – I used to keep my melon baller in the drawer, under the other unused gadgets. But once I figured out that it was great for lots of things, it surfaced as a very useful tool. Ok, I make melon balls, but I also use it to remove cores from apples and pears, and to cut and scoop things that are small. It’s one of those items that once you have one, you will think of many ways to use it. I prefer a metal baller since it can also be used to cut apple cores, etc.
Prepara® ‘Trio’ Tri-Blade Peeler – this has recently come on the market. It’s a peeler that has 3 blades; one for peeling things such as potatoes and apples, another for peeling thin skins such as tomatoes and peaches and a third which juliennes items such as carrots. This recently came on the market and I was one of the first to buy one. It’s about $15 which is on the pricier end of gadgets listed, but it will replace that rusty peeler that you have in your drawer, and a whole lot more.
9) Baby spoon – So it isn’t a gadget, but it’s a wonderful tool for spooning small amounts of filling into ravioli or filling nut cups, thumbprint cookies, etc. And what’s even better is that if you don’t have any, get one from a friend. If you’re really lucky, you’ll have one from your child or grandchild so every time you use the spoon, you’ll always think of your wonderful family. They’re around $1 at grocery stores.
10) Ruler – okay, you’re going to think I’m nuts, but there are lots of times when you need to know how big something is. I measure the size of baking pans, depth of my scone or pie dough, etc. You’ll be laughed at if people see you with this, but your baking will be so much better than theirs.
| Top 10 favorite cooking gadgets for 2007 |
May 09, 2008
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