Comments on: Question to Chefs and Cooks: Favorite Uncommon Tools

By: Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener

Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I don’t even remember how I acquire mine. I know they were inexpensive. And they have moved way behind just crab & lobster fork. 7 inches long, a very narrow scoop at one end, a two-prong tiny fork at the other: great to extract stuff from hard to get narrow places, and so they are used mostly now to extract marrow out of bones. Also triple duty as oyster fork.

The one there are not exactly the same but very similar to the ones I have
http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=103683#

By: chicu

chicu — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

single use gadget I use everyday and would gladly worship? my one-cup stove-top espresso maker. I could probably live without it, but it wouldn’t be pretty..

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

My Back-to-Basics Apple Peeler w/ suction cup base. Fun to use and it really works! I can get an apple pie prepped in minutes.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I got two:

1) Danish Dough Whisk, which is the bread baker’s best friend. The stiff wire loop on a long wooden handle mixes bread doughs and batters in a jif, without overworking them. Hard to find in stores, but available online at places like Fantes.

2) Suribachi, the Japanese ceramic mortar & wooden pestle. Works wonderfully to crush spices, nuts, etc, and to make pesto, curry pastes, etc. Very satisfying to use, and they are usually pretty enough to double as a serving bowl (Get one at least 8″ wide.)

- aj

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Hinged citrus juicer! No juice on the hands, no pulp in the glass and no seeds. Great for juicing limes or lemons for cocktails.

By: Abra Bennett

Abra Bennett — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Wow, 127 comments and no one has mentioned the Prep Taxi! I love mine so much that I brought it to France in my luggage, there’s nothing like it for transferring food from the cutting board to the pan. You can see one here http://www.chefsresource.com/prep-taxi.html.

After that, I guess I’d have to say my pizza stone, which I love for the super-crisping effect and my offset smoker, which, sadly, didn’t fit in my luggage.

By: Col

Col — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I love my cherry/olive pitter. Or — does that count as 2 because it works with 2 different foods?

Then make it my tomato corer.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I just stay away from the Seen On TV power tools like the Salad Shooter and the like.
Beating eggs with chop sticks … I like that one!!

By: Jake Orr

Jake Orr — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Ginger used to give me fits. I love Indian food, but the texture of my ginger was always really unpleasant; stringy and fibrous, and mincing with a knife left juice on my board and pulp in my dish. On a lark, I tried an amazing ginger/horseradish grater by Triangle and I love it. If you want to jam out a single portion of fresh apple sauce or quick puree, it’ll do that too.

http://www.broadwaypanhandler.com/broadway/product.asp?s_id=0&dept_id=4350&pf_id=triangle_grater

By: Rhonda

Rhonda — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Chef Pardus:

I wish I had a witness and wrote down what I thought you might say and put it in a sealed envelope.

I was right.

As for guessing what Chef delGrosso will say, I fold.

By: eightysixchef

eightysixchef — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Too many great posts to read through to see if anyone asked this question already, what is Chef Keller’s specific pepper grinder? As for my kitchen gadget it has to be my marble mortar and pestle. I use it all the time, although it’s not a unitasker. I don’t think I own a unitasker.

By: Chris R.

Chris R. — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Fish tweezers purchased at E. Dehillerin in Paris.

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I have one of those mini battery operated frothers (I think it is for foam on coffee) that I use for cold Frappe (Greek style coffee)and also use to emulsify small amounts of salad dressing. Works well enough and after a quick rinse it is ready to go.

By: Steve Braverman

Steve Braverman — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

About 20+ years ago I bought a turkish coffee gringer that I have used as a pepper mill. It is brass, tall (about 25 cm) and heavy. It initally had a detachable base which was used to gring quantities of pepper but over the years the bottom of the base gave out. I still use it at least two – three times a day. I think I first saw one on the Frugal Gourmet’s PBS show.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

So after reading the comments I have to second the fat separator and the oyster knife as unitaskers.

Next on my list is a combo item of bandsaw/meat grinder. Best ever home butchering tool invented. Funny how when you have a bandsaw that very little of your game animal becomes ground meat or sausage.

By: allen

allen — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

correction to previous post: the author of splendid table book is : Lynne Rossetto Kasper, I made it into some wierd morphed Irish German name somehow.Sorry to anyone seeking the book by author and to the author.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

what is an iced tea spoon? a really long one?

By: Bill W

Bill W — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Pineapple cutter/slicer. No other uni-tasker does its singular job as well as this bad boy.
One of those things that takes an almost impossible job (slicing pineapple witha chef’s knife) and makes it mind-bendingly easy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DE4FZ/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00004UE7X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1NWPKA5WEVQH4HFJJK3W

By: Chris Smith

Chris Smith — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Three words: Iced Tea Spoon. I have a crock of two dozen in the kitchen and another dozen in my work roll. They’ll change your life!

By: MonkeyBoy

MonkeyBoy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Presto Salad Shooter.

My mother gave me one years ago. It is fairly useless as a gadget. However its shredder blade has the best size I’ve found for making shredded zucchini (it gives sorta round zucchini ztrings), which I find makes the best sauteed zucchini.

RECIPE
1) shred zucchinis into colander, sprinkling salt on after every zuke.
2) wait for a lot of moisture to drip out and then push with your hands to force out even more.
3) Get a fry pan very hot and then just add the shreds, and stir around.
4) After 2 or 3 minutes just as the shreds start to lose their bright green color, remove from heat and add some butter and lemon juice.

One gadget for one recipie