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Back in December, my friend Roz bought her first house. The day she moved in, her mother came over with food in a slow cooker and a pot of peeled potatoes that were destined to be turned into mashed potatoes to celebrate the new home. However, when it came time to mash potatoes, Roz's mom discovered that there wasn't a potato masher anywhere to be found in Roz's fairly extensive collection of kitchen paraphernalia. Because of this utensil encounter, Roz was not at all surprised when, for Christmas, she received her very own potato masher. The thing is, she's just not much of a mashed potato girl, so this new item didn't fill her with excitement. However, just last night, she turned to me and said, "I'm loving my masher, although I still don't use it for potatoes. Guess what I'm making with it!"
Turns out, it has become her new favorite tool for whipping up batches of guacamole (a trick I plan on trying out this weekend). Now I have a question for the rest of you. Do you have a kitchen utensil or appliance that you resisted for a long time but now you adore? Or, do you have something that you use all the time, but not for its intended purpose?
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6-12-2008 @11:55AM Amy Z said... My microplanes. Even though I cook a lot and bake, I just never thought I needed one. When I needed to zest a lime, or grate a little nutmeg, or anything like that I would make due with the other graters or utensils I do have. I got a set of 3 microplanes for Christmas and I love them.
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6-12-2008 @11:56AM Marisa McClellan said... Amy, I'm with you. I love my microplane and I don't know how I survived so long with those cruddy little graters.
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6-12-2008 @12:04PM The Mennobrarian said... Resisting: The electric rice steamer. I mean, what's wrong with making it in a pot on the stove?
But I only use my masher for guacamole or mashing bananas to make bread. The Kitchen Aid mixer makes the best mashed potatoes.
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6-12-2008 @2:26PM Sally said... The thing I resisted using for years was a pressure cooker. Once I started using it, I couldn't believe that I'd avoided it. My (ex) husband's grandmother gave one to each of her grandchildren when they married. I avoided it for about 5 years, then started using it. Now I have two. They're absolutely wonderful for long-cooked taste and texture in much less time.
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6-12-2008 @1:06PM melissa said... We don't have a masher, either, and prefer to use our potato ricer instead. But we've found that the ricer is also perfect for making spaetzle (those tiny German noodles)!
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6-12-2008 @1:08PM Katie said... I also use my Kitchen-aid for mashed potatoes. I use my potato masher to help break up ground meat or bulk sausage while I'm browning it. The masher works a lot faster than a spoon, and it breaks the meat up into smaller pieces.
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6-12-2008 @1:13PM Irina said... I use my potato masher for mashing potatoes (good tip to mash bananas with it, btw) but I have a pastry cutter that I use to cut up eggs for egg-and-cress sandwiches. Also for pastry, though!
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6-12-2008 @5:02PM rjk said... A grapefruit spoon works wonderfully for de-seeding tomatoes and capping strawberries. I use my potato masher for reaching things on the top shelf in my kitchen, just hook and drag. A tea ball can be used to sift small amounts of powdered sugar over cakes, muffins and cookies. It also can hold spices in soups and stews instead of cheesecloth.
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6-12-2008 @1:41PM geg said... I use a potato masher of the style pictured to smash up frozen juice in the bottom of the juice jug
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6-12-2008 @2:48PM Erica said... I couldn't live without my melon baller. I don't actually use it for melon; rather, I use it to scoop the core out of halved apples or pears, and I also use it for truffles.
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6-12-2008 @3:59PM Ian said... I couldn't imagine making guacamole any other way. How else would you mash it?
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6-13-2008 @1:00PM Sweeney_O said... I love and use Michael Chiarello's suggestion to use a bundt pan to catch corn kernels when cutting them off the cob. Brilliant!
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6-13-2008 @9:55AM C Schoenbrun said... I use my old pie crust maker (what is the name of that again? Don't know 'cause I haven't made a pie in years) to make/mash my guacamole.
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6-13-2008 @1:03PM Marisa McClellan said... Sweeney, that tip to use a bundt pan is really one of the best ever. I think I use my bundt pan for that much more than I use it to bake in.
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6-13-2008 @2:51PM Kitt said... Erica's melon baller also can be used to scoop ice cream and sorbet. Lots of little scoops look so pretty served in a champagne glass.
Like this:
http://kittbo.blogspot.com/2007/09/strawberry-balsamic-frozen-yoghurt.html
I also use a big rubber mallet from the hardware store for crushing ice, pecans and other stuff.
Kitt
http://www.kittalog.com
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6-14-2008 @4:37PM Angie said... Actually the masher, in Mexico is also commonly known as the "bean masher". yup, traditional refried beans need no blender, we just mash the beans!
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