"kitchen gadgets" news and stories

L-R Microplane flat zester, Cuisinart zester, Microplane curved zester. Photo: The Skinny Chef

I'm a zesting queen and I've tried every gadget on the market. But kitchen space is tight in my small apartment so I've donated extras to friends and kids I'm teaching to cook and have narrowed it down to three essentials.

I use Microplanes the most and maintain that the flat zester, one of the cheapest, is an absolute must for any kitchen. Both that and the rounded model work equally well for grating whole spices like nutmeg and cinnamon sticks or for making fluffy mounds of shredded Parmesan cheese as soft as eyelashes.

Get more of Jennifer's zesting secrets after the jump.

Once you start cooking multiple dishes, space always becomes an issue. Unless you're lucky enough to have a gargantuan kitchen, there never seems to be enough counter space, appropriately sized burners, or room in the oven. Now at least, the latter is getting some solid help -- and it's not in the form of toaster ovens!

The Kitchn has blogged about a new gadget available at Sur La Table -- the $22 Multi-Tier Oven Rack that you see above. Of course, this is perfect for those Thanksgiving rushes when you have a million dishes that all need to be ready at the same time. As The Kitchn points out, it's also good for a space-saving cooling rack. But I'd argue that it's also good for a lot of everyday cooking issues.

Have you ever opted not to make a side because you didn't have space in the oven beyond the main dish? Have you ever had just a few extra cookies that couldn't make the first batch? Have you ever fussed with heating a few different appetizers at the same time? As long as cooking temperatures don't stop you, this rack looks like it's ideal for making the most of your cooking time. And for a collapsable rack that's only $22? That's not bad at all.

Last summer, a reader took the opportunity to excoriate me for my perceived show-offery when a sorbet recipe I posted mentioned the use of an ice cream maker. Well, for one, a goodly percentage of ice cream, sherbet and sorbet recipes conclude with the mandate to "freeze according to ice cream maker's directions" and for another, it was a goshdarned wedding gift!

Perhaps some small accord could be struck, or perhaps even kicked with the use of the UCO Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker. Ice and rock salt are added to one chamber and edible ingredients to another. The whole unit is then hand-tightened together and the merrymaking/ice cream churning commences. The ball can be tossed, shaken, passed and generally frolicked about with, then opened and stirred, resealed and agitated again until the mixture reaches a pleasing consistency, and co-churners have worn out all "Have a ball!" related puns.

Still, should the $16.50 expenditure (via Amazon) still seem a tad schmancy, I included a coffee can agitation method in a post on Soul-Saving Sweet Tea Sherbet a while back.

UCO's Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker

Speaking of Dean & Deluca...lately I've been on a bit of a kitchen spending spree. Not only have I been going to the regular grocery store to buy basic things like eggs and milk to force myself to cook and eat at home, but I have been shopping for gourmet food stuff as well as kitchen utensils, gadgets, and equipment.

For the most part I have been loyal to...no one! Because I do a lot of the shopping online, I skip from Crate and Barrel for ice cream bowls to Dean & Deluca for pretty little things like spice tins to Williams-Sonoma for a pepper mill. I even found myself hoarding all those 20% and $5 off coupons to Bed, Bath and Beyond and getting Brita filters there. In other words, I have no favorite.

However, I know that many people do. At the very least, people have favorites for certain types of things, and might include small local stores. Where are your favorite places to shop?

Ah, memories of peeling potatoes.

Two memories come to mind: the endless hours of peeling and chopping potatoes at my job at a breakfast/lunch place. I must have cut 10 tons of potatoes over those years. The other memory is my mother peeling potatoes on holidays. She would pull the peeler towards her, instead of away like you're supposed to, but she never cut herself.

I thought of those times when looking at this: Tater Mitts (audio/video will start when you click). They're glove with a rough edge that peel potatoes easily. You just rub the potatoes with your gloves under running water and it takes the skin off. Extra bonus: your hands will look like an alien from Star Trek.