"tools" news and stories

Not every home cook is content with working with the usual tools of the home kitchen, especially not if they follow the ideas and techniques of molecular gastronomists like Grant Achatz or Ferran Adria (or Steven and Marcel from Top Chef, for that matter). Wired has come up with a gift list for cooks interested in practicing nanogastronomy in their own home.

The first, and most obvious, gift that they suggest is a trip to one of the havens of molecular gastronomy, like El Bulli in Spain, Alinea or Moto in Chicago, WD-50 in New York, or The Fat Duck in England. Heston Blumenthal's Kitchen Chemistry includes a cd with video clips to help provide visuals for the technical information included in the book. Once the basics are in place, all the would-be chef needs are tools. Try an insulated whipped cream maker for experimenting with hot and cold mousses, a vacuum sealer for sous vide cooking or a dehydrator (also useful for raw foodists who need gifts) for turning otherwise wet foods into powders and garnishes.

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Add another product to the list of things that have going pink in support of breast cancer awareness. This special edition set of Mundial knives is a ten piece set and includes seven knives, a carving fork, kitchen shears and the wood block holder to keep everything organized. One of the included knives is a granton edge santoku knife, one of the most popular models available, and this is the first Mundial set to include it.

Even though the set was created in honor of the company's partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the charmingly feminine pink color of the set should make it appealing to many for purely aesthetic reasons. In other words, whether you intend to support the cause or not, a girly set of kitchen knives is a nice change from the basic black of most manufacturers.

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Legos are an icon of childhood for most of us, whether you were the one building elaborated fantasy worlds or your children are/were. Like just about every other product you can think of, Lego seizes just about any opportunity for merchandising that it sees and has moved out of the playroom and into the kitchen. Earlier this year, we saw some Lego Eggos, but now the company is offering us real kitchen gear, like ice cube trays shaped like Legos and salt and pepper shakers shaped - somewhat disturbingly - as Lego-men heads. They also have a Lego Apron, which is not made of Legos, but features the classic body of a Lego person on it, a set of Lego coasters and Lego corkscrews for opening wine (probably not something you want your kids to see in case they mistake them for toys).

All this Lego gear is a lot of fun to have around and definitely gives a new twist to playing with your food. The only way that this stuff could be more fun is if the ice cubes were stackable, though it should only take a little water to get them to stick together long enough to build a small tower. You'll need more than one tray for a fort.

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There are many bakers who use a cookie scoop to ensure that their cookies come out to be the exact same size with each batch they bake. For a professional baker, the tool can be helpful because it guarantees that they will get the exact number of cookies that they need from a batch of dough. For a home baker, it simply means that baking times will be standardized and the finished cookies will all be evenly done.

But because some find the useful, it doesn't mean that scoops are necessary objects. I don't like using cookie scoops at home, despite the fact I have several different kinds. I don't find that they work well, even when I use warm water to rinse them between every few scoops, because dough will inevitably stick to them. I get results that are just as good - evenly portioned and evenly baked - when I simply "eyeball" the sizes of my cookie dough balls.

Scoops are a great idea for kids, though. They have a hard time measuring out the dough by eye and will end up with cookie dough in fewer places (hair, clothing, etc), if their hands aren't directly touching the dough. There is an added bonus of your child having their very own "special" tool in the kitchen, which will probably encourage them to come in and help out more often.

We've seen the pizza belt before and know of a Jello belt, citrus belt and corn belt, but a barbecue belt? Of course, geographically speaking a barbecue belt would probably cover most of South and Southwest, although this particular version will just cover your waistline. It is a handy way for a 'cue-lover to have all their tools at the ready. The tools aren't included, but don't you already have them?

The belt is made of 100% cotton canvas and has a hook for tongs, a holder for the spatula, pockets for seasonings, sauces and condiments, and a beer holder. Because we all know it's important to have beer on hand at a barbecue. You know, for marinades and such...