Wednesday, January 12, 2011
"I THOUGHT I WAS MAKING SERIOUS WOODWORKING TOOLS. TO SEE THEM USED IN THE KITCHEN, THAT WAS FRANKLY A PERSONAL DISAPPOINTMENT": The NYT tells the Microplane story, from the small town of Russellville, Arkansas to my kitchen and many of yours. My Microplane Zester and garlic wheel are probably my two most-used (non-electronic) gadgets when cooking.
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As someone trying to pad out a wedding registry, I love this post.
ReplyDeleteTell me about garlic wheel.... I love my microplanes too!
ReplyDeleteGladly. Do you want to tell us where you're registered, or should we just go free-style on general preferences?
ReplyDeleteAmong other things: get a lot of good knives. both mini- and full-sized food processors and a standing mixer.
Perfect when you just need to mince a few garlic cloves.
ReplyDeleteSilpats. Multiple whisks. Very good cookie sheets (really, just get the jelly roll pans). A Le Creuset dutch oven. And, surprisingly, the pineapple corer/twister thingy. We use ours all the time.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick note to say that the article clearly was written by a food person, not a woodworking person, as evidenced by the statement implying that the microplane was designed for planing "two-by-fours." The comparable reference in a woodworking article would be something like "the knife, though perfect for notching hardwoods, was originally intended for slicing soup."
ReplyDeleteI'm sceptical, but I want to believe. Other than looking like a Venusian sea-rover, how is it better than a knife?
ReplyDeleteIt's for people who aren't so good at mincing by hand. It's also a good kitchen task you can turn over to a kid (the wheel, not mincing-by-hand).<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteSeconding the pineapple corer! We're not intense cooks, but boy do I wish we had better cookie sheets (apparently, I need to replace ours with jelly roll pans - thanks, Adlai).
ReplyDeleteRubbermaid Produce Savers are terrific - they have a little base inside that keeps the food elevated, so it doesn't sit in its own juice, and it seriously keeps fruit and chopped tomato containing things and everything else fresher much longer than regular tupper/rubbermaid/Gladwrap/whatever.
In addition to what has been said above: silicone spatulas (great for baking and using with non-stick pans on the stove), an immersion blender, and a spider skimmer.
ReplyDeleteMy significant other MOCKS the garlic wheel, and while I stalwartly defend it, just between us, I have to vaguely agree - in addition to not really providing a very even chop, the thing is a mofo to clean. A lot of garlic doesn't fit in there, and for a little garlic, a knife is better (and faster, if you include cleanup time).
ReplyDeleteWordy word on the immersion blender - every time I read a soup recipe that says "cool the soup, put it in the blender, then heat it up again" I laugh loudly and with abandon. Need to look up what a spider skimmer is.
ReplyDeleteAnd an ice cream maker. Lord, do I love my ice cream maker.
ReplyDeleteSilicone spatulas (spatulae?) are worth the price, especially if wedding guests are paying that price.
Register for a few extra of each kind of glasses in your crystal pattern, if you're doing that. Glasses break, and patterns get discontinues. You'll be happy to get 15 glasses now and in 20 years have 12.
I keep kosher. I love my immersion blender so much I have *four* of them - dairy, meat, and pareve for regular use, and one for Passover. Absolutely essential, for the exact reason sconstant mentions.
ReplyDeleteGet a kitchen scale too. Doesn't have to be a fancy one - just accurate. I use it all the time. It would be worth it just for the ability to evenly divide into two pans a double batch of batter made in the stand mixer.
If you register for a Kitchenaid stand mixer, I highly recommend the meat grinder attachment. It works beatifully, and is relatively small and easy to store. (Not so easy to clean, but meat grinders never are.)
Get a good meat thermometer - the digital kind where the probe has a wire to a readout outside the oven.
The two gadgets I got for my wedding that I never thought I'd use that I love are my strawberry huller and my cherry pitter (my pitter is slightly different, but same basic idea). I don't "need" either of them, but they make very quick work of tasks that I otherwise find sort of annoying.
Wusthof knives (and a block for them). Love me my Wusthofs. Excellent blades and the balance in the hand is damn good.
ReplyDeleteABSOLUTELY get a kitchen scale. Can't believe I forgot. So much easier to weigh than measure dry ingredients. And, if you buy stuff in bulk, it's a life saver.
ReplyDeleteOr, if they invite me over with regularity, 8.
ReplyDeleteAlso excellent for your cocaine distribution side business.
ReplyDeleteIf you bake a lot, Silpats! Silpats are awesome.
ReplyDeleteNo one uses a good ol' garlic press?
ReplyDeleteGood knives, to reduce prep time and kitchen accidents. A food processor is, to me, a must, though I'm not sure there's an excellent brand of one anymore. (It's really necessary for slicing onions; otherwise maybe some goggles will make your life easier). Meat thermometers make it easier to prevent overcooking. A real rabbit-type wine-bottle opener, foil cutter and stopper, if you imbibe. I received a boatload of servingware after my wedding and I would never really have thought it was necessary, but I like to entertain just to use it.
ReplyDeleteGiven that the primary use of a garlic press is to cover itself with garlic, probably not.
ReplyDeleteThe immersion blender is also insanely useful for when/if you have a baby and want to make your own baby food. I've made most of my baby's food at home with my immersion blender.
ReplyDeleteI had not considered the child-task angle. Good enough. But there's nothing like mincing garlic by hand to improve your skill at mincing garlic by hand.
ReplyDelete