Favorite kitchen utensils?

[mudbug]

I am always curious what other people's favorite kitchen utensils are, what they find invaluable, what you take the most pleasure in using. How about top three?

Here's mine:
large flexible rubber scraper
reamer
microplane zester

I definitely agree with you on the reamer. Plus, isn't it fun to say? I love yelling across the kitchen "Who's got a reamer?" (Almost as much fun as yelling "I need a 8" stiff boner!")

My other top two:
Hand held cheese grater
"Little Beni" mandoline

Kathleen

[augiewren]

I love my Braun stick blender. It has a whip and a small food chopper with it also. I use it about 5 times a day and the best part is, it only cost $29!!!! And how about tomato sharks (those little things you core a tomato with)? They're about $2 for a pair. I love 'em!

[layjo]

I guess my top three are:

~A pair of long strong stainless steel tongs( there great for reaching to hot grill surfaces and good for grabing oven-hot "small" pans from the oven and getting the most out of a lemon(my reamer), cleaning in hard to get places of the kitchen...lots more uses)
~Surrated Bread knife...cutting bread, peeling fruits/vegs., slicing meat with finese and still staying sharp after many usues.
~And my a metal spatuala, to easily slide underneath a fragile fish fillet on the grill or any food item in a pan without damage, good grill scraper, smoothing out appearece of an icing on a cake and a few more uses ect....

[Bayou]

My probable favorites are (in no particular order) : my good set of tongs (takes the worry out of being close,) my OXO double-thickness wire-type cheese slicer, and a really good veg. peeler. Good wooden spoons are great, too.

[Mezzaluna]

I use chopsticks a lot- beating eggs, as impromptu tongs, etc. I use wire whisks a lot, too. Before I got my first Global knife today, I'd have included this little all-purpose, 3.5" blade knife with a scabbard, but now the Global has dethroned it! Can I include the maple chopping block I made, too?

a pair of tongs
a 6" chef knife and a clean hand towel work fine
when im cooking
(and plenty of ice water)

[shroomgirl]

Good ones....I recognize my favorites in your lists...
boning and birds beak heinkles
nonmelting spatula
Joy stick...I go through these on a regular basis, don't remember what I did pre
microplane zester...even at $16 I tell students they are worth it.
serated knife
Huge scanpan skillet...this baby fits 4 whole chicken breasts
****These are basics I take with me when I cook

[mudbug]

Mezzaluna, your own chopping board? Cool! How did you make it and out of what?

[Isa]

I love anything that will make my life easier and save me manual work. When I use any muscle too much I get in pain so the less movement I make the happier I am.


Food processor
Stand mixer
Mandoline
Stick blender
Food mill


Other tools I like just because they work so well and are convenient


Heat proof spatula
Off set spatula
Mezzaluna & board

Sisi

[Nick.Shu]

Hmmm, i like:

victorinox 25cm pastry knife
Steel fry pans
Robot coupe goldtop 25litre mixers
Pastry ovens
Fine Horsehair Chinois
Pastry scrapers

Indispensible:

Pepper mills
Stainless Steel Gastronorms
Steel frypans
FOH managers that know their job (oops)

[UniChef]

A bowl scrapper. I can't stand it when I find stuff in the dishroom window with 3 to 4 orders worth of product still in it.

------------------
Mike Bersell, CEC
unichef@unichef.com

[Mezzaluna]

Mezzaluna and board? Gosh, Sisi, and we've barely been introduced!

I made the board out of 1.25 inch thick strips of hard maple, cut to the desired length (about 18"). Then I applied carpenter's glue, stacked them up, and clamped them. You have to wipe off the glue that squeezes out. After a day or so, unclamp it, sand it well, and it's time to season it like any new wooden board. I'll avoid telling you how I've abused that board (left a cut tomato on it overnight once, for example) and it's never come unglued or failed to do the job. If it ever gets too stinky or ugly, I'll just plane it down or re-sand it and start anew.

[cookM]

Here's mine. Do I have to limit to three?
-Ahhh, the microplane zester! Where have you been all my cooking life?

-Wood handled whisk. Just feels better in my hand.

-Spatula. Don't want one of those flimsy ones.

-Japanese mortar and pestle.

-Benriner. (Japanese mandoline.)

I love tools!

[Isa]

Mezzaluna,

Didn't notice your name before....

I got mine in a italian hardware store, there is nothing regarding hardware in that store. It did start a long time ago as a hardware but has time went by it got changed to a Italian cookware store. Beautiful things it that store. You always want to buy everything when you go there.


They had those board with a indentation in the middle for the mezzaluna. It works so well I don't know of I could have live so long without it. Did you made yours with the indentation?


Sisi