Cool Tools:
What's New in the Kitchen
By Teri Brown
Been to Kitchen Kaboodle lately? Attended a Pampered Chef party in the last
few months? Can kitchen tools get any cooler? From avocado slicers to battery
operated pepper mills, cooking gadgets have gone high tech and trendy.
Hooked on gadgets
Lisa Beamer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been hooked on kitchen gadgets
for more than 18 years.
"I'm just a gadget-y kind of person, it seems," she says, but admits that
collecting kitchen tools can be hazardous. "It took me some years, though, to
learn to be discerning about what gadgets are really worth purchasing."
Lisa Beamer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been hooked on kitchen gadgets for more than 18 years.
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Using the discerning eye
Who hasn't bought a kitchen tool that promised nirvana and ended up with
nerve-wracking… or just plain useless? Tools like the quick defrosting
miracle tray or the peeling, coring, slicing, apple pie making extravaganza,
just end up in the garage, taking up space.
"After many impulse purchases of 'cute' gadgets that either didn't do what they claimed to do or didn't do it any easier than I could have done it by hand, I'm now very choosy about which gadgets I'll buy," Beamer says. "Any cooking gadget I buy has to be something that is truly going to make my cooking tasks easier and quicker than I could do them by hand, and they have to be uncomplicated enough that the time spent cleaning or caring for the gadget won't negate the time I saved by using it."
What's new for your kitchen?
Here's a roundup of the latest gadgets to hit the stores. Some of these are
brand new and others are just cool retooled versions of old favorites. More
than likely you're going to find something you can't live without!
Stones, stones everywhere!
It began with the simple pizza stone and a stone for baking wonderful bread.
Now you can get a stone for every baking need. Muffins, bakers and pie plates
can all be found in stoneware. Now you can even get stoneware to bake your
holiday mini-loaves in! These will bake four mini loaves at once! Where will
it all end? Who knows and who cares, as long as the stones keep baking up
high quality baked goods!
For slicing and dicing!
Accutec Graters offer some of the latest technology in food grating. Each
grater has dozens of tiny holes and each hole contains its own mini blade.
Regular graters have holes that tear the food, Accutec Graters actually slice
it. Major difference! Each grater is made of stainless steel and comes in
several different grades of coarseness, depending on what you are wanting to
grate.
Tired of trying to slice slippery avocados? The new avocado slicer is the perfect way to get uniform wedges, every time with one smooth motion. Just cut your avocado in half, remove the seed, and then slice! So simple!
Truffle Shavers come in all shapes and sizes and make shaving truffles and chocolate much easier. A must-have for those mushroom lovers. They are nice for making those cool little decorative chocolate curls with too.
The apple wedge simultaneously cores and slices your apples or pears into 10 pieces. This is a must-have for busy parents!
Serving at its finest!
You have heard of food warmers that keep your food warm, what about bowls
that keep your food cold? The Chillzanne collection utilizes a revolutionary
gel built in the base of each bowl that, once frozen overnight, will keep
your food cold for hours. Perfect for picnics. You can leave your worries
about your potato salad at home!
Ice cream dippers have gone new age! Now available are dippers that use the heat of your hand to warm a nontoxic liquid sealed inside the handle. Can you imagine how easy this would make cutting through hard ice cream?
Like to make your own salad dressing? Try using a salad dressing maker that allows you to measure, mix and serve in the same container. The Pampered Chef version of this item also has four dressing recipes printed right on the container!
Odds and ends
Ever heard of a
sub sandwich roll baking mat? These handy little mats are
made of an interwoven new age material that will withstand up to 580 degrees
in the oven and last for 3,000 uses. That is a lot of sandwiches!
The new lemon zester/scorers make creating lemon pies and other recipes much easier. Two tools in one, the zester creates finely shredded rind and the scorer peels off narrow strips of rind. This tool is perfect for those of us who end up with a rind shredded too coarse.
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Citrus peelers should go in every lunch box! These handy little plastic tools score the peel with one side and scoop out the orange with the other.
A gadget for everyone
No matter what kind of cooking you're interested in there are gadgets galore
just for you. Just make sure that it will actually be used, otherwise you
might find yourself buried under tons of tools you don't need!
Links, information and more for you
About the author: Teri Brown is a freelance writer and mother of two. Her latest book, Day Tripping; Engaging Your Child's Mind and Imagination Through Family Field Trips, is now available! For more information check out www.fieldtripping.com.
