These are a few of my favorite things

My love for cooking extends to all aspects of it. I collect cookbooks, recipes, and even cooking tools. Recently, I collected a variety of antique kitchen tools and appliances. Enameled colanders, wooden mixing bowls, food scales, hand crank coffee grinders and percolators, bakeware, butter churns, flour sifters. They are displayed atop my cupboards. 



I appreciate the nostalgia of these old cooking items. They are just the kind of things that would have been used in our old Victorian house over the course of its 115 years of existence. I find that very cool. Somebody 50 or 100 years ago used these things in the everyday acts of preparing food and drink for their family. I have a few little tools from my mother, grandmother, and Jim's grandmother too. I like to think a little of their energy is left in them. Just another way cooking connects us, this time to our predecessors.


Can you tell what they are?

One of the cooking magazines I read, perhaps Bon Appetit, does one page interviews with top chefs and other celebrities and often the interviewer asks about can't-live-without ingredients or tools. I am always fascinated by this (I am sure it could be the voyeur in me needing to know what is in their cupboards or fridges). 


So I was thinking: what would I answer? While I have drawers and cupboards and storage bins of things that don't even fit in my kitchen, there really only a handful of things that I just can't do without. These are my favorites. What are yours?

Pam's Favorite 

Kitchen Tools 

(in no particular order)

• Chef's knife—I have 10" and 8" Henkels' chef's knives. I like the sturdy feel and ease of cutting. I try to keep them sharp. Even just a cheap sharpening tool can make a big difference in how well it cuts. 

• Microplane—ginger, garlic, citrus zests, lemongrass.  What did I ever do before the microplane?

• Lemon juicer—I use fresh lemon juice in many things. My lemon juicer has a built in strainer for the seeds and pulp. Easier than using a reamer and strainer.

• Heavy duty griddle—The kids love pancakes of any kind as well as french toast. I have a two-burner stovetop griddle as well as a built-in cast iron griddle on my stove. We also use it regularly to make quesadillas, grilled cheese, flatbreads and pizzas. 

• 12" covered saute pan—I make most everyday meals in this. From searing to saucing to serving it up. This pan does it all.

• Favorite spatula—the $0.79 yellow plastic spatula I got when I was 18. It is thin and flexible and has a tapered edge. It is great for getting under difficult to maneuver foods and doesn't scratch pans. I have never found one just like it since.

• Mini food processor—nuts, small amounts of bread crumbs, small amounts of herbs, whipping flax, mincing onions. Just used it tonight to make a lime and herb sauce to dress up some halibut. Very convenient.

• Mini-food slicer—I have a small, hand held version of a mandolin. It creates uniform slices (some extremely thin) quickly. Great for slicing apples for the dehydrator, thinly slicing onions, and slicing potatoes to fry up for brunch.

• Immersion blender—Great for pureeing hot soups and sauces right in the pan. I also use it for mixing batters and making smoothies right in their cups. A quick rinse is all it takes to clean it off. I rarely ever use my regular blender at all.

• Pressure cooker—I use this a lot in winter. It cuts down the time of braising and stewing from hours to minutes. Brown rice in about 11 minutes, unsoaked, dried beans in 35. A major time saver.

• Measure All Cup from the pampered chef. This is a plunger style 2 cup measurer just right for measuring those tricky or messy things like shortening, peanut butter, honey. It adjusts for any size and automatically scrapes the sides for you.

• Scoops with squeeze action handles—I have a few sizes of these. So perfect for filling muffin tins (we make lots of those), evenly apportioning cookie dough, and making meatballs too. Much neater than hands or spoons.