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Pictured here: Molcajete and Microplane. Photo courtesty of Erik Wunderlich
There are many many useful tools available for use in the kitchen. In fact, there are entire stores which specialize in selling the same products over and over (however, I will not name names). Recently my wife and I moved to a new apartment, and the move necessitated winnowing out some of the less useful and less functional items. With this experience fresh in my mind, I give you my top five list of most useful kitchen items.
All that being said, there are a couple of rules:
A. The most basic implements are not included in this list: stove, oven, microwave, knife, cutting board etc. You must have these things in order to cook, therefore are not the most useful or functional, they are the absolute minimum needed in order to cook in a western kitchen.
B. Just because it is a name brand, does not mean that is what you have to get, just that it is the generic name by which it is known in a kitchen: eg. Kleenex is a facial tissue but I still call it Kleenex even if it is some other brand.
C. By no means is this set in stone, but I have found these things useful over and over again in the kitchens I have worked in from Denver to Seattle, NYC to Virginia to Boston.
My Top Five most useful kitchen tools:
1. Microplane (brand name, also the generic): a small hand held grater, originally descended from a line of hand tools used in carpentry, this tool is exceptionally good at grating nutmeg, hard cheeses, chocolate and other formerly hard to handle items in the kitchen. I have been using this particular implement for about eight years now, and can’t find anything to take its place, it does one job, but does it exceptionally well.
2. Molcajete: aka mortar and pestle (both generic): this tool is as ancient as fire and knives. Before the Robot-Coupe (aka the Cuisinart), the blender, or even the Kitchen Aid mixer; there was the mortar and pestle. I have used them in a variety of sizes, and the one I find to be most useful is the rough stone mortar and pestle commonly referred to as a molcajete. This tool is good for everything: I have ground spices in it, made guacamole, made aioli (according to the Julia Child method) in it, used it to prepare a filling for a stuffed lamb leg. There is nothing that a mortar and pestle can not do, as long as you have the patience. The thing is, it takes finesse and patience to make a molcajete do what you want it to do, and that is why people have invented the aforementioned Kitchen Aid mixer, blender, and the Cuisine Art "food processor."
3. Which brings me to number three: the Robot-Coupe (generic and also brand name). The story of the Robot-Coupe is that back in the old days, everything had do be done by hand: which required a lot of semi-skilled labor to mince, dice, shred and do other things. This one little machine is responsible for freeing up a good many chefs from the sheer drudgery of mincing all day long or shredding 50# sacks of potatoes for ever. This one machine will make you change your mind about how you spend your time. However, unless you work in a professional kitchen, you probably can live without it. But why should you?
4. Silpat (brand name only, do not waste your money the "other guys"): when I first used one, I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. It was just a little silicone mat that you put on a cookie tray (or sheet pan) to line the pan. Then I took the little tuilles (special little very sticky delicate cookies) off of it, with none breaking (a major, major deal) and was instantly sold. For the first time I was able to make a bunch of sticky delicate things in a design or form which I liked and they wouldn’t break or stick. I love this little thing, and though expensive, it is totally worth the price. Make toffee cookies just once, and you will never go back to greased paper again.
5. Simple and plain: the Whisk does not get enough love in the average kitchen. It sounds simplistic, but it is nearly impossible to do a wide range of things in the kitchen without one. Everyone knows what they look like, everyone should own at least one. (At last count my wife and I owned 6 full sized ones and two little sauce whisks) Select one which will stand the test of time. The balloon style is the most versatile (and actually the only kind I own).
So there it is: my top five most useful tools list. I hope you like it, and if you have any differences of opinion, I welcome your input.
Cheers,
Erik
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