Kitchen Gadgets

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I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets. Just bought a "checkerboard" cake pan (actually it's three cake pans) and so far have made two checkerboard cakes. They really come out great, too. Paid about $9 for it at Kitchen Etc. It otta bring a few interesting chuckles at the next bake sale.

What are your favorite unusual kitchen gadgets?

Thanks for reading.

-- Trevilians (Trevilians@mediaone.net), July 15, 2001

Answers

Right now I'd have to say this board that is used to make creamed corn from fresh ears of corn. You slide the cob repeatedly down the board and it will take off only the top half of the kernal first and then progressively the "milk". We don't need to add any milk to our creamed corn. This gadget is a godsend since we have used it on over 30 dozen ears in the past two weeks. Got to get back to it though.....

-- ann markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001.

I also am a kitchen gadget nut and have gadgets up the ying yang. Everyone is afraid to open the kitchen gaget drawer and take anything out because they are afraid they won't get it closed again! Besides the drawer I have a full cabinet of pans, cookie sheets, etc. I must have everyone ever made..LOL.

My favorite of all is the Silpat sheets for baking. Nothing...and I mean nothing...sticks to them. You don't have to grease the cookie sheets and they come out perfect everytime. You just wash it off and use it again and again. I think it stands up to 700 degrees of heat and last for somthing like 15,000 uses. You can order them at Martha Stewart but they are over priced there. They run on Ebay all the time. They cost around $16-19 each but worth every single penny, I promise!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.


I love my Silpats too. I got one of them from Kitchens, Etc. and liked it so well I went back and bought another one. They were about $20 I think and definitely worth every penny. I have a really great recipe for Coconut Macaroons that almost float off the cookie sheet when I use the Silpats.

Thanks for reading (and responding).

-- Trevilians (Trevilians@mediaone.net), July 16, 2001.


My ginger grater. It looks like a little white ceramic washboard. Anybody know where to get a really good garlic press? I'm tired of paying out big bucks for one that breaks a few weeks down the line. Had one break the second time I used it ...

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), July 16, 2001.

Oh yeah, and my pizza stone.

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), July 16, 2001.


My favorite kitchen gadget????? All of them. But the pizza stone is right up there. I found a stainless steel garlic press at Pampered Chef. They are a home party deal. Works great. I have a 1 qt. measuring cup I use al the time especially when I make yogurt. There is plenty of room to mix in it, too.

-- Karen Cardot (abbaskid61081@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.

I secound the Pampered Chef garlic press!

-- D. Gillette WA (goldnrod@crosswalkmail.com), July 16, 2001.

Perhaps this isn't unusual, nor is it really a gadget, but I love my pasta machine--I've had an electric one bought at a flea market that was great but didn't last long (motor went out), and now I have a hand-cranked Imperia that I traded for. It's wonderful too but only makes the flat varieties (no elbow macaroni). I never realized that making your own pasta could be so easy and quick!

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), July 17, 2001.

My garlic press is the screw type. I got it at T.J.Maxx and love it. It's plastic, but has held up through many years and pounds and pounds of garlic. Even though it's an appliance, my favorite gadget is my Cuisinart. I use it nearly every day.

-- glynnis in KY (gabbycab@msn.com), July 17, 2001.

I got my husband a Butter Bell for x'mas last year and he loves it. It consists of 2 parts. You put cold water in the bottom crock part and your softened butter goes in the top portion (looks kind of like an egg cup). Then you insert the top upside down into the cold water. It keeps the butter cold and spreadable for up to a month without refrigeration. The butter never lasts that long around here! We usually change the water every few days. I ordered it from King Arthur Flour. It was about $20. I also ordered their Magic Cake Strips. These wrap around your cake pans and help to keep the cake layers from crowning. They have worked out really well.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), July 17, 2001.


About a year ago we got a manual food processor at a garage sale for a dollar. What a deal! It has a crank type handel, big suction bottom, and five diferent "cut" cones. This has become our favorite kitchen gadget! We use it every day to whip out a quick salad. It is easier to clean and simpler to use then the electric kind. This one looks like an antique (though I don't think that it had ever been used before) , but I think you can still buy newer versions of it some where.

-- Adrienne (AdrienneA_Grass@hotmail.com), July 18, 2001.

I've had two of those plastic screw-type garlic presses. THey looked like such a good idea. Kept the second one going for a little longer with the yet-unbroken parts from the first. On the first one the screw broke (being cheap plastic). On the second the plastic well broke, and then the screw broke (after I repaired it with parts from the first).

Oh well, I guess I'm too hard on them.

How 'bout a good peppermill? Every one I've ever bought lasts about a year or two and then won't grind worth @*@#$ anymore

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), July 19, 2001.


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