What are your unconventional kitchen tools/utensils you were skeptical of at first but feel you can’t live without?
I sometimes find these two in a box in my kitchen, does that make them utensils?
The top one is obviously tech support for your appliances. Why else would they be wearing a headset?
True, but she doesn’t always give the best advice…
Osthyvel (a cheese slicer). I kinda miss it every time I’m on vacation and I have no means to get the expected thickness of a cheese slice.
This is the epitome of first world problems.
Yesss! I grew up with one of these and didn’t realize it was unconventional until I lived on my own and tried to find one in a store. Had to buy it online. I use it nearly every day.
Where would this be unconventional?
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A coffee grinder. Freshly grinded beans taste so different from normal preground coffee.
What kind do you have?
I’ve got a Fellow Opus so I can make espresso, as well as less fine ground coffee. It’s quieter than other grinders I’ve used. I’ve also used a 1zpresso hand grinder and found it effective. Both are overkill for pour over or drip coffee
I mainly do drip and pour overs and have this Mr. Coffee blade grinder. It’s not the most consistent grind but it’s pretty good considering the price
I have the cheapest manual grinder I could find in my local supermarket. It does the job
Unconventional in what sense? For westerners? A wok probably
I used to hate wok because it is so big to wash, but then I started understanding its versatility. I still hate washing it tho.
I feel this. I use my wok for everything. Would like to upgrade to a carbon steel one.
Wok is pretty standard here in the UK.
A giant metal wok spatula is an absolute must-have also.
You gotta be careful with that purchase as wok cooking is usually meant for very high heat which a lot of kitchen stoves can’t provide—those folks would be better off with a tradition pan & a lower, slower heat when trying to make a stir fry. Here, most woks at attached directly to a propane tank to generate that level of heat.
You can buy portable camping stoves that use propane as well. If your kitchen cant heat enough, then that is a useful tool to have. Honestly I’d say it’s decently useful overall in case of a blackout or something.
I have a tiny whisk instead of a regular-size one, and I have convinced myself it is objectively superior in every way
If you hold your pinky finger out when you use it, then it definitely is
I second the tiny whisk especially for sauces.
Weirdly, a dough scraper. It’s not because of the measurement conversions, I don’t think I’d ever noticed them up until now actually. It’s just a really solid dough scraper. I use it for dough, but I’ve also used it for so many other things, like assembling/disassembling furniture, patching holes in the wall, wrapping furniture in a vinyl sheet. Loads of various tasks.
Every so often you find that you need a solid, flat, steel thing, and this comes in handy every single time.
Yep! Great for so many things, though I don’t think I’ve ever used the measurements on mine.
A garlic press - saves so much time and effort over mincing garlic with a knife because I’m not a pro chef, and can be used in about 95% of situations where you need garlic. I don’t use it when I want the garlic texture, but otherwise I just adjust the amount or the cooking time versus minced garlic. There’s some hate floating around from professional chefs, but I bought one a few years ago to try it and haven’t looked back.
But that’s not unconventional, is it? Everyone has one.
My tiny 1" silicone spatula is one of the handiest utensils I own.
A measuring jug (from oxo) that allows you to see the marks when looking at it from above.
Also I have two timers, and I need and use both.
Are the timers for timing two things at once, or for something more unusual?
Two things, yes. I can’t be trusted to time anything by myself just by looking at the clock, and you often have multiple things cooking at the same time.
Egg slicer.
Can’t get medium eggs in nice slices on sandwiches so well with a single point of pressure on the egg. That is even with a really sharp knife cutting soft-ish eggs is annoying and just not as good.
Everything else, knife.
That’s considered unconventional where you are? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kitchen without one here in the Nordics.
Strawberry cutter. That stupid looking plastic strawberry with the little blades in it? Turns out it can do basically evening I don’t like cutting, mushrooms, berries, olives, all in tiny perfectly uniform cuts.
Pizzelle maker - like a cookie iron. It was the only thing I asked for as a HS graduation present, my parents thought I would never use it. 20 years later, I still whip up pizzelle every few months
Steel tea pot - I drink a pot every day but last couple pots were both glass and only last a couple months before breaking (both my fault) so upgraded to steel and so far my clumsiness hasn’t yet managed to break it
This! I recently got a steel French press and it’s fantastic! The best part is I’ll have to drop it off a cliff to break it.
If you are into tea, you might want to consider an electric kettle with variable temperature. Nothing is more of a shame than burning good leaves or having to be limited to leaves that can handle a near boil. It’s tricky & a futz to watch a thermometer for boiling water to a specific temperature for your tea—especially if you are relying on that cup to help your mood & concentration.
Yep! I have a Cosori kettle that’s been working great (and outlasted my first two pots lol)
Kettle != tea pot
And? Adjacent topic for those looking at where to upgrade their tea equipment.
I got this one weird ass meat mallet from a Brian Lagerstrom video and I use that shit for my black bean burrito filling. It works like a dream chopping and mincing anything especially if you are cooking it.
Fish spatula
