Innovative tool usage!

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Shaheen

Senior Cook
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
338
Location
Bombay, India
I'm sure there is much more we can do with our tools than what they are made for. Lets share how we use our everyday tools for other purposes or maybe our occasional tools for everyday work.


I use my melon baller to core apples too!
 
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I use my tongs to squeeze lemons and limes. Just put them in at the opposite end and squeeze down on the tong end to get every last bit of juice out.
 
Andy M. said:
You can also use a melon baller to seed cukes and peel ginger.

I love the idea for cukes! but I'm not sure how I'll peel the ginger :ermm: But I'll give it a try the next time anyway :)
 
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I use a teaspoon for peeling ginger just as you would use the melon baller. Give it a shot Shaheen. You will be amazed. Just use the melon baller or spoon to scrape the skin off. It will come right off for you.
 
When blanching veggies, I put the veggies into a collander and immerse the veggies, in the collander, into the boiling water. That makes it easy to get them out. Then I plunge the collander into a bowl of ice water to shock the veggies. Then I just lift them out and let them drain.

You just have to find the right pan and bowl that your collander will fit into.
 
I use my drywall mudding tool to scrape my cutting boards and to lift shopped food from the cutting board to the pans.

I use my Spatzle Noodle maker as a potato ricer, and to squeeze the juice from fresh raspberries to make seedless jams and jellies.

I use my vegie chopper as a meet tenderizer.

And a frying pan with 2-inch sides, be it SS, or cast-iron makes a wonderful pan for reducing sauces and liquids, It works better than a soup pot as it has a wider bottom, hence more surface area for steam to evaporate from. It also heats the liquid faster and at a lower temperature, which helps reduce the possibility of burning a delicate sauce.

I use the gas burners on my stove to roast hot-dogs on a skewer, or marshmallows for s'mores if the weather is too bad outside.

I use the spine of my chef's knife in a pinch to pound meat. But the malleet definitely works better.:rolleyes:

My claw-hammer and a freezer bag work great for turning graham crackers into crumbs.

My veggie peeler makes a phenominal tool for shaving carrots into a soup. It's also the ideal tool for removing the outside mold from otherwise good cheese.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
I put one of those splash screens you put over a frying pan to prevent fat splatter over a pan with a bit of water, let it start to steam and toss a tortilla on the screen to soften it up. Within seconds you have a warm soft tortilla.
 
My egg poaching pan, with the removable cups, is great for steaming puddings, or melting single servings of hot fudge, but only for four people at a time. It also makes good, individual custards.

Oh, it's grat for poaching eggs too.:LOL:

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
This is not as creative or imaginative as other responses, but it is very useful.

I use a melon baller to core apples. I slice the apples in half and then take out the seeds and seed membranes with the melon baller. I then use it to scrape the blossom and stem ends out.

I also sometimes use my tea kettle to water my plants. :wacko:
 
I use those soft, rubber jar openers to keep my SS bowls from spinning when I whisk things together with one hand. This comes in most handy when making a vinaigrette: one hand for whisking and one for pouring oil.

Paul
 
I think everyone does this, but I use plates to cover pots that are missing lids, or my skillets. I have a lot of hand-me-down stuff so I'm missing many lids.
 
I use drawer liners (the rubber ones from the dollar store under my bowls and cutting boards to keep them slipping and sliding away----and I use a soft, clean baby hair brush to clean mushrooms with. Works great and cheap!
 
I keep a metal ruler on my utensil rack. When I'm reducing sauces or stocks all I have to do is dip the ruler in to see the level of the liquid, say 4 inches. If I want it reduced by half, I just cook until it measures 50% lower or to 2 inches deep.
 
Here are the top ten tool abuses in my house.
  1. An ordinary hack saw can be used to divide shank end ham bones into two or three pieces for beans.
  2. A very large wooden mallet for pounding stuff hangs next to the hack saw. If asked, I say it is for splitting peas.
  3. The thick, wide rubber bands that sometimes hold two or three broccoli heads together can be used in multiples on the ends of a dowel type roller to ensure an even specific thickness.
  4. A push pin type thumb tack is handy to poke a hole in the end of an egg before boiling.
  5. The spaghetti insert in a stock pot makes removing the larger solids from a pot of stock easier.
  6. Masking tape is a cheap easy way to label stuff in the ice box.
  7. Cooling racks can be suspended from the fluorescent kitchen ceiling fixture to grow small pots of herbs.
  8. $2.99 stock pots make good trash cans.
  9. A nylon spaghetti lifter/server is the perfect back scratcher. I have one in the night stand only for this purpose.
  10. A toaster oven grate propped a couple inches above the large burner on an electric stove is the best way for me to char peppers.
 
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I don't like to be limited by the length of the cord on our electric mixer oo I use a cordless drill instead.

The blades for the mixer work OK in the drill but I adapted a baloon wisk to use by tapping an electric screwdriver drill bit into the rear of a cheap metal baloon wisk I bought at Wal-Mart.

I have an electric drill for kitchen use only.
 
I have to think of a unique way to use something, but in the mean time, I'm getting some great ideas.:rolleyes:
 
I use a wine bottle for my "Rolling Pin". Don't do a lot of baking, so it's more than sufficient. I fill it 75-80% of the way with water and freeze it when making crusts for pie to keep the butter cold (I cork the end of it). Works for me anyways... :)
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I'm also a post-it note fanatic. I keep one on the fridge for recording things I run out of. It's a self-generating grocery list for staples.

I also love those Ziploc containers. I must have 50-60 various ones in one of my cupboards neatly stacked. I like the ones with the screw-top lids, as both sizes use the same lid. Use them for freezing stocks/sauces, leftovers in the 'fridge, and even to bring bowls of cereal to work with me.

Stainless steel cups are another of my favorites. I use them as prep cups, to hold leftovers (covered with wrap/foil), and they're oven safe so I can warm up lots of things in the oven when I have it on. They're great for steaming in waterbaths too.
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My 8" Chef's Knife. I'd be lost without it. Use it for almost everything!
 
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