What one tool in your kitchen do you treasure the most?

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taxlady said:
My new favourite tool is a 5 kg capacity, electronic, kitchen scale. I love the "tare" function. I can stick a bowl on it; switch it on; and then weigh out whatever.
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I guess I should have said my scale, too. I love mine, which sounds quite similar to yours. I've been cooking with a scale for too many years to count and nearly went into a spasm when my trusty old scale went "belly up" last spring. All I can say is thank God for Amazon's free 2-day shipping. Otherwise, well...I just don't know.:ohmy::ROFLMAO:

At any rate, I love cooking using a scale. There have been many, many times when I've prepared a recipe and not dirtied up a single measuring cup. What a breeze for cleaning up!

It's also invaluable for portioning out large quantities of poultry and meats I get on sale, as well as for portioning my produce from the garden when it's time to freeze it for winter use.

Love, love, love my nice little scale.
 
I can't imagine cooking without a scale. I have a small digital readout scale I've been using for years, to get consistency in portion sizes. (In fact it's Portion Power brand.) If I want to make one serving or two servings I don't want to make enough extra so that I'm sure nobody will be short changed on their serving size, because I don't want to waste the cost of making the extra, and I hate having little parts of servings left over. There's such a thing called a "dog's lunch" and I hate that kind of meal. (It's where you find enough of this and that to make one meal.) I believe that a meal should have a menu, perhaps a salad, a protein, a vegetable and a starch, and they should all harmonize in some way. I don't like when I'm eating this and that solely because I don't want to waste it.

I could be wrong since I'm just an amateur chef with no training, but I can't imagine professional chefs in restaurants not using some kind of scale to ensure that each customer gets the same size serving every time they dine at the restaurant. (I'm sure professionals use pre-measured ingredients too, like e.g. they probably have a supply of a whole bunch of boneless chicken breasts all the same exact size.)

I guess I'm past stating which kitchen tool I treasure the most. I treasure all the ones that I can't cook without. Or maybe I should say won't do without, since I'm sure anybody could make the case that my scale isn't impossible to cook without. I just don't want to.

My scale is important to me because I don't want to waste food and because I want to cook consistent serving sizes, but for many people a scale is also an important aid in diet management.
 
PolishedTopaz said:
My most sentimental piece?? Hands down my 3.5 Le Cruset from my mom. It has a crack and I COULD turn it in to the manufacturer and get it replaced for free, But I just don't have the heart to do it. I do belive that when I asked mom to give it to me when I moved out along with her LC fry pan she actually shed tears.
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That's funny. I got my 10 inch sauce pan from mom and I know it was like pulling teeth when I told her my no stick pots were ready for the grave yard. It's new and shiny and I love it because it came from mom. My other favorite is the blender and my big pot for soups. The pot has a lid that locks and i can easily drain things when they are done cooking. i don't currently own a sifter.
 
Addie said:
Well for me it is a stupid little tool called a shark. It has very sharp points on it and is used to remove the stem in a tomato. It is about the length of my middle finger. I also use it for culling strawberries. Also my microplanes. I keep both of them covered in my drawer. I keep the sharks (I have two of them) in an empty toilet paper roll with one end taped over so they don't fall out and the microplanes in an empty paper towel roll. One end taped. :chef:
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Addie; I just wanted to thank you so much for starting this thread. I have enjoyed reading all of the post. I loved all of the memories that this thread has brought to almost everyone.
I guess I use my microwave most, from heating water for my morning coffee to reheating leftover. I also use it to make popcorn.
 
JoAnn L. said:
Addie; I just wanted to thank you so much for starting this thread. I have enjoyed reading all of the post. I loved all of the memories that this thread has brought to almost everyone.
I guess I use my microwave most, from heating water for my morning coffee to reheating leftover. I also use it to make popcorn.
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AND...if you put celery in the microwave, it sparks like lightening. :ROFLMAO:

Why does it do that? :mellow:
 
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JoAnn L. said:
Addie; I just wanted to thank you so much for starting this thread. I have enjoyed reading all of the post. I loved all of the memories that this thread has brought to almost everyone.
I guess I use my microwave most, from heating water for my morning coffee to reheating leftover. I also use it to make popcorn.
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This has turned out to be a fun thread. It started a long time ago when I had to downsize. My choice to move to a smaller place. And the one place I didn't want to downsize was in the kitchen supply area. My daughter was helping me to pack and I kept saying, "No, not that, it is my favorite kitchen tool. I can't have a kitchen without that". She finally gave up trying to help me pack the kitchen. We set a rule. Downsizing meant gettting rid of furniture, not my kitchen. So come moving day. 90% of the packed boxes were marked "Kitchen." :chef::chef:
 
PrincessFiona60 said:
Celery has a high mineral content, I can't remember which one...:wacko:
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Minerals in 100 grams of celery:
Calcium, Ca mg 40
Iron, Fe mg 0.20
Magnesium, Mg mg 11
Phosphorus, P mg 24
Potassium, K mg 260
Sodium, Na mg 80
Zinc, Zn mg 0.13
Copper, Cu mg 0.035
Manganese, Mn mg 0.103
Selenium, Se mcg 0.4

I got that from a USDA free software with nutrient database. I think I have an old version. Here's the current one: Nutrient Data Products and Services

Dang. I ate all my celery yesterday, so I can't play with it in the microwave.
 
taxlady said:
Minerals in 100 grams of celery:
Calcium, Ca mg 40
Iron, Fe mg 0.20
Magnesium, Mg mg 11
Phosphorus, P mg 24
Potassium, K mg 260
Sodium, Na mg 80
Zinc, Zn mg 0.13
Copper, Cu mg 0.035
Manganese, Mn mg 0.103
Selenium, Se mcg 0.4

I got that from a USDA free software with nutrient database. I think I have an old version. Here's the current one: Nutrient Data Products and Services

Dang. I ate all my celery yesterday, so I can't play with it in the microwave.
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Thanks, TL!!! I downloaded the search program.
 
Soups said:
That's funny. I got my 10 inch sauce pan from mom and I know it was like pulling teeth when I told her my no stick pots were ready for the grave yard. It's new and shiny and I love it because it came from mom. My other favorite is the blender and my big pot for soups. The pot has a lid that locks and i can easily drain things when they are done cooking. i don't currently own a sifter.
Click to expand...

When I was in college, I got this enameled pot for several labels off of College Inn stock. It was simply the best pot ever for soups. I've never seen another one like it. Now, the pot is simply worn out. The enamel is cracking. I should throw the pot away but cannot bring myself to do it. We have a much better quality pot now, but it simply is not the same.

PrincessFiona60 said:
I love food science...:)
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Me too! :)
 
Caslon said:
I'm wary of any electric sharpener that has "guides" to position the knife in order to sharpen properly. Here's a hint as to my thinking on these type electric sharpeners, Chef's Choice line of products (probably the most well known of electric sharpeners) comes out with a new model each year, as if they're gonna get there some day. :LOL:
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I have had my chef's choice sharpener since 1985 and LOVE it. It still works as good today as when I WON it from QVC. When they first debuted they had a scrambled word game they played and if you got the word right they spun the wheel and won the dollar amount where it stopped. I got a few nice things from them that day. LOL
 
The One Tool I Cannot Live Without

Ok, we all have our personal favorites, but aside from my knives, I cannot live without my kitchen rock. I'm Cuban and Syrian, and my mother and grandmothers always had them in their kitchens. I remember my mom crushing garlic cloves, then using the same rock to tenderize the steaks she loved to prepare for us. I keep my kitchen rock nearby at all times because that's how I cut up fresh whole chickens without worrying about cutting myself.
 
sandcardet said:
Ok, we all have our personal favorites, but aside from my knives, I cannot live without my kitchen rock. I'm Cuban and Syrian, and my mother and grandmothers always had them in their kitchens. I remember my mom crushing garlic cloves, then using the same rock to tenderize the steaks she loved to prepare for us. I keep my kitchen rock nearby at all times because that's how I cut up fresh whole chickens without worrying about cutting myself.
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Welcome to DC, Sandcardet! I'm not sure what a kitchen rock is. Do you have a picture of yours?
 
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