Three nifty tools take the edge off food preparation
Summertime offers lots of opportunities for fun eating, but sometimes the prep work is pure drudgery. These specialized gadgets make it all a little easier.
Rolled Thai-style ice cream is the hottest cool stuff to hit Las Vegas lately, but you probably didn’t know you can make it at home, with the Chef ’n Sweet Spot Ice Cream Maker. You put together an ice cream mixture complete with desired mix-ins (a recipe book is included) and pour it onto the surface of the device after it’s been in the freezer overnight. The mixture will begin to freeze immediately, and you use the two included tools to scoop and roll like a boss. $49.99 at chefn.com.
It’s cherry season and few things are sweeter — but few things are more of a pain than pitting cherries by hand. The Quickpit Cherry Pitter, also from Chef ’n, makes quick work of pitting cherries, or olives if you choose. The onehanded pitter has an easy-to-use design and is top-rack dishwasher safe. $9.99 at chefn.com.
Buttering corn may not be a challenge, but trying to reconcile the flat blade of a table knife with the curved surface of an ear of corn often ends with the butter skittering all over the place. Enter Butter Once, which promises to live up to its name. The Butter Once has a curved knife, which is engineered to hold just enough butter for an ear, and to hold it until the ear is evenly coated. $6.95 at butteronce.com.
— Heidi Knapp Rinella