KITCHEN TOOLS THAT ACTUALLY WORK Scoop
Kitchen shops peddle such an array of little tools that it’s no wonder many of our home cutlery drawers overflow. And at the end of the day, many of these gadgets are just that: useless clutter (I’m looking at you, avocado slicer). That said, a select few
Digital scale
á Taylor Stainless Steel Slim Scale, $24.99, canadiantire.ca Once you have used a scale in the kitchen you can never do without. Not only is it more accurate (and tidier) for measuring ingredients for baking, it’s also a lifesaver for gauging portions of dry pasta, meat and vegetables. A slim one slips neatly into the cupboard. Look for one that cleans easily and weighs both ounces and grams.
Spider
á PAO! Bamboo Strainer, $9.99, canadiantire.ca Officially called a skimmer or strainer, this is more like the world’s handiest sieve. Use it to transfer cooked short pasta directly out of its cooking water and into sauce, lower eggs into boiling water for boiling (and fish them back out again), strain poached eggs, scoop bones and vegetables out of homemade chicken stock and lift doughnuts, chicken wings or fries out of a deep fryer. One quick tip: clean it quickly before things get stuck to its wiry web.
Scraper
á Ateco Ultra Bench Scraper, $10, goldaskitchen.com You know the moment when you’ve chopped an onion and you’ve got to transfer it from the cutting board to the pan? It’s a mini crisis in kitchen terms: will some fall on the floor? Will it take multiple trips? Enter the bench scraper, a tool that gathers up the chopped vegetables and transports them into a pan in one smooth move. No more crisis. It’s also the perfect tool to scrape excess flour and sticky dough off the counter after rolling out cookies, smooth icing on the top and sides of a cake or cut pizza or scone dough into even sections. Get one that is dishwasher safe.
Juicer
á JOSEPH JOSEPH Catcher Citrus Reamer, $8.99, thebay.com Citrus juice is one of my favourite ingredients as I find it improves almost anything I make, from tuna salad to lentil soup to steak. I’ve been through many different juicers, but I particularly love this one-step reamer-pitter because its design means I can juice lemons, limes and oranges right into the pot, and it’s pointy enough to get right into the smallest limes.
Scissors
á Ricardo Cuisine Kitchen Scissors, $12.99, ricardocuisine.com Yes, they are necessary for opening milk bags and other packaging, but scissors can do so much more in the kitchen. Use them to snip fresh herbs (chives especially), chop bacon, cut up whole tomatoes in the can, section grapes or slice pizza without mess. Strong kitchen scissors can even spatchcock a chicken and clip off the wing tips. I like these ones because they come apart for easy cleaning.
Tiny whisk
á Oink Oink Little Whisk, $2.99, joieshop.com I bought this for my young son, hoping to get him excited about cooking, but who uses it most? Me. This little whisk is small enough to fit in the cutlery drawer and strong enough to blend up to three eggs but, best of all, it stands up on end, keeping mess off the counter. I use it for stirring dry ingredients in baking, mixing eggs and milk for omelettes or pancakes, making small batches of marinades and single servings of salad dressing.
Garlic press
á OXO Garlic Press, $17.24, thebay.com Surprised? Me too. I resisted garlic presses for years, insisting that a chef’s knife (and some elbow grease) is easier and faster. But ultimately I fell in love with the way a good garlic press pulverizes fresh garlic without turning it into paste, and without leaving the occasional chunk here and there. This one has enough muscle to take on the largest of garlic cloves and still cleans up in a snap.
Rasp
á Microplane Premium Rasp Grater & Zester, $17.99, kitchenstuffplus.com This razor-sharp wand is a kitchen wizard that, to a certain extent, revolutionized cooking. With a rasp, you get delicate shreds of citrus zest, parmesan and even chocolate that are impossible to achieve with any other single tool. I also use mine to grate whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks and fresh ginger. There are lots of flimsy impostors out there, so do yourself a favour and get a sturdy Microplane one right off the bat.
á Browne Trigger Scoop No. 40, $19, goldaskitchen.com A regular scoop is OK for serving ice cream, but this spring-loaded, easy-release one has even more uses, particularly if you like to bake. The scoops come in all sizes, but a standard two-tablespoon one (called #40) one makes quick work of balling cookie dough or meatballs, as well as portioning muffin and cupcake batter evenly into a pan.