Three Kitchen Gadgets That Work
Of the roughly 100,000 kitchen utensils and gadgets we sell at Amazon, there are always some that don't work as well as they should, or even though they're nifty, get relegated to the junk drawer. You know the one. With the extra keys don't seem to fit any lock in your house. So it's always a delight to find gadgets that work--really work! Recently I've added a few essentials to my ever-growing repertoire of culinary odds and ends.
Last month when I discovered that one of my favorite brands, Built, now makes oven mitts, I may have actually squealed with excitement. I tote their stylish and practical lunch bag back and forth every day and am always on the lookout for what cool things this brand is going to do next. Their new line of oven mitts and pot holders is made with the same colorful and fun material as the rest of their products (plus, Built uses wetsuit material, which somehow makes their products extra cool). And, while I do like to look fashionable while taking cookies out of the oven, the best part is that the oven mitt is the best I've found in years. Built smartly designed it to hold the shape your hand is in when grasping a pan. No longer do I have to contort my wrist and hand to make those old-style quilted mitts actually grip a searing hot pan. Also, and I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but those classic mitts have seams right where you hold the pan and the heat seeps through after just a few seconds. No more! Now I'm protected and prettified!
My next find of late is not exactly an essential, but it's a fun tool that gives your plating of meals and desserts a little special flair. If you've been to "fancy" restaurants, you've probably noticed that the mashed potatoes don't come heaped on the plate. No, the kitchen takes special care to dollop them on in perfect ovals. And ice cream or gelato? You know it tastes better when presented in smooth ovals rather than commonplace spheres. Piazza's oval gelato scoop comes in handy for all these instances. While I do primarily use it to fancy up ice cream for dinner guests, it's also fun for artful presentations of wilted greens or pretty mounds of rice. Again, not exactly essential, but definitely fun for the home gourmand.
The last gadget I added to my arsenal recently is the Contigo double-wall travel mug. I first saw it in an industry magazine where it touted a lid that is "100-percent leak-proof and 100-percent spill-proof." Now that I had to try! I bring my coffee to work every day and generally have too few hands for all the work necessities and toddler paraphernalia (and toddler) I need to lug out the door. I'd been dreaming of a mug I could fill up and just throw in my bag without worry. THIS is the mug. Not only has it never leaked even a single drop, even when laid horizontally in my Built lunch tote and jostled for miles, but it also has kept my hot coffee hot and my cold coffee cold for hours on end. I've noticed when I make iced coffee at 8 a.m. that when I leave at 5 p.m. the ice isn't even melted. But still, the tumbler had me at "leak-proof"...
Got any essential kitchen gadgets that have recently come into your life? Add a comment and let me know!
--KitchenMaus
MollieBee on July 03, 2009 at 07:58 AM
Good morning,
I'm NOT a kitchen gadget buyer but did take a flyer on an Amazon offering about 3 years ago and I LOVE it! It is a bright red Komachi by Kai tomato slicing knife. It is still available and is swell for zuccini, cucumber and of course tomato slicing!! I use it at least 3 times a week and have given it to all my married
daughters. It looks cute in the knife drawer too.
Mark on July 03, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Hi,
Thanks for the recommendations. I came here via Instapundit. I purchased two of the mugs and two of the mits and they gave me a 4 for 3 discount. Not expected but welcomed.
Maggie45 on July 03, 2009 at 01:31 PM
Hi there, I'm very interested in getting a lunch tote bag. Will you tell me which model you have? Thanks.
Sarah Rolph on July 03, 2009 at 07:08 PM
I like the Ove Glove. It's an actual glove for the oven, rather than a mitt, so your hands retain their full dexterity. It's made of some miracle fiber that stands up to high heat but feels like regular fabric.
The only drawback is that it becomes instantly non-heatproof when wet, so you have to be very careful around steam (as when straining pasta). That's true of most regular oven mitts, as well. Does the neoprene hold up to heat when wet?
Karen on July 04, 2009 at 07:01 AM
I have been enjoying the Contigo travel mugs for about 6 months and they are absolutely the best! I also really like the Contigo water bottles that use the same type of leak proof top.
KitchenMaus on July 06, 2009 at 04:27 PM
Hi Maggie45! I have the Built Relish Lunch Tote. Lots of fun patterns--I chose the Nolita Stripe one. http://www.amazon.com/Built-Relish-Lunch-Nolita-Stripe/dp/B001P5GJKO/ref=blogs_aldente_link