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Kitchen Tools We Can’t Live Without
There are just some tools we can’t be without. We’re not talking about the obvious knives and pans that everyone has but those indispensables that might not come to mind and yet come in so handy in the kitchen--things like ulus and pastry blenders.
Kitchen scales
It’s quicker and more accurate to weigh flour than to measure it. A cup of flour generally weighs 5 to 5.2 ounces but create a little chart and keep it handy that lists the different flours that you use and how much they weigh. We also use a scale for measuring dough for loaves and rolls to make certain that they are uniformly sized.
We use Tanita scales. There are others that are excellent but these are dead-on accurate and we’ve never had any trouble with them.
Whisks
You
can’t cook without whisks. There’s a whisk for every
purpose—sauce whisks, flat whisks, ball whisks, balloon whisks,
and more. But mostly, you need to have extra whisks so that you
always have one handy, even when the dishwasher is full. We have
an excellent selection of whisks—maybe because we love them
so much.
pastry brushes " width="100" hspace="10" align="right">We
have several pastry brushes in a drawer under the counter top. It
seems that we reach for them constantly, especially when we are
making bread or pastries. We have several just to have a clean one
always handy. Nearly every time we make bread, we either brush the
top of the loaf with an egg wash before baking or with melted butter
after baking.
Thermometer
We
would never think of making bread without a thermometer. We test
the water that we add to the mix and bread coming out of the oven.
Plus we use a thermometer for candy making and even to see how well
done the roast is.
Ulu knife
Our
ulu gets used as much as any knife in the kitchen. We got hooked
on these slick little knives when we lived in Alaska. Anytime we
need to chop, dice, or slice, we reach for the ulu. With its rocking
action, leverage, and never having to take it from the cutting board,
it is a safe, easy, and quick way to chop vegetables, nuts, or meats.
Pastry blender
You
can’t make baked goods such as biscuits, scones, pie crusts,
and muffins without a pastry blender—at least you can’t
do so easily. We use our pastry blenders for all of these. A pastry
blender is a kitchen essential. We like the kind with blades instead
of the round wires and feel they do a better job of cutting butter
into flour.
Ruler
We use a 12-inch ruler constantly, the inexpensive plastic variety that your kids have in their school packs. We use the straightedge for cutting bar cookies and we find ourselves measuring often.
Timers
Sure
there is a timer on the oven but when you have multiple projects
going, you need more than one timer. And if you get called out of
the room, it’s nice to take the timer with you. We feel that
an Everywhere Timer is essential.
Small Strainer
We
have big strainers and small strainers and we use the small one
more often than the large. It seems that we are always pouring liquids
through a strainer. We also use a small strainer for dusting powder
sugar or cocoa on pastries and cookies or dusting flour onto breads.
Measuring spoons and cups
We
have lots of measuring spoons and cups or else the one we really
want would be in the dishwasher. But what we really can’t
live without is our 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup measures. Why measure twice
when you can measure once? Besides, measuring once is more accurate.
We especially appreciate these measures for brown sugar and shortening.
Tiered cooling racks
This
is a recent discovery. When we get serious about baking cookies,
we have racks full of cookies everywhere—and soon, no more
counter space. But with tiered cooling racks, we stack them and
with more air space, they cool faster.
Glass-base springform pans
We
use springform pans for many cakes and desserts, not just cheesecakes.
Because we didn’t like the metal bases, we tried slipping
the desserts off the pan base and onto a serving plate. We don’t
bother anymore; we leave them right on the glass base. And we never
use our old metal pans anymore.
