Cook's Kitchen Corner
Welcome to What’s For Ginner. My blog today is about kitchen utensils. In the last couple of years, I have amped up my cooking skills to gourmet or at least semi gourmet which I think my husband Terry is happy about. It started out like this - slowly until I got sucked into more and more reality cook offs. Guy’s Grocery Games and Hell’s Kitchen Kids version are my favs. I started watching these shows knowing I would never be able to handle the stress of throwing together some 5-star dish in 20 minutes with crazy ingredients thrown at me like chicharrónes or duck confit, but by osmosis, I have picked up a few things. I guess I wanted to try new things all the while thinking I could be a chef like those on tv. Just not a rushed one! And I’m not quite ready to wing it without a recipe on all these new things I’m trying. But I’m getting there!
I even went so far as to becoming a Pampered Chef Consultant. I’ve been a customer for years since I believe in the product. It’s top notch after all. Anyway, shameless plug here. If you’re interested in a kitchen refresh, click on my link and have at it! https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/jeanginner
Now back to my story. I Googled uncommon kitchen utensils and a few came up that I wanted to talk about. I do not own any of these tools, so I don’t know how well they work, but if my observations are correct, these will be my next kitchen purchases.
I take that back. The first item I want to talk about is the 30 second whipped cream maker by Pampered Chef. I do not own this yet, but I have used it. In 30 seconds, you have amazing, whipped topping! Add 3 ingredients to the cup, put on the top and press the plunger for 30 seconds. Voila! You have whipped topping. Swap out the bottom for the decorator tip and you have decorator skills! You can also mix up scrambled eggs too. So easy!
#2 is the Heated Knife. Picture that piece of bread (or muffin) hot out of the oven that is just begging to be completed. And as you go to dive for the butter to get it on top as fast as possible so it begins to melt into your delectable bite, you find a hard pat of butter that just plops on top. Nooo! Well, there is a tool called the heated knife. This knife takes just 2 minutes to heat up and melt your butter into every nook and cranny. Problem solved! This seems easier than guessing how much butter you might need and then melting it for your bread. With this knife, you get it hot and can add more butter as needed. It’s a win-win! This is sold on Amazon.
#3 is the Water Bottle Ice Cube Tray. The next item that piques my interest is the water bottle ice cube tray. Now this has been around for a little bit, but I never bought into it. I have to admit that the thought of opening my freezer to find this ice cube tray, pop out a cube just for my water or iced tea bottle did not excite me especially when the door of my fridge already gives me cubes, just the wrong size. However, there are a lot of situations where I will be out long enough to have my favorite beverage go luke warm. Hubs has been set to just buy a new one, but due to rising costs, we have been rethinking this. The extra effort, which is minor, saves about $4 for the two of us to stop and buy 2 new drinks. As a money saver in the end, this is a must.
#4 is a Chork. A chork you ask? Not a spork. This crazy invention is for newbie chop stick users. The concept is this. You order Chinese food. You really want to get into using chopsticks but haven’t mastered them yet. The Chork allows you to try with the chopstick ends and when your patience runs out, you flip it over and use the fork side. For me that takes about 3 minutes. I mean, how do you pick up rice with sticks? (I know this answer but have had more and more clumps of food fall apart leaving me with little to no food on my chopsticks.) For all those determined souls out there, just know that there is help out there for you.
#5 An Avocado Slicer is another tool that I am interested in. I love avocadoes and so far, I have avoided “avocado hand.” That is the injury you can get when you improperly cut an avocado. Just like the dreaded “bagel injury.” I almost got one of those but was able to save myself! The avocado tool splits, pits and slices your avocado in just a few moves. When done, just toss in the dishwasher.
That’s my list of exciting new finds for the kitchen that this “chef” wants to try. Let me know if you have any great finds of your own. Jean Ginner signing off from What’s For Ginner?