Archive forsep 2014

Weird kitchen utensils

Category: Tools | Skrivet: Sep 26, 2014

Weird kitchen utensils

What’s the weirdest kitchen utensil you’ve ever come across?

How about a banana slicer? There’s one on the market that cuts five slices per squeeze of a handle. Cool or plain daft? Well, if you have small kids, it kind of makes sense as it allows them to make their own breakfasts and snacks since the dull blade makes it pretty safe to use. Then there are the asparagus peelers we’ve spotted. These utensils not only peel the asparagus, but also snip the tough ends. And, wait, some can even be used for green beans and sugar snap peas.

Both items are available for sale today, but what about some of yesteryear’s nifty inventions? Like the leak-proof hot-dog roll invented in the 1920s (never seen it, to be honest) or the car food tray from the 1940s (not seen that either). Our favourite, though, is the combo music-box-drinking-straw invented in the 1960s by one Arthur Barr who said it would encourage picky kids to consume whatever beverages parents gave them. Biggest problem was someone had to turn the handle of the music-box-straw to play the tune that encouraged the kid to suck the straw…

Pro advice on kitchen utensils: 

• If it does what a knife does – you should probably use a knife

• Keep it simple – complicated utensils complicate the job at hand

• Buy quality – the right stuff lasts for generations

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Guests and their genes

Category: Trends, insights | Skrivet: Sep 15, 2014

All about celery

Thinking about serving your dinner guests celery, cilantro/coriander, rocket/rucola, broccoli, horseradish or fennel? Then you should also think about giving them the chance to kindly say thanks but no thanks...

Some people find the above ingredients – literally – hard to swallow. Not because they are more spoilt and querulous than more forgiving dinner guests, but more likely because they have a genetically different setup of taste buds. (Some of them can, of course, be both spoilt and equipped with sensitive taste buds...)

Being aware of this might save you some trouble. Bon appetit!

For more info:

Cilantro Haters...

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About knives (and not forgetting the scissors)

Category: Tools | Skrivet: Sep 08, 2014

gordon ramsay kitchen knives

About to spend several thousand pounds, dollars or euros on a monster set of knives? Before you dip into your pocket, it may be wise to recall that Gordon Ramsay has suggested that "you basically need three knives: A heavy duty chopping knife, followed by a small paring knife… and a serrated-edge knife for carving and slicing."

You’ll use an 8 to 10-inch chef’s knife for over 80% of all your slicing needs in the kitchen. The fact is, a high-quality chef’s knife is good for just about everything, while the small paring knife is designed to handle the smaller detail work, like boning, fileting or trimming. Of curse, it’s nice to have more specialized slicing cutlery, but we’re talking basics here, not a 45-piece block of equipment. Our third basic slicing tool to always have on hand is a serrated knife, enabling it to bite into the likes of bread without the need to press down and crush a loaf.

Finally, you’ll need kitchen scissors to cut, trim and prune herbs, but also to slice a pizza, cut through crab and lobster shells, and trim and cut poultry.

One last piece of solid advice, don’t forget to thoroughly wash and clean your knife or scissors after each use to avoid any risk of cross contamination

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