I Want One Of Those

[DrXmus]

It figures that there'd be a NASA KSC gift shop at the Orlando airport. The mitts run a little on the small side, fwiw.

My newest object(s) of desire:

Very cool, but I'd be more likely to get a set if they cut tomatoes with ease after slicing through an aluminum can. Ginsu, watch out. The Light Saber Knife is coming after you!!

[Actually, I guess the number of lawsuits they'd have to deal with after people sliced off a finger or three would make the product prohibitively expensive. Too bad.]

[Rhone1998]

The perfect brunoise?

[DrXmus]

I just bought a Taylor Outdoor Digital Thermometer at Lowe's in Chantilly. It was only $20 and gives my $80 Thermopen a run for its money. It's got a very small tip, although it's a little bigger than a Thermopen's, and it reads accurately at the very last 1/4" of the probe. The temperature reading is stable after about 1 second, so it's slightly slower than the Thermopen, but when does half a second really matter? It's got some pre-programmed temperature settings for meats with lights that tell you if you're below, near or above your target temp, but it does show the current temp in F or C which is the primary purpose, right? The programmed settings aren't on automatically, so it's not really an issue. Seriously, though, if you want meat at 160 and the temp is 150, do you really need a light to tell you the current temp is below your target? Well, if this is important to you, this little beauty will give you a blue light. When the temp is 163, it'll give you a red light. Thank the Lord for technology!!;-) For years now, I've been waiting for thermocouple probes to hit the mainstream and it's finally happened. For $20, this thing is a steal, I think.

[Sthitch]

This would sure make road trips a bit easier.

[Rhone1998]

I want one of these.

[ol_ironstomach]

Wanted: Dead or Filleted...preferably with a side of 'slaw and some fried potatoes

[lperry]

I think I need one of these.

[zoramargolis]

I think I need one of these.

Wow. I would have loved to find out about this when I was searching for a way to grind wet nixtamal to make fresh masa.

[dcs]

Must-Have Gadgets for the Kitchen? Think Again

[arleneivana]

I don't think I can live another day without a juicer. I need to juice all the things. Anyone have any recommendations? A friend offered to sell me her Breville but I've also heard good things about the Omega brand.

[lperry]

I was lent an Omega VRT350, and just juiced some ginger. Very impressive. Tasty too. It almost takes the sting out of doing my Virginia taxes.

[FunnyJohn]

For the person who already has everything

[KMango]

For the person who already has everything

And one of these to initially fill the shaker....

[FunnyJohn]

And one of these to initially fill the shaker....

GENIOUS!

[KMango]

My Ideal Fridge

*want*

[lperry]

For the toast voyeur. Such as myself.

[zoramargolis]

I need to get one of these for J. He is constantly popping the toast up and then back down again because it isn't dark enough. He also burns things because he'll put in a delicate bread, like challah, and crank the darkness gauge up to 5 and walk away.

[cheezepowder]

Portable watermelon fridge (I don't actually want one. )

[ol_ironstomach]

I've been a fan of Bathsheba Grossman's mathematical sculptures for years, but this one actually provides a useful function:

The Klein bottle opener

[The Hersch]

That is quite possibly the coolest bottle-opener in history. I just can't bring myself to spend $72 on a bottle-opener.

[goldenticket]

After a particularly gruesome incident involving my finger and the edge of a classic Microplane grater, I really want one of the Elite series graters. Or maybe even the Four-sided box grater.

[lperry]

Ow. I bought these for less than three Microplanes and gave away the wood holder. I love them, especially the little bumper for the bottom of the bowl.

[weezy]

If anyone is in the market for knives, great sale on a Shun Edo set on Woot today. Also somewhere in that section is a deal on Wusthof steak knives, a set of 4 for $70.

[weezy]

After a particularly gruesome incident involving my finger and the edge of a classic Microplane grater, I really want one of the Elite series graters. Or maybe even the Four-sided box grater.

Ouchy! I have one of the plain vanilla 4-sided box graters from when I first moved into my own place. I've tried various other things over the years. They get discarded and I go back to the old tried and true.

[goodeats]

Now that my neuro fuzzy is teetering on temperamental, and my sister said she wanted one of these, I decided that I would like one too. Except for the price...

[Ilaine]

Surfing around on Amazon, looking for a bacon grease holder, which led me to a bacon press, which now I also want.  But the cute one with the pig on top is nine inches in diameter and won't fit in Old Reliable, my ancient cast iron skillet of unknown provenance.  So then I wandered far, looking at various cast iron skillets, only to realize that I have no idea what the diameter means when the vendor states the measurement.  Is it the external diameter at the top of the pan?  Because the busines end of the pan is the internal diameter at the bottom.

Anybody know?  Or do I need to go to the store with a tape measure?

Also, anybody use a bacon press?  How do you like it?

Maybe a rectangular or square pan would be better for bacon, which is also rectangular and about 9 inches long.  Am I right?  And then I would probably want a rectangular bacon press, I guess.

[thistle]

I have a bacon press (Camp Chef), & I don't remember ever using it, but I may, some day. I have a cast iron griddle that goes on the camp stove.

[Ilaine]

The cool (well, not, not cool) thing that a bacon press appears to do is that it will get hot, which cooks the bacon from the top while it's cooking from the bottom.  Some people say heat it in the skillet, which means that the skillet will be hot when you put in the bacon, which seems just wrong.  Let the bacon come to room temperature and start it in a cool pan is what I always do.

Reviews on Amazon say that having heat from both sides will help cook the bacon in two minutes.  I don't really care if the bacon is flat, you have to be pretty OCD to care, methinks, but not standing over the stove flipping the bacon every minute or two would be nice.

I use two cast iron pans when making grilled cheese sandwiches, one on the top, and that works pretty well.  Never tried it with bacon.  Might work the same as a bacon press?

[bookluvingbabe]

The cool (well, not, not cool) thing that a bacon press appears to do is that it will get hot, which cooks the bacon from the top while it's cooking from the bottom.  Some people say heat it in the skillet, which means that the skillet will be hot when you put in the bacon, which seems just wrong.  Let the bacon come to room temperature and start it in a cool pan is what I always do.

Reviews on Amazon say that having heat from both sides will help cook the bacon in two minutes.  I don't really care if the bacon is flat, you have to be pretty OCD to care, methinks, but not standing over the stove flipping the bacon every minute or two would be nice.

I use two cast iron pans when making grilled cheese sandwiches, one on the top, and that works pretty well.  Never tried it with bacon.  Might work the same as a bacon press?

You could just cook the bacon in the oven.  It takes longer but you can't beat it for laziness.

[zoramargolis]

I wrap the bacon press in aluminum foil before using so I don't need to wash it. I use it more often for grilled sandwiches than for bacon.

[weezy]

I got one and also rarely use it.  Even when I'm making grilled sandwiches, I typically forget that I have it and use another cast iron skillet as a press.

[zoramargolis]

Here's one for the cool design gadget geeks:

click.

[Pat]

I wrap the bacon press in aluminum foil before using so I don't need to wash it. I use it more often for grilled sandwiches than for bacon.

Well, that might just be my best tip of 2013, even if I'm just seeing it now.  I have two bacon presses and use them for grilled cheese more than anything else.

[Ilaine]

Speak to me about whether I would actually use a mortar and pestle.  Food 52 is selling a very nice-looking one, but why would I want one?  If you have one, what do you actually do with it?

I mash guacamole with a potato masher, I don't mind chunky.  I grind spices in a mini-Cuisinart, which works OK.  I make pesto in the big Cuisinart.  Would a good mortar and pestle change my ways?

[hillvalley]

For $90 it should come with someone to do all the work for you.

They are great when you need to bash the hell out of something, and for many of the uses you listed above, but if you have any problems with your arm, elbow or hand don't bother.  I'd say find a much cheaper one and go for it.

[dcs]

Speak to me about whether I would actually use a mortar and pestle.  Food 52 is selling a very nice-looking one, but why would I want one?  If you have one, what do you actually do with it?

I mash guacamole with a potato masher, I don't mind chunky.  I grind spices in a mini-Cuisinart, which works OK.  I make pesto in the big Cuisinart.  Would a good mortar and pestle change my ways?

From the product details:

With a minimalist design, it's decorative enough to sit out on your kitchen counter. 

It's funny.  When I read mortar and pestle in your post my first thought was that it would probably look nice on the fireplace mantle.  That is probably the most use I would get out of it.  

[LauraB]

I have a mortar & pestle and it may be the least used cooking equipment in my kitchen.  It's very nice and I know it cost way less than $90.  I have several electric mini-grinders, including a German one that I bought in the '80s and it's still going strong(!), that I use for grinding spices, nuts, and almost everything else.  They work great and, if the results aren't 'authentic' or as tasty as a mortar-ground ingredient, oh well.  I've saved myself a lot of time and elbow grease.

[Pat]

For $90 it should come with someone to do all the work for you.

They are great when you need to bash the hell out of something, and for many of the uses you listed above, but if you have any problems with your arm, elbow or hand don't bother.  I'd say find a much cheaper one and go for it.

I agree with getting a cheaper one.  I mostly use mine to crush spices and nuts that don't have to be crushed fine.  I don't like pulling out my spice grinder unless I have to, and, especially for nuts, getting them broken coarsely is sometimes more desirable than turning them into powder.

[The Hersch]

I had a mortar and pestle for many years, finally jettisoning it during a move. I'm not sure I ever used it; if I did, it was probably on the day I got it.

[zoramargolis]

Fishinnards uses one all the time for his Thai recipes. Perhaps he will chime in here with good reasons to get one.

[lperry]

I'm with Pat on this one.  Mine gets used once a week or so, usually for crushing things like toasted sesame seeds that just need a little breaking to get the flavor out.  They are also nice for grinding things into coarse salt, like rosemary and lemon zest. 

[MsDiPesto]

I've entertained the idea of getting one from Edmund Scientific for the geekiness quotient.

[DrXmus]

This may deserve its own thread, but I want the machine (if it's given to me) that makes a bottle of wine in 4 days. Sure, I can make my own with my homebrewing supplies, but how cool is this thing?!!?:

http://themiraclemachine.net/#

[Fishinnards]

Fishinnards uses one all the time for his Thai recipes. Perhaps he will chime in here with good reasons to get one.

I highly recommend a granite mortar and pestle. It's cheaper than marble and indestructible. I do own many electric appliances (Mixie, mini-chop, Cuisinart etc.) and use them frequently, but nothing can compete with the mortar and pestle for breaking down fibrous ingredients. It's also great for small amounts, plus it doesn't care if your ingredients are wet or dry. With the marble one you can do the roll grind, but it's probably not as good at bashing things to a pulp. Granite is great for smashing. The only drawback is the loud steady banging noise (along with the "how much longer are you going to be doing that?"). The weight of the pestle does most most of the work, so you don't need to be strong. Unless you cook a lot of South and Southeast Asian food, you could probably live without one, but I also use it for Mexican, Italian, and Korean cooking. You can find these at Thai and Vietnamese groceries around here and save on S & H, but here's some mail order links:

Temple of Thai

Import Food

[Smita Nordwall]

 You can find these at Thai and Vietnamese groceries around here 

Eric, where can I find one in NoVa specifically? Any ideas?

[Fishinnards]

Eric, where can I find one in NoVa specifically? Any ideas? 

Duangrat's Grocery 5888 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22041. Also the grocery in Eden Center has them. Bangkok 54 Grocery on Columbia Pike is still closed from the fire, but should re-open sometime in April. They will have them as well.

[Smita Nordwall]

Duangrat's Grocery 5888 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22041. Also the grocery in Eden Center has them. Bangkok 54 Grocery on Columbia Pike is still closed from the fire, but should re-open sometime in April. They will have them as well.

Thanks for giving me a reason to visit Eden Center.

[porcupine]

Agree with Pat and Linda.  I use mine every few days for small amounts of spices like cardamom, coriander, cloves, fennel, cumin...  I don't buy or store ground spices, only whole, and even a little spice grinder won't do much for half a teaspoon of cardamom seeds.

[ol_ironstomach]

After struggling to keep a cheapie cassette stove cranking out enough heat for deep-frying this weekend (the proximate issue was the butane can becoming too cold to boil its contents, thus dropping the fuel system pressure), I'm watching a Jacques Pepin video this afternoon and realize he's making his dish over what appears to be a portable burner...and it's really cranking out the heat!

He was using one of these: an Iwatani 35FW.  It turns out that Iwatani's butane cassette stoves are respectively rated at 12k and 15k BTU/hr, versus around 8k for the garden variety item (which has still been really useful for the past 16 years).  Might be time to upgrade.

[Rhone1998]

Just came across this supposedly self-sharpening knife block from Calphalon.  Seems like a cool idea, but wondering if anyone has any experience with either their knives or this technology?