What are your favorite, most used, can't live without, kitchen utensils?

[wildeyed]

I gotta say, life is not worth living with out a really good chef's knife. After that, stock pot, large non-stick frying pan and a 3-quart saute pan. I also use my microplane grater nearly everyday.

[Lavender Brown]

1. My potato masher

:D and my stovetop espresso pot.

[wildeyed]

6. I love mashed potatoes,

but I am mostly too lazy to make them. Mostly a special occasion thing around our house.

[wryter2000]

2. After what you mentioned

Knives and stockpot have to be at the top of the list.

Next, cast iron pans. A Dutch oven for frying chicken and a skillet that's my Cajun roux maker and at other times stands in for a comal to heat tortillas and quesadillas.

[wildeyed]

4. I was thinking I should add cast iron pan to the list.

I just used mine to make quesadillas for the kids :9

[Nicole]

3. garlic press,

mezzaluna, microplane grater & chef's knife.

[wildeyed]

5. I use the fine microplane grater instead of a garlic press, now.

Less waste, easier to clean, and it gets the job done. Only problem, I periodically grate my thumb, which is unpleasant.

[Nicole]

7. I use that sometimes too

instead of a garlic press. However I have one hand that doesn't always work & the garlic press is easier to handle one handed.

That is the same reason I often use the mezzaluna instead of a chef's knife.

[wryter2000]

8. I used the side of my knife to smash it

And then chop with the blade. Garlic presses are too much of a pain to wash.

[NMDemDist2]

44. agreed n/t

[Rabrrrrrr]

43. I cannot abide the garlic press. Too damned hard to clean

As another poster commented in reponse to your post.

I, too, take the chef knife and smash the garlic with it on the cutting board, and mince it. You don't ruin the garlic that way, and don't lose 20% of the garlic that gets stuck in the damn press and can't be cleaned out without help of a 400 psi water jet.

But, if you like the garlic press, I affirm that. THough I would suggest taht you try the smashing technique and see how you like it.

[The empressof all]

9. Aside from good knives

Micro plane
Hand Chopper thingie
My Kitchen Aid--(I guess this is an appliance)
Whisk
Hand Blender (another appliance)
citrus juicer
chop sticks
spider strainer

[kayell]

20. What is a spider strainer? Surely not for what it sounds like....

[The empressof all]

23. Yes used for frying spiders

ONLY KIDDING! I don't know if that's the official name but that's what I call those wide strainer like thingies used to cook Chinese food. Not only are they great for stirfrys they can fish out ravioli's, pirogies, and even noodles. I even use them to pull the vegetables out when I boil them. (potatoes) I have terrible arthritis in my hands and I sometimes find it hard to lift large pasta pots to pour into a colander. This is a great solution for me.

[yellowdogintexas]

10. My wok, my steamer and a good non stick skillet

Of course there are many tools in my kitchen but those are the cooking tools I use the most often.

You can do a lotof things with a wok. I have popped popcorn in it, made soup in it, deep fried veggies in it.

My luxury item is my food processor

[ironflange]

11. So many, so many

I'll just mention a few.

a really nice set of knives, plus a big Chinese cleaver
an assortment of heavy-based nonstick pans, plus a stainless one
the Starfrit Garlic Genius. In goes cloves, skin and all, out comes beautiful puree
Braun Multipractic hand blender
gorgeous antique carving set
two pair of long cooking chopsticks, I use them for everything
four plastic cutting boards, 2 big, 2 small. Any one used for meat goes into the DW ASAP.
Aerolatte - a battery-powered tiny mixer, supposed to be for lattes, but I keep finding new uses for it.

This just scratches the surface. I love my gadgets!

[Lilli]

12. Heat Resistant Spatula/Scraper is awesome :)

And they arent "utensils" but I couldnt function without my cast iron skillet and my omlette pan

[Beware the Beast Man]

13. My T-Fal cookware.

I almost cried the day I made a perfect omelet. It was a thing of beauty.

[cmf]

14. I agree about the knife

I really learned about how much easier a good chef's knife can make your life once I got married and bought a set of good quality knives. It makes a world of difference. After that, I would vote for my 10-in saute pan.

[SouthPasadenaDem]

15. Electric coffee grinder (mmmm, fresh ground coffee)

followed by my old-fashioned Revere stainless steel, copper-bottem cookware (best investment I ever made).

[The empressof all]

24. I still have a few of my Mom's pieces

I love them! Those copper bottomed Revere Ware really stands the test of time.

[kayell]

16. My woks, cleaver, japanese vegetable knife, and cutting board,

wood paddles and my rice cooker. If I HAD to give everything else up, I could still fix most of my meals.

[wildeyed]

18. I bought a rice cooker several years ago.

It quickly became one of my most used kitchen appliances. I never could cook rice properly on the stove top. Either too runny or crispy and toasted. Also, the cooker keeps the rice warm if it gets finished before the rest of the meal.

[kayell]

19. Rice cookers rule. I use it for all kinds of other grains, even oatmeal.

[amerikat]

17. several things

Good carbon steel knives, and a "crock stik" sharpener to keep them sharp. I have a full set of knives but I use the 5 1/2" utility the most. Followed by a 10" ham slicer which is great for carving turkeys as well. The big chefs knife, the paring knives and specialty knives don't get much use.

High volume pepper grinder.

Zyliss cheese grater.

Whisk

[Eurobabe]

21. my kick ass Heavy Duty Kitchen Aid mixer.

[wildeyed]

27. Do you bake often?

I bought a mixer and now I rarely use it. I like to cook, but don't bake all that often.

[Eurobabe]

28. I cook ALOT, and bake alot too

I use the mixer for a ton of stuff, and sometime soon I am going to get my own meatgrinder attachment. :)

[Philostopher]

31. You'll love the grinder.

We bought the mixer from Amazon (it was the Artisan model, I've never seen it as cheap anywhere as I got it, including Amazon), and they offered a 'freebie' with the deal. We got the grinder. We buy cheap steak cuts, cut off the fat and make our own hamburger. I also grind chicken breasts, once in a while, if I want ground chicken for a recipe.

It's getting on toward baking season again -- I usually do much more of it in the winter than in the summer -- so I'll have to clear off the mixer again.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

33. I love my Kitchen Aid, mine is Kick Ass Heavy Duty too!

I don't use the attachments so much lately, but I LOVE my chrome monster. My mom is the same way with hers, still has her trusty avocado green Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

[Citizen Jane]

22. Garlic mandoline, potato ricer, microplane graters, silicone coated whisk

Okay, I really do have a bunch (in rough order of importance):

Good knife, nothing more needs to be said

William's Sonoma Pasta Pot with steamer insert.

Rice cooker (we actually have 3 and I have used all of them at once while making Indian food)

Large Calphalon professional non-stick saute pan

Silicone coated, fat-handled whisk.

Potato ricer, couldn't live without it. Brought mine back with me from Italy because I couldn't find one I liked here.

Hand held mandoline (brought this back from Italy too...has a rubber, no-skid foot and two thicknesses, great for perfect, thin squash and potato rounds)

Vegetable Reamer--only recently have I seen these in the U.S.--it is a tool that you can use to hand-core small vegetables like zucchini. I use it to make meat-stuffed zucchini, but it has come in handy for other dishes as well.

"Rabbit" style wine opener and fool-proof foil cutter

Microplane graters. Aaaah. Wonder if they make microplane disks for my food processor.

Tiny garlic mandoline/slicer--one side shaves thin pieces of garlic and the other grates it. Fabulous.

Williams Sonoma Digital meat thermometer (now I want the portable one!)

But, all that being said, I have cooked with only a Swiss Army Knife, garlic, chicken, olive oil, and rosemary branches cut from the garden shrubs at one time in my life...

[lapislzi]

25. Microplane grater

I'm the Lime Queen. Margaritas and key lime pie are always on the menu in my house. Couldn't live without that little lifesaver.

Oh, and my gigantic 7-quart cast iron Dutch oven. It cost a fortune, and it was worth every penny. You have never seen a perfect simmer until you've watched this thing in action.

[Eurobabe]

29. What is this? Never heard of it....

I just grated limes yesterday...with one of those rasp thingys. OUCH!

[Blue Gardener]

26. My Pampered Chef food chopper

Wonderful!

[SW FL Dem]

30. My veggie steamer

I also love my knives and my Pampered Chef garlic press.

[BamaGirl]

32. My knives, cast iron, and stock pot

are essential ;) I also can't live without my roasting pan or stainless steel pots. Or my cheese grater. Or my coffee grinder. Or... Ok this list could be endless lol. I'm planning on buying a meat grinder pretty soon. I'm sure it will rank pretty high on my must have gadget list too lol.

[imenja]

34. my silicone spatula, kitchen aid mixer and food processor

[Kipepeo]

41. I second the silicone spatula!

I love this thing: heat resistant and easy to clean:



And my hand blender, which is perfect for pureeing soups without removing them from the pot. I also use this instead of a food processor for almost everything now. Very handy:

[NashVegas]

35. Can Opener

and after that, ye olde wooden spoon.

[thedailyshow]

36. I can't live without....

my good sharp knife, my cutting board, the double pasta boiler, the omelette pan, and a heavy pan.

[mike_c]

37. good knives and a really BIG, THICK cutting board....

[Dora]

38. Cast iron griddle. Cheese plane. Apple corer/slicer.

Ice cream paddle. Hubby prefers the classic ice cream scoop, but I find the paddle easier to work with when the ice cream is rock hard.

[politicat]

39. My chopping block and ulu

seen here: http://store2.yimg.com/I/bereacc_1781_7775554

I got it from Berea College, which organization I support like nobody's business. They do everything I believe in.

If you must give gifts this year, and can't make them, or don't have time, please consider buying from Berea. Here's their crafts site: http://bereacc.site.yahoo.net/index.html /shameless plug for a good cause.

Pcat

[MrsMatt]

40. spaetzle press

my daughter LOVES her spaetzle!

Olive wood cooking spoons - they feel so nice in the hand, and they are beautiful to boot.

Tempered glass 8 cup batter bowls.

[wiley]

42. Flexible Plastic Spatula

[NashVegas]

45. I Have a New Fave - Straining Spoon

I picked this little honey up at Williams Sonoma this afternoon in advance of a batch of chicken stock.

It's ladel shaped, but wide like a gravy spoon and is of very, very fine mesh. Great for getting the scum off the top AND the early fat.