Perused the cooking utensils aisle recently?
I've seen welding shops that had fewer gadgets. In fact, if you look closely enough, you'll find something similar to a welding tool — a little propane gas tank so you can easily caramelize sugar on homemade creme brulee. Perfect every time.
The last six months of my life have been very tough. I moved to Pittsburgh from central Ohio, and most of my kitchen stuff still is in storage. Meantime, I've had to make do with very limited culinary tools owned by my roommate. At least there is an instant-read thermometer — a long-ago gift from me. But the potato peeler doesn't work right, and there aren't any slotted spoons.
My potato ricer is languishing somewhere in a box. My roommate prefers to whip potatoes using an electric mixer. Can you say, "glue"?
I've made it a point to stay away from home kitchen accessories parties. I can't walk out the door without spending at least $100 on doodads and thingamajigs that all of a sudden I cannot bake or cook without. As Jeff Foxworthy says about men and bass boats, "I have to have these! Here are my life savings!"
Sometimes a gadget's purpose is apparent, but some of the newer ones look as though they came from another planet. Here's a quiz to test your culinary tool IQ. Take a look at the gadgets on the right, and take your guess from the choices below:
Gadget No. 1.
a. Plastic whisk to use with nonstick cookware.
b. Twirler to make fresh rotini pasta.
c. Child's potato masher.
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 2.
a. Toe rings for poolside parties.
b. Wine glass identification chains.
c. New Britney Spears line of bellybutton jewelry.
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 3.
a. Organic farmer's toothbrush.
b. New potato hybrid from Area 51, Roswell, N.M.
c. Hard bristle scrubber for potatoes.
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 4.
a. Battery-operated kitchen timer.
b. Honey, I shrunk the phone.
c. Logo paperweight for the nonprofit Ban the Cell Phone Association.
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 5.
a. Plastic crochet hook legal for Grandma to use during domestic and international flights.
b. Kitchen twine threader.
c. Citrus peeler (zester).
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 6.
a. Found in "good luck" cake delivered yesterday to home of actor Robert Blake.
b. Microplane zester/grater for chocolate, cheese, coconut and other foods.
c. Laser gun prototype for "Star Trek: the Middle Ages."
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 7.
a. How Scrubbing Bubbles got started in the biz.
b. Soft-bristle brush to clean mushroom caps.
c. Meteorologist's on-camera figurine to explain thunderclouds to the layman.
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 8.
a. Julienne peeler.
b. Noodle cutter.
c. "Pop top" opener for champagne bottles.
Click here for the answer
Gadget No. 9.
a. Plastic mold from U.S. Mint to make nickels, dimes, quarters and those annoying dollar coins.
b. Combination pastry dough scraper and measure for dry pasta.
c. Interior mechanism for Kermit the Frog.
Click here for the answer
All items available at Kitchen Wizard, 5874 Forbes Ave., (412) 422-2665, unless otherwise noted. Check other cookware shops for similar items.
Photos by Keith Hodan and J.C. Schisler, Tribune-Review
