Category: Prep Tools

KitchenArt Hot Dogger makes hot dogs your own

kitchenart_hot_dogger

A hot dog by any other name would taste just as sweet savory. Unless of course, that hot dog wasn’t a hot dog at all. While there may be many varieties of tube-steak deliciousness out there, it never hurts to improve upon perfection. Or rather, it never hurts to make hot dogs your own. If that means making hot dogs out of ground beef or what have you, than so be it.

The hot dog is a personal journey of discovery, and who am I to say what type of dog anybody should eat? (Except don’t use ketchup, please.) Whatever you choose to make your hot dog into, you’re gonna need a mold like this KitchenArt Hot Dogger to form it into place.

Collapsible kitchen gadgets from Progressive

Collapsible Over Sink Dish Rack by Progressive

In the future, all kitchen products might be collapsible to save space in what is sure to be a world full of gadget-filled kitchens. Until that time becomes a reality, we’ll just have to make do with this starter set of five. Click on through for a gallery of images. (Sadly, none from the future.)

Continue reading Collapsible kitchen gadgets from Progressive

Spice jar meets measuring spoon

Airtite Auto-Measure Spice Jars

The goal of any good kitchen gadget should be to combine common tasks into one streamlined operation. When measuring out herbs and spices why bother digging out a measuring spoon when you could just integrate one into the jar itself? That’s exactly what is going on with these Airtite Auto-Measure Spice Jars.

Available in either black or white, the 5-ounce spice jar conveniently dispenses dried herbs and spices one-quarter teaspoon at a time. Included is a shaker top for instances where good ol’ fashioned eyeballing it is good enough—which now doesn’t have to be each time since you won’t have to hunt for those pesky measuring spoons.

Creme brulee branding iron

Crème brûlée branding iron at Savoy, NYC. Photo by Melissa Hom.

For a new take (done in old way) on creme brulee check out what Savoy is doing in NYC. Instead of using a butane torch to brown the top of the custard, they opt to use a branding iron. While you probably won’t find a Creme Brulee Branding Iron any time soon in your local kitchen gadget emporium, consider that a good excuse to visit the restaurant next time you find yourself in the Big Apple.

Slice whatever you want with this multi-purpose slicer

Norpro Multi-Purpose Slicer

Now this is refreshing; a kitchen gadget that isn’t overly specialized. While I may have no need in my kitchen for a dedicated avocado slicer, I certainly could find a use for this Norpro Multi-Purpose Slicer. After all, that’s what it’s designed to do: slice multiple things.

This gadget slices everything from mushrooms to radishes, so you can finally get rid of all those slicers that are each designed to slice a different item. Or better yet, re-gift them for those hard-to-buy-for friends you have. Most likely any novelty slicers you may have are still in the package anyways.

Retrosink: Kitchen scale with sundries

American Family Kitchen Scale

In these days of molecular gastronomy kitchen scales need to be a bit more precise than those of the past. While this American Family Kitchen Scale may not see every day use any longer, it can still hold its own as décor. No less than eight food items are painted on it, presumably to tell you what the scale is to be used for. While you may not have much need to measure out a pound of lettuce, the picture (along with my favorite, the steak) sure looks nice.

Converting ounces to grams is done old-school style, with two sets of marks delineating the weight. No buttons to press here, no batteries to insert or outlet to find. However, even with no exacting measurements, this scale can still find a place in the modern kitchen—as long as you’re not using transglutaminase or sodium alginate.