Kitchen Tools & Equipment: Episode 2 - Non-Electric Tools

So what’s the difference between a kitchen tool and a utensil?  Not much really except that some tools can be real-time savers…and they can turn frustration into joy!  They are still found in the same place as kitchen utensils when shopping and they often cross over in categories but for our purposes, I thought it might be helpful to separate things into smaller groups.  Quite often a tool cannot be used for more than what it was intended to do but sometimes we can find an interesting alternative use that can make our lives easier. In the case of a can opener, it opens cans and can’t do much else where a rubber spatula can do the job of a wooden spoon, and vice versa.  Some of these tools are not absolute necessities for everyone but there are a couple you maybe can’t live without.  If we go back to the can opener, how else would you be able to open a can without contaminating the contents?  Trust me I’ve know people who’ve tried…not so easy, so I would put the can opener in the necessary column.   How about a garlic press?  Not a necessity for everyone but still a very commonly used tool…unless you’re a very pretentious chef who proclaims, “I never use one. It bruises the garlic.”  Really?  It bruises the garlic??  (…and yes. This quote is from personal experience. I did meet a chef that said those actual words!) But there’s no concern for the poor garlic when it’s sizzling in that hot oil??   So, you see, everyone has their own way and style of preparing foods.  The trick is to find your style and stick with the tools (or utensils) that best suit you.  And by the way, I bruise my garlic.  It’s better than walking around with smelly garlic fingers for the rest of day.