A chef without a knife can't do much. I've made the mistake of arriving to help prep someone's party and getting stuck with a dull knife. The wrong tool can double your prep time. It can suck all the joy out of your task, and who wants that?!
My first day at cooking school, I received a shiny suitcase full of tools: mostly knives that I didn't know what to do with, a peeler, a pair of shears. By the time I finished school two years later, my suitcase was stuffed with even more knives, gadgets, and that microplane grater that everyone eyed with envy.
I have a knife just for slicing bacon! There exists a knife (it's in my box) for the sole purpose of slicing smoked salmon paper thin. I gained a knife for shaping a potato into the classic 7-sided chateau potato. I have a cleaver! Don't argue with me when that one's in my hand!
But really, most people only need 2 or 3 knives. A serrated bread knife, a chef's knife, a paring knife. If you have more than that, you probably just need to sharpen your old knife. Really. Unless maybe you bone your chickens yourself...? Do you...?
I shun most gadgets. They're usually expensive replacements for a spoon and a little finesse. But there are certain tools I'm thankful for. Tools that save time, save clean-up, save the day: my mandoline, an Asian tool designed to thinly slice anything, even coconut. (Yes, I speak from experience!) Add a small blade and those slices will turn into matchsticks. Watch your carrots become perfect for coleslaw. Watch those potatoes become shoestrings. Watch your thumb! (Yes, I speak from experience!)
A great whisk, NOT a balloon whisk, is essential, not just for eggs, but the perfect tool for mashing avocados, turning hard-boiled eggs into egg salad, thickening that salad dressing.
That rubber spatula gets the last bit of whatever out of any bowl. It folds your egg whites gently into your soufflé base, your waffle mix, your meringue. It artfully fills your pastry bag, smoothes frosting in a pinch, moves your scrambled eggs around, and matches your kitchen at the same time! Personally, every kitchen deserves some red.
I've lost my nutmeg grater, and my zester, but replaced them both joyfully with an awesome microplane grater. This thing perfectly zests my citrus--and fast!--, fixes the nutmeg problem (fresh nutmeg, totally worth it!), grates cheese and chocolate, and takes up almost no space in my drawer. A microplane takes my lemon curd to a new level in half the time, not to mention what it does to a handmade granita!
My mother, trying to identify with a daughter who cooks, sends me little things: a grapefruit knife, a cherry pitter, that avocado peeler we talked about, even an egg slicer. All cool. I've been offered a kiwi spoon--from New Zealand!--an apple corer, and spatulas, spoons and tea balls. They have their place; they work for me too. There's nothing in that drawer that I don't use.
I have best friends: that mandoline, my knives, that don't even go in the drawer. They stick close to me. I use them daily. I have acquaintances that hover in a coffee cup near my prep area: my scissors, peeler, a pair of tongs, corkscrew! They come out to play regularly. Then I have my facebook friends: that tea ball that works not just for tea but for infusing my creme anglaise with spices, a bouquet garni in my stock, a handful of pineapple and ginger in my water. The candy thermometer I rely on for perfectly soft marshmallows, crunchy praline, homemade caramel sauce. I don't use these daily, or even weekly, but I'd be lost without them.
The right tool for the right job is half the lesson. A saucepan has sloped sides for a reason. If you're peeling 40 pears, you really do want a Y-shaped peeler. Just try to slice that bread with a chef's knife. Not happening! If you are "one of those" who just can't stand all that prep work that comes with cooking, take a serious look at your toolbox. Check your knives. (Are they even sharp anymore?) You may suddenly find yourself with time to spare for that apperitif once you give yourself a break and invest in your dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment