There's a gadget for that

A gift for the kitchen is the way to a cook’s heart

A display at Krebs Bros. Restaurant Store in North Little Rock shows just a portion of the variety of tools available to today’s cooks.
A display at Krebs Bros. Restaurant Store in North Little Rock shows just a portion of the variety of tools available to today’s cooks.

The way to a man's heart may be through his stomach, but this holiday season, the way to a cook's heart may be through a thoughtfully selected kitchen tool or gadget.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette gifts for cooks illustration.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Countertop appliances such as the Power Pressure Cooker XL ($100) remain popular Christmas presents.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Bluetooth technology allows tools such as the iGrill Mini thermometer ($40) to send alerts to your phone when meat reaches the correct temperature.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Specialty tools such as this coconut scraper ($14) make speed of difficult tasks such as flaking coconut.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

The Oxo Good Grips citrus squeezer ($16) easily extracts juice from lemons and limes.

In 1856, Willis Hazard wrote in his book Cookery as It Should Be: A New Manual of the Dining Room and Kitchen, for Persons in Moderate Circumstances: "In modern days the progress of invention has supplied us with articles which are labor-saving, and most important aids in perfecting the culinary art. The 'Jelly strainer' is a great improvement on the jelly bag; the 'Digestor' on the ordinary 'Soup Pot;' the variety of ladles, strainers, and spoons are all important to the skilful housewife."

The jelly strainer and the digestor may have topped the list of desirable cooking tools in 1856, but what are the cooking aids that today's cooks can't live without? These cooks weighed in with their thoughts.

POWER PREP

Stand mixers continue to be extremely popular -- especially with people who love to bake. Be prepared to pay $250 to $400 for a heavy-duty model. Mary Dillard of Malvern says, "I have really loved my KitchenAid mixer. It seemed expensive when I got it 20 years ago but has been worth every dime."

Kathy Gean, a well-known caterer in Magnolia, relies heavily on her food processor -- she even keeps a spare in case her primary one breaks down. From chopping food with a few quick pulses to creating smooth dips and sauces, these machines make quick work of many chores. Prices vary considerably based on capacity and power.

While Gean's work as a caterer requires a large-capacity processor, Marc Higgins of Maumelle prefers the miniature version. He says, "I got a scaled-down version of a food processor as a gift years ago. With just two of us, it's perfect." In the Cuisinart line, the 4-cup Mini-Prep Plus retails for $49.95 and the 14-cup Custom model is $179.

The immersion blender is the go-to appliance for Anna Lancaster, who uses it to puree soups. These handy blenders eliminate the need to move hot soup from the pot to a countertop blender. "Anything that can keep me from washing the blender will have space on my counter," Lancaster says. Prices vary by brand and wattage -- more watts equal more power.

CONVENIENT COOKWARE

Ali Welky of Conway swears by the Le Creuset Dutch oven (which the company refers to as a French oven) her mother gave her as a birthday gift. The price tag on these enamel-coated, cast iron pots are not for the faint of heart -- the list price for a 7 ¼-quart French oven is $470, which makes watching for sales worthwhile. Welky says, "I have used it to the point where my husband has asked, 'Did you make [this delicious meal] simply so you could use the Dutch oven?' It really feels like something I will use the rest of my life and let my children fight over when I'm dead. It is that awesome."

Jennifer Hart of Little Rock cooks a lot of pasta, so she is partial to her pasta pot with a self-draining lid. "When I cook my pasta in it, I don't have to throw it in a strainer because the pot has drain holes in the lid," Hart says.

Sharon Landon of Bryant uses a wok passed down from her father, who loved to cook Chinese food. "He and my mom would throw lavish food parties about four or five times a year, serving everything Chinese on the menu that you could imagine. One Christmas about 10 years ago, I received a huge package in the mail. When I opened it and saw that wok, I broke into some of the happiest tears I've ever shed." Landon uses the wok for stir fries, but she also loves to use it for frying coated meats and fish. "It's wonderfully deep, so you don't have to worry about food or grease sloshing out of it," she says.

When Gwen Moritz of Little Rock saw the infomercials for the NuWave Precision Induction Cooktop (manufacturer's price $160), she was curious but hesitant to buy something "as seen on TV." But she fell in love with the cooktop after she received one as a gift. "I use it almost every day," Moritz says, "mostly for omelets and scrambled eggs." The cooktop uses magnetism to heat the vessel, which requires pots and pans with some iron (or other magnetic material) content. Moritz says the benefits of this countertop appliance are that it heats to higher temperatures quickly when she makes foods such as meatballs, and it holds low temperatures well for cooking eggs and making sauces.

GADGETS GALORE

Georganne Yehling is surrounded by cooking tools every day for her job at Eggshells Kitchen Co. in Little Rock. Her favorite item? "I would die without my food scale, mostly because a lot of cookbooks are going by weights now instead of by standard cup measurements, and also because I'm starting to write my own recipes," Yehling says. Her Escali scale does dry and liquid measurements, and she can set a bowl on the scale and reset the weight to zero before she starts to add ingredients.

"I have two Microplane graters -- different sizes -- that I use for different things," says Gayle Gardner of North Little Rock. "One is larger with an attachment that holds items in place while you grate. It is especially nice for garlic. The other is narrow and long that I use for citrus grating. They are the best tools in the kitchen that you never knew you needed until you use them."

Stacy Sells of Little Rock says, "I would definitely be lost without my lemon squeezer. Mine is the heavy kind, made of heavy cast aluminum. It's my best workhorse tool, extracting all the juice without the seeds in one fell swoop. I make so many fresh vinaigrettes and also add a squirt of fresh lemon juice to green vegetables, fish, and chicken too."

By day, Natalie Madison, owner of Natalie Madison Artisan Cakes in Little Rock, can't live without her 12-inch offset spatula. "I use it on everything and take it with me on every setup. It's my spoon, my spatula, my icing smoother, my cake lifter, my impromptu ruler, and it's great for getting cookies lifted gently from the stainless table when the darn things stick!" But as a home cook, she turns to her trusted stainless-steel tongs, which are "perfect for stirring, flipping, adding ingredients and lifting hot lids. It's like having a heat-resistant hand extension. I own six of them," Madison says.

Doug Bridges, a recent graduate of the Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, can't live without his heat-resistant spatulas. Good-quality silicone spatulas can withstand temperatures up to 600 degrees, and they won't scratch nonstick cookware. Bridges says, "The larger spatulas I use when doing bechamel sauce or cream soups to scrape the sides of the pan to prevent burning."

Caterer Gean's food processor may be her high-end tool of choice, but she also loves miniature ice-cream scoops (also referred to as cookie scoops) for stuffing food and filling muffin tins. She also likes a wide-blade spatula that she uses for moving pie-crust dough to the pan as well as for lifting food off of springform pans and cookie sheets.

HomeStyle on 12/13/2014

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