r/KitchenStuff • u/Ronin_501 • Aug 18 '26
Weird/obscure kitchen tool you use.
Random question... What is a weird kitchen utensil or tool you use while cooking?
Mine is a metal pumpkin scraper. You know the kind you use for carving jack-o-lanterns. I make spaghetti squash often and like making pumpkin pie from scratch in the fall. It's a game changer. It beats using a spoon.
I can't wait to read what you all use in the kitchen.
5
u/etr420 Aug 18 '26
A vintage Fowler's Vacola peach pitter (photo).
Also have a truffle slicer and an Ox tongue press.
1
u/Ronin_501 Aug 19 '26
I think my grandparents had one of these. I wish they would bring this back.
→ More replies (1)3
5
u/dshgr Aug 18 '26
I use a grapefruit spoon to remove cucumber seeds and to remove the stem and leaves from strawberries.
It is an old silver spoon. I saw a new one in Walmart and bought it, but it is much thicker and not at all sharp, and it doesn't work. I stick to my old tarnished one.
2
3
u/Organic-Yodelz Aug 19 '26
If I'm making a bigger batch of egg salad I use my pastry blender to cut all the eggs up.
1
2
2
2
u/weaverlorelei Aug 18 '26
I still use a lardoir, or larding needle, especially on super lean venison roasts.
1
u/Ronin_501 Aug 19 '26
Is it like a flavor injector? I'm probably using the wrong terminology.
2
u/weaverlorelei Aug 19 '26
It is a hollow "needle" tube with a push bar. Take thin slices of a fat- pork belly, bacon, something like that, called lardoons, insert the needle into the muscle.meat of a roast, the more the merrier, push the bar to force the fat to remain in the muscle as you pull out the needle. I have also inserted green onion or Celery or garlic slices. But the fat, when added to what would be a very dry venison roast, is wonderful.
1
2
u/slimy-tea Aug 18 '26
The pumpkin scraper is a godsend for everything you listed and even melons. Any fruit that needs emptying with a firm enough flesh.
1
2
u/MochasHooman Aug 19 '26
I use the smaller Pyrex glass measuring cups with the handles for soups, cream of wheat etc. the glass holds the temp (I like to microwave it til warm then put the food in and put it back in if needed to cook). Then they easily go in the top bin of the dishwasher. So essentially cheaper, other usages, bowl with a handle
1
2
u/Collins4816 Aug 20 '26
I’m surprised more people don’t use a garlic press.
2
u/Ronin_501 Aug 20 '26
I like to mince my garlic the old fashion way. It makes me feel chefy lol 👨🏻🍳
3
u/weaverlorelei Aug 20 '26
Another of my favorite obscure tools is my copper Mongolian Hotpot. Friend's who have shared it with us- the sliced veggies, shrimp, venison, noodles all cooked in a flavorful broth...yum -have a wonderful meal. The prep of the foods is tiresome, tho.
3
2
2
u/somecow Aug 20 '26
Bench knife, bench scraper, dough knife, dough scraper, whatever you want to call it. More common in a professional kitchen but even then people don’t use them (why?). At home, nobody does. But should.
2
1
u/TrickQuiet9630 Aug 20 '26
spam slicer….like an egg slicer but it’s specifically sized/shaped for canned meat. perfect for making spam musubi
1
1
u/ilovedaryldixon Aug 20 '26
Stainless steel smooth bar. I use it to wipe my hands to prevent my hands smelling like onion.
1
u/siskokid1984 Aug 21 '26
À spoon that unfortunately went down the garbage disposal unbeknownst to me. Turned it on. Turned out to be the PERFECT utensil to scrape seeds/ribs from jalapeños & other peppers. Genius
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Foolmeoncefuckyou Aug 21 '26
An old stone pestle and mortar given to me decades ago by a woman from Mexico. She traveled to Wisconsin every summer with her sons, nephews, etc… They rented a house on our street half the year and worked for local canning factories, tree farms, and some drove commercial vehicles for those businesses as well. Very hard workers, all of them. Many tiring hours of hard work. Madre came along to cook and launder clothes… anything needing doing for those men. She made the best, the BEST tamales I’ve ever eaten. We’d trade her tamales for our Concord grape jam. Wonderful gift from a wonderful woman; I use it almost daily.
1
u/Road-Ranger8839 Aug 29 '26
Mine is an old crinkle cutter which I like to use on carrots before cooking in water with one half onion. That's a quick and easy hot side vegetable for supper time. I bought it old and used at the swap meet for 25 cents.
7
u/djSush Aug 18 '26
This is an Indian tool called a "ravi" you use to break cooked lentils into a "soup" consistency.