Toys

Despite being broke for much of my life, I have had the good fortune of friends and family who see sense in gifting me with kitchen equipment. Many of these things will outlast me, I'm certain; if you're going to spend the money, go a little farther and get something that's worth the investment. It's the philosophy that I'll be following as I put my own household together in the near future.

These are the toys I love to pull out and use. Some are simple, some very complex, but all are very useful and some of the best in their field.

Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. What would I do without it. This is the moderately powerful one, not the most hefty they make; it has a couple HP behind it, which means it can spare my arm when making dense cookie dough or heavy raisin bread. I don't have to hold anything up when whipping egg whites. It's also very durable. All in all, a very good (if heavy) friend.

All-American Pressure Canner. Another heavy toy, massing about fifteen pounds. Solid aluminum, though; it's called the Cadillac of pressure canners, with dial plus weight and no gasket to fool with. I'm definitely satisfied. Now on to can everything in sight...

OXO Y Vegetable Peeler. There's something a little silly about loving a vegetable peeler, but wow. Very sharp and looking to remain that way; a nicely-shaped handle with gripping fins; a very smooth and easy motion, unlike straight models. Makes peeling apples a joy, and peeling potatoes effortless.

Orka Silicone Oven Mitts. The only thing that would make these better is fingers... but they work plenty well as it is. Lose your ladle into the pot of boiling water? Need a good way to turn your turkey over? These are definitely the way to go. They're handy in Chemistry lab also, with all that hot glass... dishwasher safe to boot. I love modern material science.

Good Grips flour sifter. It may seem trivial, but I grew up with a mobile-handle sifter, the kind that swings to and fro to move the agitator across the bottom. I thought nobody made them anymore, which is silly -- all I could find was the "carpel-tunnel machine" squeeze sifters or the "everyone has an extra hand free" crank sifters (and that's not mentioning the ridiculous motorized sifters). Both have serious design flaws. Mobile-handle sifters can be used with one hand, in an easy forearm/wrist motion, to give a light dusting (little shake) or heavy coating (firm swings), plus can be used with two hands for rapid high-volume sifting. I'm so glad Good Grips figured out there was an intelligent option... and made a good durable version of it, too.

Polder Probe Thermometer. Haven't gotten a chance to use this to its full potential yet, but I'll be posting more about it once I do.

On that note, what do I want to see? A timer/thermometer (which the Polder is) which can be set to start the timer as soon as the correct temperature is reached. I haven't seen one anywhere, and it's such a simple thing to do... why Polder didn't link the two capabilities in this model I may never know. So that's what I'm waiting for.