- CULINARY
TOOLS FOR EVERY KITCHEN
- by Krista Barrett
Continued
from the previous page...
Scraper – Ideal tool for those who make their own
pasta, or pastry, bread and pizza dough. Use it for cutting,
cleaning and scraping the dough.
Wooden & Plastic Utensils vs.
Metal Utensils:
Wood and plastic are known to
be the most common material for a cooking utensil. They come
in all shapes and sizes, and are usually more comfortable to
use. They are less abusive to the foods during the cooking time
but they are poor heat conductors. Make sure you buy sturdy wooden
utensils. If the wood is too soft, it will splinter and soak
up anything and everything.
Metal Utensils can be somewhat
abusive to the foods you are cooking with as they usually have
a sharper edge. They can also be somewhat destructive to a non-stick
pot or pan over time. But they are great heat conductors and
are fine to use with metal pots and pans.
My suggestion is to have a variety
of the above-mentioned utensils. Try them out and decide what
you're more comfortable with when cooking. For a while, I used
only wooden spoons because I didn't know anything else. I've
since tried, and purchased, metal utensils and I love them! But
I do use both equally. I've stayed away from plastic because
I don't see the need for it.
Cutting Boards:
Once again we are faced with
options for our kitchen tools. Cutting boards come in a few different
materials; Wood or Plastic.
For wooden boards, make sure
you look for a hard wood such as Maple (the best), Cherry, or
Birch (all slow-growing trees which means their wood has a tighter
grain). Hard woods like these also won't absorb much odor and
aren't as prone to warping or cracking.
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