what’s your most prized cooking possession?
Everybody’s got ‘em – those few things that you go to every time you’re in the kitchen, convinced that your food 
wouldn’t be quite the same without the extra bit of love your special something magically transmits during the process. Fresh out of the box to something your grandmother passed down, if you like to cook then there’s a favorite sitting in your kitchen, too.
I have quite a few of these goodies on my list, and they run the gamut from new to old. Some have sentimental value, while others just make my life so much easier that they’ve endeared themselves to me. I came up with six, although I’m sure my list could go on for a good mile. Here are my favorites!
- The Master Scraper – This guy is indispensable when baking anything with a thick batter. It’s got some serious muscles behind it and makes scraping a breeze! It’s from Pampered Chef* and it rocks – it really is a master!
- Silicone Basting Brush – This thing is awesome! It’s heat proof with silicone bristles – no more annoying hairs coming off the brush and into your food when you’re basting. I use it for everything – even just brushing olive oil onto a baking sheet. Good for the barbecue, too!
- The Masher – okay, that’s not what it’s really called, but it’s been so long since I’ve had anything to do with Pampered Chef that I can’t remember it’s real name. It’s original purpose is for “mashing up” ground beef – and I’m telling you, this one cannot be underrated! I love, love, love it for mixing spices into raw ground beef, too (don’t you hate getting that raw meat all over your hands and underneath your fingernails?). It’s also good for mashing potatoes if you like them with a few extra lumps. It’s one of those things that I don’t use often, but when I do it’s the perfect tool for the task!
- My juicer – I cook with citrus all the time. I buy my lemons and limes by the bag and put it in everything! I make a lot of mexican food, but even other cuisines can use a squeeze of lemon to bring out all the other flavors (think pasta!). This juicer is super easy and works like a charm. It’s not quite big enough for oranges although I’ve been known to quarter them and it works fine for me!
- My mom’s measuring spoons – Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway! ;-) I remember using these spoons as a kid, meticulously scooping out my baking ingredients like a “big girl”. They’ve been around so long I’m not sure I was even potty trained when they first arrived (and it was probably even before that, maybe a wedding gift for my parents?). I always get a little jolt of sentiment when I pull these babies out – how many cakes, muffins and cookies were created with the help of these little spoons? Pretty groovy, if you ask me!
- The most awesome salt and pepper shakers in the history of the planet – These beauties are, by far, my most treasured kitchen possessions, and right up there with my most treasured possessions period. They’re new but very sentimental. My dad, one of the most awesome human beings on the planet, made them for me! They were my Christmas gift last year, and it wouldn’t have been possible to have gotten anything better. He made them out of a black walnut tree from my parents back yard. The core of this tree is dark, with the outside much lighter in color – my shakers came from core. My dad is retired and now makes all kinds of cool things out of wood – can’t wait for next year’s Christmas! ;-)
So that’s my list of favorites – what are yours? Let me know and send a picture if you’d like, too! Leave a comment and/or send a pic to me at kristy@thewickednoodle.com. Oh, and here’s my disclaimer:
*I was a Pampered Chef rep for about nine months just to get all the killer products. I no longer sell it, have no plans to return nor do I know anyone personally who is currently selling it. If you’d like to purchase a product, go to the Pampered Chef website and request to have a consultant in your area contact you. My first four favorite products are all from PC (I didn’t realize this until I started writing the post)! Obviously, I highly recommend Pampered Chef, but I assure you I won’t make a dime from these recommendations! ;-)
btw…”The Masher” is called the “Mix & Chop” – it was driving me crazy not being able to think of the name so I went to the website and found it!
Have a great day!
Awesome! I love kitchen gadgets!
I’d have to say that my #1 most favorite gadget is a simple mortar & pestle. It’s wooden. Made in Syria. And I use it just about every day. I beat garlic in it, so it smells absolutely heavenly (I love garlic!). I even spoke about it on one of the early episodes of The Catholic Foodie, and I gave one away as a prize for voice feedback. I didn’t need two!
I have many more favorites, but I thought I would stick with just one. Bon appetit!
Okay if I had to pick just one & this is so DIFFICULT, I’d have to say my Microplane grater. It’s AMAZING & with the amount of cheese I grate, it comes in handy!
Hee hee – glad you love the masher still. I am a basting brush girl myself.
i love those measuring spoon. They’re very antiqueish. My favorite tool would have to by my silpat. I bake a lot of stuff and I can’t live without it. Also my food processor and hand mixer. It does make a lot of things around the kitchen more easy.
I adore my citrus squeezer too!!! Interesting “masher”… looks like a Kaiser roll press.
Mine is wooden spoons. I had to buy a new utensil holder just for all of them. My favorite ones I bought in Turkey for 7 TL (about $5 USD) and they’re well worth it. I use them for nearly everything.
I adore my bamboo spatula (and then I lost it!). Seems indestructible, impervious to being left in piping hot pans, doesn’t get nicks the way wood ones do. And my wide-mouthed funnel that fits just inside the neck of most jars is a wonder. My kitchen tongs make me feel very handy. And I even seem to get a lot of use out of my ice pick for lots of things other than ice.
I’m going to have to go with my food processor. I honestly don’t know how women cooked before this beauty was invented. I don’t know how I cooked before it!
I love your post and the salt and pepper grinders are absolutely to die for! It would take me a while to narrow down my favorite kitchen helpers…I have so many that I use to frequently since I spend so much time in the kitchen. But, off the top of my head I’d have to say: my Wuestof kitchen knives and my Braun mixer wand with the food processor attachments…not sure how I’d make salsa without it!
your “masher” is called a mix-n-chop from pampered chef. i have one and LOVE it! hamburger doesn’t stand a chance with this baby!
I love these tools. I especially like what you said about your measuring spoons. I have some too from my Mom.
My favorite, hands down, is my bench scraper. I use it a lot. I not only use it for bread baking and such but I also use it to cut bars. Great for cutting brownies.
Kristy,
Those S&P shakers from your Dad are just gorgeous! I want a pair. I’ve never posted before, but I just wanted to say how proud I am of you. You write so beautifully and your passion for food, your family, and for life is so evident. I miss you and wish you lived closer. Love ya!
Love your post, and your spoons! The measuring spoons I have from my Mom are 70′s lime green from Tupperware. Like you, with all the memories I’ll always have them. Of course you can never have too many measuring spoons!
I bought a green marble rolling pin when I started baking over a year ago. It’s so pretty I have to keep it on my counter (and I used it in my blog banner).
As far as just plain useful I’d have to say my pastry blender. I wouldn’t be able to make a pie without it since I don’t have food processor *sob* The marble rolling pin is great for making puff pastry since it’s so heavy! Really though, I love everything I have. Before I started baking I would shop for clothes, now I’m trying to find a popover pan, or better yet some shallow creme brulee ramekins. It’s a good thing I don’t go out that often since my wardrobe has suffered. :)
My mother had the EXACT same spoon set. I mean EXACT! GREG
WOW Greg!! We both must be 70′s kids?!!
I could not live without my grater. I use it for everything from zesting, cheese, to scaring the cat.
I am going to have to find a sturdier scraper because that would be valuable.
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My most prized cooking possession is my Great-Grandmother’s rolling pin. I estimate it is well over 100 years old. It was passed down to me according to family tradition because I was named after Great-Grandmother. The handles have a bit of lathe-work that you don’t find anymore and the wood has developed a silky patina from so many years of use – it practically glows. Whenever I use it, I think about my Great-Grandmother – although she was gone before I was born – and all the times she must have stood in her homestead kitchen on the Great Plains rolling out pastry. As a little girl, my dear Grandma would have watched Great-Grandmother use this very rolling pin and Grandma probably learned to roll dough with it. Every time I touch it I feel pinned down to my roots.
Lura, that’s so touching. What an amazing keepsake! I hope my great-grandchildren hold onto my dad’s s&p shakers in that same way.
killer post, u just helped me big time. thanks
I have this great thing that is a 500 watt motor with handmixer, immersion blender and food processor attachments. I use it practically every day.
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