Prep
These are the tools that are your workhorses, and the ones that most take the place of a sous-chef. These Cool Tools help you prepare your ingredients to be cooked. In finding Cool Tools for food prep, functionality, time saving and ease of use are the most important things we look for. Each and every one of these does its job particularly well and takes your food prep from drudgery to fun (well, almost!) When we finally carry knives, they will fit in this section.
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Norpro Silicone Pastry Mat - N13Why It's Cool: Sticks to the counter but releases your foodThe “baking season” is upon us: cookies, pies, and everything in between …. And one of the most difficult parts of making a pie has been getting the crust “right” -...
Joseph Joseph TriScale - J21Why It's Cool: Fully functional scale with tare capability using very little spaceHere’s the dilemma: you know that weighing your ingredients is a much more reliable practice than than any other form of measurement (see this week's Cool Tip, and even when...
Norpro Stainless Steel Scoops-1 TbspOne of my favorite hors d’oeuvre to make when I have company is gougères: those airy, cheesy puffs that melt in your mouth. The hardest thing about gougères is dealing with...
Chef'n StemGem Strawberry Stemmer - C34Why It's Cool: Grabs and removes strawberry stem and hull easily...fun and safe for kids to useIt's summer... and we're surrounded by wonderful strawberries! And if you have strawberries, and if you’re going to serve them over a dessert like Guilt-Free Panna Cotta or...
RSVP Endurance All-Purpose ShakerWhy It's Cool: Large holes, perfect to evenly distribute rubs and other seasoningsFor that wonderfully complex grilled food flavor, you want to layer on the flavor. The first or second layer (depending on whether you start with a brine or a wet marinade) is a...
KitchenIQ Angle Adjust SharpenerWhy It's Cool: Adjustable to work with different knives, easy to useA sharp knife is a beautiful thing--it makes any cutting, slicing or chopping job easier and the results better and, if you cut yourself, it’s actually less painful and...
Progressive Fruit and Vegetable BrushWhy It's Cool: Both soft and firm bristles to clean all kinds of fruits, vegetables and mushroomsBefore you can cut, slice, chop or dice your beautiful produce, you need to wash it. I know we sound like your mother, but regardless of where you got the produce - your garden,...
Norpro Last Drop Spatula / Spoon--Blue onlyWhy It's Cool: Reaches into the corners of jars to get the last dropYou know how tough it is when you’re almost at the bottom of your favorite jar of almost anything: whether it’s mustard or preserves or some other delicious condiment, if you...
RSVP Salt Cellar with Spoon (like Alton Brown's) - R33Why It's Cool: Keeps your salt in easy reach, but protected from splattersParty like a rock star... dispense salt like Alton Brown! You know how we feel about salt, so we’re always looking for the best way to dispense it. We have a couple of great...
Gefu "Tari" Mushroom / Strawberry / Egg, etc. Slicer - G10Why It's Cool: Offset blades cut more easily to deliver perfect slicesOK, we’ve already established that if I can substitute one squeeze for 10 knife cuts, without sacrificing the quality of the result, I’ll do it in a heartbeat. I’m all about...
