These cool culinary tools add fun and functionality to your food routine.
By Nicholas Tamarin
Make cooking more enjoyable and less time-consuming. That’s long been the promise of culinary gadgetry. They’re the tools and devices designed to make cooking, food preparation, and kitchen tasks more efficient, enjoyable, healthier, and sometimes even fun. The accouterments range from basic utensils to advanced appliances and can save time, effort, and add creativity to everyday cooking. With technological advancements and innovative designs, kitchen gadgets have evolved to help both amateur cooks and professional chefs elevate their culinary experience. Whether you’re seasoned or just starting out, the right ones can transform your kitchen.
1. Automatic Pot and Pan Stirrer with Timer
Perfect for recipes that require constant stirring, this gadget frees up your hands by automatically stirring your pot or pan at the perfect speed, ensuring even cooking and preventing sticking and burning. The device usually comes with three-legged arms or paddles that rest inside the pot or pan, making contact with the surface. It’s particularly useful for dishes such as risottos, custards, and soups.
Many models come with built-in timers that allow you to set the duration of stirring based on your recipe. This way, it stirs for the exact amount of time needed, helping to avoid overcooking or under-stirring. Some automatic stirrers offer multiple speed settings, allowing you to control how vigorously the food is stirred, from a whirl for a sauce to vigorously mixing a thick stew.
2. Sous Vide Machine
A sous vide machine is a precision cooking device that uses a water bath to cook food in airtight vacuum-sealed bags at a precisely controlled low temperature, ensuring perfect doneness that retains moisture, flavors, and nutrients for both meats and vegetables. They’re a game-changer for home chefs, allowing for precision, convenience, and consistent, restaurant-quality results.
Most sous vide machines are immersion circulators, meaning they heat and circulate water to maintain a constant temperature, eliminating fluctuations to ensure consistent results. Food, typically seasoned and sometimes marinated, is vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag or placed in a resealable bag with as much air removed as possible. Once the food is in the water bath, the machine does the work without the need for constant monitoring. Sous vide is great for cooking tougher cuts of meat, like brisket or short ribs, at low temperatures over a long period of time, making them tender while preserving their moisture.
3. Digital Meat Thermometer Fork
A digital meat thermometer fork is a handy and efficient tool for ensuring perfectly cooked meats. Whether you’re grilling outdoors, roasting in the oven, or cooking on the stovetop, its dual functionality makes it a great gadget. Combining a meat thermometer with a fork, the utensil allows you to easily check the internal temperature of meats while cooking and handling them simultaneously.
Many models have pre-programmed temperature settings for different types of meat (e.g., beef, pork, poultry, lamb) and levels of doneness (e.g., rare, medium, well-done). Some also provide alerts when the meat reaches the desired temperature, ensuring that harmful bacteria are eliminated. They’re particularly useful for outdoor grilling, where you need to frequently check the doneness of multiple types of meat.
4. Air Fryer
An air fryer is a countertop kitchen appliance that cooks food by circulating hot air around it, creating a crispy exterior similar to frying, but with significantly less oil. They’ve gained popularity as a healthier alternative to traditional deep frying while still delivering a satisfying crunch and texture to foods like fries, chicken, vegetables, and even baked goods like cookies or pastries.
Air fryers use a fan to circulate hot air at high speeds, cooking food evenly and faster than conventional ovens, thanks to the rapid air circulation and concentrated heat. Compared to traditional ovens, air fryers also use less energy and heat up faster, which can reduce electricity usage.
5. Electric Pressure Cooker
A versatile gadget that combines multiple kitchen appliances in one, an electric pressure cooker uses high-pressure steam to cook dishes faster than conventional methods. It’s a staple in many kitchens due to its ability to work as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and even yogurt maker.
Most electric pressure cookers have pre-programmed settings that automatically adjust the cooking time and pressure level for optimal results. As the steam builds up inside, the pressure rises, allowing the temperature to increase beyond the normal boiling point of water. The elevated temperature and pressure help to break down fibers in food, especially in tougher cuts of meat, beans, and grains, which would typically require long cooking times. Because they cook faster, electric pressure cookers use less energy compared to stovetop cooking or ovens. The quick cooking process and sealed environment help to preserve nutrients, making pressure-cooked meals often healthier than those cooked by traditional techniques.
