PHOTO: Notice the drain holes on the side of this pretty crock I bought at a flea market. I can wash, drain, and display fruits or veggies on my counter, all in one pot.
One of the nice things about immersing yourself in another culture is that you learn how other people do things, have been doing things forever, often better than your way! And of course the French, who practically invented the foodie thing, have much to teach us.
I got my first cooking tips shortly before I moved here, when I went with my step-daughter to a cooking class at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. She took a full 6-week diploma program, and I dropped in for a week of 'Regional French Cooking'.
The chef who was our instructor had one major tool that was almost always in his hand, whether he was doing prep work or just cleaning up. Can you guess what it was? I never would have. It was….a bench scraper.
Until then I couldn’t have told you what a Bench or Dough Scraper was. It’s basically a flat piece of metal, with a wide, thin edge, a blade edge but not as sharp as a knife. You can use it like a knife to cut or divide things, especially dough or pastry. You can scoop up grated cheese or finely chopped veggies from your cutting board and put them in a bowl or pan with no mess or waste. You can clean off a sticky countertop after making biscuits or a pie crust in a flash, no scrubbing required. I now wonder how I ever managed without one.
Then there are the wonderful conical sieves that are in every French kitchen, called chinois, that I’ve mentioned before. I have a fine mesh Chinois and a Strainer with small holes. They’re good for any kind of straining (even lumpy gravy) or draining things, with their handy hook that fils over a bowl. A Wooden Pestle is good to have too, for ‘pressing on solids’, as recipes often direct. ( photo at left, two chinois and a pestle).
Now, do you have a French Tart Pan with Removable Base? The French don’t do pies, but they excel at tarts, shallower and wider than pies. With their removable bottom, you never have to struggle to get a piece out, as with a pie plate. You just pop out the whole tart, perfect every time.
What the French don't use: Once I was in New Orleans and I stood watching a group of chefs hard at work at the stove in the kitchen of Commander’s Palace. Like the Cordon Bleu chefs, they used one major tool: a pair of long handled Stainless Steel Locking Tongs
moment they weren’t using them, they popped them in their back pocket. I went home and bought a pair and they've been my kitchen weapon of choice ever since. But they’re not particularly popular here.
Here are three other trusty little tools I like: a Zester
And now my Dear Readers and fellow cooks, please share your favorite tools, French or not, in the Comments section!
For more info about the tools, click on the blue links in the text.
In the Comments this week: First of all, zip right over to our 'Share A Recipe' section for Diane's tasty Tomato Onion tart with Gruyere, which she had at an Alliance Française pique-nique in Scottsdale. Merci Diane, we love recipes! Kristin, I've answered your question about what husbands do all day in France in our FAQ section. Meanwhile Carol and the folks at SilverMagpie.com are eyeing those Sexty Sundaes, and Caterina likes the eccentricities of the French–moi aussi! Thanks for all the great questions and comments.
Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2011 Lynn McBride. All Rights Reserved.
15 thoughts on “A Toolkit for a French Kitchen”
Ooh fun! One tool that is used pretty much on a daily basis in my kitchen is a microplane grater. Great for citrus zests, but I also use it for garlic (never mince garlic again, it is just so easy to grate it right into a pan), also makes beautiful finely grated cheeses that looks like snow when used as garnish on dishes.
Oh, and a good quality, SHARP!, chef’s knife is a must.
Can’t wait to see what everyone else uses!
A tomato stem corer. In addition to tomatoes, I can use it for strawberries or just removing blemishes from peppers, potatoes, peaches, etc.
I love my tools for the kitchen and keep my frequently used tools on top of the counters in large french pitchers. I must say I do love the fact that there are a large variety making it life easier in the kitchen.
I use my melon baller every day to scoop out the core of an apple I have cut in half. That way it’s convenient to just grab half of the apple and eat it on my way home from work. When I do that I am getting in one more fruit and staving off the munchies while I prepare dinner.
I’m a sucker for old-fashioned American kitchen gadgets. One day I’ll do a whole blog post (pictures and all) about all of my lid openers, meat pounders, potato mashers, and my wood rolling pin collection (all with green handles!). And I use most of them.
I recently bought a mandoline (sp?), but I keep forgetting to pull it out and use it after so many decades of slicing and dicing by hand.
Two years ago after a cooking class in France I bought my first ceramic knife that I love. Last summer at a fruit stand along the road in Illinois I bought a small stainless steel paring knife like my mom used to have. I love the balance of it — especially when peeling so many peaches for a deep dish pie.
However, lately I’ve been trying to remember the name of that electric beater/whisker thing that you can stick right in a pot on the stove that you wrote about awhile back. I decided I needed one so I wouldn’t have to do the transferring of stuff to purée in a blender or food processor. Could you please refresh my memory?
Well now I’m already learning all sorts of new things from y’all! Julie, that ‘whisker thing’ is called an immersion blender and they are WONDERFUL for soups. I only learned about them when I moved here–the French puree almost all their soups, so no wonder.
how did i ever live without my wine bottle decapsuleur??
I can’t cook without my good kitchen scissors that come apart for easy and thorough cleaning. I use them every night for cutting scallions, chives, trimming the ends off beans and snap peas, and even trimming fat off meat before cooking. I cut these items right into the bowl. No knife or board to clean! We like to saute porterhouse steaks, and I “scissor” the cooked strip and the filet off the bone, which is easier for me than navigating a knife around the bone. (I also use a pastry scraper every night. Guests are amazed at how fast we make a salad with no mess!)
This is a great post! I have a few kitchen gadgets that are a must. 1) not actually a gadget, but I am obsessed with kitchen towels especially flour sack towels. They are so versatile. 2) wooden spoons for cooking on enamel. 3) garlic presser; as much as some people hate it, it is my go to gadget when I want some strong garlic flavor fast and 4)cutting boards for meats, veggies, etc.
Dee and I were just talking about the sieves that the French use – she wants one of those conical ones. I agree with you about those scrapers – those are awesome.
I just discovered you, thanks to a friend (and fellow Francophone :-)) Love the pictures and kitchen toys in general! Happy to know about you… mmmmm!
I love the blog about favorite cooking things. I have never been a very good cook, so my favorite “things” in the kitchen are my two daughters, Lynn and Peggy…both good cooks no thanks to me.
I do have something I call a “stirring spoon”. I tend to cook things on high…so this spoon has the end cut off flat, and can scrape sticky off the bottom of the pan while it cooks.
….yep, those TONGS are a must in any kitchen. In Australia we use them for everything. Here in Germany I’ve never seen them used at all. On the cleaning side of kitchen activities we love the Aussie Scotchbrite/sponge on a handle THAT fills with detergent for easy quick sink scrubbing and washing….
We had a chef in the family for a while … he left, but he did teach us all to use tongs…and now we (like you) can not cook without them.
Thank you Lynn for always keeping me in “touch” with FRANCE!
For this novice cook, my most valuable kitchen tool is the internet. I can watch videos, look up terminology, and read really cool blogs like this one to find out about A Toolkit for a French Kitchen.