Now we're talking utensils here, and not ones that changed Mankind, but utensils that changed your life in some meaningful way (ease counts). No appliances like coffee makers, food processors, (immersion) blenders, mixers (although the hand-cranked beaters counts), pots or pans or {GASP} dishwashers. I'm talking utensils. For example, if a spork saved your life one time, explain how and why, if applicable. And if there's a good picture on the innertubes of some oddball item, grab it.
So here goes my top
3 2 list of kitchen utensils that changed my life.
The first and most important utensil that changed my life is my microplane zester.
Previous to this tool's invention, one had either the box grater or a smaller hand held grater that zested -- horribly. The zest got caught in the metal, and the zesters were hell to clean. It used to be that any recipe that called for zest was skipped as it was simply too much work. Not so anymore. I use lemon/orange/lime zest in anything that has lemons, oranges or limes in them. It's a great way to used the whole fruit in the tradition of older cooks and their 'waste not want not' mentality in the kitchen; being poor didn't hurt in the 'necessity is the mother of invention' cooking, either. Now typically zest is used in deserts and the like. But my world changed with the ease with which I could add zest to regular cooking, that is, adding tons of flavor with zero fat. I use zest in my stir-frys all the time, really, just about all my cooking. Lemon zest dusted over carrot soup. Lime zest over rice and beans. You name it. A supporting reason for this utensil being number one on my list is the ease of cleaning after using it. When I first received the zester, I was worried about a cleanup difficulty on par with those bulky box graters. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. These microplane zesters get all the zest off the fruit and into whatever you're cooking with no fuss or mess. And cleanup is a breeze.
Number two on my list would be my cherry pitter.
I don't use it as a cherry pitter, though. I use it as an olive pitter. I love olives, green, black, red, it doesn't matter. I like to buy them whole as they keep better, then pit them as I need them (black olives in a can? {SHUDDER}). I used to try to cut off the meat from green olives to put into dishes, like the butter/white wine/caper/green olive/lemon juice-zest sauce for fish, but I'd waste a ton of meat. With this pitter, it's out with the pit with a little muscle power. Green olives pitted and easy to slice, or add whole to martinis. Works on the black ones, as well. You squeeze and the pits gets pushed through the bottom leaving the whole intact olive perfect for serving as a garnish to dishes or chopping up into something (like my cream cheese and olive spread). The main reason for this utensil being on my list is that I love olives, and this allows me to use them more often and without waste. It was a weird gift when I received it, being that I hate cherries, but no more. I obviously do not use it for cherries, so I can't comment to it's original purpose. But I can say that if you like fresh olives, a good, easy to handle pitter is important, and this baby certainly fits the bill (of fare).
A most honorable mention would go to my manual coffee bean grinder. It was from my Mom's Mom's house, a small little thing and lightweight. It's old, just don't know how old. Anyway, I've had this grinder in my kitchen as decoration for decades; I never used it. Then one morning my electric coffee bean grinder smoked and gave up the ghost. That manual coffee grinder saved me for the next few days until an order I placed on the internet could be delivered. A most very honorable, and appreciated, mention.
So have at it. I'm curious to see which utensils others deem valuable, and why. I'm sure what someone cooks has a lot to do with their particular 'changed my life' utensil.
