Chapter 5: Kitchen and Pantry Makeover 85
✓ Colander: Also known as a strainer, this tool is used to let liquid drain
out while keeping solids in the colander. They come in plastic or metal.✓ Garlic press: You use a press to crush garlic without using a knife. Garlic
presses come in plastic or metal, and the metal ones work best by far.
✓ Cheese box grater: These large graters have four sides. Two are different
grating sizes, one is a zester, and one side is a slicer for vegetables and
fruits such as zucchini, carrots, and bananas.✓ Meat pounder: A pounder, or tenderizer, is used to pound protein or
other foods to a thinner size. This is typically done for cuts of meat that
aren’t as tender as you want or to make the meat a uniform thickness so
it cooks evenly.Knives
In this section we talk about the one of the most neglected but most needed
tools in the kitchen. Knives are important, but you can have too much of
a good thing. Do you have a knife drawer and/or knife block packed with
knives? How many of them are sharp? How many of them are in good
condition? How many of them do you actually use? Most of the time you
probably find yourself looking for a particular knife while pushing the other
knives out of the way because you like the feel of the knife or it’s sharper.Gather all your knives and lay them out on the counter for a knife inspection.
Check each one for the following points:✓ Is the handle firmly attached?
✓ Is the blade straight and free of nicks and gashes?
✓ Have you use the knife in the past 60 days?
✓ If the knife is dull, can it be sharpened?
If you answer no to any of these questions, throw or give it away.You don’t need knives that can cut through metal blocks and aluminum cans.
Those gimmicky sets normally come with 20 knives or more, and you’d be
wasting money on knives you’ll never use. You only need four basic knives:✓ Chef’s knife: This essential knife is used for cutting large pieces of
food and for dicing and chopping as well. It comes in 6-, 8-, and 10-inch
blades. Most women prefer the 6-inch knife because it suits smaller
hands better, and men typically like the feel of an 8-inch blade.
✓ Paring knife: This knife has a much smaller blade and is used for cutting
smaller foods.