I love a bargain and very few things beat the feeling of getting right good value for money. With this in mind, I introduce you to my entranklement drawer and my favourite kitchen utensils under a fiver (Its rather famous around here -there’s nothing that not in this drawer).
This little lot might seem harmless enough but they save me so much time and effort.
The Egg Separator – Cost £1
Some days I can use in excess of 60 egg whites if I am preparing for a trade fair or charity event. I’m pretty speedy at separating with my hands but this little invention separates eggs in the blink of an eye. A complete impulse purchase from an independent kitchen store about 8 years ago – I think I’ve well got my £1 worth out of it.
The silicone pastry brush – Cost £4.85
The most expensive item on my list and the one I resisted buying for ages…until I kept finding brush bristles from my traditional pastry brush on top of my cakes. I never need worry again about those rogue bristles.
The sieve – Cost approx £1.25
A harmless sieve (and rather an old, battered one at that) but with a multitude of uses..no more lumpy gravy, make hair and grass out by pushing icing through it and a wonderful distraction when given to your baby at tea-time to get them to eat.
The Ice-Cream Scoop – Cost £2.50
Seldom used for scooping ice-cream but used every day for measuring the amount of cake mix in a cupcakes. If you remember one tip, make it this one. I get asked all the time, how do I get each cupcake so even – well, ta-dah! I present to you the answer!
A knitting needle – Free as I found it lying around the house but pennies if bought on ebay
My cake tester! Its my tried and tested way of seeing if a cake is done. I’ve tried loads of professional cake testing kits but this is the one I come back to. It is also the item that we argue about most as it always goes missing just as the cake starts beeping in the oven. Yes, I know its not strictly a kitchen utensil!
And an added extra … A Chopstick … Ideal for making that hair parting absolutely perfect!
Hope you enjoyed the list. I’m entering mine in the hope of becoming a Morphy Richards Innovator in conjunction with the Foodies100.
What are your favourite kitchen inventions that you couldn’t manage without?
Very interesting post, Helen! Thank you for the tip about the ice cream scoop! I will bear that in mind!
Mine would be: 1) a decent peeler 2) a silicone brush, too 3) a corkscrew 4) a knife sharpener 5) some clips for doing up packets etc