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Who knew that a simple slab of wood would become a favorite cooking tool? Earlywood’s Tera scraper is the best non-metal utensil for nonstick pots and pans. Continue reading “One Simply Terrific Thing: Earlywood’s Tera Scraper” » LEGGI TUTTO
Wüsthof kitchen shears are sharp, long-lasting, incredibly useful, and well worth keeping in your kitchen drawer!
Photography Credit: Wüsthof
Welcome to One Simply Terrific Thing, our ongoing series highlighting the small tools and kitchen goods that make life better!
More than 25 years ago, I was gifted a set of Wüsthof knives as a wedding present, and I still have them. The collection has gotten quite a workout over the years as I’ve prepped thousands of dinners for my family of five and tested recipes for my three cookbooks.
One surprise hit from the set? The kitchen shears. I sadly lost the original somewhere along the way but recently replaced them with Wüsthof’s 8-inch pull-apart shears ($20 from Amazon).
Here’s why the shears are one of my favorite kitchen tools!
Why Wüsthof Kitchen Shears Are the Best
Kitchen shears are different than regular household scissors in a couple of key aspects. First, they’re designed to be more heavy duty, so can handle tougher tasks, like cutting through chicken bones. They also come apart for cleaning and drying, which is important for food safety and so the blades don’t rust.
Wüsthof’s shears make quick work of so many cooking tasks. In many cases, the shears are superior to even my sharpest knife. It’s also a pretty safe way to work, which is why shears were one of the first sharp tools I ever let my kids use in the kitchen.
I store my shears alongside my paring, bread, and chef’s knives so they’re within easy reach of both sink and cutting board.
10 Ways to Use Wüsthof Kitchen Shears
Here are 10 ways I use my Wüsthof kitchen shears. If you have clever ways to use kitchen shears, feel free to share in the comments section below!
Cut herbs. Snip cilantro, mint, parsley, basil, and other herbs straight off the stem and into whatever bowl or pot you’re prepping.
Chop tomatoes. Nosedive shears right into a can of whole tomatoes to cut them into pieces before adding them to soup or chili.
Slice pizza. I’d seen this done in pizzerias and have adopted the practice at home. They work well for cutting lavash, pita, and quesadillas, too.
Snip vegetables. Trim the stems off green beans, separate broccoli florets, and snip asparagus into smaller pieces.
Cut grapes. Cut a large bunch into smaller bundles to make it easy to grab just enough for a snack. This is also a nice touch when assembling a cheese board.
Butcher chicken. Shears are a great way to break down a whole chicken. I use them to cut through the breast bone when I butterfly a chicken for grilling.
Trim pastry dough. I find shears handy when I need to cut rolled dough to fit a particular tart or pie pan.
Cut bacon and pancetta. Cured meats can resist even the sharpest knife, but shears do the job with relative ease.
Shred leafy greens. Stack kale, chard, or collard leaves and use shears to snip them into thin shards.
Trim fish. Raw fish can be tricky to cut through, particularly the tough skin. Shears do the job without making a mess of the delicate flesh.
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
Katie Morford
Katie Morford is the Nutrition Editor for Simply Recipes. She is a writer, registered dietitian, and author of three cookbooks: PREP: The Essential College Cookbook, Rise & Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings and Best Lunch Box Ever, which was nominated for an IACP award. Her work has been featured in Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, Health, Real Simple, Oprah, Parents, Self, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times, among others. Katie lives in San Francisco with her husband and three daughters.
More from Katie LEGGI TUTTO
Kitchen ToolsOne Simply Terrific Thing
An offset spatula is a must-have tool for every home baker who wants to easily and expertly spread frosting on cakes and cupcakes. And it has other uses, too!
Photography Credit: Irvin Lin
At first glance, it seems like the common butter knife does almost everything an offset spatula does. But when it comes to frosting cakes and cupcakes or spreading batter in a pan, once you have an offset spatula you’ll never reach for that butter knife again!
Avid Baker? Then You Should Have an Offset Spatula
I’ve had various offset spatulas for years, but ever since I started to bake seriously Ateco’s 4 1/2 inch offset spatula ($6 from Amazon) is the one I reach for more than all the others in my drawer. It’s big enough to pick up a workable amount of frosting or move a sizeable amount of batter around, but not so big that it’s unwieldy to use.
This offset spatula is the ideal tool for frosting layer cakes and cupcakes.
The sharp metal edge neatly scrapes and smooths out thin layers of frosting, while the angled offset design makes frosting the sides of a cake much easier than if you were awkwardly trying to handle and angle a straight butter knife.
The flexible metal has a bit of bounce and give, which naturally creates frosting swoops and swirls.
The offset nature means you don’t have to contort your hand when trying to spread cake or brownie batter around a deep pan.
I’ve even reached for this spatula when I want a thin utensil to slide between brownies or cake and the sides of the pan. It’s especially adept at sliding around the sides of a curved cheesecake pan, and because it’s so thin and flexible, it’s less likely to gouge the sides of the cheesecake.
So yes, there’s a butter knife sitting in your kitchen drawer, but once you have an offset spatula, expect to only use that butter knife for its intended purpose: to spread butter on toast.
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy. LEGGI TUTTO
Kitchen ToolsOne Simply Terrific Thing
This high heat, commercial silicone scraper from Rubbermaid is a heavy-duty rubber spatula that puts all others to shame.
Photography Credit: Marta Rivera
According to my family and many of my friends, I might be obsessed with rubber spatulas. At present, I have no less than eight in my kitchen drawer. But I call that passionate, not obsessed.
Do I need eight spatulas? No. Do I feel better about having backups in case something happens to seven of them? Absolutely.
You don’t need to be as passionate about rubber spatulas as I am, but I strongly recommend you invest in at least one good one, and that would be Rubbermaid’s commercial high-heat spatula.
Rubber Spatulas vs Silicone Spatulas
First of all, let’s clear something up: Rubber spatulas are really silicone spatulas.
While most people (myself included) call all of these “rubber” spatulas, they’re actually made of silicone, which is what enables them to stand up to the higher temperatures. It’s kind of like referring to all food containers as Tupperware.
The Best Rubber Spatula: Rubbermaid’s High Heat Scraper
How often have you been left holding the handle of a fractured rubber spatula while attempting to scrape out cookie dough from a bowl?
Unlike the flimsy spatulas you encounter hanging from a clip display in the baking aisle of your grocery store, this silicone spatula is durable enough to withstand a plunge into the firmest of cookie doughs. I have yet to break one!
Are they the most decorative items I’ve ever purchased? Not really. But when it comes to getting the job done in the kitchen, I’m not looking for beauty contest winners. These are the very same rubber spatulas I used in commercial kitchens as a newbie chef, so I never doubt they’ll take care of business in my home kitchen.
They’re also high-heat resistant because the head is made of silicone, which means they can scrape off the sides of those pans of melted sugar.
I own the 9 1/2-inch and 13 1/2-inch sizes, both of which are ideal for those who do any cooking or baking. Grab the larger one for scraping down large mixing bowls full of batter. The small one is a go-to for smoothing icings or spreads on your next cake or bun recipe.
For me, a rubber spatula is as essential to a home kitchen as a cook is. However, it’s much more acceptable to have more than one of the former than it is of the latter—at least in my kitchen.
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
Marta Rivera
Marta Rivera is trained chef with over 20 years in the culinary field and the blogger behind Sense & Edibility. She graduated from the Baltimore International Culinary College with degrees in Culinary Arts and Classical Pastries. Her cookbook is Taste and See Cooks.
More from Marta LEGGI TUTTO
Some of the best kitchen gifts come in small packages!
You may recognize some of these picks from our One Simply Terrific Thing column, a series devoted to our favorite small kitchen goods, tools, and ingredients. What better gifts can we recommend than those we’ve enthusiastically used ourselves? If we love it, we bet your loved one will, too.
Not all of these will literally fit into a stocking, but at $25 and under each one is worth stashing somewhere nearby! LEGGI TUTTO
No one wants to spend money on a pretty but impractical gift that’s just going to sit in a cupboard. Every gift on this list is a lovely little luxury meant to be used day in and day out, some for years on end.
From a classic Dutch oven in the cheeriest shade of red, to the king of all cast iron bread bakers, make your money go miles and give your favorite cook something to be excited about when they’re in the kitchen! LEGGI TUTTO
Cheap and versatile, the flexible dough or bench scraper fits into any mixing bowl and can be used in all sorts of handy ways around the kitchen. Continue reading “One Simply Terrific Thing: A Flexible Dough Scraper” » LEGGI TUTTO
We’ve gathered up some great Black Friday deals for the home cook, from kitchen tools to cookware – even a cooking club for kids!
If you’re hoping to score a deal on some terrific kitchen tools, ingredients, and cookware items, we’ve got ideas for you!
Here are 10 of our favorite Thanksgiving weekend deals, from a few of our favorite retailers, both big and small.
Best Black Friday Deals
Made In, our favorite direct-to-consumer cookware company, is offering up to 30% off across the site. My co-editors and I regularly cook with their carbon steel and nonstick frying pans. The quality is absolutely on par with All-Clad, if not better, which is really saying something. We highly recommend them. They don’t do sales very often, so this is definitely the time to invest. I’m eyeing this 6-quart stock pot!
Magnus Lundstrom, makers of one of my favorite cutting boards, are offering 20% off with code KALKON20 until December 2nd.
The Spice House, yet another favorite, is offering up to 20% purchases with code BFCMSALE. Their flat-pack spices are convenient to order and incredibly fresh. And the packaging is simply beautiful!
King Arthur Baking Company, makers of much of the flour we cook with and beloved supplier to bakers all around, has a Buy More, Save More deal going on through the weekend, with up to 20% off everything from ingredients to kitchen tools and pans.
Fluf, a Canadian company, sells the cutest kids lunch bags and snack packs. Everything is 25% off with code SALEONSALE through December 3.
Raddish is a fabulous cooking club for kids ages 4-14, and right now you can save $22 on a 6-month membership or $40 on a 12-month membership!
Hedley & Bennett, based out of Los Angeles, make hardworking, chef-worthy aprons that will last for years. Get up to 30% off all week! They also have super cute kids aprons.
Ooni makes high-end home pizza ovens that’ll have you making pizzeria-quality pizza right in your backyard. Get 20% off one now!
World Market is a terrific resource for specialty ingredients that may be difficult to find in-store or even on Amazon. They carry Guittard’s Cocoa Rouge and Droste Cocoa (two of our favorite cocoas, if you remember!), as well as a ton of other international and gourmet treats. Right now members get 20% off!
Sur la table is offering plenty of deals on everything in their store. This 4-quart Staub cocotte is $99.
Happy shopping! LEGGI TUTTO
We all know a cook who loves exploring new cuisines, ingredients, dishes, and techniques. They are eager to learn, dip deep, and try recipes and cooking methods new to them.
This is the guide for the home cook who wants a well-equipped kitchen to support that, whether taking a shot at preserving or exploring a cuisine more in depth! LEGGI TUTTO
