Tip: International Kitchen Gadgets
We love playing with the kitchen gadget displays at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table as much as any foodie, but it seems like there should be a cheaper way to buy the same tools and toys. Many of our favorite utensils are specialty items in America, but are more pedestrian in Latin America, Asia, and India. Our advice is to buy from supermarkets that cater to these ethnicities, where you can find many of the same kitchen utensils for much cheaper.
Mortar & Pestle
A good mortar and pestle is a great way to crush spices and herbs. With a big enough set you can even make entire dishes of guacamole and pesto. This pair of tools is priced rather high when sold in boutique American kitchen supply stores, and rarely seen in the American foodie kitchen, although various forms of these utensils are commonplace in the kitchens of southeast Asia, India, and Latin America.
We found this granite mortar and pestle for $10 at a local southeast Asian supermarket. The interior bowl and pestle have a slight coarseness, similar to ceramic versions, perfect for grinding dry ingredients into a sneeze-inducingly fine powder. Unlike the ceramic kind, our granite isn’t brittle at all, and hasn’t chipped during even the most ravenous of spice-grindings. The bowl is four inches wide, and it stands four inches tall. Together, the mortar and pestle weigh a hefty three pounds, and feel solid enough to last longer than the hardwood floors. We’ve seen the identical set going for $25 at Sur La Table.
Cleaver
Usually reserved in American kitchens for butchering meat (and what DIY foodie can resist cleaving a whole squab from time to time?), cleavers are far more typical in China where they are the standard chef’s knife. Here at the Budget Gourmet Kitchen, we have found cleavers to be quite helpful in cutting through hard-skinned, heavy produce such as watermelons, pumpkins and acorn squash. By steadying the cleaver with one hand and firmly tapping the back of the knife with the other, you can be precise and powerful with these unwieldy fruits.
We bought our cleaver for $8 at a local Chinese market. Its seven inch long, one pound steel blade is mounted to a round wooden handle. If left wet, the blade will show a little surface rust. But kept clean and oiled between uses, this cleaver will have you making broth from squab bones for years.
What utensils have you found deeply discounted at international supermarkets? Mandolins and bamboo steaming trays? Skimmers and earthenware? Send your advice for the Budget Gourmet Kitchen community to BudgetGourmetKitchen@gmail.com
Tags: gadgets, international, tip