Reddit mentions: The best serving utensils

>Some amazon reviews make it sounds much less forgiving than The Food Lab and that it calls for all types of specialized baking equipment.

tbh, cooking & baking are pretty simple. You mostly do just 3 things:

1. You stir stuff
   
2. You cut stuff
   
3. You watch it to make sure it doesn't burn black on the stovetop or oven
   
   Now, based on those three things, you can also do:
   
   
4. Advanced stirring techniques (kneading, electric hand mixer, stand mixer, Danish dough hook, etc.)
   
5. Advanced chopping techniques (dough scraper, food processor, blender, etc.)
   
6. Advanced heat tricks (grilling, etc.).
   
   lol @ "advanced". But that's more or less what it boils down to...stir & chop stuff up, and make sure it doesn't burn, haha. Why is that important to understand? Because of how actions are managed in the kitchen. The example I like to refer to is Newton & Gravity. When the apple fell on Newton's head & he figured out gravity, he basically spent a long time figuring out the formula for gravity, which in turn provides you with a simple one-line piece of information to learn. So you didn't have to go through all of that work, you simply had to "stand on the shoulders of giants" & benefit from their discovery process. All you're doing is walking through the steps that someone else figured out.
   
   Likewise, in cooking, unless you're contributing a new recipe to the culinary world, for the most part you're simply going to be following someone else's directions. Those directions are important because someone else has already gone through all of the hard work of figuring out how to make a particular recipe awesome, and all you have to do is follow their "formula"! The problem is that many cookbooks are crappy because they have no color pictures & barebones instructions.
   
   With Stella's Bravetart book, she gives you some history, color photos, and solid explanations about what you're doing. YOU don't have to do any of the labor of discovery or make it 200 times to get it perfect, all you have to do is follow her instructions! Regarding specialized baking equipment, yes, some of that will be required. If you want to make Twinkies, for example, you're going to need a canoe pan in order to get the shape right, you know? If you want to make muffins, you're going to need a muffin pan, and so on & so forth.
   
   Equipment-wise:
   
   One of the nice things, however, is that with most baking stuff, you can buy it for a reasonable cost off Amazon & keep it for a really long time. Like, the Norpor Cream Canoe pan is currently going for $27 shipped on Amazon & includes a cream injector tool, which sounds pretty expensive, but a box of Twinkies sells for upwards of $9 where I live, so for the price of 3 boxes of Twinkies, you can make unlimited Twinkies...red velvet topped stuffed with coconut cream & topped with shredded coconut, chocolate-dipped chocolate twinkies with buttercream frosting, white-chocolate & dark-chocolate-striped yellow-cake-mix twinkies with whipped cream frosting, etc. So if you like Twinkies, especially if you have kids or teach a class, you now have access to making really high-quality Twinkies for cheap at home!
   
   That may sound a little funny, but wait until you try something like her English muffins...it will ruin Thomas' for you for life, lol. Being able to not only make your own homemade creations, but being able to make amazing versions of them, is a dangerous skill to cultivate, hahaha. So as far as costs go, aside from raw materials, you will need a base set of baking tools, and then whatever specialized tools you need to for whatever particular type of recipe you're going after. It does pay to invest in better-quality tools, when available. For me, being on a budget, that simply means spacing out the purchases over time to allow both my collection & skill set to grow over time. For example, I'd highly recommend Stella's recommended 9x13" pan here:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017Z0E08/
   
   It's pretty pricey for just a pan, but it's not only easy to work with, but also gives amazing results! I'm never going back to regular cheapo pans again! Plus, I always use her foil trick, where you wrap one sheet of aluminum foil horizontally & one vertically, and that way you can (1) lift the baked good out easily after cooking, and (2) never have to wash the pan, because it never gets dirty! Genius! And it's a fairly heavy-duty pan, so I can see myself keeping this for ten or twenty years, easily.
   
   There are two other tools I always recommend for baking. The first is called a Danish dough whisk, which is a flat version of a whisk. It's amaaaaaazing for hand-stirring doughs & batters! Looks funny, but does an amazing job. I have several (a couple large ones & a small one) & they are amazing for everything from pancake batter to blondies:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Original-Danish-Dough-Whisk-alternatives/dp/B00HQQJ3N6/
   
   Second, there is a crazy-expensive ($25, no joke) spoon that I HIGHLY recommend:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Creuset-America-Revolution-Bi-Material-Cerise/dp/B00N9SDI40/
   
   This is basically a combination of a spoon & a spatula. It's absolutely incredible to use in a skillet or in a bowl, because you can manipulate large amounts of food (batter, dough, sauces, etc.), but ALSO scrape the pan with it. So if you're pouring say brownie batter into your pan, you can use the spoon portion to pull the batter in, and then use the flexible tip to scrape the bowl clean...no more fussing with a wooden spoon & a spatula! Sounds like a small thing, like a really minor issue, but I can't live without this or my Danish whisk, haha!
   
   Book-wise:
   
   Anyway, recipe-wise, again, everything is pretty much laid out for you. You can dive into any recipe, read up on the section, go through the recipe, and get really great results. I've hit a homerun on pretty much every recipe I've tried the first time out, which is pretty rare when you're cooking stuff for the first time! I'd say Bravetart is actually one of the best baking books to start out with, not because it walks you through the "101" class of baking basics, but because everything is so well-explained that it's really easy to be successful because she has not only done the research to make really amazing recipes, but has also taken the guesswork out of the recipe, which a lot of other cookbooks don't bother doing, which can be extremely frustrating!
   
   Also unlike a lot of other cookbooks, every recipe I've tried has been a homerun, which is pretty great because I feel like a lot of cookbooks are centered around a few really amazing recipes & then the rest are variations or fillers. Kind of like how a lot of music albums have one or two "hits" & then have pretty lame songs for the rest of the tracks, lol. My family, friends, and coworkers think I'm some kind of baking genius when I bring stuff in from her cookbook. /u/TheBraveTart I owe you lunch sometime lol.

I fell in love with these kitty socks as soon as I spotted them ♥ I think you should get them too :D

Also, gonna assume that you like rice, so you will need this for your rice serving needs :D If you like some salt and pepper with your food, this will help add some flavour to your home!

Or how about a crack in the universe?

♥♥♥ perpetually angst-ridden ass fucks ♥♥♥

I love that cheese grater! I have used it at work because I didn't want to cut my self, never thought about getting one for at home. Added it to my cheese and other food wishlist.

I love the pickle picker altho you have to be pretty talented to get it to work correctly.

Let's do it in the kitchen.

I highly recommend any of the Jokari brand kitchen tools. It looks like only a few of them are available on .ca, but they are all portion control tools. Very, very useful.

Here, here, and here are some that I found on .ca site.

You could also go with something like a diet and fitness journal.

If you're finding bottling hard, then I'd recommend a bench-top capper - something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Brewcraft-Bench-Capper-New-Model/dp/B00D23OOV8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1417195561&sr=8-9&keywords=bench+capper - so much faster and easier, and tend to work on a variety of bottles that the lever cappers often fail with.

Kits often tend to be keen on getting you to drink beer young, and 2 weeks is probably the minimum to get it carbed. However in all things brewing-related, patience is key! Hope it ages up nicely for you!

Holy poop! $98 for a knife?!
Plates and such I'm doing the "fancy" disposal plates that you can get cheap... So it's fancy enough for a wedding, but I still don't have to wash dishes afterwards or pay an arm and a leg for 80 plates. (Sorry to anyone who loves the planet.) I'm getting them at Sam's Club though(woot woot to Sam's.)

Cake cutter , rustic one , this one reminded me of LOTR , for Rednecks I don't know your life so I put it anyways , etc. There's a BUNCH on Amazon for under that.

Flutes , more flutes , and flutes... I don't really know your style. So I'm sorry if it's not helpful.

I picked this up on eBay, it arrived with the handle broken and now I need to know what my options are.

The pan cooks like a champ, very well seasoned, so I'd like to keep using it. Grabbing the handle stub with a kitchen towel works in a pinch, but I'd like something a bit less likely to burn me. I've been told by those who know that welding is not a viable option. Is there a way to drill out a hole in each end of the break and screw a metal rod in to hold them? Should I invest in a pair of locking pliers or get some of pan grabbers like these? Do I just need to suck it up and keep using the towel, and use other pans for dishes that require me to move the pan around while cooking?

Thanks for any and all advice.

I just made fried rice last night! I went about it similarly to you - though I had a wok. I rinsed it well; cooked it normal; spread it out on a sheet pan and put a fan on it for about 30 minutes - 1 hour; and then fried in two batches in a wok.

I agree with what someone else said, regarding the wooden spoon vs. a wooden spoon. I used a wide slotted metal spoon (sort of like this one in shape https://www.amazon.com/Chef-Craft-Stainless-Steel-Basting/dp/B00F1UX6MI/ref=lp_13835821_1_16?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1504015575&sr=1-16). I scooped and jabbed at it constantly during the cooking process. If you have a spider, that would might work. The point I'm trying to get at, is that maybe a wooden spoon isn't the best tool for breaking of the rice, since it is much thicker than a metal spoon, and less adept at jabbing and scooping. Also, with a shallower basin like a cast iron, you might be more likely to knock it out, so maybe this doesn't work.

These awesome guitar wooden spoons are so cool!! Thanks for the contest! :)

Thanks, that's definitely close. But the fact that it's slotted is a big part of its allure as I've found.

Honestly I might just dremel some slots into one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2ZCTPG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1THAZDOWP300U

http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Paddle-Shamoji-Black-K-386BK/dp/B003B66YRS/ref=sr_1_27?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1414535288&sr=1-27&keywords=rice+paddle

1000000% trust me on this.

Get a rubber bar spill tray. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beaumont-3629-Black-Rubber-15x30cm/dp/B076JF6QLW/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=bar+mat&qid=1568055874&s=kitchen&sr=1-4

It catches the water. It holds the slurry. It's easy to wash. The whole base is RUBBER and makes FULL contact with your counter and a LOT of contact with your stone. You could also get a larger sized one, if you want.

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If you have the glass stones, you will still need to raise it. That stone holder you got can go on top of this and will move a lot less than on your counter.

Do you all work in an office? How about a reusable spork for all the times there's free food in the kitchen but not enough cutlery?! (Better for the environment too!)

A bunch of my coworkers have asked me where I got my laptop camera cover. Might make a practical gift: One of the many options on Amazon

Another idea: Reusable grocery bags

Chronnikah, I love it! It was gifted to me, but this looks pretty darn similar!

gifting is fun

$1.47

$2.15

$4.49

$1.94

$4.75

$5.00

= $19.80 :)

A "Feuerzange" like this. My friend once used an old cheese grater after they discovered they didn't have a Feuerzange, and it didn't go so well. The plastic started melting and as the metal expanded from the heat, it popped out of shape (kinda like those metal jumping disks) and exploded burning sugar syrup everywhere.

You could buy something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Debbie-Meyer-CakeCutters-Round-Server/dp/B01C5FN7KC

It doesn't have the part that slides underneath the cake, though it's probably easier to clean.

most definitely. I actually saw an Avocado spoon for sale at one of those fancy cooking shops. It was like $30.

this one is like $40...people are insane.

Yeah, its pretty cool idea and design. It is designed by Maria Kivijarvi.

Here is the link. It is available in many colors too.

I also see what appears to be that model on Amazon in orange . Interesting. Thanks.

Been looking for some unique kitchen items. [I'd love these!] (http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Toned-Melamine-Spoon-Black/dp/B001PZ7KE8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2TDGJE6IM8HDP&coliid=I32S8QAETXZ1PL)

This squirrel rice paddle!. So cute and under $5!

$18.66 price was when Amazon was selling the item (an hour ago). They must have sold out, as they are no longer the seller. The $25 price you see is from a 3rd party seller:

> Ships from and sold by BigKitchen.

Pro tip: If you are willing to wait 1-2 weeks for Amazon to get some back in stock, click on the other sellers link, and you can still buy it from Amazon at $18.50.

>I think a quality, albeit a possibly niche one, is that cupcakes are more consistent in terms of portions per serving than a cake. If you were concerned by calorie or sugar intake, it's easier to have a more accurate measure with cupcakes that are more uniform in portions than haphazardly slicing a traditional cake.

There are cake cutters/servers, for both round and rectangular cakes, on the market that you can use to get consistent cake portions.

OMG OMG OMG. Here's your inspiration.

This right here is what you need to make. This thing. Right there. He's called a Chester, and he's from the game Don't Starve. And if you make him, omg I would buy him from you sooo hard it's not even funny. I don't even have a WL item (ok, if I must this rice paddle because my other one got all melty on me.)

Also, turtle me.

https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Run-5431-Plastic-Stainless/dp/B0000VLPP8
does it better ;D

this would help me tremendously. ive been struggling with my weight for a while now so im finding little things to help change my habits. this would help portion out how much dressing i use on my salads.

Silicone spatula/spoon thingie for most things

Heavy wooden spatula for dutch oven (stews, tomato sauce, etc) or high heat applications (bacon!)

Metal fish turner for delicate/precision work (lifting dumplings, etc)

Wok turner for...wok work (I feel like Fozzie bear now)

I have a couple wooden spoons, but I basically only use them when I need an extra implement, they're never my first grab.

It's the Magisso Cake Server, $11.98 on Amazon

Here is a very similar product on Amazon.

Amazon
Btw, apparently different colors cost more money ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Run-5431-Plastic-Stainless/dp/B0000VLPP8

We’ve always used these.. also works for olives.

The correct answer. http://www.amazon.com/Fox-Run-Pickle-Olive-Picker/dp/B0000VLPP8

https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Run-5431-Plastic-Stainless/dp/B0000VLPP8/ref=asc_df_B0000VLPP8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198084412779&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3965628509986171204&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013504&hvtargid=pla-348203061267&psc=1

They make travel utensils in a variety of configurations. There's the all in one below, but they have standard ones in little pouches and even a swiss army utensil. I use them for hiking.

https://www.amazon.com/humangear-HG0400-Gobites-Uno-Gray/dp/B00QF5QRZG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=travel+fork&qid=1568132833&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFZQ1FCMEExMENOQ0gmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3MjkyMzcyMzFDNFpIT1RJRzlCJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MjMyMzNPWUkyVUxJSkxGSFAmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

I prefer this one: https://www.amazon.com/Magisso-Kivijarvi-Perfect-Pastries-Stainless/dp/B002SYVQCC

https://www.amazon.com/Debbie-Meyer-CakeCutters-Round-Server/dp/B01C5FN7KC/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1518799057&sr=1-6&keywords=cake+cutter another alternative, for 10 bucks.