Tools in the Kitchen that have made my life a lot easier for cooking and cleaning.

Hi!

I wanted to share some of my favorite kitchen tools that go well with earth-friendly/health conscious people and low tech methods in the kitchen.  I'm also including some tools that were a little hard to find, to make someone else's search easier.  


dish/pot/baking sheet scraper: this wooden scraper i got off Etsy from SummerBee Woodworks: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1425115467.  I bought several of them without the logo.  They are so effective and don't scratch anything, but actually have a pretty sharp edge for being made out of wood!    I LOVE THIS TOOL SO MUCH!!!


pot scrubber: this broomcorn pot scrubber, tied with hemp: http://plantbasedservices.com/product/potscrubbers-hemp-tyed/.  i actually haven't tried this out yet, but i wanted to include it because it's made of all natural materials and could be made by anyone.  I also want to try making one of these out of horsetail, which i heard works well due to the high silica content of the horsetail plant.


dish/pot cleaning abrasive: 50% baking soda/50% washing soda.  I keep it in a bowl with a spoon next to the sink, and sprinkle it on dishes as need and scrub with the dishcloth.  works so well!  I also would like to try ground garlic mustard seed or any mustard seed as a substitute.  I don't have a way to grind the mustard seeds right now though so i haven't tried this.  I read that women in the Great Depression used ground mustard seed for this purpose.  


dishcloth fabric: 10oz hemp fabric, SKU# HTH-L10 from https://organiccottonplus.com/products/linen-57-taupe-100-hemp.  It hides dirt, is abrasive enough, and most importantly, dries quickly, which means, less bacteria.  so great!


spray bottle, in which I keep vodka that i infuse with lemons.  i use this for disinfecting counters which works extremely well.  i tried a few different bottles, and these worked the best out of all the ones i tried: https://amzn.to/2rXAnoh - sold by Cornucopia brands on Amazon.


tongs: metal – Open Kitchen William Sonoma.  these are the only ones i found that weren't flimsy.  


Spice jars – Hayley Cherie 6oz glass jars with stainless steel lids that screw on well (not all do - i tried three different kinds and the other lids were terrible) - can find on Amazon.


Boning knives for breaking down chicken and stuff.  I had a heck of a time finding knives that would hold an edge and that didn't cost hundreds of dollars. You might find some vintage carbon steel knives similar to these on ebay for a cheaper price.

Boning knife – flexible/curved – 6″, item 1455 – Dexter Russell
Boning knife – narrow/stiff – 6″, item 1320 – Dexter Russell
Boning knife – wide/stiff – 6″, item 3121 – Dexter Russell
Filet knife –  flexible – this one is 8″, which is overkill in my opinion – Dexter Russell

Paring knife – 3.5″ blade carbon steel – Ontario “Old Hickory”
Paring knife – 4″ blade carbon steel – Ontario “Old Hickory”


Glass Pitchers – Luminarc Quadro 1.7-Liter (57 1/4-Ounce) Pitcher


Ladles - i wanted something that wasn't riveted.  Rösle Stainless Steel Ladles with Pouring Rim, 2.7, 4.5 or 5.4 - expensive.  AMFCOCUS set of 5 ladles (cheaper) – the smallest ladle in this set can fit into wide-mouth mason jars.


Bottle brush – Klean Kanteen brush set


Carbon steel baking sheets - De Buyer french brand.  These were incredibly hard to find.  
- 15.75’’ x 11.8’’ weighs 2.7 lbs – Amazon from seller Chef Pro
- 21″ x 13″, weighs 3 lbs – Food Equipment Direct
- 23.6” x 15.75’’ – may be available on Amazon from seller Chef Pro.  i don't use this size because it wouldn't fit in my oven but some people have larger ovens - how big is the space in a ROCKET OVEN?  ;)


Juicer – Omega VSJ843.  works extremely well, and it is VERY quiet.


Egg beater options.  i actually just like using a fork, but i thought these options were interesting.

- Fort Remington egg beater: https://www.etsy.com/listing/191116318/egg-beater-cherry-wood?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=wood%20egg%20beater&ref=sc_gallery_1&plkey=4b67ee7db345d6b85d965a0e8e9327558432eb37:191116318

- Allegheny Treenware beater: https://alleghenytreenware.com/product/10-inch-wisk/

- Lehman's egg beater: https://www.lehmans.com/product/stainless-steel-egg-beater/cooking-and-baking-helpers?utm_term=02779&zmam=32933335&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=02779&partner_id=bcbgoog&utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_AllProducts_GOOG&utm_content=s6KBOJApq_dc%7Cpcrid%7C54869971724%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cproduct%7C02779%7C&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuYTYBRDsARIsAJnrUXAZa76XZhyKRAZLwAGyO2AUG4rc9_7QoQ9cCvIhcAW3CM5bhW3fnN8aAqyCEALw_wcB.  I gotta say that since changing my diet I don't have much use for these anymore, but they work so incredibly well while not requiring electricity that i had to include them.   but don't expect this to replace an electrical immersion blender or beater.  this is relegated to eggs, egg whites, dressings, etc.


I don't use an immersion blender, but I thought i'd include this because it was tested to be lead free by Tamara Rubin: Immersion Blender – Bamix Pro-3 GL200.  Pretty expensive, but i think there are a few models of this that are cheaper.  


I always used dishes I found at Goodwill in the past, but as i'v had health issues, i decided to seek out some dishes that have been tested to be lead free.  Tamara Rubin is a good resource for this kind of stuff (just search her on Google).  I think that Williams Sonoma and Crate & Barrel has lead free dishes, but I don't believe Tamara has tested these.  you can send dishes or anything really to Tamara for testing, which she does with an XRF instrument - info on her website.  She seems like a really nice lady who is dedicated to taking care of her special needs children and educating the public on all things lead-related.

Peter, thanks for sharing.

I understand the the all white Correll dishes by Corning are lead free.  I resisted these for years but love them for their durability.

I like your spray bottle idea with vodka infused with lemons for cleaning counters.

Bottle cleaning beads

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-glass-cleaning-balls/p1866174?sku=234257405&s_kwcid=2dx92700028205642820&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzJODiY6c2wIVZrvtCh2xLQkrEAQYBSABEgKiaPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds



Need to get grime out of hard to reach corners, or narrow necked bottles? Just swirl these for a bit in the bottom of your vessel with some clean water, then rinse out. Perfect for restoring old demijohns into service.

Anne Miller wrote:Peter, thanks for sharing.

I understand the the all white Correll dishes by Corning are lead free.  I resisted these for years but love them for their durability.

I like your spray bottle idea with vodka infused with lemons for cleaning counters.

I understand from Tamara Rubin that the Corelle dishes you mentioned are lead free, but the MUGS that come in the set DO contain lead.

hi, i have an update about the broomcorn pot scrubber made by John of Plant-Based Services, (linked above).  I put it to the first test, seeing if it could get the stains out of the bottom of my soup pot where something had burned.  since i don't use SOS green scrub pads due to principle (it sheds micro plastic fibers down the drain and into the water supply), and because i hate plastic products and am determined to learn how to 'kitchen' without these darn things, my pot had remained stained for at least a month...using a dish cloth only, no amount of elbow grease (at least MY weak elbow grease) could get it out.  

first, I used the wood scraper (linked above) with the abrasive mixture of 50/50 washing soda to baking soda, to see what i could get off.  actually a little bit did come off --- that wood scraper is amazing.  then i used the broomcorn pot scrubber with the abrasive mixture, and it REALLY worked well!!!  some of the broomcorn strands around the edge splayed a tiny bit, especially as i abused the scrubber, working from different angles, but i'm impressed overall.  i will continue to update.  

A pair of clogs.

This is mostly for my wife and not me, but we talked about putting in a lower counter for her to roll out dough since it would be at a lower working level. That however would mean dedicating counter top space to one use. Instead she puts on a tall pair of clogs that makes her standard counters "lower" because she is wearing taller shoes.

A pair of clogs is cheaper than buying/building a special kitchen cabinet area.

Travis Johnson wrote:A pair of clogs.

This is mostly for my wife and not me, but we talked about putting in a lower counter for her to roll out dough since it would be at a lower working level. That however would mean dedicating counter top space to one use. Instead she puts on a tall pair of clogs that makes her standard counters "lower" because she is wearing taller shoes.

A pair of clogs is cheaper than buying/building a special kitchen cabinet area.

haha!  nice.