Summer Cooking Must-Have Kitchen Tools
It's summertime and the cooking is easy… or at least it will be if you have your kitchen stocked with certain tools that are geared towards preparing the best foods and recipes that summer has to offer. These tools will ensure that you're prepared for the bounty of summer fruits and veggies, and ready to make everyone's favorite summertime dishes.
Cherries in season are by far one of the best treats of summer, wonderful for eating out of hand, for sprinkling into green salads or, of course, for making pie (like Cherry-Almond Pie with Streusel Topping. A good cherry pitter will help you effortlessly pit batches of cherries with a minimum of hand fatigue from repetitive motions. Progressive's cherry pitter, shown, pits 4 cherries at once and its clever box design helps contain splattered juices.
There's no mistaking the purpose of this whimsical knife, by Kuhn Rikon - its green handle and red blade make it perfectly clear that it's ready to slice into watermelon, another favorite summertime fruit. The knife is long enough (11 inches) to slice through even the biggest, most prizewinning melon, and the serrated blade can cut through even tough rinds. The seed-shaped holes in the side of the blade are not only cute, but they help prevent the melon from sticking to the blade of the knife. This knife comes with a plastic sheath to keep it safely stored. It's a must-have for making watermelon based treats like Watermelon Mint Popsicles.More »
When the temperature soars, iced tea, salad dressings, cocktails or sorbet are even more refreshing with the addition of a little citrus zest. A citrus tool that be used for zesting lemons and limes is ideal for making summertime recipes like Tangy Lentil Salad or Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies. The one shown is the Ultimate Citrus Tool by Microplane and can make grated zest, decorative ribbons of the peel for a twist or a garnish, and can also score an orange for peeling.More »
Corn on the cob is at its sweetest and most tender in the summer... and since it's also at its cheapest this time of year, there's no reason you shouldn't eat your fill. Use a corn stripper to easily slice kernels from the cob to use in recipes like Corn Pancakes with Black Bean and Avocado Relish or Succotash of Summer Squash and Corn. The OXO Good Grips Corn Stripper nests comfortably in your hand, has a stainless steel blade to cleanly strip the corn away from the cob, and will hold about an ear's worth of corn in the little compartment.More »
It wouldn't be summertime without regular doses of frozen treats like ice cream or ice pops. Save a trip to the ice cream store and make your own (plus, by making your own, you can bypass the boring flavors and go instead for interesting varieties like Ovaltine Ice Cream or Brown Sugar and Peach Ice Cream. DeLonghi's Gelato Maker has a built-in compressor so it can freeze the ice cream base without the use of a bowl that needs to be frozen beforehand.More »
Ice pops are a little better for you than ice cream, and give you a chance to make use of all the wonderful summertime fruit that's available. Invest in a set of ice pop molds so that you'll be able to make your own fresh, wholesome pops in a variety of flavors, like Cantaloupe Honey Lime and Cherry Fudgesicle.More »
1. Cherry Pitter
Cherries in season are by far one of the best treats of summer, wonderful for eating out of hand, for sprinkling into green salads or, of course, for making pie (like Cherry-Almond Pie with Streusel Topping. A good cherry pitter will help you effortlessly pit batches of cherries with a minimum of hand fatigue from repetitive motions. Progressive's cherry pitter, shown, pits 4 cherries at once and its clever box design helps contain splattered juices.
2. Watermelon Knife
There's no mistaking the purpose of this whimsical knife, by Kuhn Rikon - its green handle and red blade make it perfectly clear that it's ready to slice into watermelon, another favorite summertime fruit. The knife is long enough (11 inches) to slice through even the biggest, most prizewinning melon, and the serrated blade can cut through even tough rinds. The seed-shaped holes in the side of the blade are not only cute, but they help prevent the melon from sticking to the blade of the knife. This knife comes with a plastic sheath to keep it safely stored. It's a must-have for making watermelon based treats like Watermelon Mint Popsicles.More »
3. Citrus Zester
When the temperature soars, iced tea, salad dressings, cocktails or sorbet are even more refreshing with the addition of a little citrus zest. A citrus tool that be used for zesting lemons and limes is ideal for making summertime recipes like Tangy Lentil Salad or Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies. The one shown is the Ultimate Citrus Tool by Microplane and can make grated zest, decorative ribbons of the peel for a twist or a garnish, and can also score an orange for peeling.More »
4. Corn Stripper
Corn on the cob is at its sweetest and most tender in the summer... and since it's also at its cheapest this time of year, there's no reason you shouldn't eat your fill. Use a corn stripper to easily slice kernels from the cob to use in recipes like Corn Pancakes with Black Bean and Avocado Relish or Succotash of Summer Squash and Corn. The OXO Good Grips Corn Stripper nests comfortably in your hand, has a stainless steel blade to cleanly strip the corn away from the cob, and will hold about an ear's worth of corn in the little compartment.More »
5. Ice Cream or Gelato Maker
It wouldn't be summertime without regular doses of frozen treats like ice cream or ice pops. Save a trip to the ice cream store and make your own (plus, by making your own, you can bypass the boring flavors and go instead for interesting varieties like Ovaltine Ice Cream or Brown Sugar and Peach Ice Cream. DeLonghi's Gelato Maker has a built-in compressor so it can freeze the ice cream base without the use of a bowl that needs to be frozen beforehand.More »
6. Ice Pop Molds
Ice pops are a little better for you than ice cream, and give you a chance to make use of all the wonderful summertime fruit that's available. Invest in a set of ice pop molds so that you'll be able to make your own fresh, wholesome pops in a variety of flavors, like Cantaloupe Honey Lime and Cherry Fudgesicle.More »
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