Images and text by Gabrielle.
In March I wrote about the food habits we had picked up from our time in France, and since that post, I remembered two things in our kitchen that we wouldn’t own if we hadn’t moved to France. So I wanted to share them with you. Neither is particularly French, but we started using these tools because they happened to be in the kitchen of La Cressonnière, and we loved them so much, they were two of our first purchases when we moved back to the U.S.!
The first is an electric kettle. Apparently, these are common as can be — like more standard than a toaster — in every Western country but the U.S.. And they’re definitely sold here, but I had never seen one used by an American friend, and I had never used one myself, until we lived in France.
They are so handy! The water heats to boiling super fast. It’s great for making hot drinks, for making ramen (or cup noodles, as my kids call them), or anytime you need a small amount of boiling water fast (like when we made dye for Easter eggs). Sometimes it surprises me how often we use it.
There are tons of options available. We use this ceramic one — I chose it for its looks (I thought it would be pretty sitting on the counter) but it works great too. : )
I don’t know the official name for the second tool. We call it a mini-masher, and it took me several searches to track one down. This is the one we have, and I found two others, here and here. Dang I love this tool! I use it for two things specifically: to mash avocados for guacamole, and to mash boiled eggs for egg salad.
If you don’t eat either of those things, I would not recommend this tool to you. But if you do eat guacamole and egg salad, this tool will make you about 75% more willing to make them, because it does the job so well, so quickly and so easily — even if the avocado isn’t perfectly ripe!
Of course, this made me wonder: do you use/adore any kitchen tools that you think are probably uncommon? Where did you discover them? What do you use them for? Also, have you used either of the tools I featured? I’d love to hear!
P.S. — Travel season is here! If you’re headed to France, here are Five Fabulous Souvenirs Under $5. And here are 5 more!
Love our tea kettle! We drink tea all the time, so the electric kettle is a must!
Also, I use a pastry blender to mash avocado for guacamole, bananas for banana bread, and eggs for egg salad. Super useful — and it’s a two-in-one tool as I can also use it to make buttery crumb dough.
Writing from BC Canada-it seems to me that many people have electric kettles here. It’s one of those things I keep debating on, is it really necessary? Yours is quite beautiful-it think that pushes it towards necessary ;)
I’m so curious – if you don’t have a kettle, how do you fill your hot water bottle for bed?
Don’t tell me you don’t have hot water bottles either?!
I have no need for a hot water bottle, but my mom had one when I was little
Water bottles for bed? I’m mystified!
We use a stove-top kettle and I love mine. It might not be as fast as an electric, but I don’t want to have to depend on electricity for everything. Since we have a gas stove, I can still use it if we lose power in a storm.
That little masher would be great for bananas, too. I have a melon-baller that’s great for coring apples or de-seeding squash.
I also use my cookie dough scoop (looks like a tiny ice cream scoop) for lots of things – cookies, no-bake treats, falafel, etc.
I love my kitchen shears, bought them after I had kids. Makes cutting things up for them much easier, quicker than a knife , cutting board. Use it for pizza, meatballs, strawberries, chicken fingers, love it!
How funny! I was really perplexed when I read about the joys of an electric kettle. I had to read again. I seriously couldn’t believe that this wasn’t an essential item in all western kitchens. A little cultural divide between Europe and the US. It has made me smile all day about how shocked I was.
Gasp! Heating water in a microwave. For tea! Wow. Haa!
The electric kettle is quite popular here but I don’t have one and the ones I’ve seen aren’t as pretty as yours. I have a masher similar to the one you’ve got but I use it to mash potatoes. It works like a charm. I will try it for the avocado mash!
This vestige of our baby days is something I could never give up. Saves handwashing all those little lids, water bottle caps, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Tot-Dishwasher-Basket-Orange/dp/B0038JE61O/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1401037909&sr=1-1&keywords=baby+bottle+dishwasher+basket
After living in Dublin, Ireland for five years, I couldn’t live without our electric kettle. And I never thought I”d use a stick/immersion blender so much either! We use a regular size masher for potatoes more often than I expected, too!
Electric tea kettle was added to our kitchen when our daughter became mobile (carry a boiling tea kettle from stove to counter was an immediate no-no at that point) and it has become absolutely essential to our every day life – coffee, tea, seeping dried chiles & herbs, disinfecting tools for canning…
Also wanted to let you know that I have recently found my way back to your blog after meandering away for a bit and find it so nice and refreshing that it is so clearly you again! Your voice permeates through every post…
Couldn’t help myself. Bought the Bella kettle and it is just as lovely as the picture. I tell you what, my tea tastes better now too! Thanks for the rec, Gabrielle!
Yay! So glad you are enjoying it. Mine never fails to make me smile when I see it on the counter.
We use an electric kettle everyday! My husband likes herbal tea and he also boils water to flush his sinuses!
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How do Americans live without kettles? We aren’t even avid tea drinkers in our house, but we still use it all the time.
As for random gadgets, my mother (who is a French expat in England) has a little round thing with a flat bottom for piercing a tiny hole in the air pocket at the bottom of a raw egg. Apparently it stops the shell cracking when you boil them. It was given to her by a Norwegian friend and I’ve never seen it anywhere else.