Tweezers: The Most Underestimated Home Kitchen Tool
Let me start by saying this is: our industry friends already know what I’m about to write in this blog. This is nothing new to them; rather, I’m calling out all the home cooks, the home kitchen enthusiasts, my fellow food lovers who have no intention of stepping into the fiery chaos of a professional kitchen.
Yes, you need tweezers in your kitchen.
When was the last time you dug around in a jar with a fork trying to skewer the last pickle? Or maybe you’re like me, trying to make the cake with the decorative smartie mosaic, holding your breath, trying to place the smarties without leaving finger smudges.
I hear it every day “Oh I don’t need those I’m a home cook”
I promise, you have no idea what you’re missing. Let me explain what I mean- I took up pickling after watching Nathan’s YouTube on the subject (in fairness, I did also call him to get reassurance I wouldn’t give anyone botulism.) But very quickly realized that you have to put the veggies and fruit into the VERY hot jars. Tongs were downright clumsy. I’m not saying I burnt myself several times, but my roommate did come into my kitchen to figure out where the swearing was coming from.
What saved the day? (And my fingers?)
King Tongs. These large tweezers were nimble and long enough to reach the bottom of the jar. I was perfectly set up to not only pack the jar, but also arrange the things in the jar. Now, I have a cabinet full of stunningly tidy pickle jars that look like they belong in a fancy magazine.
Now you’re clearly thinking this is the only argument I have for these dainty mighty tools, but you are incorrect! I don’t buy kitchen gadgets unless I know I’m getting my money's worth, and I would expect our discerning customers to be like-minded.
I have gotten into cocktail making over the years, and as I try to make it look a bit less clumsy, I have discovered the difficulty of arranging garnishes without sticking my fingers into my guests' beverages. Not that my guests would turn down a drink because my finger nudged their ice cube, but it’s nice to be polite. When garnishing mojitos, you can place the mint leaves in the glass around the ice so you see them through the sides of the glass. Martinis? Pick those olives up with tweezers and spear them with a cocktail pick instead of cramming your digits in the jar. Floating a citrus twist delicately on top of a drink? Or an edible flower? The offset tweezer has it down perfectly!
Twisting pasta as you attempt to “plate”, putting decor on cakes without dunking your fingers in frosting, getting the last pickles out of the obnoxiously narrow jar, dipping strawberries in chocolate, placing very small stickers, convincing your friends that you are EXACTLY as fancy as you think you are - the benefits of culinary tweezers never ends. I’ve grabbed my offset tweezers to sneak marshmallows out of my hot chocolate, to fish a tea bag that snuck into my mug without burning my fingers- all the things our industry friends do not use their tweezers for. If anything, I think they are even more useful in our homes than in professional kitchens. Give them a shot!
These are my must-have kitchen tweezers:
