Fun Kitchen Tools

Mandoline

• When slicing vegetables, fruits and other foods, few kitchen tools make the chore as fun or easy as a mandoline, which is a rectangular tool that has a very sharp blade built into its surface. To slice your food, you simply slide the fruit or vegetable against the blade while holding the mandoline at a slight angle. You can find mandolines that are made of metal, wood or plastic and that feature different settings to cut your items in various thicknesses or to julienne and crinkle cut vegetables. However, while it can be fun to slice your veggies in a variety of styles, a mandoline can also be dangerous because of its razor sharp blade. If you are not careful, you can easily slice your fingers, so you may want to wear a protective glove while using the tool.
  
  

Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer

• If you routinely bake apple pies, crisps or turnovers, you know how time consuming peeling, coring and slicing apples for baked goods can be. To make this task more fun, a countertop apple peeler is an ideal addition to your kitchen. It features a pronged fork that you line up with the apple's core and a movable arm that contains a peeling blade that rests against the skin of the apple. Once you turn the hand crank, the peeler simultaneously takes off the skin and pushes out the core while cutting the apples into thin slices at the same time. Kids often have fun with these tools, and you do not have to worry about their fingers being near sharp blades since the crank is located at a distance from the actual peeler, corer and slicing mechanisms. Some peelers clamp onto the end of your counter or table while others are freestanding models with a suction cup on the bottom that can be used anywhere in your kitchen.
  
  

Immersion Blender

• An immersion blender can make a variety of food preparation tasks more fun. While it can blend smoothies and soups like a traditional blender, its blade is on the end of a stick-like body, so it is entirely portable. Instead of placing ingredients in a blender's pitcher, you can simply place the immersion blender in the pot, bowl, glass or container where you are preparing your recipe. Some immersion blenders also come with a chopping blade and whipping attachment so you can chop vegetables, herbs and nuts and whip heavy cream or egg whites for meringue.
  
  

Salad Spinner

• Rinsing your greens before assembling a salad is not difficult, but drying them afterward can be a bit tedious. A salad spinner makes the task a lot more fun. Most spinners feature a large plastic container with a perforated liner that rests inside a larger bowl. The spinner's lid usually has a button that you press with your hand to spin the liner so all of the water is shaken off the greens and collected in the spinner's bowl. Your greens are dried much more quickly and with much less effort than drying by hand. Kids often enjoy using this tool, so you can delegate the task to them when they want to help make dinner.