The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 75

up for a couple bucks a pair. Otherwise, you can find
acceptable models online, like the Extra-Long Chopsticks
fromHongKongImportsLtd.($2).
17.WineKey
Regularcorkscrewsand$100rabbit-shapedmodelswillget
yourcorkout,andfast.Butwithalittlepractice,awaiter’s
winekeywillopenwinebottles(andbeers)justasfast,and
make you look infinitely cooler. The key is to use it as a
lever.Ifyouarepullingonithard,you’redoingitwrong!I
keepafewinmycutlerydrawer(likepensandrazors,they
tendtowanderoffintotheworldontheirownfromtimeto
time),aswellasoneinmyknifekit.
18.CitrusJuicer
Everyprofessionalkitchenhasitsownhazingrituals,andas
a young chef-in-training, I endured a period of time—a
good eight months or so—when my first duty every single
morning was to ream twenty-four limes, twenty-four
lemons, and a dozen oranges for fresh juice to use on the
line during service.And the only tool I was allowed to use
todothejob(lestIriskbeingcalledawimp—believeme,a
wimpisthelastthingyouwanttobeinthemachoworldof
professional kitchens) was a wood lemon reamer from
Scandicrafts, Inc. ($4). It was two weeks before I could
completethetaskfromstarttofinishwithouttakingabreak
to nurse my painfully swollen hands, and I went through
four of the reamers in the course of those eight months,
slowly wearing them down until the grooved edges on the
businessendwereassmoothandsoftasriverstones.


This is not to say that it’s a bad product—I’d strongly

recommend it for the occasional juicer—but if you go
throughalotofcitrusjuice(somepeoplebelievethatlemon
juiceisasimportantassalt,justasktheGreeks!),therearea
number of other options on the market. I use the Two-inOne Juicer from Amco ($19.95). You place the citrus cut
side down in the perforated cup-shaped holder, then
squeeze the handles together to extract the juice. It’s fast,
efficient,andmucheasieronthehandsthanaconventional
reamer.The only issue is that it sometimes leaves a bit of
juice behind, forcing you to manually squeeze the empty
citrus shells for maximum extraction.And though it comes
insmall(green),medium(yellow),andlarge(orange)sizes,
intended for limes, lemons, and oranges, the yellow one
worksfineforbothlemonsandlimes,makingittheoneto
get.
19.CakeTester
I know many chefs and cooks who keep a cake tester
tuckedintothepenpocketoftheirwhitesandnonewhouse
themtotestcakes.Notthatyoucan’ttestacake’sdoneness
withthem,it’sjustwhywouldyou,whentherearesomany
more interesting assisted-poking tasks at which it excels?
Essentially a heavy-gauge wire with a handle, it’s about as
simpleasatoolcanget.Theideaisthatyoupokeitintothe
center of a cake and pull it out. If it comes out clean, the
cake is done. So, it’s sort of like a glorified toothpick, but
the fact that it’s long and made of metal means that it’s
usefulforallkindsofotherthings.
The most obvious is testing the doneness of vegetables.