Fred's guide to Kitchen Tools and Gadgets

Some recommended products based on long term use.

 

Woll Saucepans - Are they the best? After buying dozens of non stick Teflon coated pans from companies like Tefal I got fed up with having to replace them after 3-4 years as the Teflon wore out. I even bought the best Tefal pans from John Lewis with a "lifetime guarantee" but even they got fed up with replacing them eventually. Then I saw the German made Woll pans at at the Ideal home show and was impressed with their durability. They looked like the ones that are used by James Martian on Saturday kitchen so I guessed they must be good. At the show a gobby scouser attacked one with a knife and bragged how tough and durable they are. (He was alarmingly good with the knife)  He also said that they are so slippery that you can cook without oil and nothing will stain them. Suitably impressed I bought 3 for £160 and thought my saucepan woes were over. Within 2 months one developed rusty bobbles and had to be replaced. Also they do stain and even when I followed their advice of soaking overnight in biological washing powder the stains remained. At the grand Designs show I found another gobby geezer selling Woll pans, using the same patter. In  front of the adoring crowd I asked why my pans are stained and wont clean. My new best friend, (not) asked if I had used Olive Oil in them. Silly me!  I only followed Jamie Oliver's advice and the thousands of years of tradition in the Mediterranean and used Olive Oil in my saucepan. Morale of the story,  don't listen to Goggy Scousers!   Revive Miracle cleaner - does it work? Whilst visiting the Good Food Show I was drawn to a demonstration by a gobby geezer of revive miracle cleaner. Mr Gobby demonstrated it cleaning black carbon off an old cooker using a mere feather touch so I duly bought some, and left the show immediately to clean the carbon off my Woll frying pan. Call me stupid but after 20 minutes rubbing and no result I gave up! What did I do wrong? answers on a postcard please. So are Woll pans the best and worth the megabucks? and why was my Revive so useless? Let me know what you think so I can share it with my readers. I have spent 15 years testing and reviewing gardening and DIY  tools,  so now I will use the same skills to test kitchen tools. Watch this space for further news

The best kitchen knives   At the shows and in store demonstrations you will often see a gobby geezer, ( occasionally a  gobby bird - no sexism here)  selling a wonder gadget that will change your life. Some 10 years ago I saw a gobby scouser in Debenhams demonstrating the worlds sharpest knife. He used it to cut through a can of corned beef and them a steel bolt! In the South of England we use something called a hacksaw for that sort of thing but suitably impressed I purchased several of the worlds sharpest knives. I also got - not one , not 2 but 3 other little knives totally free - I am truly a lucky ****ard! 10 years later I still have my "worlds sharpest knives" and my family still have their incredibly practical Christmas presents. The knife is still sharp and is great for cutting bread and frozen pizza.( it probably stayed sharp as I never used it to cut steel bolts.) It has a serrated edge so is not so good at most other kitchen tasks. I have no idea where you get one and  the company was listed as being in the World trade centre. In my kitchen I use a 15 year old Sabatier chefs knife for most tasks. It cuts better than anything else I have tried and will probably last longer than I will. The Chefs knife is the most versatile and useful of all kitchen knives. Mostly you can use it to do all jobs. Specialist knives for bread , fish, etc are great but I think these sets with 15 or so are over the top. I have 7 knives I use frequently. The secret to fast, easy, cutting and making your kitchen knife last as long as possible is careful sharpening, avoid the dishwasher and store it properly.

My 15 year  old Sabatier chefs knife Note the funky black  hi- Tec chopping board,  I will be reporting on this soon.

The best kitchen knive sharpeners tested and reviewed To sharpen my 15 year old Sabatier kitchen knife I use a tungsten carbide V shaped sharpener. On the TV you see the chefs wavy around furiously with a big steel rod and hear lots of grating and gnashing sounds. Whilst this makes good TV it is not really necessary and can be dangerous if you slip. A modern alternative is this specially designed "wipe twice" tungsten carbide knife sharpener that has a V shaped blade to give you the correct angle. This is the original, top quality, American made Tungsten carbide knife sharpener and not one of the many cheap and nasty Chinese copies that may ruin your knives. Another great knife sharpener that uses the same tungsten blades is the Anysharp Global which sticks itself down on your worktop by suction. It claims to be the worlds best knife sharpener - I would say it's pretty good.   The small tungsten blade in the USA made Accusharp is reversible and replacable. So I think its better than the Anysharp. Sabatier knives are made in France and refer to a family of knife makers from one area and not a specific company. Buy a good quality Sabatier knife and you will grow to love it. The small tungsten blade in this USA made product is reversible and replicable. Beware of cheap Chinese copies !

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The best vegetable peeler I am currently testing a range of kitchen peelers including the OXO good grips peeler, some cheap plastic ones, some Swiss plastic peelers and even a peeler with a ceramic blade. I am also testing the much hyped Swiss made , stainless steel Titan vegetable peeler with it "ingenious" (not) plastic board thingy. So far the cheap plastic ones look best ! watch this space

The best plastic storage boxes since Tupperware Lock & Lock plastic containers I still remember my sister having Tupperware parties in the 70's and the incredible excitement caused by a plastic box. (or was it the free cheesy watsits?) Tupperware was great but they don't party like they used to. Today my excitement is caused  by a new plastic box.  Having used these boxes for 5 years I can honestly say they are the best I have tried. (and I own dozens of different types) The precision made mouldings are easy to secure and undo as they have four good sized clips. The boxes are sealed airtight by a silicon seal that has lasted well even after dishwasher use. I bought some cheaper "knock offs" from Tesco to test and the blue seals in these fell out after a couple of months and the lids warped, rendering them virtually useless and a total waste of money.  The picture opposite shows some of my Lock and Lock collection. I have 10 different size containers but there are many more.

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