Saturday, March 27, 2010

Weekend Cooking...A Useful Gadget

I am not one that usually buys gadgets for the kitchen. After re-doing my kitchen a few years ago, I have made a concerted effort not to clutter it up too much, not to have a gadget drawer that needs to be opened with a pry bar. Also I hold to the Alton Brown, he of Good Eats fame, idea that one should not have uni-taskers, tools that only do one job.

But when I was at the Philadelphia Flower Show this year, I saw a fellow in the vendor's area, demonstrating this little item to the right there...and I admit it...I had to have one.

It is a grater. It is a plate with a surface covered with little V shapes that are fired into the plate and glazed. Mine, as you see, is yellow with a little red garlic design, because garlic is something this thing excels at. Peel your clove (at that is what the blue tube is for. Oddly, it really works) hold it by the root end and rub it over the rough surface. It will turn your garlic to a paste, that you then gather together with that little brush and Ta-Da! This is especially great (pun intended) if you want it for a dressing or marinade but I have started using it in most of my garlic applications. Cleanup is simple. Just rinse it off and you are good to go.
You know, the finer your garlic, the stronger the taste, so be careful when using this fresh garlic paste. I love garlic, but this stuff is stronger than a minced clove would be. Which I personally love.

As he demonstrated, it also works very well for fresh ginger. I have not tested that yet, but the niece verifies it is true, and it can also be used to grate hard cheese and chocolate and any number of things I imagine. And unlike a metal grater, it won't take the skin off your fingers, which is always good.

The  Garlic grater  is available from Amazon and you can also buy it online at this site, where you can also see the very annoying man using it. Check out the Winter Special at the bottom, where you can get two for one...way cheaper than I paid.

But it was still worth it.




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


21 comments:

  1. well, they do say it was designed in France!

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  2. Oh, I love that and would probably use it more for ginger than garlic, since I really like my garlic press. We got a similar gadget in Mexico one year. It's a clay bowl for making guacamole. It has a pretty pattern on the inside of the bowl that is actually designed to break up the avocado as you stir it around. It works really well and looks pretty! Just like yours! Happy cooking!! :) Silke

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  3. I never would have guessed that plate was to grate garlic! I thought it was just pretty pottery. I have a garlic press, but that's way prettier.

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  4. I was trying to figure out what this was before I read your post, but couldn't. I would love this for ginger!

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  5. I find it is much easier to use and clean than a garlic press. Also, unlike a garlic press you can use it for other things, like ginger, which I find is hard to get finely minced, yet alone made into a paste.

    and it is pretty..

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  6. What a clever gadget! Although I imagine you would need to have separate ones for things like garlic versus things like chocolate...

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  7. Oh, I'm going to have to get one of these. I love how it's so useful...and so attractive, too! Thanks for putting this on my radar!

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  8. I love good gadgets and this one sounds perfect for garlic, which I also love. It all seems so clever that I wonder why someone didn't think of it earlier.

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  9. Thanks for the link-I saw these at the fair but thought they were too expensive.

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  10. Esme..as I noted, they are cheaper online..oh well...lol

    rhapsody, it is all glazed and after washing off, it retains no odor at all, so I would try chocolate on it..if I had any.

    Jill, happy to do it.

    Margot, it is really a wonder with garlic, so fast, so easy.

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  11. Okay -- I have to have this!!! If I had been at the flower show, I would have bought it immediately. One for me, one for my mom.... LOL.

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  12. I have seen the blue peeler thing before, but the grater is new to me. Very cool. almost looks like it would be fun to use.

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  13. My daughter bought me one of these sets for Xmas and I love it.
    So much easier to use and clean ;0)

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  14. Cool - I've never seen such a thing!

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  15. I've never seen anything like that before! I want me one!!

    You can find my WC HERE

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  16. I love kitchen gadgets!! I need this!!

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  17. Wow what a neat tool! I think you've given me a really good excuse to buy something. :)

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  18. You never need an excuse to buy a cool gadget.

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  19. you forgot to mention they are dishwasher safe...so you WOULDN'T need another one for chocolate.

    also...they aren't really BOGO if you have to pay for shipping on the second. they are scamming you!! GASP!

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  20. Ooh, I totally need this for ginger. Wonder if they'll have them at the state fair this summer...

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