Holiday Giving: Kitchen Tools for Canners

November 27, 2012

In my years of canning, one of the things I’ve found is that most of my favorite canning tools weren’t made specifically for canning. They are simply kitchen utensils that are well made, sturdy and just happen to serve a useful role in my preserving practice. From the bottom left corner and moving clockwise, here are some of my current favorites.

  • This six-piece set of stacking measuring cups by RSVP is fantastic. They are made from solid stainless steel and have a nice heft in the hand. I use the one-cup measure to portion jam into half-pint jars and the half-cup one fits neatly into my larger storage jars.
  • I’ve long been a fan of a serrated edge peeler. It’s particularly handy during marmalade season because it allows you peel off the outer zest from citrus without taking any of the pith along with you. What makes this particular peeler so nice is that it had dual blades, one smooth and one serrated. Makes for less clutter in a crowded utensil drawer. The one pictured above is from Williams-Sonoma. Kuhn Rikon also makes a version.
  • Thermapen is simply the best instant read thermometers out there. I’ve bought two in recent years and just love them for minding the temperature of my jams, jellies and curds. They’re pricy, but worth the money (and make sure to check the end of this post for a Thermapen giveaway!).
  • I first found this potato masher at a Tuesday Morning and it has supplanted all my other mashers. What makes it so awesome is that the tines are bladed. They’re not sharp, but they have just enough edge to make it perfect for breaking down cooking fruit. It’s a fantastic tool.
  • A good, fully encased silicone spatula. The one pictured above is from GIR and is quite nice. However, it also costs $22.50, which is more than most people want to spend on a spatula (disclosure! this one was sent to me for review purposes). For a more sensibly priced version (under six bucks), check out this one from Orka. According to Amazon, I bought mine in 2009 and it’s still going strong.
  • A good paring knife. I like the ones made by Kuhn Rikon, but couldn’t find one in the kitchen when preparing to take this picture. The most important thing is that it feels good in the hand and holds an edge.

  • If you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, you’ll know that I am crazy for my 4th burner pot. Also made by Kuhn Rikon (they don’t know I exist, I just like their products), this skinny pot has a spout, a heat-proof handle and is fitted with a rack. This means that it works as a small batch canning pot, a pot for heating pickling liquids and syrups for canning whole fruit and even as a tea kettle in a pinch. On Thanksgiving, I used it to heat up the gravy. It is a genius piece of equipment and I love it so much that I own two.
  • I bought this Cuisinart stainless steel wok at Macy’s last summer on a whim. It was on sale and I had a feeling that it might be a handy size and shape for making small batches of jam. And I was right. The flared sides encourage evaporation and it holds a bit more jam than a 12-inch skillet. It’s lighter than ideal for a true wok, but is quite nice for jams, jellies and chutneys (and it just costs right around $30, which makes it highly affordable).
  • Finally, flour sack towels. I finally got smart and started buying them in colors instead of in white. No matter how much I bleached them, the white ones just never get clean. The deeply colored ones don’t show the stains as much. Amazing the difference these little choices make in my quality of life.

As promised, I have an orange Thermapen to give away to one of you nice folks. Here’s how to throw your hat in the ring for chance at it.

  1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your current favorite kitchen tool.
  2. Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, November 30, 2012. Winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog over the weekend.
  3. Giveaway open to everyone (the shipping is on me, no matter where you live).
  4. One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post. I do not accept submissions via email.
Disclosure: Thermapen is providing the thermometer for this giveaway. GIR sent me one of their spatulas for review. Neither company paid to be included in this post. No one else mentioned here knows that I exist or that I’m writing about them.

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670 thoughts on "Holiday Giving: Kitchen Tools for Canners"

  • My double edged peeler has my vote. It gets used for peeling tomatoes, peaches, carrots and even cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches.

  • Um, I love canning and I love using my extensive collection of Pampered Chef tools. I ALWAYS use the cutting boards, knives, pans, spatulas, and nylon tools. Insofar as my big canning pot, I found a cheap one at the dollar store that I’ve used for years. I would love wining your Thermapen. It sounds like it will be an extremely useful tool. Thanks for your blog!

  • I would have to say my food processor.I’m baking so much this time of year and a lot of items I bake call for chopped nuts,so the processor makes quick work of them. (BTW I have your book on my Christmas list 😉

  • My whisks! I love my whisks. I have a small one that’s use daily, I would be lost without it! Would love to try out a thermapen though 🙂

  • My favorite tool right now is my ninja chopper. It saves me so much time when I have a lot if stuff to chop for soup’s & chili.

  • My favorite tool is my jam canning pot as we’ve had some good times together. HA. I also love my spout I put into the jar when filling it as it makes canning so easy, without that I’d be a complete failure while canning in the kitchen.

  • So many to choose from. I’d say the most used tool in the house is my bench scraper. It gets used so often that I have two. I also love Kuhn Rikon products. I bought the 4th burner pot after seeing how much you loved it and it comes in handy on many occasions. Also love their pressure cooker and can opener.

  • My favorite item is my food processor!! I have a 14 cup one and it is great for chopping all the bulk celery and onions I like to freeze!

  • My favorite tool is one that isn’t made anymore. It’s called a Foley Fork and is designed for dough blending. However, I find it stands in as a masher among other things!

  • This time of year, I give thanks for the almighty Silpat. I’ve got 6 (3 half-sheet and 3 qtrs) that’ll stay in heavy rotation right thru New Year’s.

  • one of my favorite kitchen tools is my 6$ mandoline… It cuts everything and makes prep for pickles or slicimg any veggie/fruit easy, quick and uniform.

  • My current favorite is my own fully-encased purple silicone spatula, purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond. After an old rubber white one disintegrated in a hot syrup, I swore I’ll only buy silicone from now on!

  • My fav is the Vitamix – but non-electric would be my bench scraper – it’s a great versatile extension of the hand and fingers.

  • I think my favorite kitchen tool is a good quality chef’s knife. I don’t know that that’s exactly a ‘tool’ – but I spent so many years with a crappy knife, not knowing what I was missing. Since I’ve gotten a good one, I’m amazed at how wonderful it is every time I use it!

  • At this time of year especially, my immersion blender is a favorite and frequently-used tool. Perfect for soups and fruit butters!

  • Right now, I’m loving my immersion blender! It sits next to my best wooden spoons and makes the most awesomely-textured soups.

  • My favorite’s is my hand blender, and my apple peeler, it peels and cores and cuts with each turn of the handle. The kitchen tools giveaway is awesome,Thanks….

  • My favorite kitchen tools are my hands, but for some crazy reason reason I just go crazy over new gadgets for the kitchen…specially if they are this nice! I’d love to win these…

  • My favorite kitchen tool is my immersion blender. It comes in handy when I’m pureeing soups and I don’t want to take out my VitaMix.

  • One of my new favorites is the fruit/vegetable strainer for my Kitchen Aid ~ tomato sauce, applesauce ~ a snap! Else my knives.

  • At this time of year it would have to be my rolling pin! Between pies and cookies it gets quite a workout! Thanks for the fun give-away:@)

  • I bought the 4th burner pot on your suggestion sometime last year. It’s great for boiling ears of corn too (at least if you are a family of 3 or less). Looking forward to making some more jam for thumbprint cookies – your pear cinnamon recipe makes great cookies.

  • More of a tool for holding my tools, my favorite thing right now is the awesome expanse of pegboard my fiance put up in on an unused wall – I’ve got my cutting boards, colanders, cooling racks, box graters, and small-but-not-small-enough-to-fit-in-a-drawer-tools all up in easy reach and out of my teeny-tiny cabinet space…

  • Best tool or gadget in my kitchen is a magnetic knife holder strip that I attached to a small section of wall by my counter. Keeps 5 of my well loved tools close at hand. Best thing I ever did.. Love it.

  • It is so hard to pick my favorite tool. Silicone fully encased two-sided spatula? Bench scraper to pick up all those little chopped up pieces of deliciousness? Oh, the ceramic knife is nice, too. Will cut through anything. It even came in a case that will not release the knife unless held correctly to keep you from cutting yourself.

  • My favorite kitchen tool is a whisk that I got years ago that doesn’t overlap at the end – it’s shaped like five metal petals coming almost together. The genius of this design is that things don’t get trapped in that inner whisk cage that often happens with the traditional whisk. It also doubles as a great light masher.

  • One of my most prized kitchen tools is my immersion blender. Perfect for scrunching up tomatoes during canning, and pureeing winter roots for soup. And so many other things!

  • One of my favorite kitchen tools is my iPad 🙂 It is so convenient to use when I am following a recipe from a website or even one of my own that has been typed up. I also love a good wooden spoon!

  • I admit I love all “gadgets” for the kitchen but my knives are my mainstay. Sharp knives make work so much easier and I would be lost in the kitchen without them.

    Thanks for the chance of the giveaway!

  • I would just LOVE to have that Thermapen thermometer [rated tops by “Cooks Illustrated”]! Speaking of Tueday Morning, I bought several shapes & colors of wonderful silicone spatulas there this year for a terrific price [$3-4 each].

  • My favorite tool in the kitchen is my KitchenAid stand mixer. With the different attachments (from meat grinder to veggie strainer), it get used almost every day.

  • I have so many favorite kitchen tools, but I must admit my favorite is my Kitchen Aid Mixer. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t use it.

  • With all the baking and “goings on” of the season i think my favorite is my extra timer. Seems like I always have at least two things going at a time these days.

  • I love all of my kitchen stuff and i want more kitchen stuff. I guess my favorite thing at the moment is my newest things; these little Endurance egg spoons. I got them for scooping and stirring small amount of things like spices. condiments, and cornstarch. A lot of times i would just rather us a small spoon like these are, when I don’t need to measure exactly.

  • Best cooking tool(s)? Brain, then hands I suppose. I have to be extra creative when lacking the other gadgets, and both seem to serve me well.

  • I’m sure there are cooler tools in my kitchen, but the OXO tongs with the silicon tips probably get the most play. I think most people don’t go for tongs, but so long as they have the silicon tips, they’re actually better for many cooking processes: properly mixing a stir-fry, turning meat when searing, or flipping over sliced potatoes when roasting.

  • My one euro pink handled potato peeler which has been going strong since 2008 with no signs of wearing or slowing down!

  • just ONE favorite tool??? lol… This time of year I love my pampered chef cookie dough scoop, it’s perfect for making perfectly portioned cookies every time!

  • My favorite tool is the little ice-cream-scoop-like cookie scoop. All my cookies turn out perfect, and it’s so easy. Love holiday baking!

  • My favorite kitchen gadget is only used once a year but I couldn’t live without it, it’s my cherry pitter that makes much less of a mess than any other method and helps me put up so much cherry goodness.

  • My favorite tool would have to be my chefs knifes. I use them a lot when cooking and canning. I got two of them about 6 or 7 years ago on clearence, one of the best buys I ever made.

  • Too hard to decide…it’s funny that several of my favorites are old pieces inherited from my dad, or from my husband’s grandmother: our beloved Kitchenaid, fabulous cast iron skillets, dutch ovens and griddles (used almost daily!), my Foley food mill for applesauce and so much more — all at least 25 years old, and some more like 50+. Still working fabulously, with no planned obsolescence factor. Though I gotta love my Microplane graters, too…and my immersion blender!

  • One of my favorite kitchen utensils is a chopstick. I use it to stir the sugar in my tall tea cup, scratch through soft scrambled eggs in the skillet, and stir to the bottom of the pint jar that I use to cook hearty cereal overnight in my crockpot .

  • I have to say my digital scale and my mandolin. Makes my life so much easier in the kitchen. I probably have a top 5 that I might swap around day to day depending on my mood, but those two are way up at the top.

  • I love my safety glove that makes it possible for me to use my mandolin without adding parts of myself to my jams and pickles!

  • I had to think long and hard about this… I’ve decided to state both my practical and emotional favorites…. Practical is my Pampered Chef mix and chop… It blew the potato masher I was using out of the water…. Emotional is my grandmoms solid wood rolling pin… I never met her, but my mom always said she would have loved to see me make her recipes with that rolling pin.

  • I have the same potato masher and it rocks! Makes the best mashed potatoes. Never though of using it for mashing fruit – duh!

    My favorite kitchen tool is probably this paring knife that came w/ my RevereWare cookset I bought in 1985. It’s just the perfect size, blade shape and stays sharp.

  • It might be an appliance but I love my food processor! I use it for everything from making pasta dough to grating cheese.

  • My dutch oven was the tool that put me over the edge on actually cooking rather than puttering around in the kitchen… that and my kitchen-aid but that came next 🙂

  • My favorite cooking tools have to be my silicone spatulas with stanless steel handles. I use them for every type of cooking. I have been known to break the handles on other spatulas while mixing heavy batters, but no more! The stainless handles are sturdy, easy to hang on to and very easy to clean. I have 3 with different head shapes for different applications. I use them for everything from canning, stirring soup or mixing cookie dough…love them!

  • My favorite is my set of Kuhn Rikon (yes, they are that awesome) paring knives. Reasonably priced ($9-$12), color-coded, a sheath for easy transport and sharp enough to almost cut my fingertip off. They rule.

  • My favorite kitchen gadget is a sharp, high-quality 8″ chef’s knife. There’s no tool in my kitchen that’s used more!

  • My digital kitchen scale! It was one of those things that I thought was silly and for dieters until I started using. Now I find myself taking it our nearly every day. Convient for weighing packages for mailing holiday baked goods to friends too!

  • Oh, what a great prize! And a great post to send to those who might like to buy me a gift…

    My favourite tool is my kitchenaid stand mixer, it always makes great pizza dough!

  • My favorite kitchen tool is a ceramic grater plate that a friend made for me. Besides being just a lovely piece of handmade ceramic, I use it daily. It’s always the most efficient tool for the task, and it cleans up in seconds. I can grate an entire head of garlic, one clove at a time, easily in under 2 minutes. And in that same time, I can grate a fist sized piece of ginger. It makes easy work of hard spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of using one of these, it’s a small, round plate (a bit smaller than a CD) with raised ceramic tines, or little spikes, in the middle. There are some commercially available, though I’ve never used them, so can’t vouch for their efficacy.
    Here’s a link to a similar looking one I found through google:
    http://bit.ly/U8QohY

  • I have a plastic flat strainer, the shape of a half-moon – not sure of it’s proper name, but “pot strainer” is what I’ve always called it. It’s about a foot long and has a lip that hooks onto the bottom part of a pot or pan as I tip it to drain. Not sure where I got it, but it’s one of my most favorite and often used kitchen tools.

  • Because apples are in great supply at the farmers’ markets now, my favorite tool is the apple corer that also cuts the apple into wedges.

  • I have one of those 4th burner pots and oh man do I love it. I was thinking about getting a second one myself. I wish Thermapen had a version that would clip to the side of the pan!

  • the thing i use the most, surprisingly enough, is my pampered chef paring knife. it’s one of the cheap ones, and i swear it cuts apples (singular for snacking) better than any of the expensive knives i have.

    the other thing i love is my pasta maker. i dont get to use it much, but it makes me very very happy.

  • I absolutely love my digital kitchen scale. I could probably bake without it, but I am glad I don’t have to!

    Ditto for my KitchenAid, but that’s kinda big to count as a gadget.

  • I love Atlas Fit (gardening) gloves for canning – you can hold items that are hot, hot, hot and still have full range of motion (to tighten lids, etc.). A steal vs. expensive, clumsy silicone gloves at $5 a pair (available at Amazon or gardening stores). A Thermapen is on my holiday wish list!!

  • I love my rotary chopper/slicer thingy from the 40s. I have no idea what it’s called, like a mandolin on a wheel. It’s awesome for doing piles of zuke for gratin and potato chips, even when there’s no power 🙂