In the kitchen, you need the right tool for the job! On the PIATTO cooking channels — youtube.com/piatto and youtube.com/piattorecipes — we have the opportunity to test a lot of kitchen tools. Here is a list of our favorites to date, tools we use again and again in our popular video recipes— where you can also see these tools in action.
Best Digital Meat Thermometer Probe
Some of you are afraid of undercooking your meat, which is totally reasonable. Food poisoning sucks and you only need to get it (or give it) once to realize it’s no joke. However, many of you are probably overcooking (thus ruining) your quality meat and fish trying to avoid foodborne illness.
The solution is easy. Our favorite digital meat thermometer probe has two probes and you can leave them in your food as it cooks. The thermometer will tell you when you’ve cooked that food to perfection (based on FDA recommendations, or whatever you define). No more rubbery fish or gray beef.
► Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4b6wfGE
Best Mortar and Pestle
The right mortar and pestle will change your life. While food processors and immersion blenders simply ‘cut’ (failing to extract much of the flavor and oil of your favorite foods), the best mortar and pestle grinds and mashes. This opens up a whole new world of flavor and will seriously elevate your cooking game. For just a few examples, check out these recipes where a mortar and pestle is a must:
There are many subpar mortar and pestles on the market. If you buy one that’s too small, it’s useless for anything but grinding peppercorns. If you buy one with a pestle that’s too smooth, you won’t have enough friction to grind ingredients efficiently. So, you’ll want to take our word for it that this is the best marble mortar on the market, ‘Made in Italy’ with the same marble that Michelangelo used to sculpt.
► Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UekWGt
Best Air Fryer for Chicken Wings and More
Until recently, we were pretty negative about air fryers—until we had the chance to review this new Cosori Air Fryer. In addition to being the best air fryer for chicken wings that we’ve ever tried, it has become an essential tool in our kitchen for other tasks beyond ‘frying.’ It’s a dough proofing box, an efficient baking tool for those hot summer months when no one in Italy would even think about turning on an oven, and more. Here’s a look at our chicken wing experiment (oven VS Cosori air fryer):
► Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3S3pvRb
Best Carbon Steel Pan for Searing and Sautéing
There are a slew of reasons why you need a carbon steel pan. In our view, the De Buyer Mineral B is the best carbon steel pan for a variety of reasons and you can learn why in our guide. We use it for everything from sautéing to searing fish and meat. Don’t know how to season a carbon steel pan? No worries, we’ll show you how to season a cast iron skillet or carbon steel pan in this written and video guide. The result will be a naturally nonstick surface that can handle all the heat you want to throw at it. Here are just a few video recipes where we have featured this amazing pan:
► Find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/427zB8c
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