Mother’s Day gifts Kitchen gear need not be costly

Press, 8 May 1985, Page 17

Mother’s Day gifts Kitchen gear need not be costly

Alison Holst’s

Food Facts 4 i

Around my kitchen are pieces of equipment which streamline my kitchen work, and often make chores quite a pleasure.

Some of these items are quite inexpensive, and could be bought for gifts by children who have been saving pocket money. Others you may decide to give yourself for a special treat — they cost considerably more, but are worth saving for. A heart-shaped biscuit cutter, given to me one Mother’s Day, has been used many times since. A collection of small cutters is a wonderful gift for the mother of small children.

I have bought little cutters, sometimes singly, sometimes in sets, for more than 20 years. Little children have spent hundreds of hours at a small table in my kitchen rolling and cutting dough for biscuits or for later painting and glazing

for Christmas tree decorations — both for home use, or for gifts. Coffee jars make good storage cannisters. Decorations cut from rolls of sticky plastic can be applied by young children. You can sometimes buy clear, moulded, plastic lids with a “cut glass” look to replace the original lids. These transform the jars, which make good gifts, especially when filled with something from your kitchen.

Lids with wire mesh inserts are not decorative, but they make a good gift for someone who sprouts their own beans, grains, or lentils. Little yellow stick-on labels are proving quite invaluable in my kitchen. These come in pads of various sizes, and are very mildly sticky. They are stuck on my fridge, window.

cabinets, and mark important places in my cookbooks. When finished with, they lift off without a trace — three cheers to their inventor.

In the last two years several small spatulas have joined my small, sharp knives and wooden stirrers as pieces of vital kitchen equipment! These have coloured plastic handles, and firm, chromed shanks which form the backbone of the

flexible, dark-brown, heatresistant blades. My favourites are a small fish slice and another one with a longer, narrow blade with no holes or slots in it, which I think was intended for icing, but which I use for turning and stirring food in pans. Also in this range is the best “rubber” scraper I have ever used — it stays flexible and doesn’t go sticky at the edges! Shout yourself a small, non-stick pan sometime, if you don’t already have one. My favourite is quite heavy (and expensive) and is lidded. If you can’t get one with a lid, check that you have a pot lid which can be dual purpose. Other useful small equipment to consider includes kitchen scissors, tongs, a wire whisk so you can hold a not handle with one hand and whisk a sauce smooth using only one hand, a set of strainers for draining noodles, rice, sieving crumbs and a hundred and one other things. Last but not least, a really efficient can opener. My mother knits me very special dishcloths from special dishcloth string. If you are a knitter, such gifts are sure to be gratefully received and put to excellent use!

grams (depending on my touching the key a second time). Sometimes I weigh several foods, one after another, in the same bowl, zeroning the scales before the next addition. I use the timer on my scales fairly regularly, too. People concerned with measuring the number of calories, the amount of fat, carbohydrate, or fibre in the . ’ '' ey ze wei '' an do this too — at the touch of a key, with scales like mine. Our kitchens are certainly becoming more and more sophisticated and efficient! Don’t forget unusual and interesting ingredients as gifts for keen cooks. If you prowl around “delis,” speciality kitchen shops, and the “gourmet” sections of supermarkets you can come across some interesting ingredients. You need to check that the recipient of such a gift knows how to use it, and appreciates it. Vanilla pods, individually wrapped in plastic, or sealed in little bottles, are nice to have. Stored in a jar of castor sugar, a vanilla pod flavours the sugar which can be used in baking, etc. Boiled in a custard then retrieved, washed and put back in the sugar, it flavours the custard, too. When you feel it is eventually losing its "oomph” chop it into little bits and keep it in a small bottle of vodka. Use the liquid in place of commercial vanilla. Pinenuts cost a lot but are delicious additions to some Mediterranean recipes. They are also delicious eaten straight from the jar — they need to be hidden if you are lucky

“Don’t forget herb plants, herb vinegars, and other herb-flav-oured specialities.”

I think it’s important to remember that there is no law which says presents have to be new! I love it when I am given something which has been well used, and loved, by someone else. The gift is all the more special to me for this. I can think of three very special gifts I was given that come into this category — an old, but perfectly good kitchen mincer; a food-mill — a wonderful present for a young mother, and a muchused, much-loved, knifesharpening stone. Magnetic knife racks, knife blocks, and cook book holders make good gifts. So do recipe cards and boxes to hold the cards after they have been written on! Two — or maybe even three — years ago I was given a large box of thin,

plastic cling film. The box came with little stick-on feet, so it wouldn’t slide over my bench top. This box has stood beside my microwave oven ever since, and is used many times each day. One day, I suppose, it will run out — and I will immediately hunt for another to take its place

— I would hate to do without it!

If you use scales and/or if you have trouble converting imperial weight to metric ones, you should look for a set of electronic kitchen scales. I have used scales like this for over a year now, and really enjoy their accuracy. I use the more basic functions on my scales — that is I weigh the food, reading the weight in pounds and ounces or in

enough to be given some! Lately I’ve seen some tiny packets of saffron threads around. These orange, wispy, crocus stamens give a bright yellow colour and distinctive flavour (if you use enough) to Spanish paella and similar recipes. You also find saffron popping up as an ingredient in some old English recipes. If your budget doesn’t run to buying expensive food items, don’t forget herb plants, herb vinegars, and other herb flavoured specialties made from plants in your own herb garden. This list could go on for ever — but it’s time to stop. Happy Mother’s Day. I hope you have ordered breakfast in bed and have organised other people to cook for you, for the day!