Unusual and Creative Uses for Your Everyday Kitchenware
We'd all love to have enough room to house a utensil or tool for every task, problem and mess that takes place in our kitchens. Unfortunately, in our current surroundings, that might not necessarily be feasible.
If you're short on space or trying to keep an eye on your wallet, however, then many of the "single-use" items in your kitchen can be given a new lease of life with a bit of creative thinking. There are all sorts of kitchen gizmos and gadgets that are adept at multi-tasking, providing you know what to do with them.
Here, we'll present a list of kitchenware you may well already have at home that can be used in ways you might not have thought to. Not only will these handy ideas help around the home, you'll also avoid creating more clutter for your drawers, cupboards and countertops to deal with in the process too.
Potato masher
Anything mashable can easily be taken care of with your trusty potato masher, without you having to fork out for yet another kitchen gizmo. Providing they're ripe enough, you can make guacamole from your avocados with a potato masher that's said to have an even smoother consistency than usual – and who doesn't love guacamole?
Ice cream scoop
When the weather gets cold, you don't have to banish your ice cream scoop to the bottom drawer; it's a versatile tool that can be used for all sorts of other things. For one, it makes lightwork of removing the slimy seeds and interior of butternut squashes, and it can also be used to make perfectly formed meatballs. It’s even great for making portions of cookie dough if you're baking up a treat for the family.
Rolling pin
As well as rolling out dough, your rolling pin can also be used to smash up things to create all sorts of crumbs and crumbles for savoury and sweet dishes alike. Place your chosen crackers, biscuits or pretzels in a sealable sandwich bag and then go to town on them with your rolling pin! You can even use the same method on butter, quickly softening it up for better results from your baking.
Egg slicer
The humble egg slicer usually only gets a time to shine when making a salad, and if we're honest, even then it's pretty low on the list of useful kitchen aids. But the egg slicer's smart design lends itself to chopping up all sorts of different foods, including mushrooms, strawberries, kiwis, mozzarella and tofu.
If you're making a meal that requires a lot of chopping and cubing, then break out the egg slicer to make that time-consuming prep a little faster.
Turkey baster
Unless you're particularly keen on eating turkey, the bird's basting tool probably only makes an appearance at Christmas. If that's the case, you'll be missing out on a whole host of different things that a turkey baster can do. From separating egg yolks from their whites and filling in muffin tins without making a mess, to making a handy device for watering those hard-to-reach, high-hanging plants.
Strainer
If you're making a recipe that calls for some steamed veg but don't fancy shelling out for yet another bulky pan-sized piece of kitchen equipment, then use a strainer or colander as a makeshift steamer instead. Place your chosen veg into the strainer, and put over a saucepan with an inch of boiling water. Just be sure that your strainer is large enough compared to the saucepan to prevent the veg from touching the water.
Empty condiment bottles
Instead of chucking your empty bottles of tomato ketchup out, give them a really good clean and keep them for when you're making pancakes. Fill them with batter and one squeeze of the newly-filled bottle will result in perfectly-sized pancakes every time!
Garlic press
If you don't have a nutcracker handy, then a thoroughly-cleaned garlic press can make light work of shelled, thin nuts like pistachios in no time at all.
Ice cube trays
Perhaps you have a lot of different knick-knacks in your drawer that you're forever misplacing. A spare ice cube tray can keep things like earrings, cufflinks and hairpins handy in one tidy, easy-to-find place.
Dishwasher
This is going to read like a typo, but a dishwasher is actually the perfect place to poach a fish. If your oven is ever full and you need some extra space to poach a salmon, then give it a go. Simply wrap the seasoned, lightly oiled fish in tinfoil, seal it tightly and place on the top rack of an empty dishwasher. Run a full cycle – without detergent – and you'll have a perfectly poached fish!
We hope this article has inspired you to get creative in the kitchen! Looking for more? You’ll find the full range of Breville products, whatever you’re in need of, on our homepage.