Wok

Image grabbed from wagshalsblog

A Wok (in Cantonese) (simplified Chinese: 镬; traditional Chinese: 鑊; Jyutping: wok6) is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is one of the most common cooking utensils in China and also used in East and Southeast Asia.

Woks are often used for stir frying, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching, boiling, braising, searing, stewing, making soup, smoking, roasting nuts. Wok cooking is done with a long handled chahn (spatula) or hoak (ladle). The long extensions of these utensils allow the cook to work with the food without burning the hand.

source: wikipedia

Tongs

Tongs are used for gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. Some are merely large pincers or nippers, but the greatest number fall into three classes:

1. Tongs which have long arms terminating in small flat circular ends of tongs and are pivoted close to the handle, as in the common fire-tongs, used for picking up pieces of coal and placing them on a fire.
2. Tongs consisting of a single band of metal bent round one or two bands joined at the head by a spring, as in sugar-tongs (a pair of usually silver tongs with claw-shaped or spoon-shaped ends for serving lump sugar), asparagus-tongs and the like.
3. Tongs in which the pivot or joint is placed close to the gripping ends, such as a driller's round tongs, blacksmith's tongs or crucible-tongs.

The tongs are the most-used cooking utensil when grilling, as they provide a way to move, rotate and turn the food with delicate precision.

source: wikipedia

Whisk

A Whisk is a cooking utensil used in food preparation to blend ingredients smooth, or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. The wires are usually metal, but some are plastic for use with nonstick cookware. Whisks are also made from bamboo.
Whisks are commonly used to whip egg whites into a firm foam to make meringue, or to whip cream into whipped cream.
A makeshift whisk may be constructed by taking two forks and placing them together so the tines interlock and make a cage. This is far more effective than a single fork at incorporating air into a mixture.
Whisks have differently-shaped loops depending on their intended functions:

• The most common shape is that of a wide teardrop, termed a balloon whisk. Balloon whisks are best suited to mixing in bowls, as their curved edges conform to a bowl's concave sides.

• With longer, narrower wire loops, the French whisk has a more cylindrical profile, suiting it to deep, straight-sided pans.

• A flat whisk, sometimes referred to as a roux whisk, has the loops arranged in a flat successive pattern. It is useful for working in shallow vessels like skillets (in which a roux is normally prepared).

• A gravy whisk, sometimes referred to as a spiral whisk, commonly has one main loop with another wire coiled around it.

• Similarly, a twirl whisk has one single wire that is spiralled into a balloon shape.

• Ball whisks have no loops whatsoever. Instead, a group of individual wires comes out of the handle, each tipped with a metal ball. The heavy balls are capable of reaching into the corners of a straight-sided pan. Since there are no crossing wires, the ball whisk is easier to clean than traditional looped varieties. Manufacturers of ball whisks also purport that their shape allows for better aeration.

• A Cage whisk, sometimes referred to as a ball whisk, is a balloon whisk with a small spherical cage trapped inside of if, which in turn holds a metal ball.

Additionally, a mechanical device known as a rotary whisk consists of 2 sets of beaters that are joined together with a hand-operated crank and handle.
Although the modern whisk may have only appeared at the end of the 19th century, evidence of whisk-like tools exist even further back in history. A bundle of twigs fastened together make an effective whisk; often the wood used would lend a certain fragrance to the dish. An 18th century Shaker recipe calls to “Cut a handful of peach twigs which are filled with sap at this season of the year. Clip the ends and bruise them and beat the cake batter with them. This will impart a delicate peach flavor to the cake.”

source: wikipedia

Slotted Spoon

A Slotted Spoon is an implement used in food preparation. The term can be used to describe any spoon with slots, holes or other openings in the bowl of the spoon which let liquid pass through while preserving the larger solids on top. It is similar in function to a sieve; however, a ladle-sized slotted spoon is most typically used to retrieve items from a cooking liquid while preserving the liquid in the pot, while table-sized slotted spoons are often used to serve foods prepared or packaged in juices, such as canned fruit and vegetables.

source: wikipedia

Cutlery

Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery usually means knives and related cutting instruments. This is probably the original meaning of the word. Since silverware suggests the presence of silver, the term tableware has come into use.

The major items of cutlery in the Western world are the knife, fork and spoon. In recent times, utensils have been made combining the functionality of pairs of cutlery, including the spork (spoon / fork), spife (spoon / knife), and knork (knife / fork) or the sporf which is all three.

source: wikipedia

Spatula

The term Spatula is used to refer to various small implements with a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift materials including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. The term derives from the Latin word for a flat piece of wood or splint (a diminutive form of the Latin spatha, meaning broadsword), and hence can also refer to a tongue depressor. The words spade (digging tool) and spathe are similarly derived. The word spatula is known to have been used in English since 1525.

In referring to kitchen utensils, spatula can often refer to any utensil fitting the above description. One variety is alternately referred to as a turner, and is used to lift and turn food items during cooking, such as pancakes and fillets. These are usually made of plastic, with a wooden or plastic handle to insulate them from heat.

source: wikipedia

Measuring Spoon

A Measuring Spoon is a spoon used to measure an amount of an ingredient, either liquid or dry, when cooking. Measuring spoons may be made of plastic, metal, and other materials. They are available in many sizes, including teaspoon and tablespoon. In the U.S., a measuring spoon is number of pieces, especially four or six. This usually includes ¼, ½, and 1 teaspoons and 1 tablespoon.

source: wikipedia

Bottle Opener

A Bottle Opener is a device that enables the removal of metal bottle caps from bottles. More generally, it might be thought to include corkscrews used to remove cork or plastic stoppers from wine bottles.

A metal bottle cap is affixed to the rim of the neck of a bottle by being pleated or ruffled around the rim. A bottle opener is a specialized lever inserted beneath the pleated metalwork, which uses a point on the bottle cap as a fulcrum on which to pivot.

source: wikipedia

Can Opener

A Can Opener (or tin opener) is a device used to open metal cans. Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the first can openers were patented only in 1855 in England and in 1858 in the United States. Those openers were basically variations of a knife, and the 1855 design continues to be produced. The first opener employing the now familiar sharp rotating wheel, which runs around the can's rim cutting the lid, was invented in 1870 but was difficult to operate. A breakthrough came in 1925 when a second, serrated wheel was added to hold the cutting wheel on the rim of the can. This easy to use design has become one of the most popular can opener models.

Around the time of World War II, several can openers were developed for military use, such as the American P-38 and P-51. These featured a robust and simple design where a folding cutting blade and absence of a handle significantly reduced the opener size. Electric can openers were introduced in the late 1950s and met with success. The development of new can opener types continues with the recent addition of a side-cutting model.

source: wikipedia

Ladle

A Ladle is a type of serving spoon used for soup, stew, or other foods. Although designs vary, a typical ladle has a long handle terminating in a deep bowl, frequently with the bowl oriented at an angle to the handle to facilitate lifting liquid out of a pot or other vessel and conveying it to a bowl. Some ladles involve a point on the side of the basin to allow for finer stream when pouring the liquid; however, this can create difficulty for left handed users, as it is easier to pour towards one's self. Thus, many of these ladles feature such pinches on both sides.

Ladles are usually made of the same stainless steel alloys as other kitchen utensils; however, they can be made of aluminium, silver, plastics, melamine resin, wood, bamboo or other materials. Ladles are made in a variety of sizes depending upon use; for example, the smaller sizes of less than 5 inches in length are used for sauces or condiments, while extra large sizes of more than 15 inches in length are used for soup or punch.

source: wikipedia

IKEA SPRITTA Fruit garnishing set

Makes it easy to core apples etc. Makes it easy to remove the zest of citrus fruits in strips for drinks or salads.