Cheap Gadgets: Potato Masher

Resourceful chefs find exceptional kitchen tools in unorthodox places (like hardware stores) and unlikely shapes (including a peeler shaped like a monkey).

Andrew Carmellini, of Locanda Verde restaurant in NYC’s Greenwich Hotel, uses his Oxo stainless steel potato masher to crush tomatoes as they simmer. “I call it ‘grandma’ because it gives a homey feeling to tomato sauces,” he explains. Buy It Here.

20 Lessons from the Pros

• Lesson 1: Perfect Sangria
• Lesson 2: Best Wines for Barbecue
• Lesson 3: Lemon Confit
• Lesson 4: Japanese Yuzu Paste
• Lesson 5: Smoked Salt
• Lesson 6: Dried Seaweed Mix
• Lesson 7: Pickling Liquid
• Lesson 8: Speedy Chicken Cutlets
• Lesson 9: Baked Eggs
• Lesson 10: Luxe Hors D’Oeuvres
• Lesson 11: Ten-Minute Dishes
• Lesson 12: Induction Burners
• Lesson 13: Double-Duty Vases
• Lesson 14: Cheap Gadgets: Potato Masher
• Lesson 15: Cheap Gadgets: Peeler
• Lesson 16: Cheap Gadgets: Putty Knife
• Lesson 17: Exceptional Pork
• Lesson 18: Instant Oats
• Lesson 19: Ultrafresh Fish
• Lesson 20: Potato Flakes

More Equipment Tips

Best Small Appliances

Kitchen Tools Guide

Chefs’ Go-To Gadget Guy

Published July 2009