I'd first say my hands. But a utensil/tool would have to be my very old vegetable peeler. I've had it for over 30 years. It's peeled everything from carrots, cucumbers, asparagus, apples and of course, potatoes, use it core apples, make decorative garnishes, I love it and would be lost without it!
The most useful tool in the kitchen is my hands. While they are not bad looking, I would have to give the most beautiful designation to my hand-carved Springerle cookie molds. Each oe is a work of art.
Probably my Chamba clay pots. Beautiful and useful! Or maybe my Breville countertop oven. Practical, functional, nice looking, doesn't heat up the kitchen in summer (my kitchen tends to get very hot).
My Ankarsrum Magic Mill DLX Assistent mixer. Every time I use it, I am amazed by the truly intelligent, intuitive engineering that went onto creating it. And it looks cool, in a 1950’s space-age kind of way.
Second place goes to my Danish dough whisk (I'm noticing a trend here...). Who in the world decided to twist wire that way, and how does it manage to work so well?
Another vote for Ankarsrum here too, built like a tank and so beautiful on kitchen counter. By chance, it is also my most expensive kitchen tool excluding stove and fridge.
Embarrassing admission about my Ankarsrum: I pulled it out to make cupcakes as the beater bowl was a better size fit for the recipe than my 6 qt. Kitchen Aid. I seemed to have to do a lot more scraping than usual, but eventually the batter came together and the cupcake texture was great.
It wasn't until I put away the cleaned bowl and beaters that I realized I had assembled the beaters wrong...and this wonderful machine still produced a great result. Intelligently designed...and smarter than its keeper!
The most useful has to be my chef's knife (a 9" Wusthof). As for beautiful, and I know I am biased, but I love our Noaway Countertop Walnut Compost Bin (https://food52.com/shop/products/709-noaway-countertop-walnut-compost-bin). It is both incredibly useful (big enough for a big meal of cooking and never leaks smells) and just looks great on the counter.
I'm tempted to say my wife, but beautiful as she is, she's a terrible cook. So I could say 'Me'. But I ain't that pretty.
I was going to pick one of my pretty knives. But drying in the rack is an old wooden flat spatula style spoon. It's burned and battered but is so useful. Stirring, mashing, flipping, propping, scraping, squeezing, brandishing. I reach for it often, don't even have to think, it just slips into my hand and goes to work. The scars it bears have become its beauty and the meals its made its legacy.
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Second place goes to my Danish dough whisk (I'm noticing a trend here...). Who in the world decided to twist wire that way, and how does it manage to work so well?
It wasn't until I put away the cleaned bowl and beaters that I realized I had assembled the beaters wrong...and this wonderful machine still produced a great result. Intelligently designed...and smarter than its keeper!
(Maybe more useful than beautiful, alas...)
I was going to pick one of my pretty knives. But drying in the rack is an old wooden flat spatula style spoon. It's burned and battered but is so useful. Stirring, mashing, flipping, propping, scraping, squeezing, brandishing. I reach for it often, don't even have to think, it just slips into my hand and goes to work. The scars it bears have become its beauty and the meals its made its legacy.