Let Me Count the Ways I Use My Giant Kitchen Tweezers
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When I used to think of kitchen tweezers, I had an image in my head of chefs meticulously assembling elements of some fancy dish, like putting the final piece of cilantro atop a deconstructed guacamole that is actually a foam — a world away from my own routine of slapping togethertween lunches. But when some of these tweezers found their way into my everyday life, I discovered they filled a hole in myutensil drawerI didn’t even know was there.
The tweezers I’m talking about are stainless steel and a foot long. They look exactly like classic tweezers in your medicine cabinet, just blown up to comical proportions. And although they’re mostly associated with high-end chefs and tasting menus, there is really nothing fancy about them. They’re a modest tool with a modest price (you can get two of them for $10), but they punch way above their weight. These tweezers are all-purpose grabbers I have been using daily for a multitude of very common tasks that in the past were just a smidge annoying, gumming up an otherwise joyful kitchen experience.
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The most common advertised use of kitchen tweezers is plating, but this is very far down on the list of uses I’ve discovered. There’s no general way of describing what they are good for other than simply … grabbing things. Specifically, they grab things where other utensils cannot reach. The prime example is the garbage disposal. We’ve all been there, wrist deep in a bladed crevice, trying to extract a bottle cap or piece of glass, hoping to not shred our hands in the process. Kitchen tweezers provide the length and svelte design to reach into a garbage disposal and grab objects with ease. This alone is reason enough to have one on hand at all times.
Here’s another very specific example. I love my pickles, but dipping my fingers into a jar of brine to extract one or trying to awkwardly stab one with a fork has never been my favorite task. With the tweezers, I can go in with confidence, reaching even the very last pickle slice at the bottom of the jar.
When making pasta, there are various ways of testing noodles for doneness: a fork, a finger, classic tongs. None are as graceful an implement as the giant tweezers.
You may think a standard pair of kitchen tongs can perform these tasks. However, most tongs are made for grabbing large pieces of food. They are blunt instruments ill-suited to many tasks requiring a bit more control. I also find most tongs annoying to deal with. They open wide, like a crocodile’s jaws, exactly when you don’t want them to (often jamming your utensil drawer). They typically have plastic or rubber bits that deteriorate over time. Kitchen tweezers are easy to store, take up less space, and will last absolutely forever thanks to their simple design. If you have kids learning the ropes, tweezers are much easier for small hands to operate than unwieldy tongs. The uses may seem subtle, but for $10, I can’t imagine a more valuable add to my kitchen that eliminates a slew of gross and awkward tasks.
More useful kitchen tools we like
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Well-designed weight for cooking proteins evenly, among many other uses.
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A safer way to pull out an oven rack.
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