Choosing Deep Freezers

On January 8, 2024May 10, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn frozen, Tools4 Comments

Of all the places I store the garden’s bounty and homemade treats, from canning to dehydrating to dry storage, my deep freezer is probably my favorite. Yet it’s one of the smallest models you can buy. That makes each cubic foot of space prime real estate in my world, and I’ve been filling every inch of it for more than 15 years. I explain why this little freezer works so well in my first piece for All Recipes.

If you’re looking for a deep freezer and have limited space, I’ve found my 7.0-cubic-foot model ideal for a couple. As I searched for the best models for homes with fewer space constraints, family and friends generously let me peruse their freezers to discover the styles and sizes they prefer and why. Their experiences shaped my choices for various freezer categories.
Learn about choosing and using deep freezers

Choosing Aprons

On September 25, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools2 Comments

I’m an expert at making messes in the kitchen, but I rarely think to put on an apron unless I’m teaching a workshop or preparing food in someone else’s home. Many of the aprons I own were handmade and remain in nicer shape than the clothes I wear in the kitchen. That has been changing after I tested several functional yet stylish aprons this summer for The Spruce Eats.

In addition to writing about the Chef Works aprons I’ve been wearing and giving my students to wear during workshops for years, I tested aprons from companies that specialize in kitchen wear durable and comfortable enough to wear in a commercial or home kitchen, including Helt Studios and Hedley and Bennett. These are aprons have been protecting me in all of my kitchen projects, from kneading dough to grilling fish to canning endless batches of salsa.
Learn about choosing and using aprons

Kitchen Favorites: Oyster Knives and Other Fish Tools

On June 23, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn ToolsLeave a comment

When it comes to tools for prying open oysters, filleting and grilling fish, and making stock from shrimp shells, I’ll take any excuse to pull out my favorites. I was able to pair my latest pieces for The Spruce Eats with a recent trip to the coast, so I took advantage of fresh oysters from Westcott Bay Shellfish Co. and black cod and other shellfish direct from fisherfolk at Bellingham Dockside to capture the photos I needed. I highly recommend checking out both if you’re ever on San Juan Island and in Bellingham, respectively.

My mini-reviews have landed in roundups of other oyster knives and tools, giving plenty of ideas for ways to prepare and cook seafood. My recent Health.com article on backyard and portable grills aligns nicely with these pieces, since grilling is my favorite way to cook fish.
Learn about choosing and using oyster knives and other fish tools

Kitchen Favorites: Cheese Plane

On March 6, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools2 Comments

It’s been a busy few weeks of workshops and projects, so I’m finally getting a chance to share my latest piece for The Spruce Eats. This was such a fun story to write, because it combines my love of a tool that sees daily use in my kitchen with a bit of family history that let me reach back for memories from my childhood and beyond. It’s funny how sometimes the smallest things can stick with you the longest—like this cheese slicer that I’ve been using for more than 40 years.

I was able to work on this story while I was visiting my family, so I had a chance to shoot the generations of Norwegian cheese planes that remain favorite tools. In my mom’s kitchen, you’ll find my grandmother’s cheese slicer. The one I grew up with has moved to my kitchen, and a Norwegian cousin kept my sister in the loop by gifting her a lovely silver cheese plane for her wedding.
Learn about choosing and using a cheese plane

Toaster vs. Toaster Oven

On February 10, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools1 Comment

I’ve been a toaster oven fan since my days of melting marshmallows and chocolate chips onto graham crackers in the little model on my grandmother’s counter for my after-school snack. But my parents always kept a pop-up toaster on their kitchen counter, preferring it to this day. My sister owns both, but there’s a clear preference: the pop-up toaster claims counter space, but the toaster oven lives in a cupboard until needed for a special meal, like mini English muffin pizzas.

I listened to all of their pros and cons, along with some deeper research, for my latest piece for The Spruce Eats. Although I wasn’t swayed to give up my toaster oven, I found several sound reasons for choosing a pop-up toaster instead.
Learn about choosing and using toasters and toaster ovens

Kitchen Favorites: Snack Bowls

On January 24, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn ToolsLeave a comment

Testing kitchen products for The Spruce Eats puts pieces in my hands that I never would have sought out, like the four Corelle Classic Winter Frost White Bowls I feature in my latest article for the website. These 12-ounce bowls were chosen by another writer as part of a cereal bowl roundup, but after they arrived at my house for testing, it was clear I wanted to bump up a size. Instead of immediately returning the bowls, I held onto them to judge their overall usefulness—and decided they were worth the shelf space to keep permanently.

I rarely eat cereal from these bowls, reserving that for a larger-capacity set that I tested and kept for sailing, picnicking, road tripping, and more. But Corelle’s smaller bowls travel just as well. I use them often at home, too, for snacks, small portions, meal prep, and serving.
Learn about choosing and using snack bowls

Slow Cooker vs. Instant Pot

On January 23, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools1 Comment

I’ve been focused on sourdough this month and my annual sourdough giveaway, but my recent piece for The Spruce Eats may offer you some ideas of things to eat with all of that bread you’re now baking—and the tools to prepare them in. If you’ve ever wondered whether you need a slow cooker or an Instant Pot, or which to use if both already live in your kitchen, this article aims to provide some answers.

In examining the best uses for these seemingly similar kitchen tools, I came up with ideas ranging from the typical, like braising meats and cooking dried beans, to the unexpected, like steaming custards and fermenting yogurt. I also found a few kitchen tasks that you might think would work in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot but that really should have you reaching for a different tool.
Learn about choosing and using slow cookers and Instant Pots

Choosing Chip and Dip Sets

On December 14, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools1 Comment

I recently had the chance to test and photograph nine chip and dip bowls and platters for The Spruce Eats—much to the pleasure of munchie-loving friends who got to dig into the photo-shoot spread. I was surprised not just by the variety of sets and styles but also by the ways I could fill them. I’m not sure what my editor expected when she asked me to test whether the sets could hold “other finger food,” but I took the opportunity to spread out homemade pita wedges and crackers, home-smoked cheese, fermented pickles, and every type of salsa in my home-canned stash.

Each set had ideal uses, even if you just want to dump in a bag of chips and jar of queso. Some would be ideal for a fancy holiday spread, others can be taken to a bonfire party, and still others are made for curling up solo by a fire.
Learn about choosing and using chip and dip sets

Kitchen Favorites: Kitchen Knives

On December 13, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn ToolsLeave a comment

One thing I’ve learned from teaching workshops in other people’s kitchens is the value of a sharp knife. At home, it can be easy to ignore the dullness of a blade because we’re used to the feel of it in our hand. We think, “Oh, I just want to finish cutting this tomato and eat; I’ll sharpen after I clean up” (and then rarely do). When I’m in someone else’s kitchen, and especially if I’m trying to show off neat, clean slices, dullness becomes obvious—and embarrassing if I brought my own knives.

So I started paying more attention to the knives I own and how I treat them. I offer one of my favorites in my recent piece for The Spruce Eats: a Misen Chef’s Knife. I’ve relied on it heavily through canning and teaching, cooking and testing, for the last 18 months, and I still can’t believe how sharp it was out of the box and how easy it is to keep sharp. I’m such a fan of this knife that I gifted it (and its smaller sibling, the paring knife) to family last Christmas, along with ceramic honing rods for continual sharpness.
Learn about choosing and using kitchen knives

Kitchen Favorites: Garlic Rocker

On December 5, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Tools, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

When I was asked to test an array of garlic presses last year, I hadn’t expected to keep any for my own kitchen. I grow and use piles of garlic; I’m just comfortable rock-chopping it for Sourdough Garlic Knots, slicing it for Spanish Shrimp in Garlic Oil, and roasting and squeezing it onto everything. When I owned a garlic press, it just took up space in my utensil drawer, sitting unused far too long before I gave it away.

Then, when I’d finished testing garlic presses, the look, feel, and easy use of the Joseph Joseph Garlic Rocker made it hard to give up. So I tucked it into my utensil drawer, determined to make it useful enough to justify its position in my tiny kitchen. And I’ve done just that, as I share in my latest piece for The Spruce Eats.
Learn about choosing and using garlic rockers and presses

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