The Best Kitchen Tool That You Probably Don't Have

Meet Tamis

Around this time of year, people start asking me about things: What things in my kitchen I can’t live without; what things make the perfect gift for the home cook; those sorts of things. For the most part, to remind myself which of my kitchen tools and ingredients make my life infinitely better and which just exist, I actually have to go into my kitchen and look. And as we wrote our annual gift guide last month, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Mine is a memory that needs jogging. 

So whenever someone else takes on the task of waxing poetic about a simple (and cheap) piece of cooking equipment that changes their life (or their cooking life, at least), I consider it a bonus. That’s what Bonnie Benwick did in this Heated piece about her beloved tamis (pronounced TAM-ee). She’s right that it’s incredibly versatile (“it strains, steams, separates, sifts, aerates and grates!”) and can replace a handful of kitchen tools you may already have, and she’s also right in assuming that most cooks don’t own one; I may or may not…I’d have to do some rummaging. 

You can get these for $10 in many places, so while it may not qualify as the ultimate holiday gift for your loved one (a Tesla with a giant bow it is not), it’s worth a look for the avid home cook in your life, even if that avid home cook is you. Anyway, if you’re not yet initiated into the cult of the tamis, check out this ode and see if it’s your kind of thing. 

—Mark

Still, The Best Things are Edible Things

In Case You Missed Last Year’s Gift Guide

Talk To Me, Goose!

Questions, comments, brilliant suggestions? Just want to share the recipe for your grandma’s potato salad, or your mom’s meatloaf, or your uncle Drew’s three-day 100-percent rye loaf (yes, please)? Don’t hesitate to reach out anytime.