Amcnc.1152 net.cooks utzoo!decvax!harpo!duke!mcnc!taylor Thu Apr 15 09:11:37 1982 Utensils / High Technology My favorite gadget is the orange/lemon zester. this cheap ($3.00) gadget from most cooking stores allows one to scrape the zest (the colored part) of the peel without getting into the bitter white part underneath. It definitelt beats trying to 'grate' lemon peel for recipes - a term which must have been used because there was no other way to describe what was wanted. It also allows one to get just the flavorful part of the skin and avoid the 'blanch the orange peels' step in Duck al'Orange. In the higher technology area, a definite vote here for the microwave. I agree with unc!bch that most food cooked in it tastes lousy, but it is a wonderful tool for preparation. We use it for thawing, melting butter/ chocolate in the bowl in which they will be used, warming milk for bread recipes, etc. I also seldom cook just enough for two, so we eat a lot of leftovers, and the microwave is great for warming. There are also a few foods which can be cooked well - baked potatoes in 5 minutes is not bad. Also, bacon can be cooked on a dinner plate with paper towels on it, so that it is cooked and drained at once. My main caveat regarding microwaves is that it cooks differently and requires as much care as any other method. Used properly, however, it becomes almost indispensable. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.