Friday5 is a weekly column that lists five items on a theme drawn from one of the various categories covered by From Bits to Bites & Windshields to Worship.
I admit it, I’m a gadget-phile. Whether it’s tools for my garage, cell phones, cameras, mp3 players or a great little widget for my kitchen I’m a sucker for a good gadget. In this inaugural edition of Friday5 I’m covering five of my favorite kitchen gadgets. In order to come up with this list I’ve had to narrow down what to consider as a “gadget.” In this case a gadget is not a utensil, not an appliance, and not a pot or pan, but a small tool that helps make culinary endeavors a more enjoyable experience. So what are my Friday5 favorite kitchen gadgets? Find out after the jump.
Here they are, in no particular order. I’ve also included some links to places you can find these items on the web.
1. Remote Probe Thermometer & Timer 
Even though I don’t use the thermometer portion of this gadget very often, when the opportunity to use it arises it is priceless. Mine is just a cheap model from Target, and they can be found all over the place. Here’s how it works: the base unit looks remarkably similar to most other kitchen timers, but it also has an option to set a target temperature. There’s a wired thermometer probe that plugs into the side of the unit. You insert the probe into the item you want to monitor the temperature of and place the item into the oven. The probe stays in the item (usually a large hunk of some kind of meat) while the wire runs out the oven door and to the base unit. Now, instead of depending on a recommended cooking time you can simply set your desired temperature and wait for the alarm! Cool.
2. Magnetic Knife Bar
This is a fairly new one for me, but I’ve really come to enjoy it. My knife bar is about 12″ long and mounted just to the left of the main workspace in my kitchen. It’s not big enough for a large collection of cutlery, but I’ve found I really only use about three different knives about 90% of the time. Of course, that’s another article. In addition to those three knives I also keep a pair of kitchen shears and a pair of multi-purpose scissors on my bar. I originally had some concern about whether the magnet would be strong enough to hold the knives securely, but I’ve not had any problems in the past year. I have found that it is important to remove the knives from the bar by rotating them on their vertical axis towards their spine. This keeps the cutting edge from being forced against the magnets which can cause it to become dull.
3. MyWeigh Digital Scale
For a long time I had been wanting a digital kitchen scale, and about a year and a half ago I finally got one. Being the discriminating gadget-phile that I am, I did quite a bit of research before settling on a MyWeigh iBalance 5000H made from eco-friendly hemp plastic. It has a 5kg/11lb capacity and has a resolution of 1g/ 0.05oz. I have found it invaluable for baking, especially when I can find recipes written with weight measurements instead of or in addition to volumetric measures. I’ve even gone so far as to work on translating some of my favorite recipes into grams instead of cups and tablespoons.
4. Infrared Thermometer
Yes, two of the my five favorite gadgets are thermometers. I guess I’m just a temperature geek. My infrared thermometer has quite a story behind it. I received it from my brother who used to work for an auto-parts warehouse where they liquidated old store furnishings. To make a long story short I once got this as a gift from him and I’ve found all sorts of fun uses for it in the kitchen. Though mine wasn’t originally intended for culinary use, it is perfectly suited to it. You can find models similar to mine relatively easily. It’s great for testing oil temperature or even the temperature of a pan I’m getting ready to cook with. So far the hottest I’ve recorded was about 700 degrees Fahrenheit on a cast iron pan I was getting ready to use for some searing.
5. Adjustable Measuring Cup
Though it’s not good for every measuring situation, an adjustable measuring cup is invaluable when you need to measure sticky, goopy, or gooey ingredients like honey, peanut butter, or yogurt. It also comes in handy when measuring dry ingredients in odd amounts such as 1 3/4 cup. The one I’ve got is made by KitchenArt, although I think the ones available from Pampered Chef and Alton Brown are better designed.
I don’t know if this counts as a “kitchen” gadget, but my father has a brilliant electric grindstone he keeps in his garage that is oh so useful for keeping knives sharp. I tried doing a google search, but it seems no nonprofessional goes that route these days.