Kitchen Gadget # 9: Metal Mixing Bowls

There are a few (maybe more than a few) items in the kitchen that I just cannot live without. One of those items is a metal mixing bowl. I like to have at least a medium-sized bowl and a large-sized bowl on hand whenever possible.

I discovered these bowls in Culinary School. Before then I only used those of the plastic or glass/ceramic variety. Metal bowls didn't seem as readily available at stores.

When I got back from school I promptly went to the restaurant supply store and picked up a few of these bowls. They may be more accessible now days but they are far cheaper through restaurant supply. And, the good news, restaurant supply stores are generally open to the public.

I use these bowls for just about everything. Mixing large salads, tossing potatoes for roasting (with all the yummy seasonings), eggless salads, anything that needs to be marinated. All sorts of things. They are so handy.   I even throw the small one on top of boiling water to melt my chocolate. My own version of a double-broiler.

As I've mentioned before, I'm lazy in the kitchen. I like to make things as easy as possible. Sound familiar?  I hope so. I certainly don't want to be the only one.

I use garlic all the time! I've tried buying the jars of already minced garlic but after being opened for a week or so they seem to lose some of their garlicky flavor. I've tried just peeling those cloves that I need but I seem to always get tons of garlic stuck up under my nails and smell like it for days. It's also time consuming. Once I get those little suckers out of their wraps I easily press them in my garlic press. Love that kitchen gadget as well!

But, what I've discovered is how to make peeling garlic really easy!!

Break the cloves from apart, individual pieces and place them in a large metal mixing bowl. Put the medium-sized metal bowl on top and shake! Shake like there's no tomorrow.  Keep shaking!!

Great! Now, lift off that medium bowl and...

Bam! You've got freshly peeled garlic. Throw them in a bag and refrigerate for about a week or so. Easy!  I love this little trick. I use up about a head of garlic per week. The beginning of each week you'll find me shaking garlic like Shake N' Bake! ***Remember that stuff?? I do! Yuck! Ha!

Do you use metal bowls for anything in particular?

Cheers and happy eating!