Tasting Spoons

[Jenise]

Michael Ruhlman has invented a new spoon. While I see that, for purpose, the shape has some merit, at the same time it IS just another spoon and most of us don't have a spare drawer lying around dying to hold more stuff. Do we really need this?

http://ruhlman.com/2011/08/dalton-ruhlman-offset-spoons/

[Robin Garr]

My knee-jerk reaction is that I regret seeing Ruhlman starting down the same road as David Rosengarten and Andrea Immer Robinson, building a name into a brand and using it to sell things.

Google "David Rosengarten" and check the top result:

davidrosengarten.com official store, the gourmet seal of approval!
www.davidrosengarten.com/
davidrosengarten.com official store : - Fine Wine david, rosengarten, shop, rosengarten chews, rosengarten report.

[Jenise]

My knee-jerk reaction is that I regret seeing Ruhlman starting down the same road as David Rosengarten and Andrea Immer Robinson, building a name into a brand and using it to sell things.[/b]

I had a similar thought. Have to admit my head went to Rachel Ray and Emeril instead, but your comparison is far more apt.

Nope, last count I had 14 teaspoons from just one set. I sure don't need a specific spoon for tasting.

I think things taste better off a wooden spoon!

My knee-jerk reaction is that I regret seeing Ruhlman starting down the same road as David Rosengarten and Andrea Immer Robinson, building a name into a brand and using it to sell things.[/b]

I had a similar thought. Have to admit my head went to Rachel Ray and Emeril instead, but your comparison is far more apt.

I remember when Rosengarten did it and I was very surprised. So I am wondering why is that a bad thing? Do you feel that it lessens their reputation as a chef?
Martha Stewart has created quite an empire with her brand of products. I actually bought some Martha Stewart towels that I love. I also love that she designed them so one could get a mix and match effect. Paul Newman did well with his food line, although I have not found one I thought was excellent. Seems to be the trend and they must make money doing it. Racheal Ray certainly has a lot of cookware out and I think she coined the word, "spoonula" which has been picked up by foodies an even Williams -Sonoma.

I'm a gadget freak, and I watched the movie (ANNOYING sound track!!)

I can see how such spoons would be useful. It is hard to skim with a regular spoon because when you reach down into a pot, the "dished" part of the spoon is at an angle. With these spoons you can have them down at the level of the liquid, and the "bowl" of the spoon can be flat and parallel with the top of the broth.

OTOH they are probably expensive, and the sweeping curve of the handle must make them hard to store.

The video didn't show "tasting" as a major use.

Remember the fad some years ago where you would serve, say, Boeuf Bourguignonne as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre by putting a big bite of it into silver tablespoons balanced on a platter?? I've made and served T Keller's "Bacon and Eggs" which has a perfectly soft-boiled quail egg balanced in a silver teaspoon with butter sauce, tiny bacon, and a perfect little brunoise -- which is carrots, leek, and turnip diced so fine they look like dust, simmered in a tea strainer until cooked, and mixed with the butter sauce. Mmmmm. Anyway THAT is the sort of thing I imagined for a "tasting spoon." And that doesn't seem to be what Ruhlmann is doing.

[Robin Garr]

Remember the fad some years ago where you would serve, say, Boeuf Bourguignonne as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre by putting a big bite of it into silver tablespoons balanced on a platter??

We have an outstanding chef here, Anthony Lamas at Seviche, who serves Nuevo Latino bocaditos on those little ceramic Chinese restaurant soup spoons. They're just the right size, they sit flat on a serving plate, and they look good in this unanticipated use.

Fer chrissake, buy a spoon at a garage sale for 10¢ and bend it with your hands.

Fer chrissake, buy a spoon at a garage sale for 10¢ and bend it with your hands.

Ah, but the subject spoons have a name behind them, and they come in three sizes, and each size has a purpose and they curl over your hand with perfect balance, and they would be new, and they are a conversation piece and...

Am I the only one who still does a finger swipe in just about everything I cook to taste for seasoning and texture?! A tasting spoon? Really?

Am I the only one who still does a finger swipe in just about everything I cook to taste for seasoning and texture?! A tasting spoon? Really?

You have to watch the video. That's not what these spoons are about. Tasting spoon is a misnomer.

Am I the only one who still does a finger swipe in just about everything I cook to taste for seasoning and texture?! A tasting spoon? Really?

You have to watch the video. That's not what these spoons are about. Tasting spoon is a misnomer.

It doesn't appear to be a misnomer. The spoon comes in 3 sizes, for basting, saucing and tasting. The video is as ridiculous as the concept.

[Robin Garr]

The spoon comes in 3 sizes, for basting, saucing and tasting.

Next up? Riedel spoons! A different shape to maximize every major flavor!

So silly. Would put these up there with the microwave pasta cookers. Who needs it!

So silly. Would put these up there with the microwave pasta cookers. Who needs it!

I used to feel the way you do. However, I liked the idea, the tool just was not there that made any sense to me. So I waited and watched. Fasta Pasta finally came out.
http://www.amazon.com/Fasta-Pasta-The-Microwave-Cooker/dp/B000YT2XOI

It made sense and the reviews were good. I called the company and spoke with them about it. I bought one and we love it. I have a large pasta pan, but for Gene and I, it was much too large and a hassle to heat all that water and then clean it up. The Fasta Pasta comes with very simple instructions for cooking every type of pasta we would ever cook. I have used it dozens of times and it is right on with the timing, and the al dente pasta comes out perfect. Three of my friends got them and have given them as gifts. For us, it is the perfect tool for the small amount of pasta we cook and a delight to be able to cook up a little pasta at lunch to go with some leftover sauce. This little unit has holes for measuring your string pasta, and the lid acts as a strainer to drain the pasta. Cleaning it is a breeze. Just a quick swish with soapy water, rinse and let dry. Oh, and it is so great to have it for traveling in our RV.

Thumbs down from me. I have never had an occasion where I wished I'd had something like the "offset spoon" - it's a bent spoon for, crying out loud. This is a great example of creating a market. I can imagine thousands of spoons being damaged somehow and now someone's trying to unload them.

Whilst I wouldn't ever have thought to BUY such a thing, like my grandma and my mum before me I have a bent dessertspoon
in my basic kitchen kit.

So silly. Would put these up there with the microwave pasta cookers. Who needs it!

I used to feel the way you do. However, I liked the idea, the tool just was not there that made any sense to me. So I waited and watched. Fasta Pasta finally came out.
http://www.amazon.com/Fasta-Pasta-The-Microwave-Cooker/dp/B000YT2XOI

It made sense and the reviews were good. I called the company and spoke with them about it. I bought one and we love it. I have a large pasta pan, but for Gene and I, it was much too large and a hassle to heat all that water and then clean it up. The Fasta Pasta comes with very simple instructions for cooking every type of pasta we would ever cook. I have used it dozens of times and it is right on with the timing, and the al dente pasta comes out perfect. Three of my friends got them and have given them as gifts. For us, it is the perfect tool for the small amount of pasta we cook and a delight to be able to cook up a little pasta at lunch to go with some leftover sauce. This little unit has holes for measuring your string pasta, and the lid acts as a strainer to drain the pasta. Cleaning it is a breeze. Just a quick swish with soapy water, rinse and let dry. Oh, and it is so great to have it for traveling in our RV.

Okay, Karen, I think you may have convinced me that I need one for our RV at least.

[Jenise]

Whilst I wouldn't ever have thought to BUY such a thing, like my grandma and my mum before me I have a bent dessertspoon
in my basic kitchen kit.

Bent just for this purpose? If so that's interesting to learn, that there's a tradition of bending a spoon to taste with. Obviously, some of us were unaware.

I use my for tasting as well as skimming off fat and scum from sauces jams etc which I think was the main function my predecessors used it for.