Yup, the American appetite for kitchen doodads seems insatiable. We buy culinary gadgets to peel garlic, spin-dry spinach, pit plums, shred Cheddar, fry fries, and slice bagels in less than the time it takes for Jacques and Julia to get into a TV cooking show spat. Swing by local kitchen supply stores and the story is the same. Culinary gizmos are flying off the shelves and into holiday gift boxes and Christmas stockings. Louise McCoy, owner of Santa Rosa-based McCoy's Cookware, says sushi paraphernalia is a hot trend.
Bestsellers are square and rectangle plates, small bowls, and chopsticks.
That includes all manner of chopsticks, to be exact, in pale green, colonial blue, red, and black, some inlaid with ivory or silver, some adorned with dragonfly designs, and even a plain stainless-steel pair. You know when Martha Stewpot uses a certain gizmo on her show, that item is going to take off. It's like a woodworking tool, but it's used for getting lemon zest and grating peel. Martha Stewart uses it on TV, and it sells like hotcakes. It can withstand up to 600 degrees.