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THE KNIFE RACK KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n JANUARY 2019 n www.kitchenwarenews.com 14 BY GREG GONZALES AND LORRIE BAUMANN Plenty of pizzas, flatbreads that look like pizza except for their nontraditional ingredients, chicken wings and guacamole will be ser ved up for the big game celebration this Februar y 3, and your customers' celebrations will be more complete – and maybe a little safer – if they have the proper tools to prepare and serve those dishes. Americans eat more during Super Bowl weekend than at any time of the year other than Thanksgiving, with pizzas and chicken wings topping the list of what we eat. Guacamole follows – as a nation, we eat about 200 million avocados on Super Bowl Sunday, according to NPR. For the pizza, Pankesum Trading Co. Ltd. offers a Roro 10-inch Personal Portion Pizza Peel made from acacia wood. The wood alternates between light and dark, showcasing the true beauty of acacia wood, which grows with darker wood toward the center of the tree. This platter works great for small and medium pizzas not exceeding 10 inches in diameter and it also works as a charger or trivet for hot plates, hot pans. It retails for $22. For more information, call 470.588.7676, email abhi@pankesum.com or visit www.pankesum.com. When it's time for topping that pizza, your customers might want to consider the Cheese Knife Monaco f rom Boska that's sure to bust through the hardest cheeses. It's made f rom one piece of high- quality stainless steel and has a forked tip for serving. The knife is extremely durable, and the design ensures stable, firm control while slicing up semi-hard to hard cheeses. It's dishwasher safe and comes with a 10-year guarantee. WÜSTHOF 's Classic collection of full- tang knives includes a Parmesan Cheese Knife that's precision-forged and triple-riveted, made f rom high-carbon stainless steel. The handle design includes a synthetic polyoxymethylene construction, which has a tight molecular structure that resists fading and discoloration. This 2.75- inch cheese knife has the sturdy, short blade that makes quick work of hard cheeses. For that guacamole, gadget innovators have come up with avocado- specific tools that are safer and easier to use for less- experienced cooks. In general form, avocado tools are multi-function, and feature a handle, a scooper with blades to make uniform cuts while scraping the meat out and a sharp edge for splitting the skin. The OXO 3-in-1 Avocado Slicer is a plastic tool with a rubber grip, scooper, slicer, knife, and a stainless steel pitter. The three steel teeth grip pits with a light press, and pull them out with a quick twist. The knife end is made of plastic, and while sharp, isn't likely to pierce skin with even minimal attention to the task. The $9.99 tool is compact, so it easily fits in a drawer, but a hook hole allows for hanging on racks, too. For more information, visit www.oxo.com. The new Avocado Tool f rom Microplane® features a straight edge blade with an exaggerated wide curve and rounded tip to effortlessly slice through an avocado's skin and scoop out the flesh inside. Three prongs at the base of the tool safely and easily pit the avocado. Bright green with white accents, the wand-style Avocado Tool features a soft-touch handle, and it's dishwasher safe. It retails for $13.95. For further information, call 800.555.2767, email kitcheninfo@microplane.com or visit www.microplane.com. The Kuhn Rikon 5-in-1 Avocado Tool is a $5 tool made entirely f rom a solid piece of plastic with no sharp edges. On top of safety, this simple-looking tool features five functions: pit, cut, slice, scoop and mash. The masher end looks like a spoon with holes in it, which made quick work of avocados destined for the guacamole bowl. The serrated edge on the masher end was thick enough to prevent cuts, but sharp enough to get through the skin without much effort. A circle of little teeth on the handle is perfect for pitting, requiring only a light push and twist. More information can be found at www.kuhnrikon.com. For cooks who prefer steel over plastic, whether for sharpness or durability, the Crisp Avocado Tool is the way to go. It features steel wire slicer, and a foldaway stainless steel knife that folds back into the soft-touch handle for safety and storage. The half of the knife closest to the handle is wavy, so it also functions as a pitter. However, unlike the plastic knives, this one is sharp enough to slice hands, so care is still needed it when the blade is flipped out. The f rame around the avocado-shaped slicer is slightly sharp, but not razor sharp, just enough to cut the meat closest to the skin just like butter. It's dishwasher safe, and easily hand- washes. It retails for $14.99. KN Tools for the Game Day Food Fest The Knife Rack Even in the depths of winter, it's never too soon to start planning for sunnier days ahead. Perfect for the traveling chef, this 30-piece set of stainless-steel outdoor-grilling tools is easy to carry on the go from the backyard to the campground or the beach in a sturdy aluminum case, with reinforced corners and snap closures plus extra room for seasonings and other essentials. The spatula handle features a bottle opener, while the head of the spatula can flip, tenderize and cut. The other tools include a fork, tongs, basting brush, knife, 12 corn holders, six skewers, four steak knives and a grill brush with two replacement heads. This complete set includes a limited lifetime warranty and has a suggested retail price of $68. Call 888.398.8643. KN Blue Rhino 30-Piece Tool Set with Aluminum Case FLEXIBLE CUTTING MATS Chop Chop offers the original Flexible Cutting Mats for everyday use and commercial grade for food service.The Flexible Cutting Mats are made from virgin FDA-approved food grade plastic. One-piece construction offers a hard cutting sur- face that protects the counter and won't dull knives. These are dishwasher safe and come in a three-pack with food icons to prevent cross contamination. The Flexible Cutting retails for $7.99. Chop Chop www.conimar.com

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