Cul-de-poule, steamer, lyre, Japanese mandolin, blueberry comb… Who today could describe without hesitation the function of these kitchen utensils? This Prévert-style inventory nevertheless serves as a common thread in Julie Schwob’s book, which has just been published by Flammarion. And if the author and culinary stylist, known for her guilt-free cookbooks (burgers, cakes, sandwiches, etc.), is now venturing into the field of household accessories, it’s not entirely by chance. Today, the craze for gastronomy is pushing foodistas to equip themselves well, so as not to slaughter the old variety carrots carefully purchased from the local organic market gardener…
After the right products, here are the right tools. As proof, the increasingly vast spaces devoted to them in department stores. “It’s a market that is on the rise, with 5 to 6% growth and up to 10% in some stores for the past ten years”, notes Annick Boucher, culinary buyer at Galeries Lafayette. A frenzy that started with the fashion for cooking shows on television: “After each episode, it does not fail, we have an increase in the general public clientele”, observes Eric Dehillerin, representative of the fourth generation at the head of the kitchen articles store of the same name.
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Where does the necessary stop, where does the superfluous begin?
A haven for professionals, the Parisian institution with its green facade, whose windows are full of copper or kouglof moulds, now attracts a clientele of enthusiasts. “Right now, I’m being asked for quenelle spoons to make mash, mousse or ice cream shapes, but also chef’s tongs, a real extension of the cook’s hand for dressing”, laughs the owner, entrusting us with having received a visit two years ago from the Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris. “We sell utensils whose usefulness we did not suspect, such as a tomato peeler”, adds buyer Annick Boucher. Objects that often leave us perplexed, many years after their purchase, randomly in storage, like this little spring attached to the end of a spoon, in fact an emulsion whisk also called a magic spoon.
Fries, fries, fries (but not just any)
Where does the necessary stop, where does the superfluous begin? In the big family of enlightened cooks, there is one, the minimalist, who has chosen not to bother with superfluous accessories but to have two or three essential ones, among the best. Thus, the “New York Times”, in an article entitled “The kitchen would not be a kitchen without these utensils”, recently asked culinary experts about their “essentials” in the kitchen. And the latter to mention mortars and knives. On our side of the Atlantic, Anne never leaves three utensils, even on vacation: “I always slip a Microplane grater, a Japanese mandolin and a very good knife into my suitcase”, confides this gourmet passionate.
A fad? Rather a necessity. If it is illusory to believe, as Eric Dehillerin reminds us, “that with the right tools, you will become an excellent cook, as if by magic”, the latter very often turn out to be indispensable. So go and cut citrus supremes with a bad knife, or collect fresh ginger without a good grater! To achieve this in the rules of the art, it is better to favor quality, even the top of the range. Hence the madness that has surrounded, for several years, Japanese knives, certainly expensive, but with a cutting edge like no other. “As soon as it’s Japanese, it sells because it’s really high quality, but you can also look to Spanish cutlery, like the Pallarès brand. At the right price, it is particularly unbeatable for slicing ham,” advises Jérôme Ganuchaud, creator of the online sales site Useful and Ordinary and follower of philosophy mingeithis Japanese artistic current from the beginning of the 20the, whose manifesto stresses that popular utensils should be simple, functional, useful and ordinary. A sobriety in these times of austerity.
A genuine interest in cookware
Building sustainability into eco-responsibility is one of the mantras of Maison Empereur, based in Marseille for seven generations. This famous brand in the Noailles district favors old-fashioned tools that have proven themselves and last. “The kitchen area of the hardware store, our BHV in Marseille, only offers, and this is a bias, objects that work without electricity”, boasts Nicolas, salesman of the department. Like this hand-cranked whisk to beat egg whites with, it must be said, a little elbow grease. Besides the current success of the taco press “that we have been doing for fifteen years” and surfing on the current craze for this small Mexican crepe, the specialist observes (like many players in the sector) a real interest in cooking items, and in particular a search for alternatives to Teflon, this non-stick coating harmful to the health. And Nicolas to explain to his customers with a lot of pedagogy “how our grandmothers’ iron frying pan, in light blue sheet metal, wears and no longer sticks, naturally, over time”.
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Chef Nordine Labiadh’s Chorba
Unearthing durable objects, in the literal sense of the term, and which still work, such is also the concern of Pierre-Alexandre Ferrand, co-owner of the Unikobjekt flea market, in the Belleville district of Paris. Among the second-hand items he offers, the aluminum garlic press is the perfect illustration: “We haven’t done better since, it’s unbreakable! If you venture into new, it will break out of your hands after three months,” assures the bargain hunter. In good place in his store (and in the collective memory), these orange, red or yellow Teraillon scales, very 1970s, which sell like hotcakes:
“I surf on nostalgia. Beyond their usefulness, they are bound to evoke memories, because in your mother’s kitchen, there was probably one of these scales. »
Another must-have in his shop, the old pepper pots are objects very popular with gourmets, who can’t imagine for a second buying already ground pepper, and find themselves with, as a bonus, a beautiful utensil in their hands. “Beyond the fact that they are practical, I hunt for them because I find them pretty”, emphasizes the second-hand dealer. He is not the only one.
Failing to excel in the kitchen, a large part of its customers chooses these culinary items for purely decorative purposes. And social networks, Instagram in mind, are full of utensils such as wooden cutting boards of all shapes, endlessly displayed on the worktops. As if their owners were going to open a tapas bar… Annick Boucher from Galeries Lafayette observes:
“Today, people show their kitchen and the utensils become decorative objects. You put your casserole on the table, it can even be pink or yellow, or conversely have a more refined Scandinavian design and more classic tones. »
And the more authentic the article, the more it likes: “There is a little cachet of yesterday’s object whose design is simple, efficient and without frills”, points out Nicolas from Maison Empereur in Marseille. Because these new food enthusiasts do not intend to sacrifice either quality or durability. “What attracts the general public to us is the professional quality of the tool”, specifies Eric Dehillerin who is quick to explain how his products can withstand the test of time. And tell this story: “In the 1990s, a bain-marie saucepan escaped from the wreck of the “Titanic” resurfaced, it was stamped with the seal of the house. »
How to choose the right whip? All the uses and good practices of kitchen utensilsby Julie Schwob, Flammarion editions, 192 p., 19.90 euros.
