Bill Holton
The Holidays are a time of celebration, gift giving, and perhaps just a few too many holiday treats. In this article I combine the treats and the gift giving to offer a shopping list of a baker’s dozen handy kitchen gadgets and accessories for the chef with a visual impairment—or maybe you’ll just want to treat yourself!
When I think of blind-friendly cooking, the first thing that comes to mind is the long-running ACB Radio program “Cooking in the Dark,” from Dale Campbell, proprietor of Blind Mice Mart. Not only does Dale stock a wide inventory of unique and helpful kitchen tools and gadgets in his webstore, he demonstrates many of them on the program he cohosts with Cheryl Cummings. So when I set about compiling this wish list of accessible kitchen gear, I naturally consulted with the chief cook and bottle washer himself. Consequently, some of the items described below are linked to their Blind Mice Mart listings, though many can also be found elsewhere.
The Department of Weights and Measures
Following recipes is easier when you can measure and weigh ingredients accurately and accessibly.
The Pourfect Braille 9-Piece Measuring Cup Set
Ever tried to measure out 2/3 of a cup of sugar using a 1 cup measure? The 2/3 cup measure is marked, but that doesn’t help much. This 9-piece Cup Set includes measures for 1/8, ¼, 1/3, ½, 2/3, ¾, 1, 1.5, and 2 cups. Each cup is labeled in both bold print and braille. It’s available in five colors from BlindMiceMart for $18.25
Braille and Tactile Measuring Spoon Set
This set of four nesting measuring spoons includes a ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon measures. Each spoon is marked in both braille and tactile print. Available from Maxi Aids for $9.95.
Braille and tactile measuring spoons are great for sugar and spice and other things nice, but if you’ve ever tried measuring out a tablespoon of olive oil for spaghetti sauce you know what a messy affair this can be. When I mentioned this problem to Dale Campbell he offered a useful suggestion, which I pass along here.
“There are plastic syringes used to give medicines to infants. I had a friend help me mark the plunger so I know exactly how much to draw it out to fill a teaspoon or tablespoon, and then I can squirt it directly into the mix”.
Ask your local pharmacist to suggest a product. You can also search for “baby medicine syringes” on Amazon, Walmart.com or other web stores.
Talking Kitchen Scale
Whether you are a baker measuring out precise amounts of flour and sugar, or wish to measure portion sizes to accommodate a special diet, a kitchen scale is essential. The VOX 20 talking scale ($42.99) is designed to be used by the visually impaired. It speaks in English, German, French, and Spanish. Use it to weigh up to 11 pounds / 20 grams with an accuracy of 1 gram. There is also a tare function so you can weigh your bowl or other container and have it automatically subtracted from your ingredient or portion weight.
Along with using his for the kitchen, Dale finds this product indispensable for calculating postage for BlindMiceMart parcels.
Slicing and Dicing
Many blind cooks avoid slicing and dicing as much as possible, worried the cutting might extend to their fingers and hands. Here are three products to help trim the hazards of food prep.
Offset Serrated Knives
Most chefs will tell you that you are less likely to cut yourself using a sharp knife than a dull one. That may be true, at least in theory. Of course the counterargument is the fact that a sharper knife cuts deeper. A sharper knife also seems to offer less tactile feedback as it slices through food, or skin. A serrated knife seems to provide a tad more friction and resistive feedback as the serrations cut and tear across the meat or vegetable. So whenever I needed to slice an onion or London broil I used to always reach for a serrated knife. It was often a bit too short for comfortable slicing, but a longer, serrated bread knife was much too awkward. Then I discovered the offset Serrated knife. The blade comes in many sizes, and the handle is raised--which is to say offset-- an inch or so, which makes both slicing and dicing considerably easier. Offset serrated knives come in a wide variety of sizes and qualities. Here’s a link to a Guide to the best in class.
If you do plan to give any knife to a friend, remember, traditionally, you are supposed to ask the recipient for a penny in payment, as according to Buddhist lore, giving sharp implements as gifts--or writing about it--can bring bad luck to the recipient.
Presto Salad Shooter Electric Slicer/Shredder
One way to avoid a lot of slicing and dicing is to purchase a food processor. They tend to occupy a lot of counterspace, however, and require plenty of rack space in the dishwasher for the various blades, lids and containers. Myself, when I have a lot of slicing and dicing to do, I pull out my trusty Salad Shooter ($48.49.) There was a time when you couldn’t watch a TV program without encountering an ad for this device, with its ear-worm “Salad shooter!" jingle. The product seems to have slipped from public awareness, but it’s still available. Basically, the Presto Salad Shooter uses a feeder tube to direct food onto a circular cutting or grating cylinder. I can slice a potato into thin scalloped slices in about five seconds with the device, or grate a half pound of cheddar cheese nearly as fast as I can push it through the feeder tube with the plastic pusher. And the way the Salad Shooter is designed, I do not believe it’s even possible to cut yourself using the device. The Salad Shooter is portable, it stores on a cabinet shelf, and takes up a lot less room in the dishwasher.
Kitchen Mandolines
Ever wonder how your favorite burger joint gets those uniformly thin onion slices? They use a mandoline, which, basically, is a horizontal blade you swipe the onion, potato or other food over to make slices or juliennes as thin or thick as the adjustable blade allows. Sounds dangerous? It can be. Which is why Dale recommends the Professional Mandoline ($58.49) that features a safety hand guard to help confine your slicing to the food.
Hot Stuff!
Does your heart race just a bit when you open the oven and get a blast of 450 degree heat so you can check your frozen pizza? You can’t hear the cheese bubbling, so you barely touch it with the tip of a finger. Yikes--that’s hot! “Whenever there’s a chance you might need to touch some hot food set a small bowl of water on the counter,” Dale suggests. “Dip your finger in the water before you touch that hot cheese, or the burger you’re not sure flipped completely over in the skillet. The water will sizzle before your fingertip.” You might also consider:
Grips Mitts
Traditional square potholders are great…if you can see the grab handles of that hot casserole dish, and if you’re sure you aren’t going to graze a higher oven rack and wind up burning the back of your hand. Cotton oven mitts offer extra protection, but they can be cumbersome, and after a few washings they can get pretty ragged. The Cooking In The Dark Grips Long Baking Mitts Set ($45.00) are made from a non-porous material called FLXaPrene that not only blocks heat, it also stops bacteria growth and prevents stains that cause bacteria buildup. They are long enough to protect both hands and forearms from steam, grease and even icy water ranging from 500 degrees down to 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Their thin construction also helps you identify what’s being touched--“is that chicken breast on the grill skin side up or down?” They can also be tossed onto the top rack of your dishwasher.
Talking Oven Thermometer
Is that T-bone I’m grilling rare, medium or well done? Is my roast chicken cooked to temperature? An oven thermometer is a must have for safe and accurate cooking, and here’s one that talks. Insert the probe of this Talking Cooking Thermometer ($34.25) into meats, liquids, or anything else you want to gauge, wait a few seconds, then press the "talk" button to hear the temperature spoken voiced in a clear female voice. Measures 58 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit.
Liquid Level Indicator
Kitchen scalding isn’t limited to the oven and range top. What if you want to pour a cup of steaming t coffee, tea or cocoa? Vision impaired individuals often rely on the changing sound when a glass or mug is filling to alert them when the container is nearly full. Newly blind persons may not yet have mastered the technique, and those with hearing loss may also find this difficult. Many blind individuals dip a finger into the glass or cup to help determined when it’s time to say when. But here’s a better solution. Place this Liquid Level Indicator audible and vibratory ($15.29) gauge on the side of a cup, glass or jug and the sensors will let you know when the liquid gets to the top, through a series of beeping sounds and vibrations. Even better--this device offers two separate alerts--great for when you want cream in your coffee. Pour your favorite French roast until you hear the first beep, then top off with cream until you hear the second.
Home, Home on the Range Top!
Let’s round out our accessible kitchen shopping guide with a few items to help on the stovetop.
Pot Watcher
They say a watched pot never boils. What they don’t tell you is that if you get distracted, or wander into another room, a “listened for” pot can boil over before you know what happened. But toss a pot watcher into the mix, and when the water begins to bubble this simple glass disk will vibrate and start rattling, the faster the boiling the louder the rattle. At less than $9.00 for two at Amazon, the Fox Run Glass Boil Alert is the ideal budget gift for the blind or hearing impaired person on your holiday list.
Double Silicone Turner / Tongs
Flip your food easily with this wide silicone spatula with a silicone coated wire coil clamp head that acts like a turner and tongs all in one. Great for gripping and turning burgers, chicken, fish, steaks, chops, sausage patties & links, eggs and much more! The Double Silicone Turner / Tongs ($16.00) is heat resistant up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and has a Push/pull locking mechanism to keep the turner closed when not in use.
Double Sided Flip Pan
There are professional chefs who can flip a pan and have an omelet fold and land perfectly. If this isn’t you--I can’t successfully flip an omelet, even with a pair of spatulas--then you might wish to consider a divided, double sided pan. Divide the eggs into the two halves of the pan. Add cheese, ham and other fillings and cook until set. Flip the pan in half, cook a bit longer, then enjoy a perfectly cooked omelet. Or pour pancake batter into half, then do a double flip to turn the pancake over. You can find divided pans nearly anywhere kitchen gear is sold. For example, Home Depot offers the Gotham Steel 7 In Non Stick Ti Ceramic Pancake Bonanza The Easy for just $19.99.
Filling out the Baker’s Dozen
The 13th item in a baker’s dozen is that extra treat for sampling, and here’s a tasty delight you may wish to sample for yourself.
Home Appliance Labeling and Overlay Systems
Without a doubt the kitchen would be a much more accessible place to prepare holiday treats if your oven, microwave and dishwasher were more accessible. These days a growing number of these appliances have forgone knobs in favor of flat, touch controls. Here at AccessWorld we try to keep you updated on advances in accessible kitchen appliances. For example, in the February 2020 AccessWorld I reviewed the new Black + Decker Talking Toaster Oven. Two months before that fellow AccessWorld author Janet Ingber offered up an in-depth look at Amazon’s Alexa enabled, voice accessible microwave oven which can be had for just $59.99. We’ll keep you updated on accessible kitchen appliances, but in the meantime you may wish to consider a set of Home Appliance Labeling and Overlay Systems (HALOS)
HALOS are tactile adhesive icons that can replace the Braille dots used by many vision impaired individuals to help operate the microwave, oven, dishwasher and other household appliances. There shapes indicate their function. For example, an X for Stop and an Up Arrow to increment a setting up one notch. HALOS are also available in multi colors, which will help those with low vision. Custom tactile overlays can also be created to fit your individual make and model appliance. HALOs sets and custom templets can be purchased here.
Have you found an indispensable kitchen helper not mentioned in this article? We’d love to hear about it.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
Related articles:
- A Review of Dinner Delivered: Accessible and Easy Ways to Receive Meals Direct to Your Door, by Kim Loftis and Chris Grabowski by Bill Holton
- Accessible Guitar Instruction and Music Resources by Bill Holton
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