One of the things that fascinated me when I first started visiting Denmark was gadgets! There is a gadget for every imaginable action in the kitchen, often with a price tag for the design luxury, and a practicality that does not often match!
They fascinated me as I was often presented with them and had not an iota of a clue at what I should do with them! Luckily (or strangely?) for the gadget-ignoramus that I was, every house seems to have the exact same ones, so once shown you can be up and running in no time!
So I though I would look back into my previous blog and look back on my initial thoughts on four of the gadgets that fascinated me and perplexed me in equal measure.
The Cheese Cutter
Imagine me, the first time I came to Denmark and we sit down to eat, and I am told that since I am the guest, I start. I asked for cheese (unfortunately I matched it with ham!) and was given a piece of metal with a thin wire attached. I was baffled! What do I do with it?
This was, of course, a cheese cutter. However I am used to harder (often crumblier) cheese which we typically cut with a knife. I am proud to say that now I know how to hold it AND use it successfully. Considering my bad luck with knives, this is a good thing!
The Wine Pourer
A circular piece of foil, and a bottle of wine! What do you do? You roll it into a cylinder and introduce it into the mouth of the wine bottle. And voila! Easy pouring with no dripping (or so it should be). Best of all, I have been told? It can be dishwashed and reused!
The Tea Pot
Oh no! This is no ordinary tea pot. IT has a fancy lid that closes when you stop pouring, a zipper cover to keep it warm AND, of course, a system for not dripping. Trying not to drip and wiping if you do seems not to be a sufficient solution here! I remember being perplexed as to where the ‘open’ button or mechanism was. Little was I to know that this magically happened when you try and pour.
The Tin Opener
I first read about this gadget in another blog a few weeks before I moved to Denmark. Imagine my surprise when Michael said that this was exactly what he has for us to use when we move to Denmark! As someone mentioned, it is a mystery metal shard that even in my wildest dreams wouldn’t have thought actually did anything. But it does open cans (albeit at a slow speed in my hands). And best of all? Unlike all the other stuff, it is decently priced!
Images: Wine Pourer from http://www.cookwareshop.co.uk; Tea Pot from http://www.inspiration.dk.