Not-So-Essential-But-Oh-So-Helpful Kitchen Gadgets

This is one of my favorite gifts for friends in my little village, and my kitchen is well stocked! Greek kitchens can be notoriously small, and these collapsible measuring cups, bowls, and colanders are at once colorful, useful, and store-able. Most are made of silicone which is durable and easy to maintain, and when not in use, collapse flat for easy storage. Of course, they're great for larger kitchens as well!

How clever is this? Stick it on a package of phyllo dough in the fridge, on a bottle of wine, or on any other container to remind you when you opened it, or the expiration date. Colorful and useful - and if you're like me, you'll find a million uses for them and give them as gifts on any occasion. They come in packages of two, and there are two options: with suction cups or with magnets.

Often touted as a way to make homemade natural baby food, a food mill is great for all those foods that need mashing, pushing through a sieve, pulping, and grating - and there's no big machinery to buy. Look for a mill that has blades for fine, medium, and coarse milling, as well as bracing on the bottom so it can be placed securely on a bowl.

That's not exactly the name - it's called an adjustable measuring cup - but that's what it does - and in Greek cooking, it's a fabulous idea for measuring honey and tahini, especially! The cup (that comes in one- and two-cup versions with metric units as well) works like "push up ice cream." The gooey ingredient goes in the top to measure, and you push the bottom up to push the correct amount into your mixing bowl, pot, or wherever you need it. No leftover honey (or other) in the cup or on the spatula, and the correct amount goes into the recipe. A brilliant idea! And not expensive.

Fresh herbs are a mainstay in Greek cooking, and this herb cutter is a great help. I'm always in awe of great chefs who wield knives so precisely when cutting herbs, but not all of us are great with flashing sharp blades. This cutter is easy to use and keeps fingers safe. Just run it over the herb leaves.

If you know anything about Greek food, you know that lemon juice is as basic as sea salt. It's part of syrups, sauces, and the final touch to many vegetable and meat dishes. Electric juicers and processor attachments may be great for larger jobs, but when it comes to adding a small amount, there's nothing quite as handy as a manual juicer.

This is the set I own, and every time I travel to the U.S., I end up bringing back a few sets for friends who have seen how useful they can be. In Greek cooking, we rinse everything - not just fruit and vegetables, but also rice, lentils, beans, and other small foods. What might escape through the holes in a regular colander doesn't escape here. The mesh baskets have a flat base so they can be placed in the sink or on a plate. I can't remember the last time I used a regular colander!

There's a great video here on the site showing how to pit an olive without a pitter (smashing and squishing come to mind), but there is a gadget to make it a lot less messy and keep the olives intact. Usually called a cherry pitter (and if you're going make fabulous Cherry Spoon Sweets it will be very helpful), these little gadgets do a terrific job with olives.