Equipment Category

When inverted, cakes made with this pan have a large depression in the middle that can hold fillings.

Rinsed-out glass food containers can serve as measuring cups. Here are some conversions: 8 ounces = 1 cup 16 tablespoons = 1 cup

Meat smokers cook meat for longer at a lower temperature and surrounded with smoke. Some models are wood pellet fired like the one in the picture. Others are heated with wood or charcoal in an attached firebox.

Most nut crackers can also be used to crack open crab legs.

Canners sometimes use this wax to seal jars, but it's hard to get a tight seal. It's safer and easier to use two-piece canning lids. Many grocers apply wax to fruits and vegetables to hold in moisture and make them shiny. Candy-makers sometimes use wax in their chocolates so that they hold up better in warm weather.

This is a heavy, silicone-coated paper that's used to line pans so that candies and baked goods won't stick. It's an expensive alternative to waxed paper, but it's less sticky, so it's a good choice if you're making gooey items. Parchment paper is also wrapped around foods to be cooked en papillote, or formed into cones for cake decorating. Specialty cooking stores and larger supermarkets often carry rolls or sheets of it. Paper grocery bags are sometimes recommended as a substitute for parchment paper, but it's not advisable to use them. Grocery bags will ignite at 450 degrees, and that they may have been treated with unsafe chemicals.

Cake decorators use these along with decorating tips to make decorating bags.

This is a ceramic slab that you preheat in the oven. A pizza baked on one will cook more evenly and develop a crisper crust.

Plastic wrap is terrific for covering foods to be stored in the refrigerator or cooked in the microwave. It clings especially well to glass, ceramic, and china dishes. You can also use it to wrap foods for short-term freezer storage, though you should use aluminum foil if you're storing something in the freezer for a long time since foil is better at preventing moisture loss.

This pot seals and allows for cooking at temperatures greater than the boiling point. It allows for faster cooking.

Ramekins are small round straight sided bowls used for baking or serving sauces. Crème brûlée, soufflés, French onion soup and dipping sauces are often served in ramekins.

Trendy cooks fill this gadget with expensive sea salt crystals so that they season their food with freshly ground salt. It's not clear why they do this, since salt is an inorganic mineral and, unlike pepper and other spices, doesn't become stale once ground.