A pinch of . . . anything

One of the other bits of knowledge my friends always appreciate me sharing are good kitchen tools that really make life easier. Especially when those tools are $10 and not $1000. I do have a few expensive things I really cherish (my primary chef knife being one of them), but most of the tool I use the most weren't that expensive, they just happen to be perfectly designed for the job.

And that leads us to the first one, a tool few people even realize is a thing: kitchen tweezers:

"What's special about them?" you may be asking. Not much really. You could technically use a pair of cosmetic tweezers instead, but kitchen tweezers tend to be a bit larger (usually sold in 8 inch and 10 inch sizes), and also cheaper ($10 for one, or even less than that in an assortment).

What are they for? Let's see how long I can make this list:

• Grab and squeeze a tea bag or seasoning packet out of hot water

• Grab a bay leaf out of a hot stew

• Gently grab and flip individual slices of bacon on a skillet or griddle

• Grab large hard spices like cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamom pods out of a curry

• Carefully place decorations on cookies or cupcakes

• Grab threads of saffron a couple at a time rather than a huge pinch of them

• Similarly, pulling things like vanilla beans out of super narrow vials

• Sometimes they're better than tongs for pulling meat bones out of soups and curries. Especially those sharp tiny bones from cubed lamb

• "Rescuing" things that landed where they shouldn't have

• . . . including down the drain or garbage disposal

Almost not a week goes by that I don't end up reaching for them because they're the best tool for what I need to do right that instant. I'm a big fan.