With all the cooking we’ve been doing – stuck home during the pandemic, and with the holidays in full swing, HIC – Harold Import Company is here to keep things running smoothly (and stress-free) in your kitchen. And to do that, you need to stock your kitchen with quality basic – and essential – kitchen tools.
Get a jump on stocking your kitchen with the basic gadgets, each designed with form and function in mind, so your new year in the kitchen will be off to a great start. Here are a few suggestions . . .
Stir things up (because that’s what we do in the kitchen), with a quality collection of wooden spoons. HIC’s Wooden Spoon is available in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from 8” to 18. Each are lightweight, yet strong and safe for use on metal and nonstick cookware. Made from FSC-certified beechwood, local to the Czech Republic, maintain bu hand-washing, and occasionally coating with mineral oil.
Potatoes, carrots, apples and more: A peeler makes kitchen prep quick and easy. With HIC Kitchen’s Swiss Pro Peeler, you’ll definitely save valuable time during food preparation. Made from surgical steel, with a polypropylene handle, the peeler won’t dull or rust and never needs sharpening. it’s contoured grip keeps hands safe and reduces fatigue.
Blending, whisking, mixing and aerating when cooking and baking requires a properly shaped whisk. Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Piano Whisk features flexible, lightweight wires that incorporate more air for fluffy batters, smoother sauces and lighter dough. Made of 18/8 stainless steel, the whisk is fully sealed for safer food preparation.
Is it time to replace your measuring cup set, or do you simply feel the need to add a second set to your collection for times when one set is in the dishwasher? Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Measuring Cup Set is made of stainless steel, allowing not only for wet or dry measuring, but for gently melting butter, scalding milk and warming water and other liquids. Measurements are clearly engraved on the cup hand, and the set of 4 includes standard kitchen measurements.
Head on over to HaroldImport.com for more inspiration for your kitchen.
Holidays are always the perfect backdrop to build family traditions. This year especially, with so many of us celebrating close to home with our immediate families, why not start the tradition of pasta making at home? It’s easier than you think – and even easier with the wide collection of pasta making essentials from HIC. Here, we take a trip to Philadelphia, where the Fante’s family continues to keep the tradition of pasta making alive.
Fante’s Grandma Rina’s Round Ravioli Stamp easily cuts and seals pasta dough for authentic homemade ravioli made with meat, vegetable, or cheese filling. Simply roll out the pasta dough, prepare ravioli filling, spoon filling onto dough and press down firmly with the stamp, which makes 2-inch round ravioli. The classic fluted edges create authentic pasta shapes, and the comfort-grip handle lets you create enough for a feast without hand strain. The stamps make great cookie cutters, too.
Fante’s Cousin Allora’s Garganelli Maker is designed to aid you in easily rolling pasta dough into tube-shaped noodles with deep outer ridges, which help the sauce cling to pasta. To use, simply place a square of dough onto the board with points at top and bottom, like a diamond. Curl the bottom point around the dowel and roll upward together with a medium pressure to seal the seams and emboss the ridges.
Fante’s Mamma Rina’s Corzetti Stamp creates a decorative floral Fiore Della Vita design on dough. Made in Italy from pearwood, the stamp is ideal for pasta and other firmer dough, such as dough used for making springerle cookie. The design area measures 2′ x 2′, stamp measures 2′ tall.
Fante’s Cousin Arturo’s Pasta Pin scores dough for making Fettucelle pasta the authentic way. Made in Italy from natural beechwood, the easy-to-use pin scores 10 half-inch-wide noodles at one time. When you’re not making pasta, use it for ribbon cookies, and other classic Italian recipes.
Fante’s Cousin s Bartolomeo’s Rotary Cheese Grater finely grates hard and semi-hard cheeses, almonds and other nuts, breadcrumbs, and baking chocolate. Made of 18/8 stainless steel and BPA-free plastic, the spring-loaded cover holds items against the drum with gentle pressure for consistent results. Compact and portable for quick and easy use on pasta and casseroles, baked goods, dessert recipes, hot chocolate, coffee beverages, and frozen drinks.
For over 100 years, Fante’s Kitchen Shop and the extended Fante’s family have lived, worked, cooked and eaten in the heart of Philadelphia’s historic Italian Market. Fante’s Kitchen Shop is a world-famous kitchen supply store with a large selection of food preparation equipment and culinary supplies. As a third-generation, family-run business dealing in gourmet kitchen supplies ourselves, HIC, Harold Import Co. has formed a winning partnership with Fante’s based on a shared goal: bringing quality Italian cooking supplies to the people at the best prices possible.
The menu has been planned, the shopping is complete, and now it is time to get cooking. Whether it is a turkey, a beef roast, leg of lamb or a delicious glazed ham, having the proper roasting equipment on hand will make the process go much more smoothly. And, the results will so much more enjoyable!
Roasting Rack
If you are of the school that believes a roasting requires that air circulate around the food for proper browning, then a roasting rack is needed (or, a spit). They sit in the pan and hold the meat away from the bottom of the pan, allowing the air to circulate, and the fat to drip away. Make sure the rack is well constructed and sturdy enough to hold the meat. It should allow for at least 2” clearance from the top of the oven. Roasting racks come in different styles: V rack (adjustable or non-adjustable), flat rack, and vertical poultry roasters.
HIC has them all – including the HIC Pro V Roasting Rack that is made from heavyweight chrome wire and is durable and oven safe to 500-degrees Fahrenheit. The V-shape securely cradles food and elevates it above fat and juices, allowing for better heat circulation, even baking, faster cooking, and all-over browning. The reinforced handles make transfer into and out of a roasting pan easy. It measures 15-inches x 11-inches x 4-inches. Hand wash in warm, soapy water.
Lifters
Have you ever grabbed a long wooden spoon, placed it into the tail end, balanced the bird with a spoon on the other end, and then carefully, carefully transferred the turkey from roaster to carving platter? Not an easy task. One great way to move the bird (or roast) from pan to platter is to use a turkey lifter. They come in different styles – ours resemble a set of forks (which are used to pierce the skin). This holiday season, don’t opt for the oven mitt/wooden spoon transfer, get yourself an ‘official’ turkey lifter.
HIC Roasting Turkey Lifters (set of 2) safely maneuver a whole turkey and other meats from roasting pans to serving platter or cutting board keeping them intact. Made from chrome-plated steel with a PVC coated handle, the sturdy and durable lifters securely lift large turkeys and other meats (up to 20-pounds). The non-slip comfort grip keeps hands safely away from heat.
Basters
Bulb basters get their most use during Thanksgiving, but they’re great for use all year round, for so many different types of roasts. Acting like a big eye dropper, they suction up the fat and liquid from the roasting pan and pour them over the meat to keep it moist while adding flavor, and creating a glaze during cooking time.
HIC Roasting Turkey Baster is just what you need for cooking and roasting foods to a golden brown outside and maintaining a moist and juicy inside. Made from FDA-approved silicone and plastic, the baster is heat-resistant to 210-degrees Fahrenheit and has a 1.5-fluid-ounce capacity. Easy-read increments (ounces and milliliters) for precise measuring.
Lacing Kits
We all feel compelled to truss, but do we really know why? Trussing the roast into a more uniform shape helps to ensure even cooking. And trussing a turkey into a compact shape not only helps it cook evenly, just as important is when the twine is removed, the turkey will still hold its shape for easier carving. Grab some kitchen twine, or reusable trussing tools, and get tying.
HIC’s Turkey Lacer Kit is for lacing turkey and other stuffed poultry, meats, fish, chops, wild game, and more. The kit includes 6-each reusable stainless-steel pins and single-use 100-percent cotton butchers twine for a secure hold while roasting. Lace a turkey, chicken or Braciole to securely hold in stuffing during roasting. Also great for stuffed rabbit, pheasant, crab stuffed flounder, and more. Food safe and oven safe, the butcher’s twine is disposable. Hand wash reusable pins in warm, soapy water.
Measuring Temperature
The success of your efforts in the kitchen depends on the food reaching and maintaining the proper temperature. Finger poking isn’t always the best way to determine if a meat is properly cooked, so an instant-read thermometer is perfect for all your roasting needs. A digital version, with its small sensors located in the tip, are extremely accurate at measuring a wide range of temperatures.
HIC Roasting s Folding Digital Meat Thermometer instantly reads internal temperature. Featuring a stainless steel stem, the thermometer comes with 7 preset doneness levels plus 1 user setting. The target temperature alert beep is handy, and the adjustable angles for allow for easy access during use.
Get Slicing
Whether it’s a roast or poultry, HIC is ready to help you serve up success.
Cutlery-Pro s Chef’s Granton Roaster Knife makes for easier meat slicing without shredding, causing friction against the blade, or sticking to the blade. Made from German carbon steel that stays sharp longer, the knife features a perfectly ground edge for superior performance. The ergonomic handle is designed for added comfort with a safety guard to protect fingers. The blade is easily re-sharpened if it ever becomes dull from use. Dishwasher safe
Be sure to head on over to our website for the best quality cooking tools at the best possible prices to keep you cooking all year round.
The Useful Tool 