10 French gadgets you wouldn’t find in a British kitchen
I recently bought an appareil à croque monsieur. Yes, I’m pretty fancy, with my French life, eating croque monsieurs whenever I choose! Actually, an appareil à croque monsieur is just a humdrum old toastie maker but it sounds so much better in French. Anyhoo, my perusing the shelves in Darty got me thinking about kitchen appliances that are used in France but wouldn’t be seen in Britain, except in the home of an ardent Francophile. So here’s a list of products I’d never seen before moving to France.
1. Extra-long baguette toasters
Don’t throw away your stale baguette – give it new life by slicing it down the middle and toasting golden brown. Mmm…
2. Baguette bags
Keep your baguette fresh for longer by tucking it into a cotton bag. Like a sleeping bag but for bread!
3. Snail-eating kits
You can’t just eat snails with normal forks and spoons, dummy! You need a dimpled tray, tongs and an extraction fork.
4. Wine bottle coaster
You know, so you don’t get red wine dribbles on your starched white table linen. Or on the carpet, if you do your wine drinking lying of the sofa while stuffing your face with crisps and binge-watching The Good Wife like someone I know (me).
5. Raclette machine
Raclette is the greatest thing to happen to cheese since the invention of pizza.
6. Foie gras cutter
Put away your knife, you uncouth beast, only a fine wire will do to chop this liver.
7. Croissant heater
For those chilly mornings when you can’t face a cold croissant.
8. Cheese surgery utensils
Different cheeses need different tools. You couldn’t use just one knife, that’s be insane.
9. Proper crêpe equipment
So this bit of kit might be for the real pros/addicts (check that spreader out) but there’s a good chance a French kitchen will have a more usual crêpe pan. In Britain? We make do with frying pans on Pancake Tuesday.
10. Wine aerator
If a British person manages to pour the wine in the glass without slurping some from the bottle first, that’s a win. We have no need for these, unless a serious wine boffin.
Can you think of any other products that French people use that you don’t really see elsewhere? Let us know in the comments, and share if you’ve enjoyed 🙂
Diane
Hahah cheese surgery utensils. Love it. The only thing I have on the list is the baguette bag (more of a bag in a drawer that pulls ou)
BFF
I’ve got the cheese surgery utensils! They were €5 in a brocante so seemed like a bargain. I usually just use an ordinary knife though 🙂