Pasta Gadgets

Overview:

Nowadays, cookware stores and catalogs contain an array of gadgets to make handling cooked pasta easier. We tested a few and were surprised by what we found out.

Pasta Rakes: The tines on the wooden versions of these rakes, designed to retrieve pasta, tend to fall out over time. The tines on the stainless steel variety are welded in. But why pay for a single-purpose utensil when a $5 pair of tongs works just fine?

Pasta Tongs: Again, why pay for a pasta-particular utensil when an inexpensive pair of all-purpose tongs will toss and serve just as well? In addition, most of the handles on these utensils are too short for fishing noodles out of hot cooking water.

Pasta Forks: This is the only pasta-specific tool that we found useful. It effectively combs through long, sticky strands of noodles to separate them. The wood variety tends to be clunky and is prone to splitting with use, but both the plastic and stainless steel versions work fine.

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Product Tested		Performance	Comfort	Price*
Highly Recommended
	Victorinox (formerly Victorinox Forschner) 6-inch Straight Boning Knife: Flexible The nonslip grip and narrow, straight blade let testers remove the smallest bones with precision and complete comfort. Perfectly balanced with enough flexibility to maneuver around tight joints. The low price was a bonus.	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	$19.95
Recommended
	Wüsthof Classic Boning Knife Hefty in weight, this knife was a solid performer when removing poultry bones, and the handle was easy to grip, even when covered in chicken fat. Piercing silver skin was a challenge since the tip wasnt sharp enough and the long narrow blade produced slightly jagged cuts.	★ ★	★ ★ ★	$99.95
Recommended with Reservations
	Mundial Boning Knife: Flexible The sharp tip performed well when removing silver skin, but it was too flexible when maneuvering around poultry joints, leaving testers feeling a lack of control. The heavy handle was slightly unbalanced and became slippery once covered in poultry fat.	★ ★	★ ★	$19.95
Not Recommended
	Shun Gokujo Filet Knife Designed to replicate a samurai blade, this expensive knife was a disappointment. It struggled to pierce the silver skin, although long cuts were smooth and even. Minimal flexibility and extreme curve got in the way when maneuvering around joints. The smooth handle was hard to grip and slippery.	★ ★	★	$179.95
	MAC Boning KnifeChef Series The large, cumbersome handle reminded testers of an outdoors knife for fishing and hunting. The blade was too wide to maneuver around joints and it struggled to pierce silver skin. Unlike other knives, this boning knife could only slice in one direction, making intricate cuts around joints difficult.	★	★ ★	$34.95
	Messermeister San Moritz Elite Flexible Boning Knife The blade was so flexible it led to erratic cuttings; testers said the knife was hard to control. The blade was not sturdy enough to maneuver around joints and the lightweight handle felt flimsy and unbalanced.	★	★	$53.60

*Prices subject to change

Pasta Gadgets

Victorinox (formerly Victorinox Forschner) 6-inch Straight Boning Knife: Flexible

Wüsthof Classic Boning Knife

Mundial Boning Knife: Flexible

Shun Gokujo Filet Knife

MAC Boning KnifeChef Series

Messermeister San Moritz Elite Flexible Boning Knife