Lab Stuff that Should Be in Kitchens

I spent much of my adult life working in research laboratories. While some of the equipment and supplies have no use in home kitchens, others would be perfect additions. Here are a few that I’d love to see sold at the supermarket or kitchen supply store.

Parafilm. This is what plastic wrap wants to be when it grows up. It stretches to form a nice seal over your beakers or bowls. You can buy it in different sizes so there’s less waste. It can be reused a few times.

Magnetic stirrers. I thought these were magic when I first saw them as a kid. Some of the stirrers have heating blocks as well. This would make candy- or roux-making much easier if you had a large enough magnet that was relatively heat-proof. Some stirrers look more like propellers and are suspended into the liquid.

pH meters and test strips. The pandemic brought on a new interest in canning and preserving. The problem is that if you’re not careful, whatever you canned could be contaminated with nasty bacteria if the acidity isn’t high enough (as measured by a pH less than about 5.5). The key is finding pH test strips that don’t leach stuff into your food. A pH meter would only be for the truly geeky among us. The detector can be a bit fragile, especially if you get it too close to a stirring magnet. (Been there, done that a few times.)

A table-top incubator. You can get big ones for cell and bacterial cultures, but one the size of a dorm fridge would be handy for making yogurt or kick-starting bread dough. It would hold the temperature at a balmy 37° C (99° F) to make the Lactobacilli and yeast very happy.

I could get even geekier, but that would venture farther into molecular gastronomy than I’m comfortable with. I prefer my food to resemble food.