Saturday, January 17, 2015

Ardente Gourmet Stirrer A Cook's Best Friend

Cooking any meal is an elaborate process for both professional and home chefs alike. Home chefs though have it the roughest. They have to prepare everything from sauces to salads by themselves. This is hard, especially when two dishes require a lot of attention. However they may have a new best friend - the Ardente Gouremt Stirrrer. This helps in preparing sauces and soups , giving cooks a little relief during those hairy cooking moments.

This is a neat invention. It has a battery powered stirring mechanism that fits  perfectly over any large stockpot.A long rod connects the plastic paddles to this , allowing it to churn up the ingredients. There are two sizes of paddles included, one for lighter sauces and soups, a bigger and wider pair to  help stir polenta and chunkier  sauce.Home chefs needn't worry  about the whole thing spinning out of orbit and drenching them and their kitchens in tomato sauce or polenta . There are side handles  that allow the top to stay firmly in place. It was recently invented by John Ardent as a tribute to his mother, Angela Ardente. Mrs. Ardente was an excellent cook , however her meals were lavish and labor intensive. She either was stirring three pots at once or employing John to help her out. With this , home chefs can let the Gourmet Stirrer do all the work while they prep other dishes or take a breather.It sells on Amazon at $55.00 plus shipping and  need batteries , four C cell batteries in order to operate.

This is a great invention for any home chef.(and I wish Ardente would come up with an extensive cookbook for it)It's purpose is to aid in cooking sauce and polenta (not together). For a polenta lover like me, this is a godsend because I always make a sauce to go with it. My attention is divided between two pots and one always suffers, namely the corn meal. Polenta is a tricky dish to begin with. Stir it too long and it becomes runny, not enough and you have uncooked lumps of cornmeal . The Gourmet Stirrer gives me a perfect dish every time with a perfectly creamy mash that's just right in texture and consistency. Many other people use this device for cooking mashed potatoes  as well as stirring thick chowders and chilis. Surprisingly it also has a following amongst home candy makers. The constantly turning paddles help the syrups and pastes from sticking to the pot's bottom  and sides .It also helps in create a smooth , satiny consistency  which is crucial in making a perfect praline or fudge. Besides candy, you can also use it for making grits and different cheese dishes too.

Every home chef should have an Ardente Gourmet Stirrer .It is a big help , especially  when there are multiple dishes to tend to. It's really is a home chef's best friend.

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