The case for using tweezers in the kitchen

Most cooks have at least one pair of tongs in the kitchen, and if you do a lot of cooking or grillings, you may have several. It’s not a secret that many chefs abhor tongs (David Chang blasted tongs in The New Yorker and Australian chef Greg Malouf banned them from his kitchen). But what else would you use for the tasks that tongs usually perform? Sohla El-Waylly, Assistant Culinary Editor for Serious Eats, makes the case for using tweezers to do much of the work usually relegated to tongs.

If the thought of using tweezers in the kitchen conjures the image of someone plating a single micro-green in a stuffy, pretentious restaurant, rest assured that this isn’t the kind of scenario that El-Waylly is contemplating. Although she did learn about kitchen tweezers in such an establishment, the uses she espouses are much more practical.

There are two main types of kitchen tweezers, according to El-Waylly: “shorter and lighter ones, ideal for plating and picking up small items, and longer, heavier ones that can handle some heft.” The smaller ones are handy for picking out egg shell bits that always seem to find their way into freshly cracked eggs or flipping tiny bay scallops. The larger ones can handle turning over a thick steak or twirling pasta onto a plate.  

Since tweezers have ribbed tips, they grab better than tongs, and they are easier to store (fitting easily into an apron pocket). They are also a cinch to clean because they don’t have any scalloped edges or deep grooves to trap food debris. This article has convinced me to add tweezers to my kitchen tool drawer. 

Photo of Kuchenprofi Extra-Long Tweezer Tongs, available at Amazon