I really wanted to see you put weirder foods in the large sharpener. I wanted like hot dog shavings or breadstick shavings. Hopefully these tools will be used in future videos
I used a meatball maker to make snowballs. I could do 2 per second. My friend threw them. No one ever made it to our snow fort. Of course the final defense of Roman candles shooting out the side of the fort might have had something to do with that.
We didn't have much snow, so our meatball maker lived with the Play-Doh toys. Shrimp using his thumb to remove the extra goop that squeezed out of the holes and sides: exact childhood reinactment.
My mother had a pair of those meatball tongs, but I never knew what they were. I found that they do a reasonably good job separating egg yolks as well.
The 'bowl pouring spout' is something I've actually used before, and it kind of sucked. I do a decent amount of baking, and having oil, eggs, batter, etc. get stuck behind the spout and spill a bit on the counter every time you pour is just not worth using it in the first place. Instead get a bowl with a built in spout for stuff like that.
not a single of my bowls, pans nor cookingpots have an "built in spout". they all have "drip-free rims", can pour from any side without spilling anything. dont know why theres still a need of pouring spouts.
@@hito1988 drip free rims require a small amount of skill or hand-eye coordination. People with disabilities affecting their hands and arms or children with underdeveloped hand-eye coordination/practise could benefit from this tool.
The greatest spoils of staying up past bed time is getting to comment on an British mans TH-cam video before before there's even been enough time to consume its content. Aaaaah, what a time to be alive.
I join the joy of watching randomness as a Insomniac Night Owl in UK way to many years of night duty as Nurse means now I have had to leave due to ill health I still can not sleep at night currently 08:23 in UK roll on midday when I will finally feel sleepy and with luck get 2 hours sleep.
@@hjcdormouse7337 I have had insomnia since 1017 when I viral encephalitis from influenza. It caused a CSF leak that needed brain surgery to fix. On the plus side I had some very interesting hallucinations as I was coming round after the surgery.
@@hjcdormouse7337 Bless you. I hope you can find relief - sleep deprivation is truly a torture! 25 years ago, had similar sleep problems and discovered that some things worked for me. The most important one was a home made sleep mask; black cotton fabric, lightweight old bit of towel inside, then white cotton old pillowcase on eyelids. Zigzag together and attach a ribbon loop to each side, long enough to finish at just where ear meets skull. Piece of knicker elastic threaded through, goes all round head and stitched. Also 2 stitches onto ribbon loop. Everything holds in place and keeps my eyes shut so no light comes through. But the best bit is an old fashioned CD player, with story CD playing all night on loop. I listen to the story and it is just interesting enough to stop thoughts, but boring enough to send me to sleep. Try Agatha Christie or other mystery, but not scary thriller : D I’m not a fan of modern romance but might work for others. I did try relaxation CDs but that’s a voice telling you what to do, so it didn’t work for me. I don’t like music because it stimulates emotions, so a story is best. Also, some nights I listen to the same CD for a week before I actually know what’s going on and enough to move on to the next CD! I get them from the library, btw. I do hope this method might work for someone - anything’s worth a try. Bless you and thanks for your story.
This Green thingy would be great to make standard "Polish" Pierogies, because u use strachy dough. Recipe for dough: 500g plain flour 250ml boiling water 50ml oil (any cooking oil of neutral taste) Half tea spoon of salt Put all ingredients in large bowl and work it out very well, then let it rest. As for filing I highly recommend "russian" version ( or as we call it in Poland "Ukrainian" due to situation that's happening) 500g cooked, chilled and minced potato's 500g of white cheese, your best bet is to find Polish shop in your area and ask for "biały ser" for pierogies they'll know what u mean. (Allso need to be minced 2-3 white onion diced and fried until brown. Once everything is ready mix all together and season well with pepper and bit of salt. Served with crunch lardons and onions. PS: please excuse my writing skills :)
the little embellishment of (finite) when listing basil as an ingredient for the empanadilla filling made me chuckle, I just really enjoy your personality and humor, thanks for the videos!
You probably already know this, but just in case you don't, he did a video on some kind of "infinite basil" technique. I haven't watched it myself (not yet at least), but he mentioned it in a few videos that I _did_ watch.
I have a suggestion for the meatball tongs: dip the loops of the handle ends in silicone (like you used for the seashell mold), to make them more comfortable to use. Maybe even two coats, but that should protect your fingers from the thin metal edges.
There's a product called Plasti Dip which is an air drying rubber/plastic material you can dip the handles of tools into to produce a protective cover. I hadn't thought of using silicone, but no reason why that wouldn't work.
Niall Fleming is right, doesnt seem like theres enough space for a coating, if lucky he can get a single layer working. in the good ol days we used medical tape on the fingers, just anoying to get some plasters everytime you wanna use the "meatballthongs"
To be honest, of the four gadgets, the meatball tongs seem to be the most redundant. If you make meatballs with a minced meat (pork, beef, etc.), it usually done in a bowl with added herbs and spices, as well as a bit of flour and an egg to make it stick together for cooking. At that point just roll the mixture into a sausage on a chopping board and then it's very easy to cut into equal portions, quickly roll into a ball in your hands and then put in the cooking pan. These tongs would take longer to use than doing it manually anyway - so therefore a redundant gadget, in my opinion.
In Spain people just buy the prepacked, ready cut dough in the supermarket and seal the edges with a fork. Empanadilla dough is thinner than the one you made, but maybe yours taste better for all I know. Only one way to find out. What time is dinner?
That moment when it's 3:00am on the east coast in the US, and your phone battery is at 4% charge, so you drag yourself out of bed for an impromptu stealth mission to the kitchen in the dark to find the charger instead of going to sleep like you should, all because Mr.Shrimp just posted a video and it is absolutely imperative that you satisfy your curiosity about kitchen gadgets RIGHT THIS MINUTE instead of tomorrow. I stubbed my toe on the way. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for that giant pencil sharpener.
I think a "better" use for the mold would be sweet empanadas, I love having them filled with cajeta (caramelized goat's milk) or strawberry jam. Those are usually smaller than the ones made as a main dish.
The one for making empanadas is popular where I'm at, we just use it to make pierogi. Your's just have one flaw - the extra lip/grip. The standard design is just round and you can use the back side to cut perfectly fitting pastry circles with it.
We think alike - as a half-Ukrainian, I was thinking that the empanada tool might work for pierogis (or "varenyky" as we say in Ukrainian). Having said that, to justify making them you have to spend a day doing it so that you make enough to freeze most of them - and generally make it a "social cooking event" where there are several of you making pierogis. And, to be honest, my local Tesco store has packs of pre-made Polish pierogis that are very good for the price.
I bought a set that came with three sizes and when open mine have an edge that cuts the dough circle. One is smaller than the one shown amd then one about the size shown and one for hand pies. We have bought pizza dough in the premade section and made little pizza pockets. The grandkiddos like helping make them 😊
I actually don't have anything worthwhile to comment,but I wanted to say I love that even at nearly 1million subs you still comment and interact with your audience. It's really nice to see
regarding ketchup in your dough: I usually add ketchup to my meatballs, it gives them a richer flavour and the sugar caramelises inside of the meatball. You can also make meatballs in the oven, so the shape is rounder
I doubt the sugar caramelized inside, but rather outside, but I agree, adding sweet and sour flavors to savory dishes always gives an extra nice flavor
You can buy the 'empanadilla' dough in packets from supermarkets here in Spain.They're called 'obleas' (La Cocinera , Buitoni) and are a circular shape.They're the perfect thickness for making empanadillas. You can fill them with anything, although ones that are filled with tuna and tomato are the most popular.
My grandmother had 2 of those meatball makers, different sizes. Hers were very old and funny enough the design hasn't changed much at all including the weird awkward handles. Hers were not stainless, I'm not really sure what they were made of. They look like galvanized metal, maybe zinc or something.
That last gadget had me thinking about big fat ravioli - there's never enough pasta in regular ravioli, so the crimp part would add the missing portion for me
I had a "spiraliser" that was similar the pencil sharpener, except that it was hour-glass shaped had a much larger opening and changeable blades - one was a flat blade like the one you had, and the other was more like a grater and would turn a corgette or carrot into a sort of vegetable spaghetti which was actually really nice in salads or lightly cooked. I think you might have had better luck with the emp.. empin... pasty maker with a thinner, wetter more stretchy dough, but I have also a pasty maker that is more the size of your bigger ones, and it works really well.
I had a whole set of those "dumpling cutters"from fried pie to pierogie to potsticker to ravioli sized.They make stuffing the pastry alot easier but often require extra crimping for a messy filling.I'm gonna guess your spout was meant to make pouring into a jar type container more doable(no tsunamis and the dregs you can remove the spout).The meatballs will also be more uniform to cook evenly,chefs are particular about that.I used to love the Mexican Pumpkin Empanadas at a branch of our bakery with a more Latino clientele.Empanadas aren't supposed to be the size of a Cornish Pasty.XD
We actually had one of those empanada crimpers when I was growing up. Admittedly my dads side of the family is Spanish so probably explains why we had such a specific kitchen gadget haha. The meatballer is awesome. I'd totally buy one.
On the whole, single use tools just clutter up the kitchen. I had a garlic press, but eventually discarded it in favour of crushing the clove with a knife blade. I have a food processor, but it sits under the stairs now because it's easier to wash up a knife and a chopping board.
Absolutely. By the time you've cleaned out the garlic skin and pulp remnants out of the press, there is no time-saving. The flat blade of a knife is one of those great bits of cooking advice that you will never forget once used.
I agree. Minimalist cooking gadgets like a good set of knives and a big cutting board are all I use 97% of the time. I did pick up a flat pastry cutting tool that works great for scooping veggies off the cutting board as well as cleaning up the counter when kneading bread or making pasta dough. I caught my husband using it to apply spackle to the wall before painting. But it cleaned up well. I got at the five quarter store so no big loss.
@@odkres Define "totally different". The knife result is better because you get to use the whole clove whereas in a press you have to retrieve half of it from inside the press away from the skin. Too much "faffing about" - once you know the knife technique, nothing beats it.
i really like your honest review. other channels would instantly blame the gadget when its not working correctly while you have doubts if your pastry dough has the right consitence for the gadget. we need lot more channels like these on youtube, not my favorite content (i like the scambaiting shrimp more) and still its even for me darn interesting.
With the green thingy that makes pockets filled with meat/vegetable thingy, you could try shaping the dough with the spoon (or your finger) so that you already have a half sphere before you add the filling, that way the filling wouldn't apply additional preasure!
I've been making pies recently and my sister discovered she was allergic to dairy, so I was paying very close attention to the empanada crust recipe. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be using ketchup for my peach pie.
I use a mechanical ice-cream scoop for my meatballs. it has an automatic release for releasing the sticky (ice cream) ball by moving a small scraper through the bowl of the scoop behind the contents. it's great to get consistently bite sized meatballs
I think the spout thing could be quite useful, it just has some design flaws. It would probably need to be available in a range of sizes, too. I can see it being handy for pouring a small amount of liquid out of a mug or something, where it would normally just dribble down the side of the mug.
I tried your Empanada recipe, and I couldn't get the mermite spoon to dissolve! No matter how long it simmered the spoon was still intact. so I ended up taking it out.
The pencil sharper would be fun for Đồ Chua (pickled daikon and carrots.) You can chop larger vegetables lengthwise to make pieces that fit. It's just a different texture and shape at the end.
Hello from across the pond! I subscribed after the trolling scammers videos but stayed for the random reviews 😃 maybe its your calm voice or maybe its the random view in to a different cultures home, but something draws me to click on your videos. Either way keep up the good work my man. I look forward to learning about more random things lol
You should have made this video in the style of a Sesame Street "One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other" song where each item is shown occupying 1/4 of the screen and we all have to work out which item is the odd one out before the song ends. In such a case, the odd one out would have to be the silicon pour spout as the other three all look like male torture devices.
I received a gift similar to the empanada pincher device. It’s metal, and it also came with a pizza cutter looking thing, that you roll over the dough and forms circles of the perfect size. It was marketed as a dumpling and pierogi maker.
That empanada mould would be interesting to test with different doughs, have a suspicion it would work better with more elastic doughs, maybe not. Maybe even with those premade doughs like wonton, crescent, puff and pasta like dough, would make an interesting follo up episode.
The empanadilla press is very like a steel ravioli/pierogi/varenyky press I inherited from my grandmother. The trick to using the one I have is to use a bit more than half the volume of the unfolded depression as filling. If the dough has a bit of elasticity, like ravioli pasta, you can use the full measure of the depression.
I'd love a Spanish style Chimport shop nearby. Curiosity is my hobby but shipping delays dampen the "wtf is this for? what were they thinking? why does it fall apart?" moments. Much better to roam around a shop in wonder and confusion and see them in all their glory up close and on the shelf.
I'm sure plenty of people know this already, but the best tool for shaping meatballs is a pair of half-cylinders. Not that the perfect shape for a meatball is round, mind you. Also, I think a better test of the spout would be to pour _some_ of the liquid, then stop pouring. Dribbling down the side tends to happen when you're just pouring a little of something.
I really enjoyed this video. I hope you do something like it again when you next find a bunch of kitchen gadgets. Lakeland here is often a treasure trove of solutions looking for problems. Thanks for brightening my Saturday morning. Have a fantastic weekend shrimpers ⚛️🦐
Empanadillas are finger food, they are meant to be small, and yes, less filling than you would expect. Same thing with spring rolls, by the way. We always did them with a fork at home, you don't want to go that close to the filling with the fork tines, leave a bit of a margin, and don't press al the way down.
My father used to own a "Radi-Hobel", an implement to produce radish shavings. The shavings are salted and eaten to beer. That´s a Bavarian tradition. The salt and the hot radish complement the drink. The texture of the thin shavings tastes different than a chunk of radish.
It's honestly a bit shocking seeing you talk about my home country and the like; all in all something great to start the day off! Hope you had a splendid time here, even if the temperatures can get pretty stupid-high. At least when not on the coast!
@@JustinKoenigSilica Probably once a month, I like the way the meat gets melded together without getting messy hands and they are all identical so it makes cooking easy as there are no small ones to overcook while the bigger ones cook through
That pouring spout is a good idea for gravy, i always make a mess on the side of the pot when I try to pour gravy directly from it. It just kinda sticks to the lip and drips down.
I'd imagine it would also be decent for tipping off into a small jar or bottle where precision gets dicey. You know, if liquid didn't get stuck behind the spout and go all over the place. Good idea, poor design.
They all look like something from the shelves of TK Max. The meatball thing makes some rather large meatballs, Although I guess they'll shrink down while cooking. The spout thing is like those anoying Teapots that either decide to wet the table or anywhere other than your cup, or overhoot the Teapot lid and spill allover. I guess also you could use the meatballer as a burger maker, make a ball squish it down and Bob and Fanny, Uncle and Auntie
Meatballs were originally deep-fried to get the fried outer skin, so they maintain their shape while they're boiled with sauce or soups, or fried in a pan. Alex (formerly known as French Guy Cooking) has a mini-series about making the perfect meatballs.
I think the pencil sharpener surpasses novelty status purely by the fact that the shavings looked likey would feel more pleasant to eat rather than chopped chunks. I do not have the knife skills and it's quicker than a peeler Pity its too small though
The pour spout is something that, if it were to be designed in a way that it actually WORKS as intended, people like my mom who physically cannot pour things out of anything without a spout would be able to cook using cheaper tools instead of having to go out of their way to constantly get ONLY things with pour spouts on them. A LOT of the items that are "solutions in search of a problem" are actually very useful for disabled folk (if they're actually designed appropriately - which often they really are not). Just something to think about whenever you see a device and ask yourself "why can't you just..." - and consider "if I actually COULDN'T just do that, would this make me able to?"
My parents had a huge multi pocketed pierogi maker when I was a kid; it also came with 3 sizes of empanada makers and some smaller perogi makers. We would roll out the dough drape it over the whole thing, lightly fill the pockets then carefully close it over and squish it pretty hard. Do that twice and we had enough food for dinner! (9 people in the family). Some times mom would use puff pastry in the smaller makers and fill them with tinned pie fillings for easy turnovers. If you want one that will kick your socks off and leave your boots on... 1 cup frozen blueberries ⅛ cup hot water ¼ cup or less of honey depends on how sweet you like it ⅓ cup of cream cheese diced and brought to room temp 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 ½ tbsp water to make a slurry. Cool to just above from temp. Line mold with puff pastry, add a spoon of blueberry mix to hollow then shut it to crimp it closed. Bake at 350 until the pastry is fully cooked. Cool as long as you can defend them. Get trampled as you try to snag at least one for yourself! Enjoy 😁 Put the frozen blueberries in a small pot with the water and turn it to high med heat. Stir it often until the berries are all melted and bubbling softly. Add ½ the honey and stir, taste and add more honey as you wish, remember there will be cream cheese added to this. Once it is sweet enough as the cream cheese and stir until it is all melted and dissolved. Add the slurry a bit at a time until the mix is fairly thick but not gelatinous.
If you look for "empanadilla dough" the white packs with round pastry are the ones used massively in Spain. When we do them is usually small dumpling size, so you can eat lots of them.
Like the crimper/pattie maker. Great size for finger food buffet. Look tasty cooked. Thanks for reviewing these gadgets, I love kitchen gadgets :D The other 3 I wouldnt bother with tbh
I saw another you channel Freakin Reviews cover the pour spout recently and he had even less luck trying to get it to work, it just poured out under it. Was totally useless. I really enjoyed that you actually showed the process of how you cooked things and made your own dough.
The medical term is meatball forceps. When you use ketchup in your empanada dough, it becomes Las Ketchup. Traditionally used in a Hampshire Empapasty. I'm not sure if it'll work with ingredient seasonality, but you could make some truly amazing pierogi with a filling of sauerkraut-fermented ramsons and wild mushrooms. Possibly made even more glorious with bacon bits.
NO!!!! Sauerkraut does NOT belong in pierogis!!! I banish thee to Hell, oh minion of Satan! In all seriousness, speaking as a half-Ukrainian, sauerkraut is my veins and it's great on the side of a plate or on an American-style hot dog. But given that a pierogi can contain "cheesy mash" (the best filling without question) or a pork mince (still very nice), there is nothing more disappointing than biting into one and tasting pickled cabbage... a bit like opening a big and beautifully-wrapped present at Christmas only to find it contains a pair of socks.
Mellon ballers are hemispheres, usually with a small hole at the bottom to let liquid flow out when scooping, and to stop an air seal from forming to made it easier to dislodge the mellon ball. Often there are different size scoops on each end of a handle.
You are right about the dumpling/pierogi crimpers, you really have to be careful about the amount of filling you put in it, it always seems too little when you are doing the filling, but too much when they are shut. The ones my grandmother and me would use had another trick to them however, the outer circle of the crimp pattern had a cutting edge, so you would insert a disc that is too big, and after crimping it would be cut evenly along the entire edge. That said, she would mostly default to using an old-style fork with round prongs, as she had always done before.
The spout should have been like a tea pot spout where the water goes underneath the Gap that was forming on smaller bowls, and through a hole. That would bring the flow of the water as close to the lip of the bowl as possible so you wouldn't have spilling around the edges
That empanada press, I have a set of them, stainless steel, in multiple sizes. Mine can be flipped over to use the reverse side for cutting your circle of dough to the correct size. The size range is extra large ones, perfect for making lunchbox pies, calzones, Jamaican beef patties...to very small ones for making Chinese soup dumplings, mini pizza rolls, or stuffed cookies. There's also a couple sizes in between, suitable for raviolis, perogies, etc. You can use them with pretty much any kind of dough, any kind of filling, just be very careful not to over stuff them (as you found out). Then you can bake, boil, pan fry, or even deep fry them, depending on what you plan on making. I usually seal mine closed with an egg wash, instead of water, allowing the protein in the egg whites act as a sort of glue, while it is cooking, or I use an exceptionally sticky dough, and flour the press well, to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
I can’t help but laugh at the meatball tongs. We just got a set of toys for my son to help him practice manual dexterity with tools, and one of the four “tools” was a plastic version of the meatball shaper. I was wondering what I’m the world a tool like that would be used for, and now I know.
I could have used an appropriately sized spout yesterday, though a measuring cup with a spout would have worked fine, and also have way more other uses.
About the dough-pocket-maker: I have a set of them, all sizes from Ravioli to Calzone, that I bought from a street vendor about 30 years ago. They work very well, and while they don't look as refined as yours, they have one advantage: The underside is formed out as a dough circle cutter. The right amount of filling is about half the indentation if you don't heap it over the edge.
![Macaroni [and] Cheese - Kraft Box vs Lidl Sachet vs Home Made](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sxJGwqBIdCY/mqdefault.jpg)
I really wanted to see you put weirder foods in the large sharpener. I wanted like hot dog shavings or breadstick shavings. Hopefully these tools will be used in future videos
If you could shave lamb sausages then you could make "mini kebab hors d'oeuvres" - surely a talking point at parties.
Can’t wait for banana shavings
Tbf there was an attempt to put a huge beefsteak tomato into it 😂
Bread sticks would crumble
You can't shave breadsticks, they crumble. That sharpener works for carrots/ small cucumbers
I used a meatball maker to make snowballs. I could do 2 per second. My friend threw them. No one ever made it to our snow fort. Of course the final defense of Roman candles shooting out the side of the fort might have had something to do with that.
We didn't have much snow, so our meatball maker lived with the Play-Doh toys. Shrimp using his thumb to remove the extra goop that squeezed out of the holes and sides: exact childhood reinactment.
How did you make the roman candle shooter?
@@danitho with the meatball maker as well
That sounds like Capture The Flag or Tower Defense.
Me using greek fire and crossbows in a snowbal fight
My mother had a pair of those meatball tongs, but I never knew what they were. I found that they do a reasonably good job separating egg yolks as well.
Eggs arrive neatly packaged in their own yolk separator.
That meatball-picker-uppererer could also be used to grab eggs out of boiling water, potentially.
I think re-handling the meatball scooper would make for an interesting Shrimp style project. I bet you could come up with some neat solutions 😁
The 'bowl pouring spout' is something I've actually used before, and it kind of sucked.
I do a decent amount of baking, and having oil, eggs, batter, etc. get stuck behind the spout and spill a bit on the counter every time you pour is just not worth using it in the first place. Instead get a bowl with a built in spout for stuff like that.
It's too bad. I was really interested.
Not for myself, but it might have been useful when involving kids in cooking.
not a single of my bowls, pans nor cookingpots have an "built in spout". they all have "drip-free rims", can pour from any side without spilling anything.
dont know why theres still a need of pouring spouts.
There's probably a better one avaliable
Aye, Freakin' Reviews did one the other day with soup. Complete disaster lol.
@@hito1988 drip free rims require a small amount of skill or hand-eye coordination. People with disabilities affecting their hands and arms or children with underdeveloped hand-eye coordination/practise could benefit from this tool.
The greatest spoils of staying up past bed time is getting to comment on an British mans TH-cam video before before there's even been enough time to consume its content. Aaaaah, what a time to be alive.
Truly 😄
Living the dream!
I join the joy of watching randomness as a Insomniac Night Owl in UK way to many years of night duty as Nurse means now I have had to leave due to ill health I still can not sleep at night currently 08:23 in UK roll on midday when I will finally feel sleepy and with luck get 2 hours sleep.
@@hjcdormouse7337 I have had insomnia since 1017 when I viral encephalitis from influenza. It caused a CSF leak that needed brain surgery to fix. On the plus side I had some very interesting hallucinations as I was coming round after the surgery.
@@hjcdormouse7337 Bless you. I hope you can find relief - sleep deprivation is truly a torture!
25 years ago, had similar sleep problems and discovered that some things worked for me.
The most important one was a home made sleep mask; black cotton fabric, lightweight old bit of towel inside, then white cotton old pillowcase on eyelids. Zigzag together and attach a ribbon loop to each side, long enough to finish at just where ear meets skull.
Piece of knicker elastic threaded through, goes all round head and stitched. Also 2 stitches onto ribbon loop. Everything holds in place and keeps my eyes shut so no light comes through.
But the best bit is an old fashioned CD player, with story CD playing all night on loop. I listen to the story and it is just interesting enough to stop thoughts, but boring enough to send me to sleep.
Try Agatha Christie or other mystery, but not scary thriller : D I’m not a fan of modern romance but might work for others.
I did try relaxation CDs but that’s a voice telling you what to do, so it didn’t work for me. I don’t like music because it stimulates emotions, so a story is best.
Also, some nights I listen to the same CD for a week before I actually know what’s going on and enough to move on to the next CD! I get them from the library, btw.
I do hope this method might work for someone - anything’s worth a try. Bless you and thanks for your story.
This Green thingy would be great to make standard "Polish" Pierogies, because u use strachy dough.
Recipe for dough:
500g plain flour
250ml boiling water
50ml oil (any cooking oil of neutral taste)
Half tea spoon of salt
Put all ingredients in large bowl and work it out very well, then let it rest.
As for filing I highly recommend "russian" version ( or as we call it in Poland "Ukrainian" due to situation that's happening)
500g cooked, chilled and minced potato's
500g of white cheese, your best bet is to find Polish shop in your area and ask for "biały ser" for pierogies they'll know what u mean. (Allso need to be minced
2-3 white onion diced and fried until brown.
Once everything is ready mix all together and season well with pepper and bit of salt.
Served with crunch lardons and onions.
PS: please excuse my writing skills :)
I was just thinking that thing would be better off making pierogi, gyoza, or agnolotti.
You can get that green press in Poland too, specifically for Pierogi! It just seems great for any dumpling of this shape.
Your writing skills are more than acceptable
Thank you for the lovely recipe!
@@pablodelsegundo9502 use it for Agnolotti and a Nonna will come beat you with a spoon XD
the little embellishment of (finite) when listing basil as an ingredient for the empanadilla filling made me chuckle, I just really enjoy your personality and humor, thanks for the videos!
You probably already know this, but just in case you don't, he did a video on some kind of "infinite basil" technique. I haven't watched it myself (not yet at least), but he mentioned it in a few videos that I _did_ watch.
Came here to say that, too!! Sly little throwback. :)
@@theuncalledfor it’s very cool, you should definitely give it a watch if you get the chance
I had a little giggle at the finite basil annotation as well
I have a suggestion for the meatball tongs: dip the loops of the handle ends in silicone (like you used for the seashell mold), to make them more comfortable to use.
Maybe even two coats, but that should protect your fingers from the thin metal edges.
There's a product called Plasti Dip which is an air drying rubber/plastic material you can dip the handles of tools into to produce a protective cover.
I hadn't thought of using silicone, but no reason why that wouldn't work.
Looked tight enough that you might not get your finger in after coating though :(
Niall Fleming is right, doesnt seem like theres enough space for a coating, if lucky he can get a single layer working.
in the good ol days we used medical tape on the fingers, just anoying to get some plasters everytime you wanna use the "meatballthongs"
To be honest, of the four gadgets, the meatball tongs seem to be the most redundant.
If you make meatballs with a minced meat (pork, beef, etc.), it usually done in a bowl with added herbs and spices, as well as a bit of flour and an egg to make it stick together for cooking. At that point just roll the mixture into a sausage on a chopping board and then it's very easy to cut into equal portions, quickly roll into a ball in your hands and then put in the cooking pan.
These tongs would take longer to use than doing it manually anyway - so therefore a redundant gadget, in my opinion.
@@peterjf7723 silicone has the advantage of being very heat resistant, so you could throw them in the dishwasher rather than having to handwash
Can we just stop and appreciate how beautiful that tomato was in the sharpener part
I got seriously envious on seeing that tomato, in other news, had to pause video and nip to the loo during the spout testing 😳
I had a good laugh at the ever increasing size of the empanadas. From mini to hand pie to hubcap...lol
Try using the rim spout on paint tins for pouring into roller tray.
There is actually a product like that specifically for paint cans and they work well.
@@caturdaynite7217 Really ? Omg I need one....always get drips everywhere.
Menards sells a lid/sprout combo. I haven't used it yet, but it looks nice. :)
*holds up pointy carrot*
"You see the point"
👁👄👁
😂😂😂😂
In Spain people just buy the prepacked, ready cut dough in the supermarket and seal the edges with a fork. Empanadilla dough is thinner than the one you made, but maybe yours taste better for all I know. Only one way to find out. What time is dinner?
That moment when it's 3:00am on the east coast in the US, and your phone battery is at 4% charge, so you drag yourself out of bed for an impromptu stealth mission to the kitchen in the dark to find the charger instead of going to sleep like you should, all because Mr.Shrimp just posted a video and it is absolutely imperative that you satisfy your curiosity about kitchen gadgets RIGHT THIS MINUTE instead of tomorrow.
I stubbed my toe on the way. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for that giant pencil sharpener.
Yep. Same here in Australia, but thankfully without the stubbed toe.
🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗
@@tennisthelegend 🦨🦨🦨🦨🦨🦨🦨🦨
I think a "better" use for the mold would be sweet empanadas, I love having them filled with cajeta (caramelized goat's milk) or strawberry jam. Those are usually smaller than the ones made as a main dish.
"Weird Stuff in a Package"
Things I never knew existed, but desperately need.
The one for making empanadas is popular where I'm at, we just use it to make pierogi.
Your's just have one flaw - the extra lip/grip. The standard design is just round and you can use the back side to cut perfectly fitting pastry circles with it.
We think alike - as a half-Ukrainian, I was thinking that the empanada tool might work for pierogis (or "varenyky" as we say in Ukrainian).
Having said that, to justify making them you have to spend a day doing it so that you make enough to freeze most of them - and generally make it a "social cooking event" where there are several of you making pierogis. And, to be honest, my local Tesco store has packs of pre-made Polish pierogis that are very good for the price.
I bought a set that came with three sizes and when open mine have an edge that cuts the dough circle.
One is smaller than the one shown amd then one about the size shown and one for hand pies.
We have bought pizza dough in the premade section and made little pizza pockets. The grandkiddos like helping make them 😊
I actually don't have anything worthwhile to comment,but I wanted to say I love that even at nearly 1million subs you still comment and interact with your audience. It's really nice to see
I love classic kitchen gadgets. Some are multipurpose and much more effective than the electric counterparts.
What's your favorites?
I have a small kitchen and am always looking to 'optimize' things.
regarding ketchup in your dough: I usually add ketchup to my meatballs, it gives them a richer flavour and the sugar caramelises inside of the meatball. You can also make meatballs in the oven, so the shape is rounder
My mom added tomato paste. That would be similiar.
Mustard also adds a whole new element
I doubt the sugar caramelized inside, but rather outside, but I agree, adding sweet and sour flavors to savory dishes always gives an extra nice flavor
I have a slightly smaller version of the empanada crimper which I use for gyozas. I think your problem is the shortness of the pastry and overfilling.
I agree
We use similar one for pierogis, but our has a cutter for the pastry on the other side.
That pouring spout would work well on the standard 1 gallon paint cans we have. Keeps the lid groove from filling up.
You can buy the 'empanadilla' dough in packets from supermarkets here in Spain.They're called 'obleas' (La Cocinera , Buitoni) and are a circular shape.They're the perfect thickness for making empanadillas. You can fill them with anything, although ones that are filled with tuna and tomato are the most popular.
My grandmother had 2 of those meatball makers, different sizes. Hers were very old and funny enough the design hasn't changed much at all including the weird awkward handles. Hers were not stainless, I'm not really sure what they were made of. They look like galvanized metal, maybe zinc or something.
That last gadget had me thinking about big fat ravioli - there's never enough pasta in regular ravioli, so the crimp part would add the missing portion for me
I had a "spiraliser" that was similar the pencil sharpener, except that it was hour-glass shaped had a much larger opening and changeable blades - one was a flat blade like the one you had, and the other was more like a grater and would turn a corgette or carrot into a sort of vegetable spaghetti which was actually really nice in salads or lightly cooked.
I think you might have had better luck with the emp.. empin... pasty maker with a thinner, wetter more stretchy dough, but I have also a pasty maker that is more the size of your bigger ones, and it works really well.
"Empapastypierogyozanada".
I own a spiralizer as well, have to dig it out now
I had a whole set of those "dumpling cutters"from fried pie to pierogie to potsticker to ravioli sized.They make stuffing the pastry alot easier but often require extra crimping for a messy filling.I'm gonna guess your spout was meant to make pouring into a jar type container more doable(no tsunamis and the dregs you can remove the spout).The meatballs will also be more uniform to cook evenly,chefs are particular about that.I used to love the Mexican Pumpkin Empanadas at a branch of our bakery with a more Latino clientele.Empanadas aren't supposed to be the size of a Cornish Pasty.XD
Pumpkin empanadas! I love that idea, thank you! They could be done savory or sweet.
We actually had one of those empanada crimpers when I was growing up. Admittedly my dads side of the family is Spanish so probably explains why we had such a specific kitchen gadget haha. The meatballer is awesome. I'd totally buy one.
I can see the spout being somewhat useful for pouring stuff into bottles and jars but at that point it makes more sense to buy a funnel
On the whole, single use tools just clutter up the kitchen. I had a garlic press, but eventually discarded it in favour of crushing the clove with a knife blade. I have a food processor, but it sits under the stairs now because it's easier to wash up a knife and a chopping board.
That's the issue of specialized kitchen junk in a nutshell
Absolutely. By the time you've cleaned out the garlic skin and pulp remnants out of the press, there is no time-saving. The flat blade of a knife is one of those great bits of cooking advice that you will never forget once used.
I agree. Minimalist cooking gadgets like a good set of knives and a big cutting board are all I use 97% of the time. I did pick up a flat pastry cutting tool that works great for scooping veggies off the cutting board as well as cleaning up the counter when kneading bread or making pasta dough. I caught my husband using it to apply spackle to the wall before painting. But it cleaned up well. I got at the five quarter store so no big loss.
@@terrydaktyllus1320 I've never used a garlic press for time-saving, but for the end result which is totally different than when done with a knife
@@odkres Define "totally different". The knife result is better because you get to use the whole clove whereas in a press you have to retrieve half of it from inside the press away from the skin.
Too much "faffing about" - once you know the knife technique, nothing beats it.
i really like your honest review.
other channels would instantly blame the gadget when its not working correctly while you have doubts if your pastry dough has the right consitence for the gadget.
we need lot more channels like these on youtube, not my favorite content (i like the scambaiting shrimp more) and still its even for me darn interesting.
With the green thingy that makes pockets filled with meat/vegetable thingy, you could try shaping the dough with the spoon (or your finger) so that you already have a half sphere before you add the filling, that way the filling wouldn't apply additional preasure!
I've been making pies recently and my sister discovered she was allergic to dairy, so I was paying very close attention to the empanada crust recipe. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be using ketchup for my peach pie.
I use a mechanical ice-cream scoop for my meatballs. it has an automatic release for releasing the sticky (ice cream) ball by moving a small scraper through the bowl of the scoop behind the contents.
it's great to get consistently bite sized meatballs
I think the spout thing could be quite useful, it just has some design flaws. It would probably need to be available in a range of sizes, too. I can see it being handy for pouring a small amount of liquid out of a mug or something, where it would normally just dribble down the side of the mug.
I tried your Empanada recipe, and I couldn't get the mermite spoon to dissolve! No matter how long it simmered the spoon was still intact. so I ended up taking it out.
The pencil sharper would be fun for Đồ Chua (pickled daikon and carrots.)
You can chop larger vegetables lengthwise to make pieces that fit. It's just a different texture and shape at the end.
You make us spaniards proud and with hope that preople appreciate our weird style of living and food
Hello from across the pond! I subscribed after the trolling scammers videos but stayed for the random reviews 😃 maybe its your calm voice or maybe its the random view in to a different cultures home, but something draws me to click on your videos. Either way keep up the good work my man. I look forward to learning about more random things lol
That knife skills transition kinda felt YSAC'ish, and i do love that.
Me, a grown man watching another grown man pouring water from one bowl to the next.
Life ain't bad
You should have made this video in the style of a Sesame Street "One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other" song where each item is shown occupying 1/4 of the screen and we all have to work out which item is the odd one out before the song ends.
In such a case, the odd one out would have to be the silicon pour spout as the other three all look like male torture devices.
Lol
You've made me cringe when I scrolled up again and looked at the oversized pencil sharpener
@@IfeelKindaSick Please don't give my wife ideas.
I have one of those empanadilla/ dumpling moulds that I’ve never actually used but you’ve inspired me to give it a go! Thanks 🙏😊
I received a gift similar to the empanada pincher device. It’s metal, and it also came with a pizza cutter looking thing, that you roll over the dough and forms circles of the perfect size. It was marketed as a dumpling and pierogi maker.
That empanada mould would be interesting to test with different doughs, have a suspicion it would work better with more elastic doughs, maybe not. Maybe even with those premade doughs like wonton, crescent, puff and pasta like dough, would make an interesting follo up episode.
The empanadilla press is very like a steel ravioli/pierogi/varenyky press I inherited from my grandmother. The trick to using the one I have is to use a bit more than half the volume of the unfolded depression as filling. If the dough has a bit of elasticity, like ravioli pasta, you can use the full measure of the depression.
I bet those meatball tongs would be great for making felafel too!
I'd love a Spanish style Chimport shop nearby. Curiosity is my hobby but shipping delays dampen the "wtf is this for? what were they thinking? why does it fall apart?" moments.
Much better to roam around a shop in wonder and confusion and see them in all their glory up close and on the shelf.
11:08 "you see the point" idk if the pun was intentional, but it's brilliant! had me cackling
One of those devices looked like something my gf keeps in her top draw, thanks for explains what it is for
I'm sure plenty of people know this already, but the best tool for shaping meatballs is a pair of half-cylinders. Not that the perfect shape for a meatball is round, mind you.
Also, I think a better test of the spout would be to pour _some_ of the liquid, then stop pouring. Dribbling down the side tends to happen when you're just pouring a little of something.
Does anyone else root for little gadgets like these, hoping they’ll do well?
Yes! I even find myself trying to find a way for the “failed” gadgets to work.
Yes, but I already own the sharpener so I already knew about the result
I really enjoyed this video. I hope you do something like it again when you next find a bunch of kitchen gadgets. Lakeland here is often a treasure trove of solutions looking for problems. Thanks for brightening my Saturday morning. Have a fantastic weekend shrimpers ⚛️🦐
The meatball scissors could probably be used as melon ballers as well.
I'm reminded of one of my favourite Viz top tips: "Make it easy to sharpen worms by freezing them first."
Man, every time I watch your videos I wish I could eat the food you make. Another great video!
Empanadillas are finger food, they are meant to be small, and yes, less filling than you would expect. Same thing with spring rolls, by the way.
We always did them with a fork at home, you don't want to go that close to the filling with the fork tines, leave a bit of a margin, and don't press al the way down.
I don't mind your gadget reviews turning into recipe tutorials. I love your multifaceted videos. It makes your channel unique.
I'd love to see gyoza or similar dumplings made in that little crimper gadget. Or pierogi.
The meatball tongs are actually something I would totally buy
Perhaps the meatball tongs could be repurposed for ice cream tongs?
I know it's not a cooking video exactly but I love seeing a good meal get put together. Making me want to do some meats tbh.
My father used to own a "Radi-Hobel", an implement to produce radish shavings. The shavings are salted and eaten to beer. That´s a Bavarian tradition. The salt and the hot radish complement the drink. The texture of the thin shavings tastes different than a chunk of radish.
The dream of a Atomic Shrimp and Barry Lewis collaboration draws ever closer!
It's honestly a bit shocking seeing you talk about my home country and the like; all in all something great to start the day off! Hope you had a splendid time here, even if the temperatures can get pretty stupid-high. At least when not on the coast!
I also have the meatball shaper. I've used it frequently for over 20 years with no issues. It speeds up the production so I'm very happy with it
How often do you make meatballs?
For me, for example, I wouldn't need this. I make meatballs every couple months at best.
@@JustinKoenigSilica Probably once a month, I like the way the meat gets melded together without getting messy hands and they are all identical so it makes cooking easy as there are no small ones to overcook while the bigger ones cook through
Solutions in search of a problem…you’re the best.
That pouring spout is a good idea for gravy, i always make a mess on the side of the pot when I try to pour gravy directly from it. It just kinda sticks to the lip and drips down.
I'd imagine it would also be decent for tipping off into a small jar or bottle where precision gets dicey. You know, if liquid didn't get stuck behind the spout and go all over the place. Good idea, poor design.
They all look like something from the shelves of TK Max. The meatball thing makes some rather large meatballs, Although I guess they'll shrink down while cooking.
The spout thing is like those anoying Teapots that either decide to wet the table or anywhere other than your cup, or overhoot the Teapot lid and spill allover. I guess also you could use the meatballer as a burger maker, make a ball squish it down and Bob and Fanny, Uncle and Auntie
Yeah, the meatballs are a bit big really. I sort of wish I'd bought the smaller pair of tongs too
Great video. I've actually saved this as a recipe, even though it wasn't technically supposed to be one!
I always have fun with your cooking videos, you always manage to make something that looks delicious, haha. Great stuff!
Never seen ketchup used in such a manner before but it's actually a pretty great idea, seems like an all in one option to add a bit of zing!
That silver one is clearly an eyeball remover
Meatballs were originally deep-fried to get the fried outer skin, so they maintain their shape while they're boiled with sauce or soups, or fried in a pan. Alex (formerly known as French Guy Cooking) has a mini-series about making the perfect meatballs.
The filling is increasing cubically, the pastry is increasing on a square. 😂
Not gonna lie I laughed pretty hard at “You get the point” while holding a pointed carrot
I think the pencil sharpener surpasses novelty status purely by the fact that the shavings looked likey would feel more pleasant to eat rather than chopped chunks. I do not have the knife skills and it's quicker than a peeler Pity its too small though
The pour spout is something that, if it were to be designed in a way that it actually WORKS as intended, people like my mom who physically cannot pour things out of anything without a spout would be able to cook using cheaper tools instead of having to go out of their way to constantly get ONLY things with pour spouts on them.
A LOT of the items that are "solutions in search of a problem" are actually very useful for disabled folk (if they're actually designed appropriately - which often they really are not). Just something to think about whenever you see a device and ask yourself "why can't you just..." - and consider "if I actually COULDN'T just do that, would this make me able to?"
My parents had a huge multi pocketed pierogi maker when I was a kid; it also came with 3 sizes of empanada makers and some smaller perogi makers. We would roll out the dough drape it over the whole thing, lightly fill the pockets then carefully close it over and squish it pretty hard. Do that twice and we had enough food for dinner! (9 people in the family). Some times mom would use puff pastry in the smaller makers and fill them with tinned pie fillings for easy turnovers.
If you want one that will kick your socks off and leave your boots on...
1 cup frozen blueberries
⅛ cup hot water
¼ cup or less of honey depends on how sweet you like it
⅓ cup of cream cheese diced and brought to room temp
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 ½ tbsp water to make a slurry. Cool to just above from temp.
Line mold with puff pastry, add a spoon of blueberry mix to hollow then shut it to crimp it closed. Bake at 350 until the pastry is fully cooked. Cool as long as you can defend them. Get trampled as you try to snag at least one for yourself!
Enjoy 😁
Put the frozen blueberries in a small pot with the water and turn it to high med heat. Stir it often until the berries are all melted and bubbling softly. Add ½ the honey and stir, taste and add more honey as you wish, remember there will be cream cheese added to this. Once it is sweet enough as the cream cheese and stir until it is all melted and dissolved. Add the slurry a bit at a time until the mix is fairly thick but not gelatinous.
If you look for "empanadilla dough" the white packs with round pastry are the ones used massively in Spain. When we do them is usually small dumpling size, so you can eat lots of them.
Dang that knife transition was clean. Well done Shrimp
maybe you could use Sugrue to make a comfortable handle on those meatball tongs
Like the crimper/pattie maker. Great size for finger food buffet. Look tasty cooked. Thanks for reviewing these gadgets, I love kitchen gadgets :D The other 3 I wouldnt bother with tbh
Hadn't truly appreciated how simple making pasties is... this has been inspirational 😁
I saw another you channel Freakin Reviews cover the pour spout recently and he had even less luck trying to get it to work, it just poured out under it. Was totally useless. I really enjoyed that you actually showed the process of how you cooked things and made your own dough.
i'm very glad you specified that the basil is finite; it'd be ludicrous if you were using infinite basil!
The medical term is meatball forceps.
When you use ketchup in your empanada dough, it becomes Las Ketchup. Traditionally used in a Hampshire Empapasty.
I'm not sure if it'll work with ingredient seasonality, but you could make some truly amazing pierogi with a filling of sauerkraut-fermented ramsons and wild mushrooms. Possibly made even more glorious with bacon bits.
NO!!!! Sauerkraut does NOT belong in pierogis!!! I banish thee to Hell, oh minion of Satan!
In all seriousness, speaking as a half-Ukrainian, sauerkraut is my veins and it's great on the side of a plate or on an American-style hot dog. But given that a pierogi can contain "cheesy mash" (the best filling without question) or a pork mince (still very nice), there is nothing more disappointing than biting into one and tasting pickled cabbage... a bit like opening a big and beautifully-wrapped present at Christmas only to find it contains a pair of socks.
My first thought for the meatball maker would be to use it on honeydew cantaloupe and watermelon to make fruit balls
When it inevitably breaks, he'll at least have an ice cream scoop left
I have a feeling that they wouldn't be strong enough to cut anything solid
Mellon ballers are hemispheres, usually with a small hole at the bottom to let liquid flow out when scooping, and to stop an air seal from forming to made it easier to dislodge the mellon ball. Often there are different size scoops on each end of a handle.
If properly enginered, all but the sharpener thing would actually be amazing assistive tech! 😀
You are right about the dumpling/pierogi crimpers, you really have to be careful about the amount of filling you put in it, it always seems too little when you are doing the filling, but too much when they are shut.
The ones my grandmother and me would use had another trick to them however, the outer circle of the crimp pattern had a cutting edge, so you would insert a disc that is too big, and after crimping it would be cut evenly along the entire edge.
That said, she would mostly default to using an old-style fork with round prongs, as she had always done before.
The spout should have been like a tea pot spout where the water goes underneath the Gap that was forming on smaller bowls, and through a hole. That would bring the flow of the water as close to the lip of the bowl as possible so you wouldn't have spilling around the edges
That empanada press, I have a set of them, stainless steel, in multiple sizes. Mine can be flipped over to use the reverse side for cutting your circle of dough to the correct size. The size range is extra large ones, perfect for making lunchbox pies, calzones, Jamaican beef patties...to very small ones for making Chinese soup dumplings, mini pizza rolls, or stuffed cookies. There's also a couple sizes in between, suitable for raviolis, perogies, etc. You can use them with pretty much any kind of dough, any kind of filling, just be very careful not to over stuff them (as you found out). Then you can bake, boil, pan fry, or even deep fry them, depending on what you plan on making. I usually seal mine closed with an egg wash, instead of water, allowing the protein in the egg whites act as a sort of glue, while it is cooking, or I use an exceptionally sticky dough, and flour the press well, to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
I can’t help but laugh at the meatball tongs. We just got a set of toys for my son to help him practice manual dexterity with tools, and one of the four “tools” was a plastic version of the meatball shaper. I was wondering what I’m the world a tool like that would be used for, and now I know.
I could have used an appropriately sized spout yesterday, though a measuring cup with a spout would have worked fine, and also have way more other uses.
Atomic shrimp is transforming into DaveHax
Also I love that giant pencil sharpener
I love the carrot pencil it makes
@@terminator572 Just to dip it in food colouring and you have a working carrot pen(cil)
The empanada mold... we used them to make hand pies. We have a larger one and one about the size you have. We use it for bierocks as well.
About the dough-pocket-maker: I have a set of them, all sizes from Ravioli to Calzone, that I bought from a street vendor about 30 years ago. They work very well, and while they don't look as refined as yours, they have one advantage: The underside is formed out as a dough circle cutter.
The right amount of filling is about half the indentation if you don't heap it over the edge.
Your cooking content is phenomenal.
"Quick Test" 30 minutes lol. I love this guy