Earth oven

Earth oven. Also called a cooking pit, it's a pit you cook in. It is one of the simplest and oldest methods of cooking known to man. It's especially useful when there is no equipment lying around. I've never made an earth oven, but I sometimes use a non-earth oven to bake dinner.

According to Wikipedia, to make an earth oven you need to dig a hole, make a fire in the hole, let the fire smolder, put your pork chops in it, and cover. You might recognize the technique from your last New England clambake, or Hawaiian luau, or Maori hangi, or Fijian lovo, or Cook Island umu.


Scientists today worry the Earth itself is an earth oven.
Photo: woodleywonderworks via Flickr (CC)

Spatula

Spatula. One of my favorite kitchen utensils. Flat, like a very small stack of paper. Yet sturdy. Capable of flipping everything from hamburgers to pancakes.

Wikipedia says some people call a spatula "a turner, or a fish slice or frying scoop," which I say is a bunch of bullshit, unless we're talking about British people or weirdos. Speaking of British, the word "spatula" has been around since 1525, when a British person said "spatula" for the first time.

One interesting note I hadn't known before: the spatula blade (flat part) is often longer on the right side than on the left, which makes it easier for right-handed people to flip things. Left-handed spatulas do exist, but they are far and few between.

This man loves spatulas.

Photo: ardenswayoflife via Flickr (CC)