In many ways, I fancy myself a minimalist. We might have four kids – and all the stuff that comes along with them – but personally I strive to keep the stuff to a minimum. The items I choose to keep in our home must serve a purpose. One such item is my most favorite kitchen tool: the pastry scraper.

I first discovered the pastry scraper nearly 10 years ago when Chris and I moved into our newlywed apartment. The previous renters left behind a stash of random kitchen utensils. While much of it was junk (probably why it was all left behind) one little gem was a stainless steel pastry scraper. At the time, I imagined myself using it to create elaborate baked confections, but over time I’ve come to rely on it for almost everything except pastry.

Most often, I use the scraper to transfer chopped veggies from the cutting board to the pan. An easy way to scoop up a big pile of prepped ingredients without dropping them all over the floor. But, the pastry scraper is also an eco-friendly way to tidy up the many inevitable messes that happen in our house on a minutely basis.

Since we don’t buy or use paper towels, the pastry scraper comes in handy ALL THE TIME. Have you ever dropped an egg on the floor? I have, and it sucks to clean up with paper or reusable towels. Buuuuut, with a scraper the mess is swiped in seconds:

And, let’s talk about soggy rice krispies and bananas freshly fallen from a toddler’s unsteady grip on a breakfast bowl. No biggie with my trusty scraper:

I even use the scraper to slice and serve homemade desserts. The fine edge makes a nice cut, and the flat surface picks up pie slices with ease:

I sometimes wonder if I would have discovered all the joys of a pastry scraper had those previous renters not left it behind. Which leads me to wonder what other handy little tools I don’t know about…???

http://astore.amazon.com/homemademothe-20/detail/B00K5U78DC