Kitchen Gadgets: 1. Oil Spray and Potato Wedges

Did we mention we like gadgets? You can find them in all corners of our house, but no more so than the kitchen. We're real suckers when it comes to a good kitchen gadget. So we thought we'd write a series where we tell you all about them, why we love them and we'll also try and include a recipe where we can.

Joe carefully prepared all the photos for today's post but has found himself a little busy to write it - so you've got me instead. Imagine it all with a deep voice if that helps....

Gadget number one is an oil spray. This one to be precise.

We found this in a rather exciting cookware shop in Oswestry when on holiday a couple of years ago, but you can also buy them online, and there are a few brands and variants out there. They are basic devices but help us to keep our cooking cheap and healthy - well, more than before we had the spray anyway. We've found our oil consumption as been cut down dramatically since we bought it as its much easier to get an even coating of oil with a small quantity. 

You simply load it up with the oil of your choice - we tend to use olive oil - and sit it by the hob to use whenever frying or drizzling oil. The lid acts as a compressor; you pump it up and down a few times before each use to build up the pressure and then spray away. You could also use them for vinegar, water or any liquid with the same principle in mind... whatever you want really!

Ours gets plenty of regular use, from a light coating to stop things sticking to pans and tins, to a heavy spray to get some roast veg going nicely. One everyday use is potato wedges. We made two batches this week, both with and without the spray, to work out the difference in oil use: 33ml without the spray and 8.5ml with the spray so roughly a quarter of the oil. That seems worth it to me.

Potato Wedges (serves 2)

Potatoes (normal two peoples worth of potatoes - sorry we didn't measure this!)

Olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp paprika (unsmoked)

1 tsp whole cumin

1 tsp peppercorns

1. Preheat oven to 220C.

2. Slice the potatoes into wedges and place in a roasting tin.

3. Spray with oil until potatoes have a light coating

4. Grind all spices together and sprinkle over the potatoes.

5. Pop the tray in the oven and bake for 25-35mins, or until golden and crispy. Toss the wedges a couple of times throughout the cooking to ensure they are evenly cooked.

The details:
What is it? Fine mist oil sprayer

Brand: Kitchencraft Colourworks
Price: £8 approx
Somewhere to buy it: Amazon