Customer Reviews

Cool Tools: Cooking Utensils from the Japanese Kitchen

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In a Japanese kitchen, form follows function, and in essence, Cool Tools is a tribute to kitchen design. Kate Klippensteen's book is more than a catalog of utensils: the featured items are handcrafted works of art. Yasuo Konishi's vivid photos highlight each piece so that the reader can feel the cool touch of the knife blades and the textures of the different graters. There are also revealing photos of old shamoji (rice servers), saibashi (cooking chopsticks) and yukihira nabe (pots) from a variety of households showing that, despite the wear and tear, these tools still have plenty of life left in them.

Klippenstein deftly guides the reader through the use of each tool, sprinkling each entry with interesting details. For example, the kogi (pestle) made from pepper trees, "which adds a hint of fragrance to the food being processed," and the ceramic clay suribachi (mortar) on which, "traditionally, the grooves... were made with pine needles."

If you're motivated to restock your kitchen arsenal, you won't want to miss "Five Basic Knives Every Household Should Stock." The indispensable shop guide and list of Japanese terms make Cool Tools the ideal companion for a trip to Kappabashi. And even if you're allergic to cooking, this handsome book will look smart on any coffee table.

Superbly enhanced with full color photographs from Yasuo Konishi, Cool Tools: Cooking Utensils From The Japanese Kitchen by Kate Klippensteen is an impressively informative introductory exploration of the kitchen cookware and tools employed in the culinary aspects of Japanese culture. Presenting readers with a stunning collection of photographs and knowledgeable explanations for Japanese utensils ranging from the oni oroshi or "devil grater" (which is a useful grating tool for the daikon radish), the saibashi or cooking chopsticks, and the yanagi-ba (which is a long sashimi knife), to the yukihira-nabe (which is a hand made and highly crafted aluminum cooking pot), Cool Tools deftly details a complete selection of the beautifully shaped and functional tools of the Japanese kitchen. A welcome addition to any personal or community library reference collection, Cool Tools is enthusiastically recommended as a simply beautiful compilation of photographs and informative briefings for the many decorative particulars of the Japanese kitchen.

It's all in the tools!. That is what my grandfather said in his workshop, and in this case I feel like it's an aunt whose taken me to her kitchen. The parallel works in that I know about as much about Japanese cooking and its techniques as I did about woodworking at the age of 4, but unfortunately I do not have a Japanese Aunt. No matter, it still feels the same.

Just opening this book you find wonderful photographs. [I have got to find one of turtle shaped graters!] Even before reading any of the text you realize that Japanese cooking is lke most everything else that is connected to Japanese culture, very refined,and to be done in very specialized ways. Tools become an aspect of ritual. But then read the text and the real learning begins. I am still wary of the sharp knives but this book will convince you that the novice needs to explore. Enjoy!

After being so impressed with Kate Klippensteen and Yasuo Konishi's Japanese Kitchen Knives: Essential Techniques and Recipes, I wanted to check out their previous kitchen collaboration "Cool Tools: Cooking Utensils from the Japanese Kitchen."

This is quite a different book from "Japanese Kitchen Knives." There, they were collaborating with chef Hiromitsu Nozaki and the book was about one-third knife history and information, one-third knife skills course, and one-third cook book with recipes. "Cool Tools," on the other hand, is about Japanese cooking implements as works of art, filled with Konishi's beautiful photographs and Klippensteen's insightful and appreciative prose.

"Cool Tools" is split into four main sections; The Preparation (covering knives, mortar and pestle, nut toasters, graters, bonito planes, metal pots, strainers and other), The Cooking (covering rice cookers, ceramic pots and hot plates, copper oden pots, bronze tempura pots, oyakudon and tamagoyaki pans, stirrers, spatulas, skimmers, ladels, metal grills, drop lids, chopsticks, colanders and others), The Presentation (different graters and chopsticks, rice scoops, rice tubs, rolling mats and molds) and finally Cleaning Up (brushes, cleaning cloths, odds and ends and style),

Each section gives a description and history of the cooking tools, their various functions and how they are used. The focus is on typical items you would find in any Japanese household, rather than exotic implements with only a specialty function. Probably my favorite section of "Cool Tools" is when Konishi and Klippensteen delve into actual people's cupboards, and show a series of photographs of the tools as they are in average households.

For example, with the yukihara-nabe, or hammered-metal pan, there is a series of six photographs, showing the yukihara-nabes of a songwriter, aged 23, a mother aged 40, a housewife aged 48, a Japanese language instructor aged 52, a cook aged 45ish, and a bank employee aged 40-something. These series put a human touch on the cooking tools, showing how they are loved and used in daily life in Japan.

"Cool Tools" is definitely more of a specialty book than "Japanese Kitchen Knives." Whereas that book gave practical cooking tips and recipes, this is more about appreciation of design. If you are serious about your Japanese cooking, however, you will enjoy learning more about the tools that are essential to your art.

Some nice photos, but once I looked through the book it went on the bookshelf to be forgotten