Turning Fork

Credit: André Baranowski

My grandma always had the most useful kitchen tools: a handheld nut grinder, a wide spatula that my father claimed was the only thing he really wanted to inherit, a special knife for tomatoes, and so on. But she especially loved her wood-handled, long-tined turning fork. Now I reach for my own "granny fork," as the tool is so aptly nicknamed, every day. I turn the bacon and pierce the sausage for breakfast. I test the meat. I poke holes in the potato for baking. I pull the spaghetti from the pot, transfer the chicken to the platter, flip the grilled cheese. Flip, turn, stir, pull, pierce, test, taste, serve, and repeat. —Dina Moreno, Seattle, Washington