Other uses for a Torch?

[flzhang]

I'm trying to decide if I should get a kitchen torch. I don't want to buy one just to make creme brulee, especially since I can just do that in a broiler.

Is there really any point in getting a torch? What other recipes use it? Does it help with flambes?

[BiscuitBoy]

Sure, very handy, but not one of those silly overpriced kitchen torch things. I have a mapp gas torch, like sarahjay's it has a trigger that also lights it. Besides the sugar applications, and the cool pepper idea, you can use it for charcoal/grilling purposes, use it as a long match to start a fire, kill weeds, plumbing purposes, removing nuts & bolts, lighting your outdoor tiki torches....$8 per mapp bottle and maybe $35 for the torch

[rabaja]

I use mine all the time. I got one from the hardware store with an ignition button. Lights fast and easy, no need for a flame to light it off of (my parents actually gave it to me for Xmas, probably back in '89).
I use it to take the chill off butter in the mixer when creaming, to caramelize unmelted sugar on tarts out of the oven, to dissolve bubbles on the surface of custards before baking, to finish my families favorite coconut cake, which is covered in meringue, and to clean up drops of caramel that have hardened on my granite counter.
It is also extremely effective at taking out pesky fruit flies in the kitchen. Noone really likes to hear about that though.

[DiveFan]

If you don't have a decent gas range, use it for blistering the skin on fresh chiles like poblanos.

Actually, I use a plumbers torch for cooking more often than plumbing repair. Definitely a multitasker :-). Also, gas bottles might be easier to get ...

[sarahjay]

I have a trigger-light torch from the hardware store that I use for the kitchen, it's great for things beyond creme brulee. I use it to bring together swiss meringue buttercream I've stored in the fridge, just run the flame under the bowl of my stand mixer. I also use it to pop bubbles in ganache covered cakes.

[Sal Vanilla]

You can brown/caramelize sugar on tarts. You can blacken the skin on tomatoes to peel them. Perhaps crisp up skin on a fish like salmon or trout.

I cannot recommend using it to burn hair off pig skin. Trust me.

[katecm]

Ha ha ha ha ha. That's awesome.

Take one square graham cracker. Smear with Nutella. Place on top one marshmallow. Attack with torch for 20 seconds. Enjoy.

I once made a smores pie and was very glad to have my torch. And in an emergency, if your chicken or turkey doesn't want to get nicely browned, that's your fix.

[THewat]

Sal Vanilla, That's got to be one of my favorite chowhound posts ever.

[soupkitten]

depends what you cook. it's good to have a torch around to finish meringue tops and frittatas or quickly blister a small pepper, but most people don't *really* need one for common cooking tasks.