Food preparing tool

A one-piece, flexible, hand-held utensil for preparing potatoes for microwave cooking, said utensil comprising:

• an elongated resilient body comprising a central, flat solid trunk adapted to be contacted by the thumbs of a user, the trunk having opposite ends, and a pair of integral, outwardly protruding handles adapted to be grasped by the fingers of the user, the handles substantially coplanar with said trunk and joined to said opposite ends thereof;
• a plurality of projecting spikes protruding from said trunk for puncturing the skin and meat of a potato when the user forcefully presses the utensil against the potato;
• means associated with said trunk for seating the users thumbs;
• means associated with said handles for seating the users fingers;
• whereby said utensil may be firmly grasped by the user to forcibly penetrate the potato with said spikes without contacting the user's thumbs or fingers, and the utensil may thereafter be flexed by the users hands to deflect the spikes facilitating removal of the utensil from the potato.

The hand-held, flexible utensil for preparing potatoes for microwave cooking by puncturing the skin and meat of the potato to ventilate the potato interior, said utensil comprising:

• an elongated resilient body comprising a central trunk adapted to be contacted by the thumbs of a user and a pair of integral, outwardly protruding handles adapted to be grasped by the fingers of the user;
• a depression defined in said trunk for safely seating and protecting the users thumbs;
• depressions defined in said handles for safely seating and protecting the users fingers;
• a plurality of projecting spikes protruding from said trunk for puncturing the skin and meat of a potato when the user forcefully presses the utensil against the potato, each of said spikes comprising means for ensuring the release of said utensil from said potato as the user presses on the potato with their thumbs while lifting upwardly on said handles;
• and,
• whereby said utensil may be firmly grasped by the user to forcibly penetrate the potato with said spikes without contacting the user's thumbs or fingers, and the utensil may be thereafter flexed by the users hands to deflect the spikes facilitating removal of the utensil from the potato.