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Every once in a while we find a product that is significantly better than its competition at what it does. For example, ask any serious home cook, and a good portion of professionals what brand of stand mixer they use and they'll tell you that they use a KitchenAid. It is well built, comes in a variety of sizes, and has a reputation for power and durability.  I have used one for about 10 years, and the thing is a workhorse. It requires very little maintenance, the random orbit motion incoroporates ingredients from all parts of the bowl, and the attachments are all high quality. Another example is the Thermapen. In short, if you need to check the temperature of something quickly and accurately, you want a Thermapen.  The Thermapen will give you an accurate (+/- 1 degree F) in 3 seconds. It turns on when you extend the probe and turns off when you close it. There's not much else to it, but that's part of the genius. The new models are splashproof. You can check the temp of a roast, a steak, bubbling sugar, or even your baby's bath water if you are so inclined. What this thread is: - A place to recommend products you've used - A place to ask for recommendations for a product (e.g. "Please recommend a blender for making smoothies", "What is the best non-stick pan for making omletes?" What this thread is not: - A place so shill for celebrity endorsed products (unless they meet the criteria above) - A place to ask for recipes, technique advice, etc. For that, check out the Simple Q&A thread - A place to argue with someone's recommendation. If you've had a different experience with a product, please say so, but don't throw out blanket statements like "That egg timer is utter poo poo" without backup So have at it GWS. What are your favorite kitchen tools? There are some items that keep getting recommended: For Chef's Knives, the Victrinox Chef's Knife is the inexpensive favorite. It runs < $30 on amazon For food processors the Cuisinart is the most recommended brand. A microplane zester is recommended for every kitchen. Here's the FAQ from Steve Yun's consolidation of the recommendations: *****  I'M NEW TO COOKING. WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED? For the typical kitchen you will probably want to start out with the following: 8 inch chefs Knife Paring knife Measuring spoons Liquid measuring cups Dry measuring cups Cutting board Stainless steel skillet Stainless steel sauce pan Stainless steel pot A cheap wooden utensil set (spoons and turners) Colander or strainer Can Opener Grater Mixing bowls Oven pads or mitts Stuff you can add later that most people will use, depending on your needs: Timers (get this and use it if you don't want to forget that you're cooking something and start a fire) Spatulas/turners (semi-redundant with wood turners, read guide below) Non-stick skillet (semi-redundant with steel skillet, handy for eggs and fish) Veggie peeler (semi-redundant with paring knife but much faster, safer) Bread/serrated knife (semi-redundant with chef knife, handier for breads and tomatoes) Shears (semi-redundant with knife, handy for meats) Whisk (semi-redundant with a fork or chopsticks but much more effective) Tongs (semi-redundant with turners but handier) Instant read thermometer (improved cooking accuracy) Steamer basket (if you plan on steaming) Some cheap citrus juicer (probably a glass dome reamer) Kettle or electric kettle (semi-redundant with boiling water in pot) Kitchen scale (for more accurate measurements than measuring cups, generally needed for baking) Garlic press (semi-redundant with knife, depends if you like crushed garlic or not) KNIVES What knives should I get?Cheap: Victorinox (Forschner) Fancy: Shun, Wusthof, Messermeister, Henckels (the higher end ones) Alternate: Honsho-Kanemasa gyuto, Moritaka Aogami #2 Gyuto Generally we recommend against getting knife sets. You end up buying a bunch of knives you don't need when most people do fine with just three or four knives. Most people never need a boner, for example *cough* The most important knife (and maybe your most important piece of kitchen equipment) is the 8 inch chef knife. Second most important knife is the paring knife. After that, it depends what you need the knife for. A santoku is mostly redundant with a chef knife, except for the occasion when you need to butterfly a pork chop or other delicate thin-slicing operations (on the downside it lacks the heft a chef knife will have when cutting tough vegetables like giant radishes). A serrated knife is good for things that have tough skins and squishy insides (bread, tomatoes, etc). A slicer is for long clean cuts of big roasts/hams. Fillet or boner is for separating meat from bones or removing fish skin cleanly and with the meat intact. There are varying opinions on the high end; Shun or Henckels or Wusthof or Messermeister, etc. Most of those are great although Henckels does have a lot of cheapo crap you should probably avoid on the low end. For low end budget knives, there is a pretty good consensus that you should get Victornox knives. They're well reviewed, cost a fraction of most high end knives and will work pretty drat well. edit: Wanna go off the beaten path? GrAviTy84 recommends getting a Japanese gyuto such as the Honsho-Kanemasa gyuto ($95) or Moritaka Aogami #2 gyuto ($170) instead of a western chef knife, saying that they provide more bang for the same buck. A gyuto is similar to a western chef knife except with a slightly straighter edge. Knife storageMetallic magnet bar ($6-$20), Knife Safe ($6-$8 per knife), Wooden magnet bars ($26-$45), Kapoosh Universal Block ($20-$55) Got a bunch of hodgepodge knives but wish you could get a knife block to hold them? Get a Kapoosh Universal Knife Holder. Plastic noodles fit as many knives as you can stuff in them. Won't fit anything larger than 8 inches, however. Want to be extra cheap? Get a big plastic jar and fill it with uncooked rice. Want to save counter space? Get a bunch of Knife Safes (covers for your knives) and stick them in a drawer. Want fancier? Several of us have stainless steel magnetic knife holders and love them, but several posters have recommended wooden ones because they won't scratch your knives and they're probably right. Wood will also probably help avoid the occasional rust spots on knives since rust seems to happen more often when water is sandwiched between two stainless steel surfaces. If you have a metal magnet bar make sure you dry off your knives first if you're going to leave them there overnight. Knife sharpenerEasy: Accusharp ($10) or go to a knife shop ($3-6 per knife) Medium: Spyderco Sharpmaker ($50) Hard: sharpening stones There is a lot of debate over this, but your three options for beginners on the low end are A) $10 Accusharp for quick and dirty sharpening B) Spyderco Sharpmaker for $50 if you want to put a little time into learning sharpening technique and C) take it to a knife shop to get sharpened, usually $3-6 a knife. In between sharpenings (which grind off steel) we recommend getting a honing steel and using it daily, which will straighten up the blade a little bit without removing material. Once you get past the basics you can ask around about using sharpening stones. What kind of cutting board? First of all, do not ever ever ever use glass, acrylic, marble or granite as a cutting surface. These things will dull your knives, and glass can dull your knife in as little as 10 strokes. You want to use either wood or plastic (okay, acrylic is technically a plastic but it's super hard). Plastic cutting boards can be run through the dishwasher and resist bacteria pretty easily at first, but will need to be replaced eventually as cuts start accumulating. Wood cutting boards require some monthly rubbing down with wood oil in order to keep from drying out and cracking, they can't be put in the dishwasher, but will resist accumulation of cut marks a lot longer than plastic boards. COOKWARE Stainless steel cookware setCheap: Tramontina ($150 Walmart exclusive), Cuisinart MCP-12 ($150-200) Middle: Calphalon Tri-Ply ($360 at Bed Bath Beyond with coupon) Fancy: All-Clad ($600-$1600) There are three general kinds of stainless steel cookware: basic stainless steel (good), stainless steel with aluminum disc bottoms (better), and tri-ply or multi-clad (best; stainless steel layer over aluminum cores), which offer better heat distribution than cookware with aluminum disc bottoms. $150 will get you a very nice 8 piece multi-clad Tramontina cookware set with from Walmart (exclusive). Costco also carries the $200 Cuisinart multiclad MCP-12 12 piece set, and sometimes has this on sale for $150 which is a steal. If you have a little more to spend you can get the $450 Calphalon tri-ply 13 piece set and if you have a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon you can get them 20% off. Note that the Calphalons have tempered glass lids, which let you see how your food is progressing but aren't safe to use in the oven over 450°F. If you have money to burn and want the best, you can get All-Clad sets, which generally run $600-1600. All-Clad also offers copper-core cookware sets, but some posters have noted that they don't see much of an advantage with them over aluminum cores. Also, if you're going to get All-Clad you might want to get one of the newer ones that say they have rolled edges/rolled lips, it helps with pouring more cleanly. My stainless steel cookware has all these horrible ugly stains on themUse a $4 can of Bar Keeper's Friend to scrub them down once a month or so when they get too dirty. Also, a $1 steel wool scrubby helps. Non-stick skilletGenerally we recommend against investing a lot into non-stick cookware since they usually fall apart after a few years. You just need one non-stick skillet for the occasional fish or egg dish. T-Fal gets recommended a lot, but you should be fine with almost any cheap skillet if you just resign yourself to assuming that they'll need to be replaced every few years. Don't use metal utensils in non-stick cookware BTW, it will scratch up the non-stick layer and make it fall apart faster. Also, don't put it on high unless there's food in the pan, otherwise it might start letting off fumes above 500°F. Dutch ovens. Do you even need one?Cheap: Lodge enameled, Tramontina enameled, IKEA "Senior", all $40-60 Fancy: Le Creuset, Staub ($100-$150 at Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Ross, etc) You can get by with just using the multi-clad pot from a stainless steel cookware set for most applications. Once in a while you might need a heavy cast iron dutch oven if you want to sear meat and then throw it in the oven, but even then you can just break out the skillet for searing and then move it into a stainless steel pot for the rest of the cooking. If you want to deep fry however, a dutch oven is nice because the thick, heavy walls help to smooth out temperature changes. If you decide you want one, the next question is: bare cast iron or enameled? Bare cast iron shouldn't be used often for acidic foods like tomatoes or wine, and since you can find enameled ones for roughly the same price range you might as well go with those. Lodge enameled dutch ovens can be found for $40 at Ralph's, IKEA carries their "Senior" for $50, Tramontina at Walmart for $40. If you absolutely need a fancy Le Creuset or Staub to show off to your friends, or if you just want a particular color that's only available by Le Creuset, try Home Goods or similar discount stores. Often times they'll get Le Creuset overstock for $100 or so (half price). 5 quart dutch ovens will snugly fit a whole chicken. Keep in mind that once in a while an enameled cast iron dutch oven will have the enamel flake off or bubble. It's just bad luck, but raising the temperature on it gradually and not blasting the stove on high all the time might help. APPLIANCES Food processorCuisinart 14 cup or Kitchen-Aid 12 cup The Cuisinart 14 cup processors or Kitchen-Aid 12 cup processors are all great. We recommend against getting smaller ones because one day you're going to have a big batch of things to process and you're going to wish you spent the extra $50. Plus they come with mini-bowls anyways so you can do little jobs like cutting up garlic. There are new Kitchen-Aid 13 cup processors with selectable slicing thickness, but Amazon reviews on these appear to be mixed. Stand mixerWeaker: Cuisinart SM-55 ($245), KitchenAid Ultra Power ($300?), KitchenAid Artisan ($320?) Stronger: KitchenAid Pro 500 ($256) KitchenAid Pro 600 ($280), Cuisinart SM-70 ($300) Do you have plenty of counter space, like to make bread often and have $200-300 to spend? Otherwise you might as well get a hand mixer. Hand mixers will roughly take twice as long to do everything, bread is a big burden for them, but hey, they're $50. As far as stand mixers go, Cuisinart's mixer is a good sure bet (sold as Kenwood in some countries). Everyone gets Kitchen-Aid however, since everyone else has one and there are a few more accessories available for it. The problem with the Kitchen-Aids is that they cover several price ranges and some of them on the lower end are crap. If you want to spend a little more you can get the pro lift-bowl models at Costco for just a little more. As of right now for some reason all the consumer Kitchen-Aids are overpriced on Amazon and the much more powerful Cuisinarts are going for cheaper. Beater BladeIf you don't want to scrape down the sides of your stand mixer's bowl every few minutes you can buy the Beater Blade ($15-$20) which has spatulas built in and scrape while it mixes. BlenderCheap: Kalorik ($50) Middle: Kitchen-Aid ($80-$150) or Ninja ($100) Fancy: Vita-Mix ($380-500) Do I need a stick blender?These are pretty handy for blending soups without having to transfer it from a pot to a blender and back. Cuisinart's a decent brand for this, others have had good experiences with Braun. Supposedly KitchenAid's is more powerful and has more attachments. Juicing more than just orangesIf you have $200-250 to spend, get an Omega masticating juicer. Remember in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when that one bad guy got caught in between two stone rollers that turned him into a smear of blood? That's how thorough these things are. ACCESSORIES Turners/spatulasFor nonstick pans: Oxo Nylon Flexible Turner or Oxo Silicone Flexible Turner For metal pans: Oxo Flexible Spatula or Oxo Fish Turner Metal turners and spatulas are nice and long-lasting, but will scratch non-stick pans. Plastic pans won't scratch up non-stick pans, but will eventually melt down over time and maybe even in one careless accident if your pan is above 450°F. Wood utensils work in non-stick and metal pans, are cheap and you can treat them like crap, but they're really thick and clumsy for certain things and will eventually need replacing as well. Silicone utensils will also work in both metal and nonstick pans and are heat resistant to 600°F, but are slightly thicker than plastic or metal utensils. If you want a super thin metal turner, the Oxo Good Grips Flexible Spatula is great, but kinda flimsy for heavy things. If you want a sturdier metal spatula that's still thin you can get the Oxo metal Fish Turner (yes, for general use). Oxo's thin Nylon Flexible Turner and Silicone Flexible Turner are also great in their categories. Mandoline slicerCheap: Benriner ($20) Medium: Swissmar Borner ($40) Superfancy: Bron ($160) Liquid measuring cupsOxo's plastic cups with the black handles have accurate measurements. Glass ones like Pyrex or Anchor… for some reason their quality control is crap, often having their measurement lines off by as much as 1/10. Off the beaten path there is the KitchenArt Adjust-A-Cup which is a cylindrical tube with accurate measurements and a plunger/pusher that's ideal for gooey ingredients like honey or peanut butter. Garlic pressCheap: Trudeau ($12) Fancy: Kuhn Rikon Epicurean ($40) There is plenty of debate over whether you should even use a garlic press in the first place. For some people it's a huge time saver and gets maximum aromatic effect, for others the pungency of crushed garlic is too powerful. It's a matter of personal preference. If you decide you do want a press, on the high end you have the Kuhn Rikon all-metal Epicurean for $40. For $12 you can also get the Trudeau garlic press which also works great. People have complained about many other brands not getting enough garlic output or garlic squirting out the sides, etc, so these are the two you should probably decide from. Instant read thermometerCheap: Thermoworks Pocket Thermometer ($20) Fancy: Thermoworks Thermapen ($80-90) Thermapen is roughly $90 and amazingly accurate, and gets readings in about 3 seconds. You can wait for a $10 off sale every couple of months from ThermoWorks' website or if you want to save more than that you can get one of Thermoworks' Pocket Thermometers for $20. These take about 6 seconds to get a reading but are otherwise just as good. Graters Microplane zester and extra coarse graters are both great in their categories. Oxo's old box grater was also pretty good but their new one with the double sided holes apparently sucks. Citrus juicing Occasional juicing: get a glass dome reamer Juicing bags of oranges: get an electrical orange juicer Levers, hand reamers, dome reamers and electric orange juicers (the kind with the spinning reamer dome) extract about the same amount of juice. If you want to turn a bag of 20 oranges into juice, electric wins. If you just need one lime or lemon squeezed for a recipe, a lever or reamer dome will be easiest. Oxo makes a good sturdy citrus lever squeezer, but it's too small for oranges. If you want one that covers the most tasks, get a glass dome reamer... it'll do oranges, lemons, limes and cleans up easily. Pepper grinders Cheap: IKEA spice grinder jars Medium: Oxo pepper grinders Fancy: Peugeot or Unicorn Magnum Phummus fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Jul 9, 2012 |
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Jan 14, 2011 15:28
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Seconding both of those. Adding
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Jan 14, 2011 16:14
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For knives on a budget I have found Victorinox knives to be a great deal. No, they do not stand up to an expensive Shun or Global, but dollar for dollar they are great for every day use.
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Jan 14, 2011 16:20
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I'll add these. They're old General Electric ice cube trays. If you look hard enough in antique stores or at Goodwill you can find one or two. It might seem really simple but it's a genious product and it beats the hell out of banging and wrenching ice cube trays to get ice out. You just pull the handle. Plus they're aluminum, so they don't get stained and disgusting looking if you freeze stock or other things in them. 
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Jan 14, 2011 19:36
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feelz good man posted:I'll add these. I don't even use ice outside of cocktails.
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Jan 14, 2011 20:46
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Anyone not already using a serrated veggie peeler needs to go out and buy one right now. They are life changing.
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Jan 14, 2011 21:27
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 Oregon Scientific wireless thermometer. Great for monitoring roasts without opening the BBQ lid/oven door. It also talks when the meat is approaching temperature, so your dwindling attention span due to that six-pack you downed while "tending to the grill" won't result in overcooked meat.
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Jan 14, 2011 21:53
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Hauki posted:Christ, I never knew these existed, but now I want them so badly. You can find some on ebay if you really want them.
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Jan 14, 2011 23:06
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Since thermometers are being recommended and we've seen the Thermapen (which goes for around £50 here) and that Oregon Scientific one (which I imagine is even more), for those who don't want to spend that much there's this: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20103016  It's a timer and thermometer with a long wire so it can go in the oven with the roast. You can set the alarm to go off when it reaches a given temperature, too. Each time, since I've got it, I've wanted to test the disparity between recommended cooking times and that required to reach the necessary temperature. So I've stuck it in the meat and also set the timer on my oven - the thermometer has shown that these times are BS and, without this thermometer, would have resulted in tough and dry pieces of poo poo. So there it is, wired thermometer with alarm for £7.
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Jan 14, 2011 23:38
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WanderingMinstrel I posted:Anyone not already using a serrated veggie peeler needs to go out and buy one right now. They are life changing. jesus christ my girlfriend has one of these and I hated it so much after a year of dealing with it I "accidentally" "lost it" while we were cleaning house / rearranging drawers. they can make things pretty I guess, if you like lines on your vegetables, but otherwise they just take tons extra off whatever you're peeling and are generally annoying. might just be my personal taste though. I don't think she ever thought twice about it.
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Jan 15, 2011 00:19
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thermapens are on sale now, they're having an 'inventory reduction' sale. $96 thermapens are like $74. buy one now.
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Jan 15, 2011 00:19
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mindphlux posted:
I mean, I can buy like 12 regular thermometers for that price  edit: Ugh, maybe I'll spring for one. Piece of poo poo digital I just bought up and died after a single use. Hauki fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jan 15, 2011 |
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Jan 15, 2011 01:09
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Hauki posted:Is it really worth it, even at a discount? It's well worth it! I got one as a birthday gift awhile ago, I cant go back to anything else, now I wish I'd just bought one for myself years ago.
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Jan 15, 2011 01:26
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And for inexpensive ones, go with the $5 Taylor analog, with the regular ol' dial. Not nearly as fast as the thermapen, but reliable. I have both and use both, but mostly the thermapen now. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004XSC4/ pr0k fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Jan 15, 2011 |
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Jan 15, 2011 03:08
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WanderingMinstrel I posted:Anyone not already using a serrated veggie peeler needs to go out and buy one right now. They are life changing. I kind of feel the same way about the peeler I have that goes on my middle finger and sits in my palm. I love that thing.
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Jan 15, 2011 03:35
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pr0k posted:And for inexpensive ones, go with the $5 Taylor analog, with the regular ol' dial. Not nearly as fast as the thermapen, but reliable. I have both and use both, but mostly the thermapen now. I have three of these (one for each jacket, heh), I definitely make good use of them. The digi was actually for candy/deep fry, and I need to replace it - I'm going to see if I can get it exchanged, but I'm not very hopeful given how short it's life was the first time around. Anyone have suggestions for a relatively cheap, solidly built high temp. thermometer?
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Jan 15, 2011 03:42
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Hauki posted:I have three of these (one for each jacket, heh), I definitely make good use of them.  http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_117347 I don't understand why you need a $100 thermometer. This one costs $13 and they'll probably make it through a nuclear holocaust. We use them at work where they stay on for at least 14 hours a day and we use them to temp everything, even to temp the fryer oil. I have one and it's a champ. Don't waste money on fancy "professional" doodads.
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Jan 15, 2011 05:37
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I'm not sure I could live without my stick blender (aka the boat motor): It prevents so much mess since you're not transferring food from the pot to the blender and back.
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Jan 15, 2011 05:45
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feelz good man posted:I don't understand why you need a $100 thermometer. This one costs $13 and they'll probably make it through a nuclear holocaust. We use them at work where they stay on for at least 14 hours a day and we use them to temp everything, even to temp the fryer oil. I have one and it's a champ. Nobody *needs* a Thermapen, but there's nothing wrong with buying nice stuff to use at home. If we all bought the same equipment used in restaurants, we'd be using the cheapest poo poo we could possibly get away with. The difference between a Thermapen and a cheaper digital thermometer is the incredibly fast response time and minimal immersion depth for the probe, as well as the simple design and easy to read display. This makes a huge difference to whether or not I'm willing to use a thermometer at home. I hated thermometers until I got the Thermapen. You probably *have* to check temperatures at work because of food safety laws.
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Jan 15, 2011 08:00
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Products: For induction stoves I highly recommend SMEG. For Gas I recommend either SMEG or Ilve!
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Jan 15, 2011 08:05
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TheLizard posted:I'm not sure I could live without my stick blender (aka the boat motor): I was just thinking this evening, that after my stove, toaster, and microwave, this is my favorite kitchen appliance. For the things I like to cook, I use this more than my Kitchenaid stand mixer or food processor, or any other small appliance. I don't do crushed ice drinks, so I haven't used my regular blender once since buying this about 3-4 years ago. I have a Cuisinart one, and for $30 it's been dead reliable, but I know the Kitchenaid one is more powerful and has attachments (the little whisk is awesome for whipped cream).
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Jan 15, 2011 08:22
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Hauki posted:Is it really worth it, even at a discount? IT IS WORTH IT. seriously. I hate spending money on things. this was probably the single most worthy 75-100 bucks I spent on my kitchen since my last nice knife, 7 years prior. you absolutely don't need a thermometer to operate in a kitchen, but if you're ever going to use a thermometer, this is 100% worth the money. I brew beer, which requires I take spot temperature readings at least 15 or so times a brew day. taking a good reading with a normal kitchen thermometer - regardless of how accurate it probably is (not very) takes at least 15-30 seconds per reading. which means I have to stop everything and hover over/hold my thermometer blah blah. with the thermopen, I can get accurate readings within 3-5 seconds, which saves me like 15-20 minutes every time I brew, counting all the stopping and starting of poo poo I have to do with a normal thermometer. aside from brewing, just for normal stuff, like taking the temperature of caramelizing sugar, oil in a deep fryer, temperature of the middle of a roast, etc, it's crazy worth it. I can stick the (ultra thin) needle of the thermapen into a chicken thigh, and thanks to its really fast readings, tell the difference in temperature between somewhere mid in the flesh of the thigh, and what it is right up against the bone. no loving way I could do that without such a nice thermometer, and if I did, I'd probably be jabbing it with a giant probe to kingdom come, juices all leaking out and poo poo. no way. get a thermopen if you cook a lot. if you don't, just don't even bother with a thermometer.
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Jan 15, 2011 08:24
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also, there was some fault with my first thermopen. it went through batteries like every 2 weeks. I wrote a concerned letter to their customer service like 'is this normal?' and they were like 'uhh no' and replaced mine free of charge.
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Jan 15, 2011 08:28
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TheLizard posted:I'm not sure I could live without my stick blender (aka the boat motor): Immersion blenders are awesome, and you don't need to spend much to get a solid one. I have a Cuisinart that can handle most anything you throw at it and it was like 25 or 30 bucks. It came with a whisk attachment that I've used quite a bit as well. It's only one speed, but I've never felt like I needed it to go slower or anything.
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Jan 15, 2011 12:22
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 I bought this knife five years ago. It has never needed sharpening, only used a steel. It is made by the company that makes Shun. It will slice a ripe tomato paper thin. I sent one to all my kids who cook. $34.95 at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Kershaw-6-5-Inch-Santoku-Knife/dp/B000A2JXB0/ref=sr_1_20?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1295105776&sr=1-20 I found mine at TJMaxx for around $20. Also, recommending TJMaxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods stores for name brand kitchen products at good prices. Tuesday Morning, too!
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Jan 15, 2011 16:42
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If for some reason you don't like the design of the Kitchenaid mixer or think it's too expensive, Kenwood makes a line of high-quality mixers as well. You get the standard beater, whisk and dough hook attachments, a blender that goes on the top attachment point and a surprisingly handy spatter shield. Plus you can get all kinds of silly attachments for it; meat grinder, juicer, pasta maker, macaroni maker, ice cream maker, potato peeler (!), flour grinder, all kinds of stuff to make your wallet lighter and take up space in your cupboards. I've got the basic "Chef" model and it's a very solid piece of kit, just like the Kitchenaid with sturdy metal construction etc.
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Jan 16, 2011 01:10
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Kenwood mixers aren't available in North America. They were marketed under the Delonghi brand, which morphed into the current Cuisinart models, afaik.
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Jan 16, 2011 01:34
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Ever cook for one or two? Try to do it in the giant 6 quart oval crockpot your mom gave you when you moved out? Fail because you don't want to make 80 pounds of food and it heats unevenly because it's not properly full? Buy a 3 quart slow cooker! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCG8II/ref=oss_product Big cookers are great for big batches of anything, but you're probably like me and never really get around to using it regularly because it's sorta big and annoying to clean and you have to make a metric ton of food and then worry about freezing what you can't eat. I've been using this wonderful thing for a couple weeks, and I can make 2 or 3 meal batches of whatever I want, and the crock is actually small enough that when I've eaten my fill, I can just toss the whole removable crock in the fridge. It's rad as poo poo. Peanut butter jar for size comparison.
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Jan 16, 2011 05:01
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 A Microplane, If you want to zest anything or grate nutmeg/almond/anything this is the tool for you. And a tool it is: quote:The big moment came in 1994, when Lorraine Lee, a homemaker in Ottawa, Canada, was making an Armenian orange cake. Out of frustration with her old grater, she picked up a new tool her husband, Leonard, had brought home from their hardware store, Lee Valley Tools. She slid the orange across its blades and was amazed. Lacy shards of zest fell from its surface like snowflakes. The Lees marveled at the tool, ate the cake, then promptly changed the product description in their catalogue. The Microplane® grater had earned permanent space in the kitchen.
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Jan 16, 2011 08:21
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Speaking of tools: When it comes to non cast iron I've found that Mauviel is really good:  (The induction ones are the ones I use) Where when it comes to braising stuff, or to using a crock pot I can't get a hold of one of those electrical ones (since I am european), and hence I use Staub:  (this is the size I use 8qts) ...speaking of staub - how loving cool is this? 
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Jan 16, 2011 08:58
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Bob_McBob posted:Kenwood mixers aren't available in North America. They were marketed under the Delonghi brand, which morphed into the current Cuisinart models, afaik. Huh, I actually though Kenwood was a Canadian company. Shows what I know, I guess. But if the Cuisinart models are basically the same, they're probably quite good. Happy Hat posted:...speaking of staub - how loving cool is this? Only if it functions like a Brazen Bull and emits the tortured screams of your roasts as the bellowing of an infuriated bull, for that authentic ancient Greek/Roman feel.
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Jan 16, 2011 11:30
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We eat rice about three times a day, give or take. One of those large 26 lb bags of brown rice will last me roughly a month and small change. http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-ECJ-HC100S-10-Cup-Micro-Computerized-Cooker/dp/B000X8TEVU/ Was worth every penny. I bought it in September of 2008, and it's still working like a horse, producing pot after pot of perfect rice. It's also good at cooking beans (done in about an hour), steaming stuff, and it keeps the rice hot for days at a time. Seconding the stick blender. Those things are hella useful around the kitchen.
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Jan 16, 2011 17:16
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Happy Hat posted:Speaking of tools: I've worked with Staub and they're gorgeous and all that but I don't think I could ever justify the cost (that's like $400 for the cocotte and $700 for the cow).
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Jan 16, 2011 23:07
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Oh no... This thread is bad, bad bad. A year after moving out on my own, I've finally arrived at the point where I can't really think of any more kitchen related poo poo I "need" to buy. Which is great, because I have crap overflowing into the coat closet. But now this. Thanks a lot GWS! Everyone needs a good cutting board. I picked up this one for $30 a while back and it's holding up well. I would recommend getting it at a B&M store (bed bath and beyond has them) because some have worse knotting than others.
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Jan 17, 2011 05:54
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Tramontina cookware. Near perfect duplications of all-clad cookware, for about a quarter of the price. They've been harder to find since the Cooks Illustrated writeup, but you may still be able to order it through your local wal-mart. Every restaurant I've cooked in has used all-clad on the line, and these feel nearly identical. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-10-Piece-18-10-Stainless-Steel-TriPly-Clad-Cookware-Set/11072505 Best peelers money can buy. Cheap as hell, and take the least amount off your product faster than everything else.
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Jan 17, 2011 06:45
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Bleston Humenthal posted:Tramontina cookware. Seconding this one. I really like the pieces I have. The 10 piece set was 199 for a long time, but shot back up to 250 a month or so ago. I've been keeping an eye on it because my mother commented positively on my set. Something is definitely up with the inventory. A lot of the pieces are no longer available. I'm really kicking myself for not buying the 12" saute pan 
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Jan 17, 2011 07:15
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One of these right here (this is in fact the model I have) is absolutely indispensible once you have one. Instant boiling water anytime, all the time. 
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Jan 17, 2011 07:18
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I know I could just google it (and will in like 2 seconds) but for the benefit of the thread, what exactly is that? the electric element in my kettle just broke, so I'm sort of in the market for a new hot water heater... we got so much buildup in our kettle that I can't imagine an 'instant' hot water heater working for long without crapping out, but a wholehearted reccomendation from wiggles goes a ways....
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Jan 17, 2011 10:01
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That's a jug he just puts hot rocks from the fire in there to heat hot water. Content: I love silpats.
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Jan 17, 2011 10:11
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Mr. Wiggles posted:One of these right here (this is in fact the model I have) is absolutely indispensible once you have one. Instant boiling water anytime, all the time. I second this. I live in a house full of brits and without it they would wither and die. It gets a serious workout without ever flagging, the only issue is that after a while, and with heavy use, mineral deposits build up in the working and can cause the water, and thereby the tea, to taste "off." edit: It took like 6 months of usage 4-5 times a day by 6-7 people to reach that point. I also use it for my french press. Jay Carney fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Jan 17, 2011 |
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Jan 17, 2011 13:40
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