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Of all my cookware the ones I use most are: 12" tri-ply stainless - basically everything except fish and eggs 8" and 12" nonstick - fish and eggs, plus general "second pan" duties, if my wife didn't hate cast iron I'd have cast iron in the 12" instead of nonstick 6qt enamel Dutch oven 6qt Instant Pot (get a steamer insert) 2-ish qt sauce pan Half and quarter sheet aluminum pans with matching stainless oven-safe racks This covers probably 90% of my cooking needs (I don't make a lot of pasta). Maybe add a casserole dish or lasagna pan. If you're cooking for one you could probably get 10" pans instead of 12", but as a renter I've had issues with some electric ranges being specifically sized for either 8" or 12" pans. I have a 10" tri-ply saute pan that I almost never use, I would make a batch of pasta sauce in the Dutch oven and then boil in the Instant Pot given the setup above.
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Feb 17, 2021 03:29
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XIII posted:Enamel dutch oven I've got two suggestions: 1. Depending on your needs, you might consider an Instant Pot instead of the dutch oven for an initial purchase. The set it and forget it + pressure cooker is mighty convenient. 2. Get a convection toaster oven thats large enough to accommodate a quarter sheet. It's nice not dealing with a full-size oven when only cooking enough food for one or two people.
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Feb 17, 2021 03:29
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If you have a SO or family who is going to ruin your carbon steel, that's another reason to go stainless. No I'm not bitter.
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Feb 17, 2021 03:56
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.Z. posted:I've got two suggestions: Already got an instant pot, so that's covered, but solid thinking. And there's no microwave in the place, so I was eventually planning on posting in here about getting a convection toaster oven instead. Just figured I'd sort out my basics first
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Feb 17, 2021 04:04
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XIII posted:Already got an instant pot, so that's covered, but solid thinking. And there's no microwave in the place, so I was eventually planning on posting in here about getting a convection toaster oven instead. Just figured I'd sort out my basics first Fair enough. Though when it comes time for that, convection microwave ovens are a thing and may fit your life better.
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Feb 17, 2021 04:17
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Good to know. Looks like I've got yet another thing to look into. Turns out there's a lotta poo poo you can fill a kitchen with.
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Feb 17, 2021 04:23
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Since you’re worried about storage, I live in a 350 square foot studio with a coil top electric stove (surprisingly not terrible) and I have, in some ikea shelves and my built in cabinets: Stainless sauce pan, 9 inches Stainless small sauce pot, the ikea 365 one (1.5 quarts?) Stainless stock pot, 4 quart Carbon steel flat bottom wok, bottom is 9 inches and obviously the top is wider 8.5 quart stainless steel stovetop pressure cooker that can double as a giant stock pot (includes a steamer insert) Roasting pan with accruements, lives in oven Baking sheet, two square pans, muffin pan, fancy pie pan, loaf pans, also live in oven Tiered bamboo steamer Stainless steel steamer that folds up (I like steaming okay) Stainless steel cooking utensils I got as a set from ikea (ladle, spoon, spatula, pasta thing), tongs, wok spatula - these are on a magnetic strip on my fridge Wooden spoon, silicone spatula, whisk, cooking chopsticks, spider, timer, can opener, the thing that you use to spread sauces over meat, cup and spoon measures, meat thermometer, dough cutter - one drawer Three knives (paring, vegetable cleaver, meat cleaver), kitchen shears, and sharpening tools - another drawer Stainless steel bowls that stack and nest in different sizes Molcajete, grater that comes apart, funnels, strainer with small mesh holes, rolling pin, silicone baking sheet, 3 cutting boards, liquid measuring cup - on a kitchen cart shelf Baking scale Bunch of tupperwares And that’s it!  You can get a lot done with not too much in terms of equipment. Maybe I’ll splurge and get a fish spatulaEdit: in terms of appliances, I have a rice cooker and small food processor, the former gets much more use, microwave is built in Mecca-Benghazi fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Feb 17, 2021 |
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Feb 17, 2021 04:31
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Matter of preference, but I'd ditch the enameled dutch oven and just go with a Lodge combo cooker. They've even got a handleless version if you're like me and super tight on space and have a tiny oven. Makes using the frying pan a pain in the rear end tho.
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Feb 17, 2021 04:50
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Oh speaking of saving space, I wanted to show the thread this thing I just got: https://item.rakuten.co.jp/gekiyasukaguya/ket140064/?s-id=ph_pc_itemname So basically it combines a salad spinner, food processor and a very half assed blender all in one gadget that doesn't use electricity. Everything stacks inside of it and it fits inside my pressure cooker. The food processor in particular works surprisingly well. 
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Feb 17, 2021 04:54
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my carbon steel pan is virtually non stick im impressed with how well it seasoned
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Feb 17, 2021 05:03
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if you wanted to cook eggs nonstick before nonstick technology, carbon steel was what you used
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Feb 17, 2021 05:04
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barkbell posted:my carbon steel pan is virtually non stick Same with mine, because I never explicitly seasoned it
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Feb 17, 2021 05:21
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My CS wok has such a nice sheen. I know from growing up in fat bad times I dont use enough oil across all my cookware. For some reason that doesn't apply to the wok
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Feb 17, 2021 14:17
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I got a Di Oro scraping spatula and now I want to buy like 4 of their other shaped spatulas It's perfect and feels like it could survive a bombing
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Feb 17, 2021 15:30
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No Wave posted:Carbon is annoying. You have to dry it off and stuff. If I only owned a carbon steel pan I would be extremely upset and would probably stop cooking as much. Stainless steel is amazing, you don't have to do anything. I would always buy stainless first and just live with using more oil when frying eggs. Seconding this, my carbon steel wok never gets used.
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Feb 17, 2021 18:48
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A small thing, but does anyone have a brand of tongs such as the below that don't quickly loosen and become poo poo to use?
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Feb 17, 2021 19:02
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dphi posted:A small thing, but does anyone have a brand of tongs such as the below that don't quickly loosen and become poo poo to use? i just use ones that are a single piece with a bend. the scissors style i only have as a jar puller for canning e.g.: 
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Feb 17, 2021 19:07
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I got 2 pairs of kitchen tweezers for Christmas. They’re incredible and I do not know how I managed without them for so long. Strong recommend. To the goon getting kitchen gear: I would highly recommend trying to get some factory 2nds or other steep discounts on all-clad stuff to start off with. It really is the best overall cookware I’ve used in my life. Also, I don’t think carbon steel is necessary if you have a nonstick to complement stainless steel.
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Feb 17, 2021 19:25
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Lawnie posted:I got 2 pairs of kitchen tweezers for Christmas. They’re incredible and I do not know how I managed without them for so long. Strong recommend. drat, it looks like there's a factory 2nds sale going on currently, but, even at those prices, they're still a bit too spendy for me right now. If I were just looking for 1-2 things, I'd probably shell out the extra, but I'm having to buy enough stuff all at once that I gotta cut a few corners. (the kitchen ain't the only room I gotta worry about)
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Feb 17, 2021 19:33
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Steve Yun posted:It’s pricey but breville has a toaster oven air fryer, they make quality stuff I bought this last year and absolutely love it. I hardly turn on my actual oven anymore. Its big enough for a whole chicken (or a 1/4 sheet) and "air-frys" things just fine Sportman fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Feb 17, 2021 |
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Feb 17, 2021 19:55
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Thirding (or whatever) the Breville suggestion. Did a chicken in mine for the first time last week and got results as good or better than my full-size gas oven (that doesn’t have a convection feature). It also reheats food (pizza especially) so much better than a microwave that it’s like trying leftovers for the first time.
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Feb 17, 2021 20:04
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Lawnie posted:I got 2 pairs of kitchen tweezers for Christmas. They’re incredible and I do not know how I managed without them for so long. Strong recommend. I had these on my wish list, didn't get them, and opted to try 14" chopsticks instead for price reasons. They're great, but I still might get the tweezers because I was drunk frying the other day which made the sticks much less effective 
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Feb 17, 2021 20:12
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Steve Yun posted:Can anyone recommend an outdoor propane wok burner with a cooktop that’s good for rocking the wok? I have a bayou classics jet burner but the cooktop is a little clunky for a round bottom wok I have the Kahuna XL and it's pretty bad for that pro chef style smooth rocking motion where it rests on the burner rim and you don't pick the wok up entirely. The metal holder that the wok is in contact with is really rough out of the box and the shape of it isn't conducive to smooth movements. I think you could probably get it to be smoother with some sandpaper or just a lot of use. Maybe some other DIY hack with a wok ring? I haven't had much time to play with it before winter hit, to be fair. The burner itself is really nice aside from the gas knob being on the tank end of the hose instead of up near the wok. Also it's short but that's fixable too. For the price I'm pretty happy with it overall even if it didn't immediately turn me into Wang Gang
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Feb 17, 2021 20:22
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BrianBoitano posted:I had these on my wish list, didn't get them, and opted to try 14" chopsticks instead for price reasons. They're great, but I still might get the tweezers because I was drunk frying the other day which made the sticks much less effective You ever try to flip a long slice of bacon, only it slips out of the tip of the tongs a million times and you don’t have the dexterity to manipulate it flat while flipping? Never again with tweezers.
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Feb 17, 2021 20:30
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Lawnie posted:You ever try to flip a long slice of bacon, only it slips out of the tip of the tongs a million times and you don’t have the dexterity to manipulate it flat while flipping a classic Goon Problem
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Feb 17, 2021 20:31
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what do goons think of hexclad? seems like an interesting approach to nonstick. or maybe bullshit? idk
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Feb 17, 2021 22:37
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xtal posted:If you have a SO or family who is going to ruin your carbon steel, that's another reason to go stainless. No I'm not bitter. lol
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Feb 17, 2021 23:13
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:what do goons think of hexclad? seems like an interesting approach to nonstick. or maybe bullshit? idk It sounds like a good way to charge $200 for a nonstick pan. It probably works fine, but the nonstick will wear off just like a $20 pan will, except you spent $200 on it to start with
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Feb 17, 2021 23:14
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nonstick has to be disposable. that ain't priced like it's disposable
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Feb 17, 2021 23:15
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Regarding IR temp guns, can I just get any $20 unit or is there a recommended manufacturer?
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Feb 18, 2021 00:02
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Regarding IR temp guns, can I just get any $20 unit or is there a recommended manufacturer? For the (lack of) precision you need for checking your pan’s temp, I’d just get whatever is cheap. Also be aware they don’t work properly on highly reflective surfaces like stainless steel. Something about emissivity or something.
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Feb 18, 2021 00:46
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Yeah I got one with adjustable emissivity but so far I haven't messed with it. That seems to be the only real "feature" worth spending a few bucks extra for.
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Feb 18, 2021 00:54
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Regarding IR temp guns, can I just get any $20 unit or is there a recommended manufacturer? If that's too much of a toy, their entry-level IR gun is usually US$70 but regularly goes on sale and I picked one up for around US$20 a couple years ago.
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Feb 18, 2021 00:56
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imo its probably not really worth getting one, not that useful unless you really want one
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Feb 18, 2021 06:58
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The laser thermometer? For how cheap they are, they're totally worth having. I use mine mostly with my cast iron pans to know when they're hot enough for a steak. Or a baking steel is hot enough for a pizza. Sometimes it's really hard to know what the surface temperature actually is, even if it's in a preheated oven.
xtal fucked around with this message at 08:52 on Feb 18, 2021 |
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Feb 18, 2021 07:02
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Vim Fuego posted:It sounds like a good way to charge $200 for a nonstick pan. It probably works fine, but the nonstick will wear off just like a $20 pan will, except you spent $200 on it to start with
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Feb 18, 2021 07:20
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It's also one of those things where once you have one you'll find plenty of reasons to use it that you wouldn't have used to justify buying one ahead of time. Like checking the temperature gradient on cooking surfaces, checking hot and cold zones in your fridge, checking dough temperature during proofing, contactless spot-checking soil temperature for gardening, and so on. I mean if you're not likely to find yourself doing any of those things then yeah, you don't really need one. But I'm absolutely the kind of person who does and so it's absolutely justified the twenty bucks I gave for it a couple years ago.
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Feb 18, 2021 07:24
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I use my $25 IR thermometer ALL the time. It can be about 15° inaccurate on most things but as long as you keep in mind how imprecise it is it’s very useful to know whether your pan is 280° or 340° or whether your stew is 140° or 165° It’s very inaccurate on stainless steel, maybe dozens of degrees off, but the solution to that is to put in some oil and measure that I use it more than my thermapen
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Feb 18, 2021 08:01
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:what do goons think of hexclad? seems like an interesting approach to nonstick. or maybe bullshit? idk The teflon falls off on it just like any other Teflon pan. The steel pimples just do a good job of hiding the damage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rkw0adIAFc
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Feb 18, 2021 08:04
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Thanks for posting that, that youtuber is super irritating but they sure do a great job of hiding that the pan actually does have Teflon.
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Feb 18, 2021 11:21
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