Food Essential kitchen tools....

This thread really to me sums up the whole problem I had with the "foodies".

If you are a professional chef then perhaps spending a lot on a knife might be worthwhile, since it is a tool of your trade and I a better knife might last longer (I might spend £10 on a decent screwdriver rather than £3 on a shit one for the same reason)

But the guy who started this thread is talking about cooking food for himself, possibly his family. He doesnt need expensive pans, expensive knives (and £30/$50 IS an expensive knife... certainly for a working man like myself and I suspect a great many people on thos board. £30 is more than I budget to spend on food for an entire week, let alone a simple tool to chop my vegtables)

If you like gadgets, if cooking is your hobby and you will get pleasure out of buying some triple tempered Japanese katana Vegtable slaughter... fine. Its your money, if you have it to spend and that floats your boat, thats fine.

But the fact is, for a nomal man who is cooking 4 or 5 meals a weak, and using his knife to chop a couple of portions of vegtables a go, a knife that costs $5 from Wallmart is absolutely fine. It will last 5 years and it will slice vegtables in EXACTLY the same way as a hand crafted samuri cleaver. If he has to push the blade down a bit harder to cut his potato in half, it will still taste EXACTLY the same.

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I feel that I do need to restate - I do not object to people who want to spend a lot of money on cookery and food and get enjoyment from that

But I do react when I feel those people try to make cooking out to be exclusive, difficult, REQUIRING an expensive cast iron saucepan, a $50 knife, a silicon spatula and a 10 year aged oak wooden spoon (whoever heard of stirring the sauce with the fork they are going to eat with, IMPOSSIBLE!)

You do not need to spend a lot of money to be a good cook. You do not need a lot of intricate skill. ANYBODY can eat a lot better than junk food and convenience food simply by taking a little time on simple recipes. At the start a knife, a couple of saucepans, something to measure with is really ALL you need. If you find yourself really enjoying the art of cooking and having 3 dinner parties a week, by all means these gadgets might be things you enjoy... but you dont need them to cook.

If I was still eating prepacked sandwiches every night (like I was two years ago), and I asked some friends "I really want to cook more, what do I need" and people hade come back "you need iron bottomed saucepans, sure they'll set you pack $150 a go, but its really worth it", "you want a really sharp knife that's powerful enough to behead a small dog in one blow, a £3 knife from QD just wont be the same", etc etc etc and if I had believed them I wouldnt have bothered.

The saucepans I have cost £5/$8 each and they cook things absolutely fine. If having a thicker base of a different metal will cook things more slowly and produce 1% better quality... great. For a man who is looking to start cooking more (as the person who started this thread indicated) this is not necessary at all.

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While certain people think that I am doing this to be a "troll" (I dont exactly know what that even means, but I have an idea), the actual fact is that I want to be inclusive when it comes to cooking. I am not a fantastic chef, but I used to cook nothing and now 8/10 meals I cook myself and cook simple, honest, home cooked food. Ive lost some weight, I eat better, it costs me less.

When I see someone who is maybe to a lesser degree in the position I used to be, it genuinely and really annoys me when I feel that they are been put off starting to cook more by the process being mystified and explained as if it needs costly and expensive equipment.

I want to say everyone can cook, that you dont have to know a lot because you can start cooking simple things and build your own skill slowly. You dont need expensive, local, fresh ingredients (and again, if a man gets pleasure from going to the farmers market and having things in season, thats fine but you dont HAVE to) - you can get everything from one supermarket to cook for yourself every meal and have good healthy food. You dont need anything more than a couple of pots and pans, something to measure... you could buy everything you need to be a self sufficient cook and make perfectly good, healthy, wholesome, good quality food for $40. And thats a fact.

And for the man that might spend twice that on a simple knife... well if you have the money and thats how you want to spend it, good for you.

But be aware that many people in the world dont have that kind of money to lay out on something to cut their carrots with. And dont tell them that they NEED it.
--- merged: Aug 27, 2011 7:39 AM ---

In this case perhaps I can help you.

I have found a perfect solution to NOT harming myself even with a very blunt knife. It involves cutting away from myself, and never (never never) placing the blade of the knife against a part of my body and then applying pressure.

Follow those two simple rules and you will never cut yourself, however dull the blade becomes.

 

I use regularly a large sharp knife and a small one which I find fits my hand quite well. Cost me next to nothing with chopping board in a sale.
You also of course need a dog who will remove all trace of culinary mishaps without breaking the secret, and will pick up things dropped on the floor.
I like my scales with weights and pan, but most often measure with a tablespoon.
A balloon whisk is handy for getting lumps out of custard or gravy as well as beating eggs or cream without fear of 'wankers elbow' you may get from using a fork.
Resist the urge to overspend on things you may never use, or may use once but didnt actually need.

 

I like the cast iron idea and I'm just curious how do you go about washing a cast iron without losing the flavour memory....

 

If needed you can wipe the pan with a damp cloth but absolutely no soap.

See more on care here:

http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-help.asp

 

Foot-long pair of tweezers .... they are usually sold for fish-tank owners, who want to shift things at the bottom of the tank. I think they are a very good adjunct to tongs.

Good knife sharpener. One which does NOT tear up the metal of the blade, and which can be used for a few strokes quite often. I have one with twin ceramic wheels which pinch the blade, but roll with it. A few strokes twice a week so the knife will, for example, glide through tomato skin without pressure. Thus enabling very fine tomato cuts.

Did anyone mention Chef's blowtorch? They can be used for so many things. From high brulee stuff to crisping up bacon fat or finishing off the top of an oven pizza is the dough has cooked too soon.

 

You are being a smart ass. There's no call for it. If you like to use dull knives to cut your things, go for it. It's your flesh and blood.

Keeping your tools sharp or in good working order is not "elite". It is just fucking common sense.

1) a dull blade is more likely to cut you than a sharp one
2) keeping your knife sharp is important.
3) between sharpenings, use a steel to hone it.

My steel cost me $5 or £2.50. My knife cost about $40. I use my knife a lot. As I said before, I bought a cheap knife. Not only did I find it to be a pain in the ass to use, but it finally broke within 12 months of buying it. It was cheap in more ways than one. I expect my current knife to last my life. Amortize that $40 across the next 40 years and it's a lot cheaper than the piece of shit I purchased that cost $10 and died within a year.

The same is true of good pots and pans. I plan on passing mine down when I am done with them. I expect, with good treatment, they will last for 100 years. I have cooked with cheap pots and pans, with thin bottoms. Sure they do the job. Sure they are better than nothing. I would use them again if I had to. People should use what they can afford. If you can afford better, get better. You will find you will burn your food less.

This is not about being a Foodie. I am the last person to spend more than I have to. I will not be spending more than $50 on a knife anytime soon. I am frugal (ie cheap). That said, I want something that is going to last and I want something that is going to do the job well. I've scaped burnt pasta off the bottom of cheap aluminum pots one too many times.

 

I've read reviews on Amazon that the newer Pyrex and Corningware dishes were not as good as the older stuff that our grandmothers and mothers likely used.
Something to do with them using cheaper materials.

Has anybody had any problems with either brand?

 

I haven't had problems exactly but it did take me a while to actually commit and buy some because all the glass bowls/measuring cups etc i was finding just felt thin and cheap compared to the old ones i was used to seeing. I hadn't thought of looking in a thrift shop like snowy suggested. I may have to check around in a few. And for the record my favorite chef knife is almost as old as I am. The $4.89 price is still on whats left of the cardboard sleeve that came on it. Its probably about 10 inches with a thick blade full tang and some really nice steel that holds an edge beautifully. My mom used it for 30 something years and was getting rid of it so I took it. I expect to use it for many years to come.

 

Thanks for the info, guys.

 

great thread, love reading the different opinions

 

I'm curious for mixing bowls.... is there a difference between glass, plastic or stainless steel? Also, I know Kitchen Aid is a brand name, and from what I've seen with my mom... a reputable one... is it worth all the hype? What about other brands that are good quality that can be trusted to get the job done....

 

Mostly I'll be using them to marinate various meats.... the occasional salad that I'll make a whole lot of to keep in the fridge for easy pickings....
--- merged: Sep 7, 2011 4:09 AM ---
hey.... also... should I start a new thread for recipe questions I have..... flavour stuff... etc.

 

i got some cast iron pans from my grandmother a few months ago. i will never go back to anything else. they work so well if you use them correctly. plus they are super easy to take from the kitchen to camping. sure they don't look awesome but i'll never use anything else again.