Kitchen Tools
Do you have any kitchen tool that you can't bear to be without?
How about a kitchen tool with a high gee whiz factor?
What about a kitchen tool that just works?
Care to talk about it?
posted by astrid @ 11:32 PM
The Recipe Files
A collaborative blog for sharing recipes, locating great restaurants and upholding the proposition that we live to eat.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
How about a kitchen tool with a high gee whiz factor?
What about a kitchen tool that just works?
Care to talk about it?
The Recipe Files
A collaborative blog for sharing recipes, locating great restaurants and upholding the proposition that we live to eat.
Previous Posts
12 Comments:
One really cool place for kitchen gadgets is Lee Valley. They have lots of other interesting woodworking and gardening items, but I think their kitchenware really stands out for ingenuity.
For example, this jar opener is simple and effective:
http://tinyurl.com/ygtk9l
Or this highly microplane zester with zest holder, great for grating hard cheeses, chocolates and nuts:
http://tinyurl.com/ybpxz9
Finally, for something completely different. Lee Valley also sells an interesting selection of rare earth magnets:
http://tinyurl.com/prl2d
I'm not associated with Lee Valley in anyway. I find their pricing to be moderate - not expensive or cheap. The products are well made, modestly packaged and everything I've purchased from them works as they promised. The possible exception is their well advertised microwave flower press. It works fine for small thin flowers but was a miserable failure for larger, thicker petalled flowers.
I don't have a huge attachment to anything high tech. I do have a lovely Kitchen Aid mixer that is super heavy duty. But I only use it when hand mixing is too much of a chore, such as whipping up egg whites. I also like it for bread since the bread hook does a nice job of mixing the ingedients.
But mostly, my wisk and my rubber spatula are my most used and handiest tools. Oh, and I have All Clad cookwear, which I highly recommend. It holds up so well. And though we've already talked knives a little bit, and astrid didn't seem that impressed with Cutco, I do like mine. They really do keep an edge nicely and I have had mine for 8 years without any problems and they're nowhere near needing replacement.
SQT,
:/ I'm a baaad knife snob! Actually, I don't have any first person experience with cutco knives, so I'm also an ignorant knife snob!
The kitchen I used to work at uses a mix of Henckel, Wustoff and Forscher. I also worked with one MAC 8" chef's knife but I don't remember it as exceptional in any way.
I actually like the Forschers the best because they have the most comfortable handles. I highly recommend them since they're fairly inexpensive and they have a huge line of items.
The real knife snobs buy insanely sharp knives, but I find a well maintained Forscher knife is more than adequate for all cutting jobs. They outperforms my Sabatier Solo and my Costco Henckels (one person Henckel but appears to be forged) and takes an edge more easily and keeps the edge longer. I also keep some carbon steel knives around because they're cheap and take such a nice edge.
I plan to eventually replace my German knives with MAC and mid priced Japanese chef's knives. But I'll always have some Forscher knives for day to day grunt work.
PS - I am serious about this blog being a collaborative (but no pressure!) effort.
I intend for Green Crabs to function like patrick.net has functioned. Every author has complete control over their topics and I intend to just be one of the participants.
Feel free to link to pages, make minor changes or propose major changes to page. It's my hope that this blog will evolve harmoniously with the personality of all its authors and commentors.
SQT,
BTW, thanks for the recommendations. I'm thinking about buying my parents major piece of kitchenware for the coming holiday season. Had narrowed it down to a CuisinArt and a KitchenAid Mixer, now I'll go back to consider AllClad pots too. Costco sometimes has good coupons on them, so I'll probably wait for one of those chances to buy.
1) must have 8" chef's knife, henckel's professional S series
2) Swiss-made garlic press from Williams-Sonoma. Can't believe WS for all its high prices, actually sold something of better value than the local department store.
3) microplane, microplane, microplane.
I am more into pots and pans.
I do not like non-stick pans because I always afraid of scratching the surfaces, especially when I am cooking clams.
I do use a non-stick pan for searing and pan-frying though.
I used to have a garlic press. But now I prefer sliced garlic. I may just go get a garlic slicer.
As for knivers, I prefer a cleaver because I do not want to accidentally stab myself.
Astrid, for Green Crabs to work, you need to post a recipe for creen crabs (or blue crabs). :)
I'll try as soon as I get my paws on some live blue crabs.
I originally wanted the url to be bluecrabs.blogspot.com but that was already taken.
I chose green crabs because it implies that I'm a "green" cook and I can be crabby. Also, the traditional Chinese Yangtze River crabs is called qin crabs (qin is an ambiguous color between green and blue) and I've seen it translated as "green crabs."
Peter P,
If you don't intend to create your pro-meateater blog immediately, please do write a post about your thoughts here.
I wouldn't want readers to think this blog shy away from controversy...
I wouldn't want readers to think this blog shy away from controversy...
Fine, if you want to open the Pandora's Box... :)
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