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Hey, can anybody recommend me a good chinois?
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Jan 27, 2011 03:14
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Kenning posted:Hey, can anybody recommend me a good chinois? Winco makes a really good solid one.
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Jan 27, 2011 03:21
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Acetone posted:The saucepan I posted is great, but when outfitting a kitchen for the first time SKIP THE NONSTICK SETS and buy stainless-clad aluminum. Why? They can survive abuse and LAST, where nonsticks wear out, and have to be handled carefully. Clad pans also distribute heat up the sides for even heating, and can use a whisk or other metal utensils in them. I did a bunch of research and settled on the Cuisinart Multiclad 7-piece set for my kitchen:. I agree, Cuisinart sets of pots and pans are great value. One caveat: If you ever hope to live in a place with a gas range, get straight-sided (saute) pans - not the slope-sided skillets in the set linked above. I have a 15 year old Cuisinart set and a new gas range, and poo poo constantly burns on the sides of the skillets. I am too cheap to buy two new pans so I have to stir everything 2x as much. I wish I'd known that back when I was pan-shopping. 
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Jan 27, 2011 04:08
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dino. posted: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. Thank you a million times for recommending this. I just got one of these in the mail last week and this thing makes the best rice I've ever had.
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Jan 27, 2011 05:27
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cocksocket posted:Thank you a million times for recommending this. I just got one of these in the mail last week and this thing makes the best rice I've ever had. I went back to update my Amazon review, and realised that I've had the machine for well over 2 years now, and it's still going strong. Happy rice cookings! They make a smaller 5 cup model that my friend bought at the same time I bought mine. She doesn't eat rice as frequently, but hers is still going strong anyway.
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Jan 27, 2011 15:30
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I hated stacking cans on top of cutting boards on top of casserole dishes just to make tofu for dinner. I cannot recommend the TofuXpress more. If you eat tofu buy this immediately. http://www.amazon.com/TofuXpress-Gourmet-Food-Press/dp/B002QO5LY8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1296143014&sr=8-1 Sure it's about $50 for some plastic and a spring but it's so worth every penny.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:46
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Acetone posted:I did a bunch of research and settled on the Cuisinart Multiclad 7-piece set for my kitchen:. List Price: $420.00 Ask Price: $140.00 Discount: $280.00 Wowza! Two-thirds off, now that's what I call a deal. Thank you for doing the legwork on that! I'll be ordering this tonight to finalize my kitchen set and finally get rid of these lovely non-sticks I've been holding on to forever. Yay! vvv Scrooge 
Chard fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Jan 27, 2011 |
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Jan 27, 2011 19:06
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You know, just because the retailer says that was the list price doesn't mean it was.
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Jan 27, 2011 19:43
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Kenning posted:Hey, can anybody recommend me a good chinois? Exoglass, but they're really expensive.
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Jan 28, 2011 11:49
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VikingKitten posted:I agree, Cuisinart sets of pots and pans are great value. One caveat: If you ever hope to live in a place with a gas range, get straight-sided (saute) pans - not the slope-sided skillets in the set linked above. I have a 15 year old Cuisinart set and a new gas range, and poo poo constantly burns on the sides of the skillets. I am too cheap to buy two new pans so I have to stir everything 2x as much. I wish I'd known that back when I was pan-shopping. Slopesided makes tossing a lot easier, it also allows better access for spatulas etc - what kind of gas boiler do you have that heats the extreme outsides of your pan, anyway?
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Jan 28, 2011 11:51
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Also, why would you substitute saute pans for skillets? They're used for different things.
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Jan 28, 2011 12:18
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Dane posted:Slopesided makes tossing a lot easier, it also allows better access for spatulas etc - what kind of gas boiler do you have that heats the extreme outsides of your pan, anyway? Bob_McBob posted:Also, why would you substitute saute pans for skillets? They're used for different things. We're talking first set of things to cook out of. To get started, you need two sizes of things to boil stuff in and two sizes of things to fry/saute stuff in. Everybody should also have a Le Creuset or two, and a good jelly roll pan, and a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, and etc... but you don't need both a skillet and a saute pan when you're first starting out. Me, I'm just grumpy and cheap, and I've sauteed tasty stuff in my skillet for years now and my pot rack is full. 
VikingKitten fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Jan 28, 2011 |
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Jan 28, 2011 18:38
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maybe you should move the pan to one of the smaller burners?
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Jan 28, 2011 19:14
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VikingKitten posted:Everybody should also have a Le Creuset or two, and a good jelly roll pan, and a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, and etc... but you don't need both a skillet and a saute pan when you're first starting out. But I guess in the end, it's more of a matter of personal preference. Ye gods, that's a long discussion of one kind of saute pan versus another... Mega-post: the ideal starter kitchen set (in decreasing importance):
Note: the list above is being filled in with links as I find the items on Amazon. The philosophy for the list above was to select the best values; there are both cheaper items and nicer items, but this is intended to give you the most long-term utility for the least money. Buying something that sucks and then upgrading always ends up being more expensive. Conversely, you can outfit a kitchen for the cost of a single All-Clad pan, and that's not a good deal in my mind. Acetone fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Jan 28, 2011 |
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Jan 28, 2011 19:56
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VikingKitten posted:I dunno, it's just a new Kenmore, but it sure as hell does. Does your pan have a disk on the bottom?
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Jan 28, 2011 21:50
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The one tool I use more than pretty much anything else in my kitchen is tongs. I use them to manipulate stuff in pans. I use them to stir and remove spaghetti from a pot. I use them to manipulate stuff in the oven. I use them to turn bacon. I used them when sautéing onions or other vegetables. I use them for tons and tons of things. As a result, I've gone through quite a few disappointing tongs over the years, from the dirt-cheapest stainless foodservice tongs, to a pair of super-shiny All-Clad ones. Most of them have sucked, either with springs too weak or too strong, lousy locking mechanisms, poor tong stiffness, or really poor ability to actually grip food. The Oxo Good Grips stainless tongs do not suck. In fact, I'll probably never bother looking for any other brand of tongs, because these are pretty much perfect. 
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Jan 28, 2011 23:59
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Schpyder posted:The one tool I use more than pretty much anything else in my kitchen is tongs. This. I use the nylon head version because I do a lot of cooking with a Le Creuset dutch oven I don't want to scratch.
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Jan 29, 2011 00:22
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Have you heard about all the chefs having hissy fits about tongs? It's loving ridiculous. My recommendations:  One exactly like this with two different sized parts is perfect because unlike most things getting the biggest size wont work well for all situations.  Whatever you do don't get those lovely little ceramic ones.
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Jan 29, 2011 03:49
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Baish posted:I hated stacking cans on top of cutting boards on top of casserole dishes just to make tofu for dinner. I cannot recommend the TofuXpress more. If you eat tofu buy this immediately. Put your tofu brick in a cheap sandwich baggie, seal it nearly shut, leaving an inch or so of gap, and press it with your meatfists. Much cheaper and much more space efficient in your kitchen.
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Jan 29, 2011 03:57
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I don't know about hissy fits over tongs, but I have personally been looking for a good cheap set of tongs for about the last year to no avail. the important thing to me about tongs is precision - I need to be able to grab the tail of a shrimp by one of its still-attached-fins and flip it over, but at the same time I need to be able to get under an entire chicken and have the gripping power to flip it and stuff. nylon isn't really precise enough, nor is the kind of flat-headed OXO one... and all the SS ones I've found that have really exacting tips are kind of flimsy and a little too cheap. argh
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Jan 29, 2011 04:21
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Speaking ofFredus posted:can anyone recommend a good one? Or are they all roughly they same?
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Jan 29, 2011 04:47
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mindphlux posted:I don't know about hissy fits over tongs, but I have personally been looking for a good cheap set of tongs for about the last year to no avail. For tongs I have the OXO ones with silicone coated flaps but my metal tongs are All Clad and I love them:
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Jan 29, 2011 05:43
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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 had this exact one and it died after less than a year of medium-usage, I was sad!
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Jan 29, 2011 06:11
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Chard posted:Speaking of Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work, you can at least hit them with it.
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Jan 29, 2011 06:20
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Chemmy posted:For tongs I have the OXO ones with silicone coated flaps I have a set of these, and they remind me of trying to do everything while wearing oven mitts. Impossible to grab almost anything securely. I'm not entirely sure what they're useful for. Iron Chef Ricola posted:I had this exact one and it died after less than a year of medium-usage, I was sad! I have a Zojirushi one that's been going strong for ages. Took it to work and got another one for home because I like it so much. Especially handy when you don't have quick access to a sink. mindphlux posted:the important thing to me about tongs is precision - I need to be able to grab the tail of a shrimp by one of its still-attached-fins and flip it over, but at the same time I need to be able to get under an entire chicken and have the gripping power to flip it and stuff. I don't see why this would be an issue with the nylon tongs I suggested. They come to a fairly fine point and I've never had an issue with precision. I'd be happy to grab a shrimp out of the freezer and get goony with it if you would like...
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Jan 29, 2011 06:28
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Chard posted:Speaking of Get a nice solid molcajete at a Mexican market somewhere. It's made out of porous rock, so it never wears down, it just wears through to more grinding. Also: you can cook stuff in it.
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Jan 29, 2011 10:46
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If you a lot of baking, an air-insulated sheet pan is a definite must-buy. I used to do my baking on regular cookie sheets and found that it was really hard to not over-brown or burn the bottoms while getting the rest of the food in question to cook properly. Since I grabbed this thing, my baking has improved tons. Not bad for such a cheap investment.
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Jan 29, 2011 12:16
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Chard posted:Speaking of I bought it in 2009, and have been pleased with it since day one. It even grinds ajowain seeds to a powder, and those fuckers are TOUGH.
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Jan 29, 2011 14:17
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Iron Chef Ricola posted:I had this exact one and it died after less than a year of medium-usage, I was sad! I have a Ł7.00 Tesco electric kettle. It is fantastic. Microwaves and electric kettles, get the cheapest ones you can. There is no advantage in getting one that costs more than the bargain basement ownbrand store one.
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Jan 29, 2011 14:21
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GWS, I am at a crossroads. Amazon has the very KitchenAid mixer pictured in the OP for $180 (free shipping). I am lusting after it in a way I have never lusted after anything (or anyone) before. I am so sick of trying to cream things by hand and while I pretend to have muscles from trying to mix stiff doughs, it is just a pain. My concern is that I'm so tired of not having even an egg-beater that I'm jumping into an unnecessary and expensive purchase. Does the range and time-saving of the KitchenAid mixer justify its cost for an average cook? Baked goods are the category of food I make the most.
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Jan 29, 2011 21:23
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I use my kitchenaid more than my microwave, blender, cuisinart or toaster oven. There's really no reason not to have one.
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Jan 29, 2011 21:30
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I don't own a microwave, blender, cuisinart or toaster, but I use my stand mixer probably every other day.
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Jan 29, 2011 21:38
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Brennanite posted:Does the range and time-saving of the KitchenAid mixer justify its cost for an average cook? Baked goods are the category of food I make the most.  I found my dough scrapers at the dollar store, so I got 2-3 of them.
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Jan 30, 2011 00:42
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feelz good man posted:it creams butter really well This line alone seals the deal for me, not to mention FGR and ICR's praise. Thanks for the input. Time to go count my pennies. 
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Jan 30, 2011 04:03
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Kitchenaids are like bread washing machines. I used to knead all my bread by hand, and while I still do that from time to time, it's really nice to be able to consolidate all of my bread prep and be able to get poo poo done elsewhere.
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Jan 30, 2011 04:17
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Brennanite posted:This line alone seals the deal for me, not to mention FGR and ICR's praise. Thanks for the input. Time to go count my pennies. And get one of those beater blades that scrapes the side of the bowl. Cuts creaming time way down.
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Jan 30, 2011 04:21
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LoungieMu posted:Kitchenaids are like bread washing machines. 
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Jan 30, 2011 04:31
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I'm interested in injecting syrups into cupcakes. What are the best syringes to use for cooking in general? Does quality matter here or should I look for the lowest price?
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Feb 1, 2011 02:39
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Chard posted:I'm interested in injecting syrups into cupcakes. What are the best syringes to use for cooking in general? Does quality matter here or should I look for the lowest price? Is this a troll? If not, I'd say just pick one of the general purpose basting/marinade injectors. Why you'd use them either for their intended purpose or for your suggested syrup infusion process is beyond me. Here's an extraordinarily expensive one 
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Feb 1, 2011 03:26
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Chard posted:I'm interested in injecting syrups into cupcakes. What are the best syringes to use for cooking in general? Does quality matter here or should I look for the lowest price? Go to a pharmacy and ask them for a hypodermic syringe with the biggest capacity and largest gauge needle they have. They look at you funny the first time, but those syringes are super practical and usually less than a dollar. e: Here's an extraordinarily inexpensive one. 
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Feb 1, 2011 04:30
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