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Lovelyn posted:Hi, big newbie question, and I hope this is the right place to post (the OP mentioned asking for recommendations is okay!). I can't imagine that you can get decent quality products at that price. What are you going to do with 12 steak knives and 4 spatulas? A Bagel Holder? futurebot 2000 fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Nov 25, 2011 |
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Nov 25, 2011 17:40
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On the other hand... 36 dollars, son!
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Nov 25, 2011 19:50
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Haha yeah I know, I was really just throwing it out there as an example of what I'm looking for (although more than one spatula would be convenient since I'm slow to do dishes sometimes). Do ya'll have any less ridiculous recommendations?
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Nov 25, 2011 20:33
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Hey man, you ever pulled a bagel out of the toaster, they're hot as poo poo. Just cherry pick a few pieces you need. Get a few spoons, turners, a grater, a can opener. You'll be better off with them than 52 pieces of poo poo. You don't need poo poo like bagel holders. You can even grab a few OXO pieces if you don't mind the handles. Run over a few recipes in your head and ask yourself what spoons/etc you require to make them. Get a Victorinox chefs knife and paring knife (bread knife if you're cutting bread) until (if) you drop some money on a permanent knife. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Nov 25, 2011 |
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Nov 25, 2011 21:08
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How much are you willing to spend and what are you looking to do? I'd feel better spending those 36 dollars on a nice chef's knife than on 52 pieces of crap. This will be the most expensive and the most important tool in your kitchen. From the top of my head, here's a list of things I'd buy right now if I would have to start a household from scratch: - 8 inch chef's knife - Paring knife - Cutting board - Bread knife - Measuring cup - Digital scale - Spatula - Can opener - Ladle - Peeler - Strainer - Slotted spoon - Masher - Grater/slicer combo I may have forgotten a thing or two, but the point is, you don't need a 52 piece set of which 35 pieces are filler. This would be in the price range of $150 to $200, the knives making up around 50% of the total price. Granted, this is 5x as much as the 52 piece set but it will probably last more 5 times as long and be of decent quality. edit: tl;dr: ^^^^^^^^^ what she said
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Nov 25, 2011 21:33
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Having all the extra stuff isn't even a free bonus, it is a detriment. You want to be able to find the tool you need easily and quickly, not sort through egg separators and lemon juicers that never get used. It is all personal preference, but I would replace the masher with a ricer and add a hand mixer and some wooden spoons in the above list.
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Nov 25, 2011 21:44
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What about tongs? I have like 4 of them and constantly crave more.
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Nov 26, 2011 01:38
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futurebot 2000 posted:From the top of my head, here's a list of things I'd buy right now if I would have to start a household from scratch: I also can't imagine trying to work with only one cutting board.
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Nov 26, 2011 02:04
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bunnielab posted:What about tongs? I have like 4 of them and constantly crave more. Can't get enough! Cash n carry is where I stock up
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Nov 26, 2011 03:07
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bunnielab posted:What about tongs? I have like 4 of them and constantly crave more. Please! Offset spatulas 4 lyfe.
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Nov 26, 2011 03:09
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KozmoNaut posted:Thirding the Swing-A-Way, my parents have been using one just like it for the nearly 30 years. Different brand, but 100% identical otherwise. I got a chance to use it today while making slow-cooked chili, and it dominated those cans. So good!
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Nov 26, 2011 05:29
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There's just one place to go for all your spatula needs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbCWmY0eqY
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Nov 26, 2011 23:41
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Josh Lyman posted:As a resolution to my can opener story, I discovered one in my office file cabinet that I had borrowed from a friend about 2 years ago. It turned out to be a Swing-A-Way, the small one in black. My family has had Swing-A-Way can openers for as long as I can remember. It doesn't do any of that fancy edge rolling or lid holding, but it's by far the easiest to use hand can opener I've tried. Made in USA to boot, though according to people whining on Amazon that may no longer be the case.
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Nov 27, 2011 00:02
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Iron Chef Ricola posted:Please! Offset spatulas 4 lyfe.  Let's dance. Actually I used to have an offset spatula but I ruined it and never go around to replacing it. They make excellent tools for spreading tile cement.
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Nov 27, 2011 00:14
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I like my OXO SteeL better than Swing-a-way. It feels better in my hand.
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Nov 27, 2011 01:32
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Awesome, thank you all so much for the advice! Also, are there any specific brands of cookware you strictly stay away from? Most of the OXO stuff is out of price range for right now (I'm a grad student trying to get by without loans, so things are tight).
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Nov 27, 2011 16:43
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Has anybody used the new "French Classic" line of Cuisinart cookware? I'm in the market to buy a few new pots and pans and I'm wondering if these are really worth it over the multiclad pros. http://www.cuisinart.com/products/cookware/french_classic_tri_ply_stainless/fct-10.html I'll probably end up getting most of those pieces except for the dutch oven since I already have a good dutch oven.
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Nov 27, 2011 23:33
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Has anyone used "Sabatier" knives? I've been looking to buy a new Chef's Knife for my mom and this one caught my eye and is in my price range. http://www.sliceandsear.com/k-sabatier-gamme-elegance-chef-cuisine-knife-8/
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Nov 28, 2011 00:58
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I'd get a $30 Forschner or a $100 Miyabe.
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Nov 28, 2011 01:27
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Related to can opener and OXO talk: I have tendinits in my right hand and elbow, so using the basic no-frills plastic handle model isn't always possible without a lot of pain. Has anyone used something like this or are there cheap electric models I could look at for once I have a little money?
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Nov 28, 2011 11:02
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My girlfriend wants a KitchenAid Mixer for christmas. Is it possible to go wrong buying one of those?
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Nov 28, 2011 12:54
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Lovelyn posted:Haha yeah I know, I was really just throwing it out there as an example of what I'm looking for (although more than one spatula would be convenient since I'm slow to do dishes sometimes). Do ya'll have any less ridiculous recommendations? I made you a list. If anyone else has any suggestions to add to my list, just shoot me an email or something, and I'll see what I can do.  http://www.amazon.com/lm/R3D907YKSJ0AG8
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Nov 28, 2011 14:41
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Dacap posted:Has anyone used "Sabatier" knives? I've been looking to buy a new Chef's Knife for my mom and this one caught my eye and is in my price range. I have that exact knife, or something remarkably close to it, by Sabatier. They're very good knives, keep their edge well and will do all the things you want it to do. One small complaint is that the blade is pretty straight, making 'rocking' the knife to quickly cut stuff a little harder than, say, a stardard Wusthoff. A niggle is that there is a relatively hard 90 degree angle between the heft and the pommel, which can start to irritate the outside of your index finger if you're using it for a long time. That time, however, is in the 1+ hour so it's not too bad. Did you try one in hand, did your mom? I find it hard to buy knives that I haven't personally handled. I have a Wusthoff and that Sabatier, my sister has a Wusthoff but a size smaller, and other friends of mine have different ones again. I think it's a lot about personal preference and how the blade feels to you.
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Nov 28, 2011 14:42
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Fists Up posted:My girlfriend wants a KitchenAid Mixer for christmas. Is it possible to go wrong buying one of those? The smallest (motor) ones don't have enough power to do huge batches of dough if she is into baking. There are two styles, tilt and bowl-lift. The bowl-lift style is more "professional". I have a feeling goons have gone over this in very fine detail at some point in the past, maybe you can even find it in this thread.
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Nov 28, 2011 16:48
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And if you're going to buy a KitchenAid, buy it from their factory outlet. Exact same mixers, great discounts. http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/more-ways-to-shop-1/outlet-2/factory-refurbished-3/102020034/ And buy a bowl-lift, tilts are stupid. You can lift the bowl closer to the whip for things like mashers where it doesn't always pick up hunks at the bottom. Can't do that with a tilt. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Nov 28, 2011 |
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Nov 28, 2011 17:08
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dino. posted:I made you a list. If anyone else has any suggestions to add to my list, just shoot me an email or something, and I'll see what I can do. Wow, THANK YOU! This is so incredibly useful (and thoughtful)! Will definitely add these to my holiday wish lists and then pick up the rest after!
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Nov 28, 2011 17:43
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Fists Up posted:My girlfriend wants a KitchenAid Mixer for christmas. Is it possible to go wrong buying one of those? Good deal at Amazon today. Here's the SA thread with the links
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Nov 28, 2011 17:53
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Xposting from the Industry thread, I suppose: In buying an ISI whipper, do I want one that can do hot and cold, or is the standard going to be all I need to make flash infusions, silly foams, and doing whippits behind the bar?
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Nov 28, 2011 19:30
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I've heard ricola (or someone else maybe) say that they got the bigger one and regretted it because it takes like 4 chargers to do anything. I have the old half pint size and that works for everything I do. Also, there's minimum amount of liquid to really get it to work right, so again if you size it too big you may limit yourself. Unless its for restaurant use, in which case you may want the big one.
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Nov 28, 2011 19:56
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I'll use it at work to do my bad science sunday experiments, but I'm basically curious to see how essential warm foams are versus room temp/chilled. Also I'm gonna do mad whippits behind the bar.
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Nov 28, 2011 20:10
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I'm not sure what the difference is in the dispensers for warm stuff. On mine, everything the liquid touches is metal, so I don't see why I couldn't do warm liquids. Except for the nozzle I guess, but that's replaceable.
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Nov 28, 2011 20:28
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Can anyone point me to a good sharpening stone I can use with a variety of midline kitchen knives? Or should I dig through the knife thread in TFR?
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Nov 30, 2011 05:47
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Planet X posted:Can anyone point me to a good sharpening stone I can use with a variety of midline kitchen knives? Or should I dig through the knife thread in TFR? the old knife thread said get a norton oil stone. I bought one and some oil off amazon for like 20-30 bucks, it works well. I don't know what I'm doing though so my edges last like a day. ugh
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Nov 30, 2011 05:52
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Planet X posted:Can anyone point me to a good sharpening stone I can use with a variety of midline kitchen knives? Or should I dig through the knife thread in TFR? I've been highly satisfied with my Victorinox 1000/3000 grit stone. No oil or water.
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Nov 30, 2011 09:49
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Where's a good resource for learning how to sharpen knives? It seems like a cool thing to know how to do and it can't be that hard, I bet it's just about getting a lot of experience along with a few bits of technical stuff.
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Nov 30, 2011 12:10
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Planet X posted:Can anyone point me to a good sharpening stone I can use with a variety of midline kitchen knives? Or should I dig through the knife thread in TFR? I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker that works well for most knives. The only thing it doesn't work well on is my Shuns, which are made of some incredibly hard steel. It's also fairly idiot proof to use.
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Nov 30, 2011 13:35
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Kenning posted:Where's a good resource for learning how to sharpen knives? It seems like a cool thing to know how to do and it can't be that hard, I bet it's just about getting a lot of experience along with a few bits of technical stuff. If you're buying sharpening equipment, I have found the Spyderco Sharpmaker is easier to use and gives a better edge than freehand sharpening with a stone; it's easier to hold a blade vertical than maintain a 20 degree angle by feel. Plus the stones are of good quality. The only catch with the Sharpmaker is that the coarsest stone is medium-grit, so it's a pain to change bevel angles or reshape blades without a little trickery. You'll want to get some coarse wet-dry sandpaper, cut it down to wrap around the rods, and hold it in place with binder clips. Oh, and buy the ultra-fine stones for the Sharpmaker: they give a shaving-sharp edge to things.
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Nov 30, 2011 13:51
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Continuing the can opener discussion, does anyone have any recommendations for lever-type can openers? I bought one from a Japanese dollar store and, although I like it a lot, it rusts easily because of the material it's made out of. I hate cleaning conventional can openers. They have all those small spaces and gears and get rusted to hell.
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Nov 30, 2011 19:56
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Acetone posted:If you're buying sharpening equipment, I have found the Spyderco Sharpmaker is easier to use and gives a better edge than freehand sharpening with a stone; it's easier to hold a blade vertical than maintain a 20 degree angle by feel. Plus the stones are of good quality. If you have trouble keeping a consistent angle freehand, get a piece of scrap wood or plastic or some drat thing that's big enough to hold your stone. Measure the length. Figure out how high you need to raise one end of it to give you the angle you want---20 degrees or whatever. Put stuff under one end until it is that high. Put your stone on the inclined surface. You've just made something that works the same way a Sharpmaker does, only you need to keep the blade horizontal when you're sharpening instead of having to keep it vertical. Here's a `fancy' version of the above I made with some scrap wood, including a riser that's pre-drilled to a few common sharpening angles. That's an 8" Norton stone sitting on it. 
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Nov 30, 2011 22:16
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SubG posted:The main problem with the Sharpmaker is that it can only sharpen to precisely two angles, and the rods it come with aren't really abrasive enough if your knife isn't already sharpened to one of those two angles and you need to reprofile it. I did this, works great.
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Dec 1, 2011 00:21
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