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TECHNICAL Thug posted:I have been looking for a good hand crank recommendation for a while. I just got a kitchen aid mixer and might just get the grinding attachment for it though, not sure. Nothing on amazon except some plastic grinder has good reviews. I've thought about just going the kitchen aid mixer route as well, but figured I should at least look at a few options. Shooting Blanks posted:This is true, you typically do grind -> season -> stuff, the issue is that with stuffing sausage, you try to keep a fairly continuous feed through, which is harder when one hand is devoted to turning the crank. It requires 2 people regardless, in my experience, and I've always just found an electric grinder easier to stuff with. Oh, I just assumed that the sausage stuffer was a completely separate instrument rather than relying on the meat grinder to work. Having a motor on the grinder makes a lot more sense now.
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May 3, 2012 19:38
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Voodoofly posted:I've thought about just going the kitchen aid mixer route as well, but figured I should at least look at a few options. The way we do it (my family makes ~ 40lbs of korv every year, a Swedish pork and barley sausage), the sausage stuffer is simply a conical attachment for the grinder. After you run the meat through, you just attach the stuffer and push everything through the grinder one last time.
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May 3, 2012 21:06
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Can I get a recommendation for a blender? It's just got mixing a smoothie or whatever in the morning. Preferably a stand blender, not sure why but I don't think the wand ones would work that well, especially for when I want to involve crushed ice.
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May 3, 2012 21:53
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I think I might have mentioned this in this thread before, but do not bother with the sausage stuffer attachment for the Kitchenaid grinder (the stand mixer attachment). I've tried to use it a few times, and it is just a mess. You basically have to provide all the force yourself with the plunger, which doesn't even fit into the chute properly, so you'll have sausage squirting up around the edges (not nearly as fun as it sounds). The grinder itself is OK (but just OK), but it totally fails as a stuffer.
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May 3, 2012 21:59
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Trap Star posted:Can I get a recommendation for a blender? It's just got mixing a smoothie or whatever in the morning. Preferably a stand blender, not sure why but I don't think the wand ones would work that well, especially for when I want to involve crushed ice. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3381440&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=41#post403027906
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May 3, 2012 22:02
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Phummus, I assume you're preoccupied so if you like I can write up a product megapost over the weekend.
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May 3, 2012 22:05
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Steve Yun posted:http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3381440&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=41#post403027906 Thank you. I do feel quite stupid for checking the first page or two and not the most recent.
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May 3, 2012 22:31
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You don't need a stuffer, just learn to do it by hand.
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May 4, 2012 00:40
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This may be somewhere in the thread already, but I'm sick and tired of my Oxo garlic press. It sucks rear end and wastes at least 30% of pressed garlic (left in the press as scraps). I just grabbed my balls and dropped $40 on this: http://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Epicurean-Garlic-Press/dp/B0000CD0HX/ I hope it's as good as my old standby that broke - a Pampered Chef press that was just awesome. The reviews suggest the Kuhn Rikon is the best press available. Anyone disagree? Edit: engrish hotsauce fucked around with this message at 01:45 on May 4, 2012 |
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May 4, 2012 01:25
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Growing up my parents had a few really nice CorningWare dishes. I have done a bit of reading online and it seems the CorningWare line has gone under some major changes. Is there another product out there that is as durable as the dishes of my child hood? I am looking for something I can use to make individual portions of shepherd's pie to be bakes in the oven or something that can be microwaved with the cover on, like for reheating veggies. Also what's the vibe on magnetic strip knife holders? I am tight on drawer and counter space so it seems like a good way to free some up but I have seen them at other people's houses and it looks like they have rusted.
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May 4, 2012 01:34
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hotsauce posted:The reviews suggest the Kuhn Rikon is the best press available. Anyone disagree? I've used their Easy Press and liked it a lot. Not much waste at all.
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May 4, 2012 05:05
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Sound_man posted:Growing up my parents had a few really nice CorningWare dishes. I have done a bit of reading online and it seems the CorningWare line has gone under some major changes. Is there another product out there that is as durable as the dishes of my child hood? Le Creuset does little dishes perfect for individual portions, but they don't have lids.
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May 4, 2012 11:08
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hotsauce posted:This may be somewhere in the thread already, but I'm sick and tired of my Oxo garlic press. It sucks rear end and wastes at least 30% of pressed garlic (left in the press as scraps). I received it as a gift from someone and she told me that she had tried tons of garlic presses over the last couple decades, and that this was her favorite. I've been happy with it. One of the nice things about it is the way it opens makes it really easy to clean out when you are done.
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May 4, 2012 15:18
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Sound_man posted:Growing up my parents had a few really nice CorningWare dishes. I have done a bit of reading online and it seems the CorningWare line has gone under some major changes. Is there another product out there that is as durable as the dishes of my child hood? I posted this before but, get a bamboo one. I have two and they work great. Plus they look nicer, won't scratch your knives, and won't rust. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J5XHK0/ref=oh_details_o01_s03_i00
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May 4, 2012 17:36
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Mr Executive posted:I posted this before but, get a bamboo one. I have two and they work great. Plus they look nicer, won't scratch your knives, and won't rust. This is cool. I rent an apartment though. Do you have to drill into the kitchen wall in order to safely install this thing? I don't have super expensive knives or anything.
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May 4, 2012 19:45
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Doh004 posted:This is cool. I rent an apartment though. Do you have to drill into the kitchen wall in order to safely install this thing? I don't have super expensive knives or anything. Yeah, you'll need to drill a couple holes to mount it. But I don't know how you mount any knife rack, wood or metal, without drilling into the wall. Unless it had like some super powerful magnets facing backwards that could stick the screws in the studs or something. As for renting, it's usually not a huge deal to pop a couple small holes for stuff like this. If your walls are white you can simply fill the wholes with a little putty when you move out and they probably wouldn't even notice. You might be able to rig up some bullshit to mount a knife rack with minimal wall damage if you use these http://www.amazon.com/Hercules-Hook-Wall-Hooks-10-pk/dp/B001420MVU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1336162135&sr=8-6. On a side note, these hooks are awesome. They are cheap as hell, hold a poo poo ton of weight, can often be installed with your bare hands, and leave very small holes in your drywall. Seriously, you should be using these things for 98% of the times you need to put a hole in your drywall to hang something. You can get them at Wal-Mart etc... and I've never been more impressed with a gimmicky infomercial product before. They work extremely well. Just make sure there is no stud where you are trying to use it (and if there is, then you can just use a nail/screw/whatever.
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May 4, 2012 21:12
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Steve Yun posted:Phummus, I assume you're preoccupied so if you like I can write up a product megapost over the weekend. That'd be great. I'm out of service for a bit longer I'm afraid.
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May 5, 2012 11:50
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There are a zillion things that have been recommended but I haven't put in here since this is for the most commonly asked questions. Please look this over and correct me if I'm wrong about anything. edit: updated with bullet points, new to cooking section, removed cast iron skillets cause come to think of it nobody asks which brand to get, added a couple more entries edited again: consolidated entries, added summaries for some entries, fixed smilies *****  I'M NEW TO COOKING. WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED? For the typical kitchen you will probably want to start out with the following: 8 inch chefs Knife Paring knife Measuring spoons Liquid measuring cups Dry measuring cups Cutting board Stainless steel skillet Stainless steel sauce pan Stainless steel pot A cheap wooden utensil set (spoons and turners) Colander or strainer Can Opener Grater Mixing bowls Oven pads or mitts  Stuff you can add later that most people will use, depending on your needs: Timers (get this and use it if you don't want to forget that you're cooking something and start a fire) Spatulas/turners (semi-redundant with wood turners, read guide below) Non-stick skillet (semi-redundant with steel skillet, handy for eggs and fish) Veggie peeler (semi-redundant with paring knife but much faster, safer) Bread/serrated knife (semi-redundant with chef knife, handier for breads and tomatoes) Shears (semi-redundant with knife, handy for meats) Whisk (semi-redundant with a fork or chopsticks but much more effective) Tongs (semi-redundant with turners but handier) Instant read thermometer (improved cooking accuracy) Steamer basket (if you plan on steaming) Some cheap citrus juicer (probably a glass dome reamer) Kettle or electric kettle (semi-redundant with boiling water in pot) Kitchen scale (for more accurate measurements than measuring cups, generally needed for baking) Garlic press (semi-redundant with knife, depends if you like crushed garlic or not)  KNIVES What knives should I get?Cheap: Victorinox (Forschner) Fancy: Shun, Wusthof, Messermeister, Henckels (the higher end ones) Alternate: Honsho-Kanemasa gyuto, Moritaka Aogami #2 Gyuto Generally we recommend against getting knife sets. You end up buying a bunch of knives you don't need when most people do fine with just three or four knives. Most people never need a boner, for example *cough* The most important knife (and maybe your most important piece of kitchen equipment) is the 8 inch chef knife. Second most important knife is the paring knife. After that, it depends what you need the knife for. A santoku is mostly redundant with a chef knife, except for the occasion when you need to butterfly a pork chop or other delicate thin-slicing operations (on the downside it lacks the heft a chef knife will have when cutting tough vegetables like giant radishes). A serrated knife is good for things that have tough skins and squishy insides (bread, tomatoes, etc). A slicer is for long clean cuts of big roasts/hams. Fillet or boner is for separating meat from bones or removing fish skin cleanly and with the meat intact. There are varying opinions on the high end; Shun or Henckels or Wusthof or Messermeister, etc. Most of those are great although Henckels does have a lot of cheapo crap you should probably avoid on the low end. For low end budget knives, there is a pretty good consensus that you should get Victornox knives. They're well reviewed, cost a fraction of most high end knives and will work pretty drat well. edit: Wanna go off the beaten path? GrAviTy84 recommends getting a Japanese gyuto such as the Honsho-Kanemasa gyuto ($95) or Moritaka Aogami #2 gyuto ($170) instead of a western chef knife, saying that they provide more bang for the same buck. A gyuto is similar to a western chef knife except with a slightly straighter edge.  Knife storageMetallic magnet bar ($6-$20), Knife Safe ($6-$8 per knife), Wooden magnet bars ($26-$45), Kapoosh Universal Block ($20-$55) Got a bunch of hodgepodge knives but wish you could get a knife block to hold them? Get a Kapoosh Universal Knife Holder. Plastic noodles fit as many knives as you can stuff in them. Won't fit anything larger than 8 inches, however. Want to be extra cheap? Get a big plastic jar and fill it with uncooked rice. Want to save counter space? Get a bunch of Knife Safes (covers for your knives) and stick them in a drawer. Want fancier? Several of us have stainless steel magnetic knife holders and love them, but several posters have recommended wooden ones because they won't scratch your knives and they're probably right. Wood will also probably help avoid the occasional rust spots on knives since rust seems to happen more often when water is sandwiched between two stainless steel surfaces. If you have a metal magnet bar make sure you dry off your knives first if you're going to leave them there overnight.  Knife sharpenerEasy: Accusharp ($10) or go to a knife shop ($3-6 per knife) Medium: Spyderco Sharpmaker ($50) Hard: sharpening stones There is a lot of debate over this, but your three options for beginners on the low end are A) $10 Accusharp for quick and dirty sharpening B) Spyderco Sharpmaker for $50 if you want to put a little time into learning sharpening technique and C) take it to a knife shop to get sharpened, usually $3-6 a knife. In between sharpenings (which grind off steel) we recommend getting a honing steel and using it daily, which will straighten up the blade a little bit without removing material. Once you get past the basics you can ask around about using sharpening stones.  What kind of cutting board?First of all, do not ever ever ever use glass, acrylic, marble or granite as a cutting surface. These things will dull your knives, and glass can dull your knife in as little as 10 strokes. You want to use either wood or plastic (okay, acrylic is technically a plastic but it's super hard). Plastic cutting boards can be run through the dishwasher and resist bacteria pretty easily at first, but will need to be replaced eventually as cuts start accumulating. Wood cutting boards require some monthly rubbing down with wood oil in order to keep from drying out and cracking, they can't be put in the dishwasher, but will resist accumulation of cut marks a lot longer than plastic boards.  COOKWARE Stainless steel cookware setCheap: Tramontina ($150 Walmart exclusive), Cuisinart MCP-12 ($150-200) Middle: Calphalon Tri-Ply ($360 at Bed Bath Beyond with coupon) Fancy: All-Clad ($600-$1600) There are three general kinds of stainless steel cookware: basic stainless steel (good), stainless steel with aluminum disc bottoms (better), and tri-ply or multi-clad (best; stainless steel layer over aluminum cores), which offer better heat distribution than cookware with aluminum disc bottoms. $150 will get you a very nice 8 piece multi-clad Tramontina cookware set with from Walmart (exclusive). Costco also carries the $200 Cuisinart multiclad MCP-12 12 piece set, and sometimes has this on sale for $150 which is a steal. If you have a little more to spend you can get the $450 Calphalon tri-ply 13 piece set and if you have a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon you can get them 20% off. Note that the Calphalons have tempered glass lids, which let you see how your food is progressing but aren't safe to use in the oven over 450°F. If you have money to burn and want the best, you can get All-Clad sets, which generally run $600-1600. All-Clad also offers copper-core cookware sets, but some posters have noted that they don't see much of an advantage with them over aluminum cores. Also, if you're going to get All-Clad you might want to get one of the newer ones that say they have rolled edges/rolled lips, it helps with pouring more cleanly.  My stainless steel cookware has all these horrible ugly stains on themUse a $4 can of Bar Keeper's Friend to scrub them down once a month or so when they get too dirty. Also, a $1 steel wool scrubby helps.  Non-stick skilletGenerally we recommend against investing a lot into non-stick cookware since they usually fall apart after a few years. You just need one non-stick skillet for the occasional fish or egg dish. T-Fal gets recommended a lot, but you should be fine with almost any cheap skillet if you just resign yourself to assuming that they'll need to be replaced every few years. Don't use metal utensils in non-stick cookware BTW, it will scratch up the non-stick layer and make it fall apart faster. Also, don't put it on high unless there's food in the pan, otherwise it might start letting off fumes above 500°F.  Dutch ovens. Do you even need one?Cheap: Lodge enameled, Tramontina enameled, IKEA "Senior", all $40-60 Fancy: Le Creuset, Staub ($100-$150 at Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Ross, etc) You can get by with just using the multi-clad pot from a stainless steel cookware set for most applications. Once in a while you might need a heavy cast iron dutch oven if you want to sear meat and then throw it in the oven, but even then you can just break out the skillet for searing and then move it into a stainless steel pot for the rest of the cooking. If you want to deep fry however, a dutch oven is nice because the thick, heavy walls help to smooth out temperature changes. If you decide you want one, the next question is: bare cast iron or enameled? Bare cast iron shouldn't be used often for acidic foods like tomatoes or wine, and since you can find enameled ones for roughly the same price range you might as well go with those. Lodge enameled dutch ovens can be found for $40 at Ralph's, IKEA carries their "Senior" for $50, Tramontina at Walmart for $40. If you absolutely need a fancy Le Creuset or Staub to show off to your friends, or if you just want a particular color that's only available by Le Creuset, try Home Goods or similar discount stores. Often times they'll get Le Creuset overstock for $100 or so (half price). 5 quart dutch ovens will snugly fit a whole chicken. Keep in mind that once in a while an enameled cast iron dutch oven will have the enamel flake off or bubble. It's just bad luck, but raising the temperature on it gradually and not blasting the stove on high all the time might help.  APPLIANCES Food processorCuisinart 14 cup or Kitchen-Aid 12 cup The Cuisinart 14 cup processors or Kitchen-Aid 12 cup processors are all great. We recommend against getting smaller ones because one day you're going to have a big batch of things to process and you're going to wish you spent the extra $50. Plus they come with mini-bowls anyways so you can do little jobs like cutting up garlic. There are new Kitchen-Aid 13 cup processors with selectable slicing thickness, but Amazon reviews on these appear to be mixed.  Stand mixerWeaker: Cuisinart SM-55 ($245), KitchenAid Ultra Power ($300?), KitchenAid Artisan ($320?) Stronger: KitchenAid Pro 500 ($256) KitchenAid Pro 600 ($280), Cuisinart SM-70 ($300) Do you have plenty of counter space, like to make bread often and have $200-300 to spend? Otherwise you might as well get a hand mixer. Hand mixers will roughly take twice as long to do everything, bread is a big burden for them, but hey, they're $50. As far as stand mixers go, Cuisinart's mixer is a good sure bet (sold as Kenwood in some countries). Everyone gets Kitchen-Aid however, since everyone else has one and there are a few more accessories available for it. The problem with the Kitchen-Aids is that they cover several price ranges and some of them on the lower end are crap. If you want to spend a little more you can get the pro lift-bowl models at Costco for just a little more. As of right now for some reason all the consumer Kitchen-Aids are overpriced on Amazon and the much more powerful Cuisinarts are going for cheaper.  Beater BladeIf you don't want to scrape down the sides of your stand mixer's bowl every few minutes you can buy the Beater Blade ($15-$20) which has spatulas built in and scrape while it mixes.  BlenderCheap: Kalorik ($50) Middle: Kitchen-Aid ($80-$150) or Ninja ($100) Fancy: Vita-Mix ($380-500)  Do I need a stick blender?These are pretty handy for blending soups without having to transfer it from a pot to a blender and back. Cuisinart's a decent brand for this, others have had good experiences with Braun. Supposedly KitchenAid's is more powerful and has more attachments.  Juicing more than just orangesIf you have $200-250 to spend, get an Omega masticating juicer. Remember in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when that one bad guy got caught in between two stone rollers that turned him into a smear of blood? That's how thorough these things are.  ACCESSORIES Turners/spatulasFor nonstick pans: Oxo Nylon Flexible Turner or Oxo Silicone Flexible Turner For metal pans: Oxo Flexible Spatula or Oxo Fish Turner Metal turners and spatulas are nice and long-lasting, but will scratch non-stick pans. Plastic pans won't scratch up non-stick pans, but will eventually melt down over time and maybe even in one careless accident if your pan is above 450°F. Wood utensils work in non-stick and metal pans, are cheap and you can treat them like crap, but they're really thick and clumsy for certain things and will eventually need replacing as well. Silicone utensils will also work in both metal and nonstick pans and are heat resistant to 600°F, but are slightly thicker than plastic or metal utensils. If you want a super thin metal turner, the Oxo Good Grips Flexible Spatula is great, but kinda flimsy for heavy things. If you want a sturdier metal spatula that's still thin you can get the Oxo metal Fish Turner (yes, for general use). Oxo's thin Nylon Flexible Turner and Silicone Flexible Turner are also great in their categories.  Mandoline slicerCheap: Benriner ($20) Medium: Swissmar Borner ($40) Superfancy: Bron ($160)  Liquid measuring cupsOxo's plastic cups with the black handles have accurate measurements. Glass ones like Pyrex or Anchor… for some reason their quality control is crap, often having their measurement lines off by as much as 1/10. Off the beaten path there is the KitchenArt Adjust-A-Cup which is a cylindrical tube with accurate measurements and a plunger/pusher that's ideal for gooey ingredients like honey or peanut butter.  Garlic pressCheap: Trudeau ($12) Fancy: Kuhn Rikon Epicurean ($40) There is plenty of debate over whether you should even use a garlic press in the first place. For some people it's a huge time saver and gets maximum aromatic effect, for others the pungency of crushed garlic is too powerful. It's a matter of personal preference. If you decide you do want a press, on the high end you have the Kuhn Rikon all-metal Epicurean for $40. For $12 you can also get the Trudeau garlic press which also works great. People have complained about many other brands not getting enough garlic output or garlic squirting out the sides, etc, so these are the two you should probably decide from.  Instant read thermometerCheap: Thermoworks Pocket Thermometer ($20) Fancy: Thermoworks Thermapen ($80-90) Thermapen is roughly $90 and amazingly accurate, and gets readings in about 3 seconds. You can wait for a $10 off sale every couple of months from ThermoWorks' website or if you want to save more than that you can get one of Thermoworks' Pocket Thermometers for $20. These take about 6 seconds to get a reading but are otherwise just as good.  GratersMicroplane zester and extra coarse graters are both great in their categories. Oxo's old box grater was also pretty good but their new one with the double sided holes apparently sucks.  Citrus juicingOccasional juicing: get a glass dome reamer Juicing bags of oranges: get an electrical orange juicer Levers, hand reamers, dome reamers and electric orange juicers (the kind with the spinning reamer dome) extract about the same amount of juice. If you want to turn a bag of 20 oranges into juice, electric wins. If you just need one lime or lemon squeezed for a recipe, a lever or reamer dome will be easiest. Oxo makes a good sturdy citrus lever squeezer, but it's too small for oranges. If you want one that covers the most tasks, get a glass dome reamer... it'll do oranges, lemons, limes and cleans up easily.  Pepper grindersCheap: IKEA spice grinder jars Medium: Oxo pepper grinders Fancy: Peugeot or Unicorn Magnum Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Jun 24, 2012 |
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May 5, 2012 23:31
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Thank you so much for that post.
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May 6, 2012 01:35
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If you would rather have counter space than drawer space, Knifesafes are a good alternative to a knife block, and they're rather inexpensive. A scale is nice to have if you're dealing with powders. VVV Unicorn Magnum every time signalnoise fucked around with this message at 03:27 on May 6, 2012 |
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May 6, 2012 02:53
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Steve: That's an awesome post. I'd probably add a bit about pepper grinders, just because I've seen that one asked and answered a bunch of times as well.
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May 6, 2012 03:17
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The only thing I would change, is splitting it up into something like knives / knife accessories, cookware + accessories, then electrics. I think it'd make it easier for someone who doesn't have anything to sift through. I personally like "bulleted" the main parts, and then bold/italicize things that are required, to make it easier to skim. For instance: quote:
To me it feels easier for someone who doesn't know poo poo to sift through the information. The only other thing I'd add is a bit on what you must have in your kitchen, then a second list of things you may or may not want depending on what you do. This is the list for "I just moved out and I have nothing and don't know what to buy". For instance: quote:
PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 04:34 on May 6, 2012 |
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May 6, 2012 04:32
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I think an important thing to remember is that there is no absolute best advice on what to buy for you. A good chunk of the "must-haves" already listed are either things I don't own, or don't use on a regular basis. I'd recommend not buying anything you don't need and I don't mean, "hey I might need this sometime". It's not worth wasting your money. I don't own a citrus reamer/press, and I always have lemons on hand. I don't own a colander, although I have plenty of things that could be used for that purpose. I rarely use my dry measuring cups to measure. They're scoops. I don't own liquid measuring cups. I weigh things. I'd recommend a commercial blender over household blender + food processor arrangement any day, even though I own a food processor and use it often. I think I have a pastry blender, but it's buried in a box in a closet somewhere. I either use my hands or forks. I own a couple cast iron skillets (and a grill pan), but I'd recommend carbon steel over cast iron personally. The point of this whole rant is, don't buy anything because someone says you need it. If you're serious about cooking, your kitchen set up will soon become very personal. I realize some of my preferences are atypical. There's a whole generation+ of Italian grandmas who've never owned a "chef's knife" and I'm not about to tell anyone it's an absolute must have. However, don't buy any gimmicky kitchen electrics. Ever. Not unless all your kids are named George and you've taken one too many hits to the head.
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May 6, 2012 05:51
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Steve Yun posted:Juicing more than just oranges I have a Breville centrifugal juicer that I like...but it sounds like an airplane and is a pain in the rear end to clean. I'm kind of pissed I didn't see the Omegas before I bought the Breville - common rookie mistake I suppose. Is there a general recommendation for the VRT350 vs. J8006? I just want something that will last a long time, is efficient, and extracts delicious juice. I'm sure I couldn't go wrong with either, but does anyone want to chime in on preference? Thanks.
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May 6, 2012 05:59
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logical fallacy posted:
I don't think I've ever even SEEN a pastry blender, I had to look up what it was. I agree with you completely, there is a VERY short list of basics that are necessities (saute pan, sauce pan, wooden spoon), and several longer lists of things that are useful/necessary based on what you make.
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May 6, 2012 06:44
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I like what Alton Brown has to say about kitchen equipment in Gear For Your Kitchen. Basically he says get rid of any redundant or poorly designed equipment, and do not hold on to anything you don't use at least once every 6 months. Also don't purchase any new equipment unless you know you're going to use it, it's well-constructed and designed, and it does a job significantly better than the gear you've already got. Not to be a huge Alton Brown dork but it's a pretty good book and it makes a lot of nice recommendations. It goes on for pages about different metals that are used for cookware.
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May 6, 2012 06:51
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Shooting Blanks posted:Steve: That's an awesome post. I'd probably add a bit about pepper grinders, just because I've seen that one asked and answered a bunch of times as well. The spice grinder from IKEA with the glass jar and ceramic grinder is pretty drat good.
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May 6, 2012 09:01
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Steve Yun posted:Awesome advice I may be restarting a religeous war here... And I do not intend to, but every time I walk into a kitchen and see a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, I can't help but get a small pang of "Here's someone who bought design over functionality" - even if the gears aren't nylon, they seem underdimensioned and underpowered to me, but on the other hand, they come in a lot of colours, and look like something out of a 1950's comic about how the future is supposed to look like. When I've used the kitchenaid mixers I've always been ok satisfied with the dough hooks ability to push down the dough in the bowl, so no issue with the functionality, but as soon as I start making the batches of dough that I usually do, they start straining - yes it looks like a race horse, but you don't want a race horse to pull your plough.. If you want a good stand-mixer, at a lower price, Kenwood is always the recommendation that I make, and from that you can step up in two directions, either Bear Varimixer or Hobart - that or the early electrolux that Dane owns, which is awesome in itself! (My last Kenwood was bought in the early 70's btw, but broke down in 2009). Furthermore - on kitchen bowls - you need a lot of them, and you either need hard plastic or steel (well soft plastic can do), but not glassware - primarily due to danger of chipping/splintering when you're whisking with real authority, showing that bitch of an eggwhite who's the man, adding sugar like a woman with pms is adding insult to hurt. Nothing worse than when cleaning up you find that a small chip of glass is missing from the side of the bowl - at a best case you decide to redo from start, worst case you think gently caress it, and hope that you do not give anybody any kind of severe injuries when they eat your food. Edit: To clarify on the standmixer thing - I bake on average 4 times a week.
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May 6, 2012 10:07
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Let it all out, everyone. Happy Hat posted:If you want a good stand-mixer, at a lower price, Kenwood is always the recommendation that I make, and from that you can step up in two directions, either Bear Varimixer or Hobart - that or the early electrolux that Dane owns, which is awesome in itself! (My last Kenwood was bought in the early 70's btw, but broke down in 2009). Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 10:35 on May 6, 2012 |
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May 6, 2012 10:30
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Steve Yun posted:Let it all out, everyone. I am stupid and my advice should be ignored!
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May 6, 2012 10:33
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Happy Hat posted:
The real issue I think is that people buy the "home" model kitchenaids. Refurb Commercial models for life  I need to find somewhere to buy an isi whipper, preferably at the same price we've paid at work. $35ea, but everywhere I've looked online has them at $100+. Any recommendations?
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May 6, 2012 14:13
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Shooting Blanks posted:Steve: That's an awesome post. I'd probably add a bit about pepper grinders, just because I've seen that one asked and answered a bunch of times as well. What's the consensus? I'm not giving up my Peugeot Madras (shaftless pepper mill) any time soon because it's freaking incredible, works well, and is gorgeous to look at. But I'm curious what conclusion the hivemind has come to...
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May 6, 2012 15:46
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:I need to find somewhere to buy an isi whipper, preferably at the same price we've paid at work. $35ea, but everywhere I've looked online has them at $100+. Any recommendations?
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May 6, 2012 16:42
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Oddly enough the pro models (at least in Canada) seem to be easier to find these days as I've seen Sears, Home Outfitters, and Costco stock them all for decent prices (Around $299-399).
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May 6, 2012 16:56
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Updated. Is there a limit to how many smilies can be in a post?
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May 6, 2012 20:52
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Steve Yun posted:Updated. Is there a limit to how many smilies can be in a post?
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May 6, 2012 21:48
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Just comp parts of the post together--the product recommendation along with a detailed description. This will also clear up the post a bit. You could also only put the icons for the "big" parts of the post (knives, cookware, electrics, etc--the icons are the easy way to find the sections since the headers for everything are bolded). IE:quote:
You can do similar for anything else, like pepper mills, mixers, whatever. It keeps the recommendation right at the top, for people who just skim and want a quick pick, but also gives details about the differences between different products in depth. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 04:10 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 7, 2012 00:52
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Does anyone know of an electric pressure cooker that hits 15psi? After some cursory searching none of them seem to list what pressures they operate at and I ran across a bunch of reviews that say that most only go up to 10 or 11 psi.
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May 7, 2012 04:09
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Okay, updated the FAQ again, updated some of the prices (lots of things went up since I last shopped), consolidated some entries, fixed smilies and added summaries. Seriously, I have no idea what's going on with pricing on the tilt-head KitchenAids right now, they're priced higher than the KitchenAid pro mixers. And with the prices on the superior Cuisinarts what they are right now, they're a much better buy. Anyways, weekend's over, I'm done editing the FAQ, someone else can take it from here
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May 7, 2012 07:26
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Fuzzy Pipe Wrench posted:Does anyone know of an electric pressure cooker that hits 15psi? After some cursory searching none of them seem to list what pressures they operate at and I ran across a bunch of reviews that say that most only go up to 10 or 11 psi. I have the cheapest Fagor and the website says "one pressure setting: High (15psi)". I have no idea how to verify whether or not it actually hits 15psi though. I really only use it to make stock but I've been happy with it and it was pretty cheap (~40 bucks used on ebay for the 10qt) although buying it new is crazy expensive (like 140). edit: just reread and saw you wanted electric, my bad! The fagor is a stovetop
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May 7, 2012 17:15
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