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I'm looking for a mortar and pestle so that I can grind toasted spices. Any recommendations?
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Sep 28, 2012 04:41
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EVG posted:I'm looking for a mortar and pestle so that I can grind toasted spices. Any recommendations? marble's too smooth, as is stainless... a molcajete is probably too porous. I've had awesome results with a granite one, as it's rough+heavy. I hear that porcelain is the bees knees, but it's also the priciest.
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Sep 28, 2012 05:03
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Guitarchitect posted:marble's too smooth I dunno. This marble one from Ikea seemed pretty good. I didn't buy it myself last I was at an Ikea, but they seem to have roughed up the interior pretty well for the purpose. Can't beat the price either.
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Sep 28, 2012 05:27
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This one works fine for me.
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Sep 28, 2012 06:11
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Guitarchitect posted:marble's too smooth, as is stainless... a molcajete is probably too porous. I've had awesome results with a granite one, as it's rough+heavy. I hear that porcelain is the bees knees, but it's also the priciest. marble isn't too smooth. I have a marble one sort of like gilgames posted, and the inside of the mortar is pretty rough and has sort of almost like really thin ridges. it works wonderfully. I have a porcelain one too, it's way too smooth and generally sucks rear end. gets stained all the time too. if you're grinding toasted spices though, save yourself the money and trouble, and get a $10 black & decker coffee grinder. I couldn't live without mine. honestly I use my mortar and pestle most for grinding garlic to a pulp for thai/vietnamese sauces
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Sep 28, 2012 06:27
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mindphlux posted:if you're grinding toasted spices though, save yourself the money and trouble, and get a $10 black & decker coffee grinder. I couldn't live without mine. honestly I use my mortar and pestle most for grinding garlic to a pulp for thai/vietnamese sauces Fyi, if you're using a cheapo coffee grinder: something about cloves and allspice gets into plastic and causes it to fog and it's really difficult to un-clove-ify your grinder. Or at least so says the internet.
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Sep 28, 2012 22:35
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Doodarazumas posted:Fyi, if you're using a cheapo coffee grinder: something about cloves and allspice gets into plastic and causes it to fog and it's really difficult to un-clove-ify your grinder. Or at least so says the internet. And personal experience 
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Sep 28, 2012 22:40
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A grinder will get a different flavor profile out of the spices. When you're pounding and grinding, you're often releasing oils from the spices... a grinder just chops the poo poo out of it.
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Sep 28, 2012 22:46
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Doodarazumas posted:Fyi, if you're using a cheapo coffee grinder: something about cloves and allspice gets into plastic and causes it to fog and it's really difficult to un-clove-ify your grinder. Or at least so says the internet. This is true of a lot of things that have oils in them. The way my wife the biochemist explains it, the oil molecules from the spices are small enough that they can infiltrate the plastic of the machine and permanently discolor or fog it. I learned that the hard way when I did chilies in my brand new food processor and turned it red. If this ever happens to you, you can soak the fogged/discolored part in vegetable oil and that will draw some of it out. It won't look new, though, if that's something you care about.
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Sep 29, 2012 00:44
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Gilgameshback posted:Messermeister Meridian Elite Huh, I didn't recognize the name so I googled around, and Messermeister ("knife master") knives are sold as Burgvogel ("castle bird", just a surname, though) in Germany. Known for being great value for money. 
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Sep 29, 2012 23:49
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Doodarazumas posted:Fyi, if you're using a cheapo coffee grinder: something about cloves and allspice gets into plastic and causes it to fog and it's really difficult to un-clove-ify your grinder. Or at least so says the internet. yep, very true. I've given up on caring about this. saw a deal on a coffee grinder for $5, so decided to replace my 10 year old fogged as poo poo one. I kept it kosher for like 3 months until my girl went and made a batch of five spice powder. 
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Sep 30, 2012 01:49
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Has anyone tried one of these? http://sellout.woot.com/ Kuhn Rikon 4th burner pot. For $12, I'm thinking I'll do it just to see if it's worth a drat - a vertical pot like that could come in handy, just figured I'd ask before I spent the cash on it.
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Sep 30, 2012 08:12
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I can't imagine what I'd use that for. a small fryer maybe? but fryers need more horizontal space than vertical. tea and coffee would be mostly useless because of the wide mesh basket... couldn't make sauces in it because you can't really see what you're doing at the bottom of the pot... if you're just thinking of heating water, get an electric kettle - it will heat 2-3x faster than a pot on a stove, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without one.
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Sep 30, 2012 10:05
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Is an immersion blender a good replacement for a normal blender or a food processor? I just want to use it to make small smoothies and some sauces. I would also want to try making my own hummus with it. I was also thinking about trying to make some soups with it. I heard an immersion blender would be good for all of those, but would a cheap one like this be any good?
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Sep 30, 2012 11:25
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mindphlux posted:I can't imagine what I'd use that for. a small fryer maybe? but fryers need more horizontal space than vertical. tea and coffee would be mostly useless because of the wide mesh basket... couldn't make sauces in it because you can't really see what you're doing at the bottom of the pot... You could sterilize one jam jar...depending on the jar's size.
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Sep 30, 2012 16:09
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Pigasus posted:Is an immersion blender a good replacement for a normal blender or a food processor? I just want to use it to make small smoothies and some sauces. I would also want to try making my own hummus with it. I was also thinking about trying to make some soups with it. It's a great thing to have in general, but I wouldn't use it as a replacement for a normal blender or food processor. Can't really imagine making a smoothie (blender) or pesto (food processor) or many other things with the immersion blender, but I love it for things like smoothing out soups and sauces, and using the mini-chopper attachment for small things that don't warrant the food processor. Gilgameshback posted:This one works fine for me. I've been looking at that one, it's really pretty and I wouldn't mind it sitting out. But the reviews talk about it giving off a lot of dust - did you experience that, or is it just something to ignore? I do have a cheapo blade grinder that I use as well, just some things seem like they would work better if I could just crush a tiny amount by hand. Or, things that want wet items, like some indian recipes say to crush up the chiles with the spices and I'd like to see the results with a mortar rather than whizzing it in the grinder.
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Sep 30, 2012 16:25
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Can we talk electric kettles? I'm starting to feel like upgrading from the generic $30 steel thing I've been using; ideally I'd like something that will hit a specified temperature and then shift to a keep-warm mode. Candidates I've identified so far are this Zojirushi monstrosity, a Cuisinart with a silly handle, or this Chef's Choice thing. As far as I can tell the Chef's Choice is the only option that will let me set a specific temperature instead of using presets, but the Zojirushi's timer/large capacity are tempting and the Cuisinart...uh. Has pretty blue lights? Anyway. I'm mostly a tea drinker and do my steeping in-cup, but I am in love with my new local coffee place and will probably start playing with a french press for their roasts. Any experience with these/other options I should be considering?
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Sep 30, 2012 16:46
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Irony.or.Death posted:Can we talk electric kettles? I'm starting to feel like upgrading from the generic $30 steel thing I've been using; ideally I'd like something that will hit a specified temperature and then shift to a keep-warm mode. Candidates I've identified so far are this Zojirushi monstrosity, a Cuisinart with a silly handle, or this Chef's Choice thing.
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Sep 30, 2012 17:32
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EVG posted:I've been looking at that one, it's really pretty and I wouldn't mind it sitting out. But the reviews talk about it giving off a lot of dust - did you experience that, or is it just something to ignore? I have had no problems with marble dust. Maybe it depends on the mortar you get? It is indeed attractive enough to leave out. It does have a kind of cheap green felt bottom that gets soaked if you wash it off, but that hardly seems like a dealbreaker for something under $20. The thing is quite well designed: the pestle is huge and covers the whole mortar, so if you're grinding cumin or something you don't have seeds leaping out and rolling under the refrigerator.
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Sep 30, 2012 18:11
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dino. posted:If you're willing to drop $200 on a kettle, you could do better with an in sink boiling water dispenser. http://www.insinkerator.com/en-us/Household-Products/Water-Products/Pages/default.aspx It looks like the hot water tank, faucet and filter alone for those systems will run you almost $400, to say nothing of the plumbing work. Faucet: $122 Heater $185 Filter unit: $63 Chemmy fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Sep 30, 2012 |
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Sep 30, 2012 18:27
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Irony.or.Death posted:Can we talk electric kettles? I'm starting to feel like upgrading from the generic $30 steel thing I've been using; ideally I'd like something that will hit a specified temperature and then shift to a keep-warm mode. Candidates I've identified so far are this Zojirushi monstrosity, a Cuisinart with a silly handle, or this Chef's Choice thing. oh my holy god those are expensive I upgraded from my old cheapo one about a year ago to this : http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-AWK-290SBD-Digital-Electric-Stainless/dp/B0044WWB9I/ref=pd_sim_k_1 which does everything you want it to (and about as much as those $100 ones), and it's half the price. I couldn't be happier. it's stainless steel on all the inside which I think is important - my old one would make the water taste a little like plastic which I hated. edit : also, it's awesome - the water level indicator lights up when it's on, and a LED slowly fades from green to blue to purple to red as it reaches different temperatures, so you can tell from just a glance across the kitchen how far along it is in heating up. I use this a lot if I'm trying to work on a million different prep items at once. mindphlux fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Sep 30, 2012 |
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Sep 30, 2012 18:53
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That looks pretty good and gets bonus points for having the water level displayed on the side instead of in the usual dumb under-handle spot. What are the temperature settings on it?
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Sep 30, 2012 19:34
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It uses presets. If you want fine control, get the Chefs Choice There are others coming with adjustable temps, but they're not out on the market yet.
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Sep 30, 2012 20:34
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I've got this one from Upton and it's still holding up just fine after years of near daily use. The temperature dial is fully variable, but the one catch is that the listed temperatures in the manual for various positions on the dial don't seem to match up with what it actually produces. Still, after some experimenting and measuring I figured out where to turn it for what temp. So yeah, maybe not the most perfect model but for $34 it's a pretty good deal.
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Sep 30, 2012 20:51
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Irony.or.Death posted:Can we talk electric kettles? I'm starting to feel like upgrading from the generic $30 steel thing I've been using; ideally I'd like something that will hit a specified temperature and then shift to a keep-warm mode. Candidates I've identified so far are this Zojirushi monstrosity, a Cuisinart with a silly handle, or this Chef's Choice thing. I have both the zojirushi and the chef's choice. Both are good for separate reasons. Chef's choice is good for your delicate teas, and things where precise temperature control is a must. Zojirushi is good for knowing you are going to have a specific type of tea or coffee lots and having the capacity to know it will pretty much be available when you need it. I use this one at work and it gets refilled about 4 times a day. It only has 3 settings. Again though I understand why you would want to go a cheaper route. The only problems I have had so far are the chef's choice temp control setting being a little wacky (ie stop heating after a while when it hasn't reached its temperature yet). After a good thorough cleaning it seems to have been fixed. Also it's loving awkward to carry.
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Sep 30, 2012 21:21
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Irony.or.Death posted:Candidates I've identified so far are this Zojirushi monstrosity, a Cuisinart with a silly handle, or this Chef's Choice thing. That Zojirushi is what a lot of convenience stores in Japan have on hand for customers who want to cook up their instant ramen in store. I mean I think it's great and all but it seems a bit like over kill? I think mindphlux's suggestion is a better buy than the 3 you've listed so far.
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Sep 30, 2012 21:24
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So, I just picked up one of the Kitchenaid 600 Professional bowl-lift mixers, because I've coveted them for years, and my parents have a kitchenaid, and I love the way they look, etc etc. Unfortunately, I'm really disappointed with it. It's way louder than my parents one (which is like 15 years old, and I think a 4.5 or 5 or 5.5 qt mixer, not the 6.5 of the 600). I've heard that Kitchenaid's customer support is pretty good. Do you think they'd let me swap the big one for one of their smaller bowl-lift models, instead? If so, are those ones quieter? Alternatively, what's the other mixer everybody loves to death? (That's available in the US)
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Sep 30, 2012 22:57
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Cuisinart 5.5 quart. Not sure if it will be any quieter, but it will be very strong.
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Sep 30, 2012 23:18
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Irony.or.Death posted:That looks pretty good and gets bonus points for having the water level displayed on the side instead of in the usual dumb under-handle spot. What are the temperature settings on it? Don't quote me on this, but it's something like 160, 175, 180(?), 190, 205, boiling. you can set it to automatically warm to any of those points, and just sit and maintain that temperature. I only really use that feature when I'm brewing beer and need sparge water at a certain temperature, or need to add some specific temperature to my mash. I've measured the water temperature with my thermapen, and it's pretty accurate, so I'm happy.
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Oct 1, 2012 01:54
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If you want specific temperature control, the new Bonavita variable temperature kettles are as good as it gets, but they cost about $90. A kettle like this isn't really a direct replacement for something like a Zojirushi hot water dispenser. For one thing, they aren't intended to be left on 24/7 like the Zoji. I find it really handy to have a constantly available and portable source of near-boiling water for coffee, cooking, heating cups, and so on. It's especially useful at work, where I don't have easy access to a water supply. I use a variable temp kettle for tea I brew below boiling, though.
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Oct 1, 2012 02:40
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Bob_McBob posted:If you want specific temperature control, the new Bonavita variable temperature kettles are as good as it gets, but they cost about $90. My bonavita just shipped, should be here tuesday, so excited!
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Oct 1, 2012 05:13
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I need a spatula recommendation. I got a set of 3 wonderful silicone spatulas with metal handles drat near a decade ago at Linens and Things and since they went out of business, I've lost one at a pot luck, one broke on me (the silicone. Tried to mix up a cold pot of chili), and am down to one heavily abused spatula. I would love one that allows me to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot without feeling like I am bending the metal, about to crack the silicone or getting my hands in the hot hot food. So what's the problem? My favorite pot is a 20 quart pot. Can someone recommend a nice long and strong silicone tipped spatula with a (preferably) stainless steel handle? I'd love something in the 16"-24" range. If it can disassemble for cleaning, even better. The spatula in the picture is 11" long.  (As for what I do with all the food? Freeze a lot of it and eat what I don't freeze over the next week.)
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Oct 1, 2012 06:05
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These are my favourite spatulas: http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Products-2-Inch-Scraper/dp/B0042YHN6E/
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Oct 1, 2012 06:21
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Fire Storm posted:I need a spatula recommendation. use long wooden spoons/spatulas? they take far more abuse and are generally more useful for scraping bottoms of pots / leaving on top of pots and not getting burningly hot / etc.
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Oct 1, 2012 07:12
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Bob_McBob posted:These are my favourite spatulas: This is the correct answer.
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Oct 1, 2012 10:15
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Irony.or.Death posted:Can we talk electric kettles? I'm starting to feel like upgrading from the generic $30 steel thing I've been using; ideally I'd like something that will hit a specified temperature and then shift to a keep-warm mode. Candidates I've identified so far are this Zojirushi monstrosity, a Cuisinart with a silly handle, or this Chef's Choice thing. If you've got cash to spend and are super into loose tea (wasn't sure what you meant exactly by in-cup), there's also a 250 buck fully automatic tea maker (that also brings regular water up to any temperature super, super fast). It's one of my best friends.
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Oct 1, 2012 16:10
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mindphlux posted:use long wooden spoons/spatulas? they take far more abuse and are generally more useful for scraping bottoms of pots / leaving on top of pots and not getting burningly hot / etc. There's an amazing hard plastic spatula/spoon thing we have at work. Thing is heat resistant up to at least 500F, and hard as a rock. However, I can't remember the brand, other than it's french. We started out with 5, and now we're down to 1. Goddamn kitchen thieves 
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Oct 1, 2012 16:22
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The guys at work render duckfat almost every day, and they only use the lard for staff meals! I am going to take some of it home! What should I keep it in? (And what should I make first? I would say I'm moderately skilled in the ways of the kitchen...)
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Oct 4, 2012 03:47
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Keep it in a jar and use it for greasing up pans. Fry some potatoes in it or something.
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Oct 4, 2012 04:15
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blowingupcasinos posted:The guys at work render duckfat almost every day, and they only use the lard for staff meals! I am going to take some of it home! What should I keep it in? (And what should I make first? I would say I'm moderately skilled in the ways of the kitchen...) As to what to make---frites is the obvious choice. I really dig pommes persillade with the taters fried in duck fat. I also really like scallops pan fried with duck fat. Put a couple Tbsp in a fry pan over a high heat. Scallops you wash and pat dry, sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt, sear both sides in the fat. Reserve them, then throw in some minced garlic, let it just get fragrant, add some tomato concasse. Keep it moving while the tomatoes soften just a little, add a little white wine, reduce a little, add a little chicken stock, just enough so when it reduces a little everything will look like a sauce. When it's there, add the scallops back in, plus some basil chiffonade, plate, done.
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Oct 4, 2012 04:20
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