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Guitarchitect posted:Do you have an endgrain cutting board, and does Williams-Sonoma carry them? Because that'd be the top of my list... I have a little woodworking shop and made myself one (14x20, 1.5" thick) and it was the best addition to the kitchen I've made since getting the Madras. It's just so much better, in every way, for prepping food on. There's something so satisfying about the way it absorbs vibration+knifework I have a cheapo $20 maple cutting board that has somehow warped (from moisture?). A cutting board upgrade is actually a great idea and WS does carry them. I'm sure they're overpriced but who cares? Free cutting board!
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Sep 13, 2013 03:11
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jason posted:I have a cheapo $20 maple cutting board that has somehow warped (from moisture?). A cutting board upgrade is actually a great idea and WS does carry them. I'm sure they're overpriced but who cares? Free cutting board! Make sure that you oil the poo poo out of it before you use it. Yours may have deformed because it was not oiled and water got into the glued spaces and rotted away and/or the moisture warped it. This happened to me with both hardwood and bamboo cutting boards. If you can, elevate your boards from your counter at least a little bit - I found that a few layers of shelf liners will help. I had the metal version of the Peugeot pepper mills and it was literally the worst mill ever. It would not grind if you had the top screwed on tight and you had to pull the top portion up if you wanted it to grind at all, which would unscrew the nut and make the grind inconsistent. Four previous roommates could not got it to work properly. This model is not worth the money.
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Sep 13, 2013 04:55
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TATPants posted:Make sure that you oil the poo poo out of it before you use it. Yours may have deformed because it was not oiled and water got into the glued spaces and rotted away and/or the moisture warped it. This happened to me with both hardwood and bamboo cutting boards. If you can, elevate your boards from your counter at least a little bit - I found that a few layers of shelf liners will help. http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Fido-Gaskets-Bag/dp/B0001BMYIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379045344&sr=8-1&keywords=gasket Also, as a warning, DON'T BUY PROTEAK, teak dulls knives.
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Sep 13, 2013 05:14
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No Wave posted:Use these to elevate your cutting board or any other cutting board you use, you will not regret it: Those seals are also a great idea. I used the shelf liners because I bought too many rolls and it seemed to work when I was stocking up a new kitchen. Honestly, I put about three layers of home depot moving box scraps between the shelving material because I liked the height it gave me. It was also easier to scrape stuff off the board when it was higher. Seconding the anti-teak cutting board camp...just don't
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Sep 13, 2013 05:34
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So what are the preferred woods for a cutting board? The OP doesn't get into great detail about it, other than oiling them monthly. So far we have: lovely woods ∙ Teak Good ∙ Everything else?  I recently bought some Shun knives and I don't want to dull them up on substandard woods 
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Sep 13, 2013 15:04
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People poo-poo bamboo cutting boards (I think because they're harder than traditional wood and may dull your knives quicker? But not nearly as bad as teak) but they're inexpensive, look nice (to me), and I've got a large one and a medium one and they've both served me well. I just make sure to wash and dry them as thoroughly as possible directly after use, and have had 0 problems.
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Sep 13, 2013 15:56
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Maple is a good wood for cutting boards, as is walnut. Bamboo is OK, my only qualm is that I only seem to find thin bamboo boards which tend to split after some time. A good end grain block is going to be in my budget after I move, hopefully to a place with a bigger kitchen.
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Sep 13, 2013 16:03
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I use these: http://www.epicureancs.com/kitchenseries.php I'm not sure if there's a fatal flaw with them, but I absolutely love mine. They can be thrown into the dishwasher, they don't get groove marks from the knives and they're really comfortable to cut on.
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Sep 13, 2013 16:54
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Shooting Blanks posted:Maple is a good wood for cutting boards, as is walnut. Maple is also really attractive. One advantage to wood over synthetic is that you can always sand the surface down if it starts looking bad from cut marks or if you manage to stain it or something.
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Sep 13, 2013 17:01
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TATPants posted:Maple is also really attractive. One advantage to wood over synthetic is that you can always sand the surface down if it starts looking bad from cut marks or if you manage to stain it or something. If prettiness isn't a concern, sani tuff boards are synthetic, thick, have the action of wood, and are resurfaceable. Otherwise, get a boardsmith board.
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Sep 13, 2013 17:43
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Wood countertops, obviously.
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Sep 13, 2013 18:38
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I use some cheap ikea boards, one is loving huge. both were like $5-15 and work awesome. I've had bamboo boards that completely sucked (fell apart after 6 months, warped all the time), and some really thick "good" boards that were annoying as hell to use. (no, I don't need 6 inches of wood underneath my knife to properly cut). gimme a cheap wood board that doesn't warp and I'm good to go. (or wooden countertops... one day, one day...)
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Sep 13, 2013 19:04
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I like thicker boards because more inertia and they don't flop around as easily. Even with a damp papertowel or nonskid whatever on the bottom, thin boards still flop a bit. I hate the feel of plastic boards with ~mai precious weeabo knaifus~
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Sep 13, 2013 20:36
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GrAviTy84 posted:If prettiness isn't a concern, sani tuff boards are synthetic, thick, have the action of wood, and are resurfaceable.
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Sep 13, 2013 23:49
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Sanituff's are great, and I love the San Jamar polys.
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Sep 14, 2013 00:22
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Guitarchitect posted:I'm a little late to the party here, but I have to vouch for the Peugot Madras. It has a magnetic disc on the top that opens into a big, open chamber. It's a shaftless pepper mill. I have the Peugeot U-Select Chateauneuf grinder and it kinda sucks, at least with the huge Penzey's extra bold peppercorns. It grinds well but I think the peppercorns are too big for the mechanism; it can take a while for a new peppercorn to catch and start grinding. It looks nice, at least.
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Sep 14, 2013 02:50
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various cheeses posted:So what are the preferred woods for a cutting board? The OP doesn't get into great detail about it, other than oiling them monthly. Maple is the defacto standard. I'll disagree with Shooting Blanks though, walnut makes a good serving board but I would stay away from it as a cutting board - it's an open-grained wood so unless you're completely confident that it has had all of the grain closed up (with an epoxy or a number of coats of a curing/hard finish), it's going to collect crap and there's a higher chance of bacteria flourishing. Maple has a very tight grain structure and is a closed pore wood, so it's both solid and hygenic when properly cared for.
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Sep 14, 2013 04:32
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Literally anybody who wants a cutting board and lives near an Ikea, do the following: Go to a store, buy this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30087148/ Go to the medicine aisle of your local grocery store, buy a bottle of mineral oil for literally a dollar. Oil it once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for the rest of your life. It cost you eleven dollars. It is big enough for anything. If you gently caress it up, you're only out ten dollars.
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Sep 14, 2013 06:17
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Is there anybody here who can give an honest comparison of the various cutting surfaces mentioned in this thread? I would really like to see that.
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Sep 14, 2013 07:35
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Stalizard posted:Literally anybody who wants a cutting board and lives near an Ikea, do the following: TATPants posted:Is there anybody here who can give an honest comparison of the various cutting surfaces mentioned in this thread? I would really like to see that. Plastic is very light and portable, but often warps, is not antimicrobial like wood, can't be sanded down if it gets marked up, and feels less good. I like having a small-ish one. Wood is heavier, does not warp so much, is antimicrobial, feels great, can be refinished, but needs to be oiled weekly. As for which woods: Avoid bamboo and teak. End-grain is the deluxe version as it dulls knives less, but side-grain is acceptable. If you're in doubt and really want to get it right buy from Boardsmith. Rubber is in between in terms of weight, does not warp, is antimicrobial, feels pretty good, needs no maintenance. I don't know any downsides except that it is not as pretty as wood. Slipperiness is no longer an issue if you get some gasket lids so you don't really have to consider that as a factor. I also recommend for your big wood board getting one with a juice canal but without feet so that you can use it with and without canal.
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Sep 14, 2013 12:15
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Plenty of poly boards are antimicrobial, FYI.
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Sep 14, 2013 13:04
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TATPants posted:Is there anybody here who can give an honest comparison of the various cutting surfaces mentioned in this thread? I would really like to see that. In addition to No Wave's comment, I will say that an edge-grain cutting board (like what IKEA sells) is completely inferior to a proper end-grain cutting board. Edge-grain, with a hard wood like maple, will dull your knife just as fast as any other material will... it'll also wear a heck of a lot quicker and you won't get the nice knife-absorption of an endgrain cutting board. This video gives the simplest demonstration of why that is. For what it's worth I've been using my cutting board for about 8 months and you still can't see any knife marks.
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Sep 14, 2013 13:17
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Plenty of poly boards are antimicrobial, FYI. The big advantage of a poly cutting board is that you can just throw 'em in the dishwasher after you've used them, which will give you a sterile cutting surface more reliably than hand washing a wooden cutting board. And poly boards warping? Really? I always have a stack of four or five cheapass poly boards from the local restaurant supply and I treat them like they're pr0k's Mom and have never had one warp on me. On the other hand I've had several wooden boards warp on me.
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Sep 14, 2013 13:49
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I've been thinking about Teak for cutting boards, silica content alone shouldn't dismiss it from being a cutting surface, sure, it dulls tools, but unless you do 30,000 strokes with your knife per minute (which might be the reason router bits eat themselves) I think the effect on the knife will be minimal. Who knows, it might actually have a polishing effect. I think Janka hardness in this case could be more detrimental to a knife's edge than just pure silica content, it's silly to assume that it's a bad cutting surface just because it's a tool-duller, keeping in mind that the angle of attack of wood tools and knives will be entirely different. I would simply not dismiss Teak just because it dulls tools. deimos fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Sep 14, 2013 |
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Sep 14, 2013 18:51
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deimos posted:Who knows, it might actually have a polishing effect. You think that repeatedly pushing an edge, through material and into a rock-hard surface will polish it? I'm not sure I follow the logic?
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Sep 14, 2013 19:11
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No Wave posted:Main issues is that weird lip on top. It means that you have to use it with the gravy canal, when for most tasks you don't want one. quote:Rubber is in between in terms of weight, does not warp, is antimicrobial, feels pretty good, needs no maintenance. I don't know any downsides except that it is not as pretty as wood. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/725933
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Sep 14, 2013 19:57
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No Wave posted:Main issues is that weird lip on top. It means that you have to use it with the gravy canal, when for most tasks you don't want one. When you flip it over, the lip sits on the edge of the counter and the cutting surface goes almost all the way back to the wall, this is seriously a huge board. I like the lip because it makes it easy to scrape off scraps into the trash can, or stick like a tupperware under it and slide off whatever you just chopped. I've had mine for about a year and I do ~90% of my cutting on the flat side. I know it's not as good as an end grain board and all, but at the price/size point I hate to see it dismissed.
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Sep 14, 2013 21:11
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Stalizard posted:Literally anybody who wants a cutting board and lives near an Ikea, do the following: this is what I use (I have a smaller ikea one too.) it's loving amazing. the lip looks annoying, but it's actually really nice (can just swipe scraps off the board into the trash without having to slide the board halfway off the counter. also the gravy channel thing is nice for carving chickens or whatever has a ton of juice, and if you flip it over the way it's supposed to be there's not a channel. best $10 I have ever spent cooking board wise.
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Sep 15, 2013 00:11
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I'm looking to replace my current cookware set (Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized) with stainless steel, as the surfaces are starting to wear off and aren't really non-stick anymore. I was looking at the Cuisinart Multi Clad Pro and the Calphalon Tri-Ply sets and was wondering whether the Calphalon was worth the extra cost over the Cuisinart?
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Sep 16, 2013 22:23
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NoDamage posted:I'm looking to replace my current cookware set (Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized) with stainless steel, as the surfaces are starting to wear off and aren't really non-stick anymore. I was looking at the Cuisinart Multi Clad Pro and the Calphalon Tri-Ply sets and was wondering whether the Calphalon was worth the extra cost over the Cuisinart? MCP performs well, but do you really need a 12 piece set?
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Sep 16, 2013 23:01
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I have a full set of almost entirely MCP cookware and have zero items that come in that set. I have the 12" versions of the fry pan and saute pan, the 2 quart and 4 quart versions of the pots, skipped the stockpot (have a pressure cooker instead), and have their roasting pan as well. I find these sizes much more useful, even cooking for 1 (I'm now biased as I have a dope-rear end CookTek induction burner that lets the 12" pans really sing). Basically, I'd recommend picking up only the 12" fry pan to start (as you can probably get away with having non-stick saucepans and stockpots for most tasks) and then to replace the rest slowly as you feel you have to as you don't gain much getting that set.
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Sep 16, 2013 23:11
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NoDamage posted:I'm looking to replace my current cookware set (Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized) with stainless steel, as the surfaces are starting to wear off and aren't really non-stick anymore. I was looking at the Cuisinart Multi Clad Pro and the Calphalon Tri-Ply sets and was wondering whether the Calphalon was worth the extra cost over the Cuisinart? I like my MCP. I actually bought the set costco sells, it has more useful sizes included (12 inch fry pan, 4 qt sauce pan) and is a fair bit cheaper. It has glass lids instead of metal ones, but if that's a dealbreaker I'm sure you can pick up metal ones individually. If you aren't in a hurry it occasionally goes on sale for about $150. http://www.costco.com/Cuisinart%C2%AE-12-piece-Professional-Tri-Ply-Stainless-Steel-Cookware.product.11759509.html
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Sep 16, 2013 23:23
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deimos posted:MCP performs well, but do you really need a 12 piece set? I do use my current 1.5 quart and 3 quart saucepans fairly frequently though, as well as my 4 quart saute pan. I could buy the pieces individually, which seems somewhat cost effective for the Multi Clad Pro, but not nearly as cost effective for the Calphalon Tri-Ply (where the individual pieces are rather pricey compared to the cost of the set). I might go for the Costco version since it is cheaper and the 12" skillet is probably more useful. But I wasn't sure if the Costco Cuisinart Tri-Ply was the same quality level as the Multi Clad Pro. Edit - Well, I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and looked around. They didn't have the Cuisinart Multi Clad Pro but did have the Calphalon Tri-Ply. The Calphalon build quality is very nice, however I felt that the sizing of the pieces was kind of awkward. The 2.5 qt sauce pan and 3 qt saute pan both seemed, well, too small for practical use. I also don't see much point in having both a 3 qt saute pan and a 3 qt chef's pan, so I probably won't be buying that set. At this point I'm more inclined to just pick up a few select pieces from the collection rather than the whole set. NoDamage fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Sep 17, 2013 |
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Sep 16, 2013 23:57
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Check around at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, I bought super cheap all-clads there.
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Sep 17, 2013 06:02
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deimos posted:Check around at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, I bought super cheap all-clads there. There is a store around me called "Home Goods" and they have everything under the Sun at incredibly discounted prices. They will never have a set of anything, but you can find individual pots and pans for much less than retail. I have never seen All-Clad there, but they usually have Cuisinart stuff there. As a bonus, you can grab a whole bunch of random kitchen accessories there if you don't have them already. This store is like a Goodwill of unused house things.
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Sep 17, 2013 06:22
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TATPants posted:There is a store around me called "Home Goods" and they have everything under the Sun at incredibly discounted prices. They will never have a set of anything, but you can find individual pots and pans for much less than retail. I have never seen All-Clad there, but they usually have Cuisinart stuff there. As a bonus, you can grab a whole bunch of random kitchen accessories there if you don't have them already. This store is like a Goodwill of unused house things. Home Goods is a TJ Maxx brand, rarely they'll have All-Clads, but at stupid cheap prices.
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Sep 17, 2013 14:37
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Speaking of stainless steel, my fiancee and I received a Cuisinart 12-piece tri-ply set as an engagement gift. I've been slowly but surely unpacking it from the giant box to use various pieces, but how do you guys clean them? I'm trying to be kind of gentle on them so I've avoided using the sponge scrubber but the saute pan is starting to get stained. Just barkeepers friend, some hot water, and a sponge? I'm not too worried about keeping them ~scratch free~ forever but I'm trying to be gentle on them to keep them looking nice for at least a little bit, they're so pretty!  Secondary question, for people with a set that big and a small kitchen, do you just stack them in cabinets and not worry about scratches or do you hang them/do something else?
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Sep 17, 2013 18:28
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Iron Lung posted:but how do you guys clean them? Brillo/SOS pads.
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Sep 17, 2013 18:42
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Iron Lung posted:Speaking of stainless steel, my fiancee and I received a Cuisinart 12-piece tri-ply set as an engagement gift. I've been slowly but surely unpacking it from the giant box to use various pieces, but how do you guys clean them? I'm trying to be kind of gentle on them so I've avoided using the sponge scrubber but the saute pan is starting to get stained. Just barkeepers friend, some hot water, and a sponge? I'm not too worried about keeping them ~scratch free~ forever but I'm trying to be gentle on them to keep them looking nice for at least a little bit, they're so pretty! It's cookware, it's meant to be used. If you want something to show off, buy a piece of art.
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Sep 17, 2013 18:59
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Has anyone who ordered an Anova a week+ back gotten any shipping info or similar? I gather these are built in batch orders and ship out once a week, but 10 business days without any contact makes me itchy.
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Sep 17, 2013 19:14
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