The GWS product recommendation thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The GWS product recommendation thread

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

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

# ¿ Nov 28, 2011 17:08

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 09:36

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Happy Hat posted:

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.

The real issue I think is that people buy the "home" model kitchenaids. Refurb Commercial models for life :colbert:

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?

# ¿ May 6, 2012 14:13

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

mod sassinator posted:

They're hot but not super hot--I rarely cook on full high heat. The water will boil quickly but not instantly vaporize. If you let it cool down too much it won't really deglaze and be a pain to cleanup.

I got this set at Macy's ~6mos ago for like 25bux. I've set the 12in pan on fire like 3 or 4 times(gogo med-high heat with sesame oil!). Incredibly good buy. They're treated with some nonstick coating, but I'm sure I've ruined that by now.

Should point out that I use them daily and no warping, and regularly over high heat when stir frying or searing. In fact, I don't think I've used them any lower than med-high.

# ¿ May 14, 2012 00:42

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Any real kitchen is using one of these :colbert:

# ¿ May 19, 2012 14:19

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Steve Yun posted:

I was once young and naive like you

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3437762&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=49#post397901447

You haven't met our dishwashers. Those are the only mandolines they haven't figured out how to ruin. And even then, they're trying. Bits of carrot stuck in the julienne blades? RAM THIS HERE SCRAPER INTO THE BLADE.

# ¿ May 21, 2012 23:17

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

No Wave posted:

Not sure why you're handing your blades to the dishwashers but whatever guy!!!

When your yearly numbers are in the tens of millions, nobody cares if you buy a new mandoline every 3-6mos, it's cheaper than wasting your cooks' time cleaning easily replaceable tools. We go through omelet pans like crazy here, usually but 12 new pans every other month.

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

My biggest complaint with the Bron is that it's loud. I imagine that wouldn't matter in a commercial kitchen, but I found it unpleasant.

Yeah, it's pretty quiet when you compare it to the noise from a steamer, steam kettles, convection ovens, etc.

# ¿ May 22, 2012 00:03

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

I don't know if anyone had considered this, but we sv our short ribs at work in a hotbox. Set hotbox to 160F, toss vac bagged ribs into rondeaux with water, finished in 24 hours.

Our GM is too much of a cheap bastard to let us buy a nice temp bath =/

# ¿ Jul 17, 2012 13:44

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

No Wave posted:

This is fine I guess but are 160 degree short ribs actually any better than normal braised ones? 160 degrees is a well-done steak.

They definitely turn out better than braising. As far as temp, 160F is as low as our hotbox elements go.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2012 15:12

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

If your stainless pans are hard to clean, l2deglaze.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2012 16:40

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

You are cooking wrong.

More specifically, his wife is. I mean, I caught my 13in stainless on fire (lolol sesame oil) and it only took me maybe 5min to scrub it back to shiny silver.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2012 17:12

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

PRADA SLUT posted:

Are those square silicon pot handlers enough to handle a cast iron pan in a 500 degree oven, or should I pick up something else for it?

Use a towel, like the rest of us.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2012 19:21

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

As an aside, I like to make fun of our bakers for using oven mits instead of towels.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2012 20:20

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

We order cheap nonstick pans from Edward Don & Co. Like 13bux per omelet pan. Buy 6-8 every other month or so. They're incredibly nonstick for the first few weeks, but eventually they degrade. Those fancy diamond pans will too. It's just the nature of teflon.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2012 21:06

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Someone recommended chefknivestogo.com and Chan Chi Kee knives in particular a while back. I finally ordered one for fun, and I do in fact love the large slicer <3

# ¿ Jul 26, 2012 00:12

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Steve Yun posted:

Anyone know where I can get those aluminum stacking steamers like they have at most Chinese restaurants?

Like this? Maybe you can find them at an AceMart or RestaurantDepot.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2012 00:50

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Gilgameshback posted:

Does anyone know anything about these De Buyer carbon steel pans?

link

We use these on the line for all of our fish dishes, they're fantastic. Can't believe They're charging $60 per though, we pay 12.95 per =/

# ¿ Sep 5, 2012 01:31

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Gilgameshback posted:

Veeeery interesting - are the pans that you use De Buyer or another brand? I can't seem to find De Buyers for less than about $50, but I know that Vollrath and Matfer Bourgeat also make similar ones. You have to have an extremely European name to manufacture this kind of pan.

Yeah, they're probably Vollrath. Not at work so I can't check for sure. Just about everything in our kitchen is Vollrath or Ed Don. Ed Don is effing awesome, btw.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Sep 5, 2012

# ¿ Sep 5, 2012 15:15

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

I've never seen the point in pot holders and oven mitts. That's what a folded towel is for. Also, hands off my towels.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2012 21:59

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Gilgameshback posted:

The Ed Don website is such a tease, it has like 2,000,000 things I want and then on the FAQ page, BOOM, sells only to the trade.

Yeah, you can usually get places like AceMart to special order you things from Don. Problem is, you might end up buying things by the case. We buy omelet pans by the case. 6 pans, like 75bux.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2012 20:56

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

CuddleChunks posted:

Booyah! 100 spice jars at 19 cents a pop. Beat *that*.

amazon posted:

Perfect for single-use urine specimen sample collections, as well as single-use biological collections

I don't know what kind of spices you use in your kitchen :colbert:

# ¿ Sep 15, 2012 22:54

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Radio Help posted:

I'm trying to build up a decent knife kit for work, and I had a few questions on honing steels: first off, are ceramic steels worth getting? My sous chef recommended the MAC black ceramic rod, which seems pretty sweet but I'm a little worried about dropping $50 on a steel that could shatter if I decide to be a huge klutz. Is there a huge difference between the more expensive black ceramic one and the $20 white ceramic one? Or should I just hold out and get an F Dick Multicut?

Also, my knife bag is a joke. Any recommendations on ones that don't suck?

For bag/case/roll I love ChefPak. As for steel, all that matters is that the steel is a harder material than your knife. Most steels are, so go get a decent Henckel Steel and call it a day. I personally use a Shun steel, but it was part of a gift set. I don't particularly notice it being any better at honing my knives than my $20 Henckel.

e: mostly, you just want your steel to be harder than your knife.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Sep 16, 2012

# ¿ Sep 16, 2012 00:11

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

The Ken Onion knives are terrible, fyi. We had a guy that lasted like a month come in with one of those Ken Onion "chef's knife". Chipped the blade dicing cooked chicken. Calls Shun customer service, they tell him the Ken Onion CHEFS KNIFE is only intended to cut fruits and vegetables, and will not honor the warranty.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2012 01:47

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

Edit: and honestly that sounds like a load of bullshit saying they're only for fruits and vegetables. as in, I don't think the company told him that.

It's entirely possible that they didn't say that, but he definitely did chip the knife cutting cooked chicken on a standard poly board, and shun would not replace it for free. They wanted to charge $75 for a replacement, which is nearly the cost of a similarly good knife like a miyabi.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2012 19:22

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Fuzzy Pipe Wrench posted:

Any suggested dehydrators I can use to make beef jerky, onion/garlic powder and other dehydrated things with for a few months then ignore for months at a time?

A box fan with some food grade plastic mesh and some big rubber bands. Total cost: around 20bux.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2012 05:44

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

MasterFugu posted:

sur la table is not worth it

Unless you work in the industry, then you get a decent discount. They're actually pretty awesome if there's nothing like an AceMart around.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2012 19:38

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

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 :argh:

# ¿ Oct 1, 2012 16:22

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

I have a MAPP gas tank too and used to use it but someone told me it wasn't food safe. I really have no idea though. If Modernist recommends it, maybe they know it's safe.

It's food safe. We use one at work. Ours is Map/Pro though, but the old MAPP is fine too.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2012 22:51

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Steve Yun posted:

Would a skillet work as well?

I use a 6in skillet. Works just as well as a mallet.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2012 05:41

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

KitchenAid mixers are the best thing, right behind Hobart. And only because kitchenaid doesn't make 40 gallon mixers.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2012 22:17

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Wroughtirony posted:

Yes, that is the best one. In fact, it's got a bigger bowl than the actual commercial version. I have one and it owns. As far as it being loud, I don't really notice it. Maybe mine is quieter than normal or Arcutras' is louder than normal, but if mine is running in the kitchen I only have to raise my voice a tiny bit to be heard over it.

Just make sure you don't put the beaters in the dishwasher.

I have worked in more than one restaurant where the Hobart came with the building AND was older than the owners.

The 180lb hobart in our bake shop was mfd in 1965, and cost like $4k in 1986. They're $20-30k new now.

As for the beaters, junk the ones that come with your kitchenaid, and get a scraper paddle, the whisk can go in the dishwasher, and I still haven't gotten a replacement for my dough hook. Wife washed them the day she bought me the mixer :argh:

e2: Also, got my new stick blender in today. Replaced a 10+ year old M450 robot coupe. :smug:

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Oct 11, 2012

# ¿ Oct 11, 2012 23:14

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

ChetReckless posted:

I was actually just about to ask about the scraper paddle. Sounds like its worth picking up, then? The KitchenAid brand beater is usually about $25-$30 here. Anyone else using it?

I have an off brand one, because kitchenaid does not have one for my model (pro 500) But yeah, it's pretty awesome, and I use it at least once a week.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2012 23:28

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

mindphlux posted:

wait a second, what's wrong with putting kitchenaid attachments through the dishwasher? I've put both the whisk and doughhook (and meat grinder, and paddle, to lesser degrees) through a heavy wash cycle probably 30-40 times. they seem fine?

Newer attachments, save for the whisk, are aluminum and oxidize. You can put them in there, they just don't look as good.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2012 12:12

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Fire Storm posted:

Is there a good food safe way to return the shine to the aluminum?

steel wool and barkeepers. Wear gloves. It's foodsafe. I'm 99% sure the paddle and hook aren't coated with anything when you get them, they're just well polished.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2012 19:57

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

mindphlux posted:

oh - well, the attachments I have are like white - they look basically like they're ceramic - and feel pretty weighty. the whisk itself is stainless, and I guess has an aluminum top/attachment thing, but it has never really changed color... I think I got this kitchenaid like 3-4 years ago, so not that old...

got mine 2 years ago. Your attachments are the ceramic coated aluminum. What I'd really like are the stainless steel food service attachments, but they're 30+ each.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2012 12:06

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

mindphlux posted:

hey so I bought this foodsaver. I'm nowhere near being done with the bags it came with, and I know you guys told me already what deep discount brand to get as a replacement but :

what cheap rear end yet sous-vide/freezer tolerant bags should I get for my foodsaver?

Buy a case of uline bags. 30bux for 1000 bags, absolute best deal as far as cost per bag.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2012 14:26

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Chemmy posted:

Are those food safe? They look like industrial shipping supplies. For reference we had an issue where bags we were buying at work were contaminated with machine oil from the machines that make them.

3Mil bags Food safe. Says to use their vacuum sealer, but it should work with a food saver. It works with my cheap Rival sealer.

e: get the 5x7 bags, obviously.

e2: these can also work, but it depends on the heating element in your sealer.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Oct 21, 2012

# ¿ Oct 21, 2012 16:22

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Grooves are bad. Go to a restaurant supply store that also sells to the public and get a good carbon steel pan for 30-50bux. Or buy DeBuyer for $60-90

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 15:33

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Tri-ply stainless steel fo lyfe. Get a 7in, 13in sauté, a rondeux, and a 3-4in walled roasting pan. A 4qt, 8qt, and 16-24qt stock pots.

I can't think of anything I couldn't cook with just that stuff.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 20:27

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

New knife. Tojiro DP sujihike 270mm. Hawt.

I've got 360 6oz tenderloins to portion on Thursday, I shall give a status report then.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 22:40

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 09:36

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

I have a couple calphalon tri-ply stock pots I picked up at Marshall's as "defective". They're just as good as all-clad(we use some all-clad at work), at a reduced price. They've got a nice look about them, and they'll last you a lifetime if you care for them properly.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 23:01

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