Basic Kitchen Equipment

"Default User" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If I need to bang out a one paragraph letter, I can do it in under
a minute. It takes longer than that for my computer to boot up and
be ready to rock.

Heh. I'm an internet junkie. My computer stays on unless the weather
is bad.

I pretty much leave mine on all the time, but that's just because I'm
firmly of the belief that it's better for the hardware not to be
constantly power-cycled.
Brian

That's simply not true. If it were true, you'd also leave on every other
piece of electrical equipment in the house, like TV, stereo, etc.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

Oh please....what adult can't make friggin pancakes? If you don't spot your
mistakes after the first three tries, and either fix them, or consult a book
and THEN fix them, you're an idiot.

Pancakes ain't rocket science...

but neither are hard boiled eggs.

How many threads about hard boiled eggs have appeared on this list just
in the past 2 years??????
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

>>Invisible garlic. Can't be done with scissors or a paring knife. Back
>>to
>>your room before the orderly notices you've gone missing.
>>
>
>
> Geez! What has gotten into you today?
> You are wearing a Sheldon disguise?

He was getting on my nerves so I did that little click of a button
thing
😉 My personal experience has been that the garlic press gets more
flavour followed by smashing the garlic head on the chopping block
followed by simply chopping the garlic. I think it depends on what you
are using the garlic for.

Have you seen the movie "Goodfellas"? The guy using a razor blade to cut
garlic insanely thin? That's on its way to being invisible garlic.

It'd get everything all sticky...

No, grasshopper - there's a trick involved. First, you get the knife really
sharp. Preferably a paring knife, not a serrated chef's knife (which doesn't
exist anyway, and is the product of delusional minds). Then, you hold the
bottom of the garlic clove and make many thin slices downward from the top.
Next, you rotate the clove 90 degrees, and make another set of slices
perpendicular to the previous ones. BUT...as you make these cuts, you don't
go all the way down through the bottom (where your fingers are). The root
end holds all the slices together for the moment. Finally, you rest the
close on its side on the cutting board, while whispering sweet nothings to
it in Italian, and slice across all the previous cuts. The little bits will
stay on the knife and you can transfer them to where ever you want them
next. Not messy at all.

In the movie, the guy used a razor blade, which works even better.

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

cathyxyz said:

~patches~ said:

I have a lot more than the following list but I thought a basic list
of kitchen equipment for new cooks might be helpful.

small saucepan
large saucepan with lid
frying pan
roasting pan - size based on household size
muffin tin
cookie sheet
spatulas - lg & small, preferrably silicone
sharp chef's knife
paring knife
manual can opener
toaster
strainer
lg spoon for stirring
measuring cups
measuring spoons
storage containers (recycled food jars with lids are free)

That should get most new cooks cooking and I know a lot of the things
listed are available at our local dollar store. Others could likely
be found at a second hand store so very little money would be needed.
Am I missing anything? Anyone else what to add to the list?

I would add a grater, otherwise not a bad list.... and maybe a kettle to
boil water for tea etc. - or is that not what you were thinking about?

Cheers
Cathy(xyz)

Exactly what I was thinking. Now and enterprizing person would use one
of the saucepans to boil water and you could always make camp coffe
using coffe grounds and one of the sauce pans. I forgot the grater.
That would be really useful.

yeah. I'd be hard put to do without a grater!
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

"Lena B Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

With this, I can make practically anything that's canned, and most things
that are boxed (lipton sidedishes, say).

No wonder you can't afford what you need. You waste your money on packaged
foods. You're brain's being deteriorated by MSG & all the other chemicals in
that junk.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

> Ok, so what are you criticizing for?
> The thread is aimed at the MINIMAL needs.
> --
> Peace, Om.

I don't see it that way. I interpreted it as how to equip a new cook
PROPERLY, not as if the person were going backpacking or living in
poverty.
The presence of the words "dollar store" in the original post do not
necessarily mean everything has to be cheap or pathetic.

The thread is an offshoot of the "food snob" thread.
It's aimed at trying to equip the minimalist cook.

I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got.

What is the very LEAST you could get by with and still achieve decent
meals with minimal effort?

If this was about all the toys I'd like to have, my list would be very
long. <G>
--
Peace, Om.

I might like a very fancy gas stove, 3 completely separate ovens, and to
keep the cooking zone free of interference, several trap doors through which
I could drop intruders into a pit of snakes. Other than that, I like the
tools I have. They include some stuff I got in 1971 while in college. I
agreed to paint window frames for a guy who owned a restaurant supply store,
because I had no money for cooking toys. It was a great arrangement.

When I was a senior college, between working and school, I had about 3
hours per day free for housecleaning, cooking and studying.

Cooking was pretty much the last thing on my mind...

I used the pressure cooker and the toaster oven, and lived on rice
cooked in bone stock, salads and roast chicken or turkey and instant
breakfast (slimfast) drinks for my entire senior year. :-P

I'd make stock meals on my days off and heat them up during the week.

Salad makings were pre-cut and stored in individual bins in the 'frige
for the week. Shredded lettuce in one bin, sliced tomatoes in another
and mixed veggies and shredded cooked chicken in a third. Rice was good
for awhile in frozen portions, nuked. Bone stock and rice was made on my
days off then portioned.

Food was not a priority. Getting sleep and passing what was left of my
classes was. I lost 35 lbs. that year.

Not a bad thing. ;-)
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

Oh please....what adult can't make friggin pancakes? If you don't spot
your
mistakes after the first three tries, and either fix them, or consult a
book
and THEN fix them, you're an idiot.

Pancakes ain't rocket science...

but neither are hard boiled eggs.

How many threads about hard boiled eggs have appeared on this list just
in the past 2 years??????
--
Peace, Om.

You know my policy on failure to consult resources available to everyone. No
further comment is necessary.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

Quoted message said:

<gag> You must own a cheap one.......

They are no harder to clean than a toaster if you get a decent one, and
a helluva lot faster and easier to clean than the oven!!!!!!!

Oven? I take out the racks. I set it on "Clean Yo Bad Self Now". I open a
beer. Elapsed time: under a minute. 3 hours later, it's done. I put a sticky
not on it saying "Needs a wipe", so I remember to do that before I use it
next. That takes 2 minutes.

I don't use the cleaning cycle... All that does is burn in stains.

I clean by hand using oven cleaner.

Could not stand the smell in the house for 3 days the one time a
housemate used it. :-(
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Lena B Katz said:

I'd say try an IKEA for reasonably priced trash. (great value for the
money).

But id' serously consider investing in a good stirfry wok (like the
catastraphon i got). So versatile, so useful!

I remember going to college sophomore year witout a meal plan. I remember
what I used, when. And which things sat mouldering on a shelf.

Lena

I use my cast iron skillet for stir fry... :-)

I can't use a wok on my glass top stove.
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

Doug Kanter said:

"Default User" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

> If I need to bang out a one paragraph letter, I can do it in under
> a minute. It takes longer than that for my computer to boot up

and >>> be ready to rock.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Heh. I'm an internet junkie. My computer stays on unless the
weather is bad.

I pretty much leave mine on all the time, but that's just because
I'm firmly of the belief that it's better for the hardware not to be
constantly power-cycled.
Brian

That's simply not true.

That's based on my experience as an electronics test engineer who dealt
with computer equipment. I turn off the monitor because it's a big
power draw and has high reliability compared to the other items.

What's your contention based on?

Quoted message said:

If it were true, you'd also leave on every
other piece of electrical equipment in the house, like TV, stereo,
etc.

None of those are personal computers.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

Quoted message said:

<gag> You must own a cheap one.......

They are no harder to clean than a toaster if you get a decent one, and
a helluva lot faster and easier to clean than the oven!!!!!!!

Oven? I take out the racks. I set it on "Clean Yo Bad Self Now". I open a
beer. Elapsed time: under a minute. 3 hours later, it's done. I put a
sticky
not on it saying "Needs a wipe", so I remember to do that before I use it
next. That takes 2 minutes.

I don't use the cleaning cycle... All that does is burn in stains.

You've got the wrong oven! When mine's done, there's nothing but a layer of
fine ash that wipes up as easily as dusting furniture. The instruction book
specifically says to use by-hand methods to remove burnt sugar before using
the self-clean cycle. I rarely bake pies, but if I do, they do on a baking
sheet and some heavy foil. Sugar deposits will definitely get worse if left
in place during the self clean cycle.

I moved into my first apartment three years ago with no cooking
equipment and minimal cooking skills. (In college, I lived off of a
meal plan and a contraband hot-pot.) I bought what I *thought* were
the basics, but I've found that many of those items I never used. Now
I love cooking and I certainly do have my toys, but I know which items
I would start fresh with, if I had to do that again.

*frying pan, with lid
*sauce pan, with lid
*pasta pot -- also used for soups, stews, etc.
*chef's knife
*vegetable peeler -- it makes nice thin slices from a brick of cheese,
too.
*can opener -- with a bottle opener on the end. I'm 24, I like beer,
sue me.
*wooden spoon
*slotted spoon
*spatula
*spring-loaded tongs -- best thing I ever bought for myself.
*mesh strainer -- for picking out gunk, not for draining since I use
the pot lids/slotted spoon for that.
*large pyrex bowl and 2 quart pyrex dish - good for mixing and
storing, plus it can go in the oven.
*cookie sheet -- a *small* one. The big ones don't fit in my
apartment's oven.
*small cutting board -- anything too large is difficult to fit on the
counter and is a pain to wash in my tiny sink.

Again, this is just my list, tailored to the way I cook. If I had to
start brand new with no equipment again, this is what I would go out
and buy to be minimally functional in the kitchen.

-- RB

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

The thread is an offshoot of the "food snob" thread.
It's aimed at trying to equip the minimalist cook.

I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got.

What is the very LEAST you could get by with and still achieve decent
meals with minimal effort?

If this was about all the toys I'd like to have, my list would be very
long. <G>

"Lena B Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> "Lena B Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> news:[email hidden]...
>>
>>
>> On Tue, 21 Mar 2006, Doug Kanter wrote:
>>
>>> "Lena B Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email hidden]...
>>>
>>>> No, I'm not saying that I don't cook pancakes. But i wouldn't miss
>>>> them
>>>> if I didn't have a skillet. I get better frozen pancakes anyway.
>>>
>>> OK - that's it. Now we have absolute, indisputable proof that you are
>>> a
>>> fool. There is no such thing as decent frozen pancakes. This
>>> discussion
>>> is
>>> over.
>>
>> but.... but.... I like my minipan!
>>
>> I'm no good at making pancakes. Maybe i'd enjoy them if they weren't
>> such
>> a flop. Not what i'd get for a beginning cook -- as i haven't
>> mastered
>> it
>> myself!
>>
>> Lena
>
> My son is now 16. When he was 14, he began making pancakes. Within a
> week,
> he was making them perfectly every single time, with no exceptions,
> regardless of the recipe or mix he used. You are an idiot.
>
>

<shlap>

That's not nice.

<jerks on Doug's chain>
--
Peace, Om.

Oh please....what adult can't make friggin pancakes? If you don't spot
your
mistakes after the first three tries, and either fix them, or consult a
book
and THEN fix them, you're an idiot.

... you haven't heard me posting about my oven recently, have you? I
swear, that thing runs 50-100 degrees hotter than it says it is (we can't
be consistent, now can we?). To top it all off, my pizza pan wont' even
fit into the oven without being kinda tilty (not a problem for making
pizza etc.).

So, spare me the "any reasonable human" can make something. Spare me
until you've seen my kitchen. K?

Lena

I can make pancakes over a campfire, so don't give me that [censored]. And, if you
know your oven's margin of error, you adjust for it. I lived with a lousy
oven for almost 8 years. We still cooked magnificent food. My ex-wife turned
out 18 billion cookies every Christmas & Easter, all of them perfect. She'd
test the oven each time with just one or two cookies. That takes what...10
minutes? Once she was satisfied things were ready, the cookies started
flying out of the oven like flocks of boids.

Lena B Katz said:

Doug Kanter said:

"ewdotson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

>>> paring knife
>>
>> better to get kitchen skissors.
>
> Are you on drugs? Peel an apple or chop garlic with scissors?
>

Honestly, I think a vegetable peeler would probably be a better option
here. Using a paring knife to peel veggies is more hassle than it's
worth. As far as garlic goes, I've always used my chef's knife. I
know the standard wisdom is that a chef's knife and a paring knife are
the two knifes everyone needs to start off with, but for whatever
reason, I really don't find myself using my paring knife all that
often. YMMV, I suppose.

At least your idea is within the realm of sanity. She's suggesting scissors.
Right.

What do you use your paring knife for?

The last three uses or so for mine were -- opening a package of corned
beef, opening th3e spicesn inside the corned beef, and opening a bag of
dried potato flakes.

for me, scissors work better.

While, as I noted, I don't really use my paring knife for, I should
probably note that I do have a santoku in addition to my chef's knife.
I think I'd have a hard time managing without two cutting blades to
avoid cross-contamination issues, but the two larger blades just work
better for me. When I do break out my paring knife, it's typically for
small vegetables or fine, detailed work. Generally though, I have no
problems dealing with garlic or shallots with my chef's knife or
santoku.

--
Ernest

"Default User" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

"Default User" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

> In article <[email hidden]>,
> "Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

>> If I need to bang out a one paragraph letter, I can do it in under
>> a minute. It takes longer than that for my computer to boot up

and >>> be ready to rock.

Quoted message said:

>
> Heh. I'm an internet junkie. My computer stays on unless the
> weather is bad.

I pretty much leave mine on all the time, but that's just because
I'm firmly of the belief that it's better for the hardware not to be
constantly power-cycled.
Brian

That's simply not true.

That's based on my experience as an electronics test engineer who dealt
with computer equipment. I turn off the monitor because it's a big
power draw and has high reliability compared to the other items.

What's your contention based on?

It's based on mixed results of studies from companies like HP, Dell & Compaq
over the years, described several years ago in either PC Magazine or PC
World - I don't recall which. They said that obviously, you shouldn't turn
it off & on every time you get up to use the bathroom, but on in the morning
and off at the end of the day? No extra wear they could point to. My own
experience seems to bear out these ideas. There are 3 machines here, all
with hard disks over 8 years old. One runs day & night as a server. The
other two are shut down at night. No failures for any of them.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If it were true, you'd also leave on every
other piece of electrical equipment in the house, like TV, stereo,
etc.

None of those are personal computers.

So? Except for the hard disk, a computer contains nothing so different from
a TV, VCR, DVD player, etc.

Doug Kanter said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doug Kanter said:

"~patches~" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
>
>
>>> Invisible garlic. Can't be done with scissors or a paring knife. Back
>>> to
>>> your room before the orderly notices you've gone missing.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Geez! What has gotten into you today?
>> You are wearing a Sheldon disguise?
>
> He was getting on my nerves so I did that little click of a button
> thing
> 😉 My personal experience has been that the garlic press gets more
> flavour followed by smashing the garlic head on the chopping block
> followed by simply chopping the garlic. I think it depends on what you
> are using the garlic for.

Have you seen the movie "Goodfellas"? The guy using a razor blade to cut
garlic insanely thin? That's on its way to being invisible garlic.

It'd get everything all sticky...

No, grasshopper - there's a trick involved. First, you get the knife really
sharp. Preferably a paring knife, not a serrated chef's knife (which doesn't
exist anyway, and is the product of delusional minds).

Henkel's says otherwise. They're the only people I know that sell quality
serrated knives.

And i get good garlic chunks by doing the "random pound" method of
"choppitty choppity chop" on the cutting board until all the garlic is as
small as i want it.

Lena

"Rickie Beth" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I moved into my first apartment three years ago with no cooking
equipment and minimal cooking skills. (In college, I lived off of a
meal plan and a contraband hot-pot.) I bought what I *thought* were
the basics, but I've found that many of those items I never used. Now
I love cooking and I certainly do have my toys, but I know which items
I would start fresh with, if I had to do that again.

*frying pan, with lid
*sauce pan, with lid
*pasta pot -- also used for soups, stews, etc.
*chef's knife
*vegetable peeler -- it makes nice thin slices from a brick of cheese,
too.
*can opener -- with a bottle opener on the end. I'm 24, I like beer,
sue me.
*wooden spoon
*slotted spoon
*spatula
*spring-loaded tongs -- best thing I ever bought for myself.
*mesh strainer -- for picking out gunk, not for draining since I use
the pot lids/slotted spoon for that.
*large pyrex bowl and 2 quart pyrex dish - good for mixing and
storing, plus it can go in the oven.
*cookie sheet -- a *small* one. The big ones don't fit in my
apartment's oven.
*small cutting board -- anything too large is difficult to fit on the
counter and is a pain to wash in my tiny sink.

Again, this is just my list, tailored to the way I cook. If I had to
start brand new with no equipment again, this is what I would go out
and buy to be minimally functional in the kitchen.

-- RB

This is the best list yet. Especially the bottle opener.

Doug Kanter said:

"Lena B Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

With this, I can make practically anything that's canned, and most things
that are boxed (lipton sidedishes, say).

No wonder you can't afford what you need. You waste your money on packaged
foods. You're brain's being deteriorated by MSG & all the other chemicals in
that junk.

Baka!

<plonk>

lena

Lena B Katz wrote:

<snip>

ek_? ;-) ).

Quoted message said:

This would make a more interesting thread if everyone who said something
was "essential" had to talk about how much money said person would save
over the lifetime of the product (versus buying it from the store
premade). Estimated usage about what the poster does now (which is
probably underestimating. when i dind't have a cookiesheet, my pizza
pan got used a _lot_).

It would be. I struggled for quite some time as to whether I would buy
a pressure canner. Over my lifetime the thing should not wear out and
it paid for itself the first year I had it. OTOH I'd say my microwave
is an overpriced appliance that will still owe me when I die.

~patches~ said:

cathyxyz wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would add a grater, otherwise not a bad list.... and maybe a kettle
to boil water for tea etc. - or is that not what you were thinking about?

Quoted message said:

Exactly what I was thinking. Now and enterprizing person would use one
of the saucepans to boil water and you could always make camp coffe
using coffe grounds and one of the sauce pans.

That's why I asked... we have an electric cooker (as do a lot of people
in this part of the world) so, for me, I go for the electric kettle for
boiling water for tea - its faster (and I think more energy efficient -
as long as you only put in the amount of water required) than waiting
for water to boil in a pot or pan on the stove. A new kettle here costs
around US$9, which I don't think is too bad an investment - I have had
my current one for over 4 years.

I forgot the grater.

Quoted message said:

That would be really useful.

Use mine regularly...

Cheers
Cathy(xyz