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The Minimum Viable Kitchen

priceonomics.com

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Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#41

Post by mattmaroon »

jtchang wrote: post #24

I cook quite a bit and have a lot of friends who own commercial kitchens. - Victorinox Fibrox knives are by far the best value you will get. They are inexpensive and are quite the workhorse. - I agree for the most part about the pots and pans except cast iron should be #1 on the list. The one thing you will learn very quickly as a cook is that cast iron is your friend. It also lasts forever. - Someone said something…

I like cast iron, and have a couple pieces. The problem is I feel like it's an addition since there are things you can't do in them and didn't fit with the minimum viable gourmet kitchen. Cooking with tomatoes would be probably the most frequent thing I need non-cast iron for.

And yeah, I laughed at the whisk thing too.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#42

Post by notJim »

ironchef wrote: post #8
jmduke wrote: post #5

Line by line, my disagreements: - You don't need cookbooks. The internet is better in terms of 'MVK', and the best cookbook is the one you make yourself. - Get rid of half of the pots and the dutch oven. Cast iron is indeed the greatest. - A stand mixer is nice, but by no means is it Minimum Viable. - If you insist on getting a mixing bowl that isn't a regular bowl, don't get three of them. - Ditch the whisk. - Sayin…

Ditch the whisk? A whisk is perfect for controlled aeration of a substance. A fork lacks the necessary dispersion area. What else would you suggest using to cream whites or eggs that is in his list (if you're also getting rid of the stand mixer)?

Seconding this, I skipped the whisk for my kitchen, and it's fucking impossible to whisk stuff with a fork.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#43

Post by mattmaroon »

kscaldef wrote: post #21
jmduke wrote: post #5

Line by line, my disagreements: - You don't need cookbooks. The internet is better in terms of 'MVK', and the best cookbook is the one you make yourself. - Get rid of half of the pots and the dutch oven. Cast iron is indeed the greatest. - A stand mixer is nice, but by no means is it Minimum Viable. - If you insist on getting a mixing bowl that isn't a regular bowl, don't get three of them. - Ditch the whisk. - Sayin…

Counterpoints: Cookbooks: he's recommending specific cookbooks which he thinks will make you a better cook. As he says, lots of them are crap, as are lots of the recipes and tutorials on the internet. You're paying for curation here more than the content itself. Pots: Keep in mind that a "10 piece" pot set is really one 5 pots or pans, which is not that much. Having the correct size pot or pan for the quantity of foo…

Well, the point was minimum viable kitchen for cooking gourmet food. The way I defined it, I felt I couldn't exclude desserts and a stand mixer and get there, though I'll be honest I didn't go through all 300 pages of the book and count. You certainly could leave those out and still cook most of the stuff in the book.

Also internet recipes are a minefield for someone learning to actually cook. I'd say at least 90% of them are garbage, and I might be spotting them a 9.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#44

Post by bhousel »

I feel like there is lots missing from this list that a really functional kitchen needs.

Supplies I'd add to a MVK:

Dry measuring cups/spoons, liquid measures, rubber jar opener, bottle opener, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, digital timer, oven mitts, soap (I also like Lysol wipes for quick sanitizing)

Ingredients to keep in stock:

Fridge: butter (salted for cooking, unsalted for baking), lemon, lime, whole milk or cream, eggs, soy, Worcestershire

Pantry: cooking wine, vinegar, olive and vegetable oils, salt, black pepper (peppercorns in grinder preferably), dried spices (oregano, basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, chive, dill, cumin, coriander, chili powder, red pepper, garlic powder, dried onion, or at the very least some "cheater" mixes like Adobo, Jane's Krazy, Old Bay), vanilla, nuts and nut butters, shortening

Dry ingredients: white flour, white sugar (brown optional), baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, chocolate, breadcrumbs (or make them)

Also keep around: fresh garlic, onions, quick starches (rice, couscous, pasta, potato), bread, liquid stocks (really you can make these), cheeses, other alcohols

I think you can probably get everything on my list for less than the price of the ice cream maker.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#45

Post by logicalmind »

jtchang wrote: post #24

I cook quite a bit and have a lot of friends who own commercial kitchens. - Victorinox Fibrox knives are by far the best value you will get. They are inexpensive and are quite the workhorse. - I agree for the most part about the pots and pans except cast iron should be #1 on the list. The one thing you will learn very quickly as a cook is that cast iron is your friend. It also lasts forever. - Someone said something…

One caveat that people rarely discuss about Victorinox Fibrox knives is that the don't hold an edge very long. They're a great starter knife and a great long-term knife if you don't mind sharpening it fairly frequently.

For example, at the rate I cook, I had to buy three separate fibrox chef's knives to go a solid month without needing to resharpen. And then I'd need to resharpen all three. I decided to upgrade to a slightly more pricey knife that was made of a harder metal. I can now go between 6 and 9 months between sharpening that knife.

So if you do go for the victorinox knives, they will arrive super sharp. But be prepared to resharpen them frequently depending on how much you use them.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#46

Post by lnanek2 »

I don't think he's going to turn many people to his side with broad generalizations, then a ton of purchases and equipment. Maybe just come up with a purpose - cook a date a meal, or cook a family a holiday spread - then a simple plan and maybe one piece of oddball advanced equipment. Enough purpose+tutorial articles -> he might manage to justify that kitchen army.

Even then adherents will spend a lot more time cooking and on food than those of us who can just buy a grocery bag of bread and milk and fruit every day or two and live without cooking, or who have other cut down hacks.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#47

Post by mattmaroon »

wpietri wrote: post #13
jmduke wrote: post #5

Line by line, my disagreements: - You don't need cookbooks. The internet is better in terms of 'MVK', and the best cookbook is the one you make yourself. - Get rid of half of the pots and the dutch oven. Cast iron is indeed the greatest. - A stand mixer is nice, but by no means is it Minimum Viable. - If you insist on getting a mixing bowl that isn't a regular bowl, don't get three of them. - Ditch the whisk. - Sayin…

I'm mostly with you, but I think almost anybody who needs a guide to buy kitchen basics also needs a couple of cookbooks. Fishing for recipes on the Internet is an advanced skill. You need to know how to cook reasonably well in order to evaluate the recipes and adjust each one to your situation. In contrast, something like Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" gives a lot of basic advice, has a set of consistent recipes…

I agree. The net is quite useful for some very specific things. For instance I once wanted to know how to make a pumpkin pie with heavy cream rather than condensed milk and found a thread on chowhound about how to substitute. Or how much sugar/gelatin/alcohol you need to use to get your sorbet to the right consistency.

But as far as going to AllRecipes and following instructions, you can do it, and you'll end up with something edible, but you're not learning to cook properly doing so.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#49

Post by mikeocool »

dakr wrote: post #36

Mark Bittman wrote a nice column about outfitting a "no-frills kitchen" over at the NYT. I came across it via a review of knives over at the wirecutter. I can recommend both. NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dining/09mini.html?_r=1&#3... ; The Wirecutter review: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/a-great-chefs-knife/&#62 ;

I love that Bittman article! I think it's much closer to the idea of a 'minimum viable kitchen' for someone whose just starting cooking than this article. And it has the much more approachable cost of "under $300," as opposed to the OP's "under $1000."

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#50

Post by ssharp »

Regarding pots and pans, I'm curious how these things hold up over time. Is a high-quality 15 year old pan (appearances aside) function as well as it did when it was new?

The reason I ask is because I see what I assume to be quality SS cookware at restaurant auctions all the time and they usually go for a fraction of what they're worth new. When I wanted to get a huge kettle (compared to my 20 quart canning pot) for brewing, I was able to get a 10-gallon SS pot for $30 at one an auction. For boiling water, it works perfectly. I'm just not sure about more delicate applications of heat and food.

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