The Minimum Viable Kitchen is a microwave and a spork.
A campfire and a sharp stick.
The Minimum Viable Kitchen
51–60 of 209 posts
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#52The Victorinox Fibrox that he recommends is indeed a great knife for general cooking. I have a lower-middle range gyuto but I usually use the Fibrox because it's easier to take care of. While I cook mostly vegetables, a friend of mine who is a much more talented cook uses the Fibrox for everything. In terms of pots and pans, I recommend getting a carbon steel wok. A carbon steel wok requires a bit of TLC but pays off…
What would you use to get the Wok Hot enough for Stir-Fry. My biggest hindrance to using a Wok is the lack of a proper burner. I imagine there are lots of people in my situation.
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Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#53The Victorinox Fibrox that he recommends is indeed a great knife for general cooking. I have a lower-middle range gyuto but I usually use the Fibrox because it's easier to take care of. While I cook mostly vegetables, a friend of mine who is a much more talented cook uses the Fibrox for everything. In terms of pots and pans, I recommend getting a carbon steel wok. A carbon steel wok requires a bit of TLC but pays off…
What would you use to get the Wok Hot enough for Stir-Fry. My biggest hindrance to using a Wok is the lack of a proper burner. I imagine there are lots of people in my situation.
If you have the means to cook outdoors:
http://www.amazon.com/King-Kooker-24WC-Heavy-Duty-Portable/d...
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#54I agree with most of the article. I do think he missed a few items through.
#1 is a cast iron skillet as others have mentioned. It's the third most used pan in my kitchen.
#2 and #2 most used is an omelet pan. Use it not just for omelets but for any kind of eggs. Also rocks at grilled cheese. Here you do want to go non-stick.
#3 is a set of measuring cups and measuring spoons. My advise is skip the plastic and get stainless. Plastic ones seems to break after a few years, especially if you run them through the dishwasher. You will also want a separate set of measuring cups for liquids if you get serious about cooking. OXO makes a nice set of three clear liquid measuring cups with graduations that you can read from above. Indispensable IMHO.
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#55Line 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…
If you've ever spent some time reading some of the really good cookbooks you'll realize just how valuable they can be. While a 'minimum viable kitchen' may be a misleading title, the author is focusing an audience interested in more gourmet, high quality cooking. The difference between the recipes found in a cookbook by say Thomas Keller or David Chang and those found at recipes.com or even foodnetwork.com are significant for the 'foodie' cooks.
I also think a standing mixer is a luxury, but I've upvoted everyone who's said you cannot ditch the whisk. Whisks are important. Enough said.
Many comments on this thread have been about knives. I've owned quite a few knives over the span of years of professional cooking. A really good chef knife will really only be appreciated by those who cook either professionally or really seriously as a hobby. A soccer mom who chops onions once or twice a week to cook dinner very likely won't know/feel the difference between a 50$ Whustoff or Henckel vs a $250 Shun.
The other important thing to know about knives is if you do decide to spring for a good quality blade, maintaining it is really important. Sharpening with a whetstone with the appropriate grit and honing the blade before each use will keep your sharp edge for much longer.
All in all the article is good. All-clad is hands down the best quality and most durable cookwear out there. Although I don't think using a dutch oven to make sauces is a great idea.
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#56This article is horribly titled (not the HN one, the article's actual title). The full quote from the article (Minimum Viable Kitchen (MVK) for creating gourmet food) would have been better. The thesis statement is also helpful to understand what he is trying to achieve: I define the Minimum Viable Kitchen as one that can allow you to create over 75% of the recipes that are in what I consider to be the best cookbooks…
I get that, but also i'm going to echo the points of the other folks up here that MV is totally an "eye of the beholder" metric. For cooking most western foods, for example, i think he totally misses the mark in the pots/pans section. Having worked in a 'new american' kitchen, i can confidently say that buying cheap aluminum/stainless 8", 10" sautee pans, an 8" nonstick, a 1pt saucepan, a 2qt pot, (~$9 ea at fsw or w…
Actually, my cast iron pan has a donut shaped hot spot, with a cold spot in the middle.
My 12" allclad fry on the other hand, not so donut shaped.
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Out of curiosity, why would one skip a whisk? They're cheap. They take up very little room. I use one so much I bought a second.
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#58I think the post is great, but he made an assumption that wasn't stated and might cause all of us to disagree.
He picked a cuisine without saying which one.
A MVK will have different sets of equipment depending on the cuisine you choose. A Chinese kitchen will have a wok and a rice cooker, while a French kitchen will have things that you need to make bread.
The most important thing is to choose a cuisine and stick to it! There is a lot of learn from one cuisine before you move to another.
In my experience (being Chinese and born in North America), my kitchen holds a lot of stuff that i like (black bean sauce and grainy mustard) that just don't work together, but i wouldn't want to live without. (Also wok spatula and tongs if you are looking for an equipment example)
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#59The fundamental rule I have is "don't buy sets -- buy individual items as you find uses for them". I bought a lot of really expensive stuff on eBay (Staub, Demeyere) and in Japan (Global Pro knives), and I actually only use a few of each. A cast iron enameled wok, though, is awesome. I got mine from the Wok Shop in SF for $30 with spatula/etc. http://refer.ly/cooking_tools/c/59d5b57c118b11e2a4ec22000a1d... is what I…
I mostly agree. I just recommended the pots and pans set because they're cheap that way, and you really will use everything you find in a 10 piece set (which, btw, usually counts at least 3 lids as pieces). Knives on the other hand... I got a set as a gift long ago and have at least 5 I've not touched.
Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen
#60Here's my recommendation for a knife sharpener, the Lansky system: http://amzn.com/B000B8L6LI Buy that, plus the "Ultra Fine" stone: http://amzn.com/B000B8L6MC The Lansky system has metal guides that maintain the right honing angle for you, so you can easily get a decent edge by just following the directions in their video. So long as you treat your knives right, you should just have to do that twice a year. (No dish…
Seconded, I have that Lansky set and it's the best sharpening system I've used, and very fast and accurate, whether you're grinding a blade to a new angle or touching up an existing edge.