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The Minimum Viable Kitchen

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Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#191

Post by SageRaven »

Shivetya wrote: post #176
tptacek wrote: post #87

Notes: * Strong recommend on the Fibrox knife. If you don't already have a serious knife, don't buy one; get the Fibrox and use it for awhile. You may never want another knife, and if you ever do, you'll have a very good idea what you're looking for. Beware of knives: they're Veblen goods. * Don't get the expensive butcher block board. Actively avoid it. If you feel like arguing about this, you're not the reader this…

Wal-Mart - Tramotina - if you need a multi piece set their 8 pc for 129 is a great deal with many good reviews... its so price good its ridiculous http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-8-Piece-Cookware-Set/57...

These are pretty nice, given the price. They conduct heat fairly well and are fit for induction cook-tops (which are awesome).

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#192

Post by SageRaven »

jackalope wrote: post #120

Before you run out and spend money on pans, do yourself a favor and spend some time with an induction cooktop. You can get a single element hob for less than $100 that's reasonably portable, easy to store and useable on a counter top. You'll want a large element, but even a 4 inch one is an eye opening introduction to this amazing cooking technology. I've always cooked over flame (and still consider red glowing coals…

As an experiment, I bought a Max Burton Delux 6200 1800-watt portable model (110V) about 3 years ago (from amazon, around $80 at the time). I love it. It boils water in my kettle much faster than our 220V electric-coil stove burner, and even marginally faster than a propane burner we used in the past. The heat is nice and even (though also a function of the pan itself -- our induction-ready pans are a notch nicer than our older pans) and turning it off means instant heat reduction. I've had far fewer incidents of burning or scorching with the induction unit.

Highly recommended.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#193

Post by tomkinstinch »

I'll add side towels to the list. They're great for picking up hot things (but not if they are wet!), drying herbs, keeping the bottoms of bowls from sliding around, covering dough while it proofs, cleaning up miscellaneous spills, and tidying up the edges of plates. I like to keep a tall stack of clean ones on the counter, and throw them into a dedicated kitchen hamper as needed.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#195

Post by euroclydon »

tptacek wrote: post #106
Tarrosion wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few comments: - Stick blenders, at $20, are a steal. - Kitchenaid is a good mixer brand, but Breville also gets very high marks. - If you're going to bake even infrequently, the rolling pin is non-optional. A good solid rolling pin can also be used for whacking things (e.g. butter you want to soften but not melt) and as a cylindrical mold.

There are probably "better" stand mixers than Kitchenaid, but you want to be in the Kitchenaid ecosystem. Having a non-Kitchenaid mixer is like working in the receivables department of a Fortune 500 company and using Linux + OpenOffice. We have a pricy Vitamix blender, but I use my stick blender much more often regardless.

We bought a refurbished KitchenAid mixer a couple of years ago. It's pretty big. I don't know the model right now. We made pasta for the first time last week. Threw a bag of semolina down on the counter; cracked some eggs on it and, with a very little water kneaded for a long time. It was very stiff.

We started making spaghetti with the meat grinder extruded attachment. Half way through the batch the mixer started making a grinding noise. Turns out we stripped every damn tooth off a 45deg gear in the box. Best pasta I've ever eaten!!!

I cleaned the gear box out and ordered new gears, gasket, and a ring. I'm putting it back together as soon as the grease comes in. I'm not sure how I'll make homemade pasta next time though.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#196

Post by tptacek »

mechanical_fish wrote: post #187
tptacek wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American kitchens should probably skip the wok even if they're making Chinese food, because woks are designed for a specific kind of cooktop and are outperformed by large sautee pans otherwise.

I have been told this, and therefore never owned a wok, but I'm now thinking of getting a wok anyway because Kenji (aka "J. Kenji Lopez-Alt" of SeriousEats.com) disagrees, and "follow Kenji around like a zombie and taste what he tastes" is a motto that is serving me well in life so far. Here's Kenji's non-scientific rant on the subject: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/06/wok-skills-101-stir-fryin... Here's the better…

I am totally getting that Weber grill/wok setup.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#198

Post by bambax »

tjic wrote: post #98

I've got a copy of Myhrvold's "Modernist Cuisine" http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/... ...which helped me learn about the MAXIMUM viable kitchen. It has a $10,000 lab-grade centrifuge, among other things.

I do too. It's a fantastic book but much too expensive for what amount of actual information is in it. The photos are extraordinary, but you don't need that book to learn how to cook or for any specific recipe.

As for a general book about cooking, the best value is "On food and cooking" by Harold McGee. It's about $25 and it's comprehensive and well-written.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#199

Post by eumenides1 »

tptacek wrote: post #164
eumenides1 wrote: post #58

I 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…

American kitchens should probably skip the wok even if they're making Chinese food, because woks are designed for a specific kind of cooktop and are outperformed by large sautee pans otherwise.

Maybe, but I just don't feel right using a pan to make Chinese vegetables. I totally understand their conclusions, but it bothers a part of my brain.

FYI, I'm no master of the wok. Just a fool who plays with the master's tools

One of the really nice things about a wok is that liquids drain to the middle, and the centre is super hot! You really don't get that on a saute pan. Also, when you toss something with a wok spatula, everything is generally gathered in the middle. Maybe I just need to move 2 to 3 times faster in a saute pan.

There is also something Cantonese cooking called wok hei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok#Wok_hei). It's pretty elusive, but some dishes IMO live and die by it. I know when dishes are right when a waiter passes a plate across my face and for a brief moment, it felt like a heating element just rush past.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#200

Post by ghc »

tptacek wrote: post #160
ghc wrote: post #77

My Minimum Viable Kitchen would forget about half that stuff and add a Rice Cooker and broiler pan. I have more kitchen equipment than I know what to do with, but 95% of the meals I wind up cooking need at most these: - Bamboo Cutting Board - Plastic cutting board - Tongs, spatulas, and cooking chopsticks - Rice cooker - Chef's knife - Paring Knife - Sashimi knife - Nakiri - Aluminum nonstick pan - cast-iron griddle…

If you have a nakiri and a sashimi knife, why would you want a chef's knife?

Chef's knives are excellent for cutting all sorts of things that don't require an extremely sharp edge, but they're just not good for cutting paper thin slices of very hard ingredients like lotus root, and my personal experience with using a chef's knife to slice tuna belly was not so great. By the same token, I would not dare use either a nakiri or yanagi blade on a chicken carcass or to fillet a whole fish, because you risk damaging the extremely sharp blade.
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