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The Minimum Viable Kitchen

priceonomics.com

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Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#151

Post by tptacek »

logicalmind wrote: post #147
mattmaroon wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I left out consumables, but yeah on deli cups. Couple minor rebuttals: * The sharpener I recommended takes seconds to use and can't really be messed up. Cook's Illustrated says it works as well as an electric one that is much more difficult and more time consuming. I can sharpen my knife with it in less time than you can even safely package yours to take to get sharpened, and the Fibrox needs to be sharpened somewhat…

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is that most of the high-end makers of pots and pans (all clad, le creuset, etc.) also sell their "seconds" at significant discounts. You can get them online and at some of their outlet stores. The defects that make them seconds rarely impact their ability to cook. My opinion on pots and pans is that you should consider non-stick pans to be disposable. Even the best ones wi…

If you don't like eggs, you can also do without the nonstick pan. That's all you'll ever really use it for. Even fish works fine in a well oiled sautee.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#152

Post by tptacek »

bhousel wrote: post #148
tptacek wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what "creaming egg whites" means, but if you're going to have any electrics, have one that does a good job of whipping egg whites and don't waste time doing it by hand.

Interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meringue There's way more to meringue than I realized.

If that's what creaming whites means (adding cream of tartar for meringue), I probably just missed it because I think meringue is yucky. :)

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#153

Post by mattmaroon »

rdl wrote: post #37

There are a few cases on there where they mention something as the undisputed best in the high end, but you should get the cheaper thing, and they got the cheaper thing right 100% of the time, but either neglected another top option (which may be better in many ways), or actually didn't pick the top option. e.g. Demeyere is objectively better than All-Clad in every way except advertising spending. Shun Ken Onion is o…

I don't know where you get these opinions from, but I know it isn't Cook's Illustrated. And I don't know anywhere else to get well-tested opinions.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#154

Post by jules »

tptacek wrote: post #152
bhousel wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meringue There's way more to meringue than I realized.

If that's what creaming whites means (adding cream of tartar for meringue), I probably just missed it because I think meringue is yucky. :)

That's not what I meant at least. For meringue you definitely want a mixer, especially for the Italian variety.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#155

Post by mattmaroon »

tptacek wrote: post #138
mattmaroon wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I left out consumables, but yeah on deli cups. Couple minor rebuttals: * The sharpener I recommended takes seconds to use and can't really be messed up. Cook's Illustrated says it works as well as an electric one that is much more difficult and more time consuming. I can sharpen my knife with it in less time than you can even safely package yours to take to get sharpened, and the Fibrox needs to be sharpened somewhat…

I have so much better luck with the stick blender for mayo and hollandaise that I actively avoid the standing blender for fat-based sauces. Ultimately, if you're not going to bake much and you're not going to make beverages a lot with it, I say ditch both the mixer and the blender and get a decent stick blender instead. A large straight-sided sautee does double duty as a skillet. Interesting how neither of us think t…

And use grapeseed oil! Expensive but amazing.

I use my food processor occasionally. Pie crusts, etc. But most stuff I'd rather do in a Vitamix.

I guess maybe I love my blender so much because I love soups and sorbets. And quiche. I use it probably at least twice weekly. And going through that cook book, there are a lot of things that call for it.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#156

Post by bambax »

tptacek wrote: post #94
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…

* The Internet is full of terrible cooking information, and if you don't have any authoritative sources at all, it's hard to separate the good from the bad. You should have one trustworthy cookbook. * You will be unhappy if your only cooking surface is cast iron. I agree that you can do without the dutch oven but it is the "pan you can do without" that is the most valuable; it is the immediate runner up to the the "l…

I'm French. I'm 44. I can make mayo with a fork. So can my son who's 7.

My mom is 81. She can make oeufs en neige with a fork. That I can't.

The difference is speed. Mayo doesn't need speed. It's just about fat molecules being elongated.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#157

Post by tptacek »

bambax wrote: post #156
tptacek wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* The Internet is full of terrible cooking information, and if you don't have any authoritative sources at all, it's hard to separate the good from the bad. You should have one trustworthy cookbook. * You will be unhappy if your only cooking surface is cast iron. I agree that you can do without the dutch oven but it is the "pan you can do without" that is the most valuable; it is the immediate runner up to the the "l…

I'm French. I'm 44. I can make mayo with a fork. So can my son who's 7. My mom is 81. She can make oeufs en neige with a fork. That I can't. The difference is speed. Mayo doesn't need speed. It's just about fat molecules being elongated.

I think it's genetic. I can't make mayo with a fork, but I have heard of you mystical Gallic folk who can and I believe you.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#158

Post by logicalmind »

tptacek wrote: post #151
logicalmind wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is that most of the high-end makers of pots and pans (all clad, le creuset, etc.) also sell their "seconds" at significant discounts. You can get them online and at some of their outlet stores. The defects that make them seconds rarely impact their ability to cook. My opinion on pots and pans is that you should consider non-stick pans to be disposable. Even the best ones wi…

If you don't like eggs, you can also do without the nonstick pan. That's all you'll ever really use it for. Even fish works fine in a well oiled sautee.

Or if you don't like cleaning. I can usually clean a non-stick pan with a wipe of a paper towel. Unless you're making a pan sauce, you usually can't clean a non-teflon pan as easy.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#159

Post by eropple »

justjimmy wrote: post #9

Good list and good read but nowhere close to MVK. $25 for a cutting board? A $40 digital scale is overkill. True MVP/MVK should be using stuff that's truly necessary. ie: A knife honer - just use the bottom of a ceramic bowl - worked for chefs for millennium.

If you read the thesis statement in the article, it's a minimum kitchen for cooking from books like Keller.

Re: The Minimum Viable Kitchen

#160

Post by tptacek »

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?
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