oraklet

global vs. carbon sabatier... my ancient "sabatier" nogent cuts as good as any global, plus has a more secure feel (it doesn't feel as if it might slip, and the fine bolster helps, too). the reason it cuts so fine is, i believe, that it's got an equally slender blade. it actually cuts instead of crushes its way through, say, a carrot. when i recieved my new "lion" sabatier which is somewhat heavier than the old sabatiers, it "crushed" (just like most german knives will). i then, having read chad's delightful course on knife maintenance etc., http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036 , put a double bevel on it - and that changed things. that said, i think the "crushing" may be an advantage if you wish to keep cuts of potato from sticking to the blade. and there are times when a sturdier knife is good. funny thing is that my old 12" sab is very thick near the handle. i think that part of the blade is supposed to work like a cleaver. the rest of the blade is quite light, and works best when used for "pull"-cutting. but then, isn't that the way the old french knives were supposed to be used?

actually i believe most pizzaioli build the pizza on their marble counter top, then push the peel under the pizza to slide it into the oven.

that's what i do, too.

i've sort of settled for (mostly) sabatier carbon steel for my bigger knives. i like the classical french triangularish blade shape and the relative lightness of the knives compared to, say, wüsthof. and even modern carbon steel seem to be easier to get a good edge on than most stainless. don't know how to post pictures so here's a description: chef's knives: 8" antique carbon s. nogent style; i hesitate to use it as i see it more as something that belongs in a museum, but it is a wonderful knife. 8" victorinox ss. wife's favourite. 10" carbon s. modern lion; my favourite size. not as flexible as the older ones, though. i would like to get hold of an old 10" nogent style. 12" semi antique carbon s. "grapes"; used to love it, but it's a bit too big for my smallish kitchen... slicers: 10" carbon s. semi antique elephant. flexible, more like a big fileting knife. 9" semi antique ss swedish (eskilstuna) nogent style. stiff blade, very fine slicer. deboning: ss 5" sabatier. but i mostly find myself using paring: ss 3" sabatier. though actually i mostly do my paring with some stamped victorinoxes. bread knife is the best there exists: 10"+ victorinox. i've tried mac, and they're all right. i've tried global, and don't like them. german style knives are too heavy for me (the older ones may be different, though. i've donated a semi antique f.dick to the in-laws' summer house kitchen, and it's a lot lighter, and a little flexible). can't get used to traditional japanese blade shapes, but my in-laws brought back an ancient smallish sushi knife that i find myself using once in a while. it can be honed to an insane sharpness. edit: most of the bigger knives are cheap finds from ebay or thrift shops.

your mystery pan must be a "polaris"/"hackman",and they don't make copperware anymore. i've got a 24cm saute pan and a smallish rondeau from that manufacturer. they're 2mm copper + s.s., and though that is a bit flimsy compared to 2.5mm they're very decent pans. surely not ikea, as ikea is swedish, anyway i, too, take 'em where i can find 'em. mostly salvation army and thrift shops. at least for the moment, mauviel 2.5mm remains a dream.

that's what i was told here on egullet, but: http://www.securityworld.com/library/healt...oardsafety.html not that i think it's that important. follow the basic rule of different boards for different stuff, and you're about as safe as you can be.

i have no idea how this recipe for meatballs will turn out, but here goes: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/g...on/Kottbull.htm looks quite authentic to me. and very different from danish meat balls the lingonsylt: in swedish "Lingonsylt som kokas så här blir klar och fin i färgen och får en geléaktig konsistens. 2 liter lingon 4 dl kallt vatten 9 ½ dl socker Gör så här: Rensa och skölj lingonen. Lägg dem i en gryta och tillsätt vattnet. Koka upp och koka i 10 minuter. Ta grytan av värmen och tillsätt sockret. Rör tills det löst sig och sylten blivit simmig. Häll sedan upp på rena burkar och förslut." and in some sort of translation: "made this way it will be a nice, clear colour, and kinda jellyish. 2 liters of lingon 4 dl cold water 9 1/2 dl sugar clean the lingon. put it in a pan with the water. let boil for 10 min. take it off the stove, add sugar. stir until sugar is dissolved. pour into clean jars. seal." sounds easy. almost too easy and: at all costs avoid ikea-meatballs. edit: a danish version of swedish meatballs adds all spice. i'm not sure if that is authentical, though. rather, it seems like a dane trying to give the swedish meatballs a danish twist.

or try one of these: http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/serv...ats=10108*10216 http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/serv...ats=10108*10216 my end grain block/board was bought 3 years ago in ikea. appr. same size but rubber wood. works beautifully.

i've acquired a rather large collection of cast iron, enameled and non-, over the last 3 years - all of it second hand, and not one piece at more than 40$. some le creuset, a lot of old danish copco (which is heavier than l.c.), a few very old swedish kockums and some ancient unknown danish make ("ribe jernstøberi"). it all works and looks fine, except the huge gratin thingy my mother-in-law gave me, as she had somehow burned the inside too many times. lousy cook, really. there are a few chips on the outside of some of them, but they don't spread. this leads me to think that most heavy enamelled cast iron makes will perform equally, and that there's no reason to pay a king's ransom for new l.c.!

a medium sized (c. 4.5" blade) opinel. that's what i bring for picnics or when gathering mushrooms etc. i always carry the swiss army thing for all the other tools one may need.

it sure will hold together even if you use fresh pasta, given that your sauces are not too runny - but: no matter what you do, fresh pasta will have so little bite after half an hour in the oven that you lose the delicious textural contrast that you get with a good dried pasta. may be a matter of taste, though. i like contrasts.

that is crazy talk, man 1) barilla is good stuff, or at least their egg based no-boil lasagne is. great taste. mmm. 2) dried lasagne is best: more bite, and therefore more contrast in the dish. fresh lasagne will give you all sloppyness, no matter how you do it. i sure agree with: no ricotta well cooked bolognese (of the very-little-tomato school) nutmeg in the bechamel i'm not sure i agree with the all-parmesan-cheese on top. i'd mix it with another, softer cheese. one that melts well into the top layer of bechamel. plus, i'd drip a tiny bit of evoo over it.

like many others, at that price i'd recommend either ebay or victorinox. BUT: the stamped victorinox comes in two lines, one with plastic handle, the other with a wooden handle. the plastic handle is the tightest and therefore more sanitary, but it's a bit larger than the wooden handle which will leave you more room for your hands when cutting and chopping. it's VERY important imo that your knuckles don't knock onto your cutting surface. so, if you don't wish to take a chance with ebay, i'd really reccommend the 10" victorinox chef's knife with the wooden handle, which can even be modified to suit your hand (i've done that myself, and i'm not in any way a knife nut!). by the way, i picked up 3 of my 4 victorinoxes in second hand shops at a few dollars.

is this true, really? i mean, you're the expert, i know that, but still... apart from that, the old french (and i think, german) carbon steel knives were somewhat lighter, and the edge geometry better. they are hard to find at a decent price on ebay. lots of crazy collectors lurking there. i changed the geometry on my new sabatier lion carbon steel knife, and it works much more smoothly now. just one of many things learned from the extremely cool "Knife Maintenance & Sharpening" tutorial. edit: one more thing: carbon steel will transfer tastes/flavours more easily than ss. - i guess it's because the steel is more porous?

most of my cooking gear is second hand. not so much from garages, though, as from flea markets, small thrift shops (is that correct english?), salvation army etc. includes lots of cast iron (raw as well as enameled), copper, ss pots, knives, gadgets.

but...the end result MUST depend on what kind of pot you use. think aluminium or cast iron.

Get a second pan. Seriously. There is no way around it. If you crowd your pan, you won't get a good sear on your steaks, and how fun is that? but...i've only got one burner that's powerful enough to drive some real frying. Do batches. First batch goes on a plate or a sheet in a warm (whatever the bottom temp on your range is) oven. Bring all up to heat at the same time by roasting at a higher temp. yes i've seen that suggested before, but won't the poor steaks then bleed their precious juices?

Get a second pan. Seriously. There is no way around it. If you crowd your pan, you won't get a good sear on your steaks, and how fun is that? but...i've only got one burner that's powerful enough to drive some real frying.

"don't crowd the pan". sure, but how, then, to fry more than 3-4 steaks at a time, even in a big (say, 12") frying pan? (3-4 european steaks, that is. that would be 2 american steaks, i believe)

basically, because you measure your weights in a bowl, and a bowl is not very useful for pouring liquids. also, if you want to use your bowl to measure the liquid first (say, for a bread dough), you'd end up with having to dry it very thoroughly before adding the flour to it (if you don't, you'll have flour sticking to the bowl). as you will notice, i've very ingeniously NOT used the word for that thingy you use for measuring liquids. you know, this transparent plastic thingy with a scale on its side that is most useful: you hold it under the tap and just pour water into it what's it called, anyway? (bear with me, please, i'm danish.) oh boy, i hope this made sense.

God, No! Don't stifle his joy...there are so few things in life that cause so much happiness... and that's a lovely, honest reaction! oh, he knows that i'm happy that he likes the food - but i also let him know that perhaps his reaction, when repeated, is a bit... exaggerated. forcée. or just teenageish, maybe. but of course, you're right, his joy should not be stiffled. and actually, i'm slowly but surely getting him to participate in the cooking of our daily meals.

it's all about power, you know

What caused that? clb oh, it happens once in a while, but mostly with some kind of fried meat+caramelization+pan sauce (+, say, 'taters+salad). like in some of nigel slater's ideas/recipes. or, like grilled duck breast+fondant 'taters. pretty basic stuff. my knife fetich helps in making cooking interesting, too.

yes, all of that but lately most of all: the 14-year old exclaiming: "this. is. too. good.", upon which he will rise from his chair, run to a sofa, grab a pillow and scream into it. i like that, though of course i'll tell him to perhaps try to find a more modified/dignified of expressing his joy.

God how depressing. Apples are a great symbol of British (or at least English) food culture. If only 0.1% of the people that have bought Jamie's, Nigella's or Delia's books would buy some traditional British produce, like these apples. but, as the article tells us, they're almost impossible to get hold of for the average shopper.