cnspriggs

Hi! I'm looking to buy a new fridge and am more familair with brands in america than what is available here. What brands have you been happy with? I am particularly looking for a fridge with the freezer bottom mounted. Cheers!

I'm looking for a store that has a good selection of hot sauces. I'm looking for the following sauces and hope to find a shop that hopefully has them all. Cholula Marie Sharps El Yucateco Blairs Huy Fong Foods Tuong Ot Sriracha Cheers!

Do you have any books you think are really great for the food and wine matching suggestions? I know there are lots of books with matches but many times they are recommendations of wines with recipes that don't clash and haven't really dug into the flavours of the food and the wine to create a special harmony. I'm looking for something that really delves into the subject and doesn't regurgitate the 'classics'.

Hi! In these post Mad Cow days where is the best place to get meat bones for making stock without paying a premium?

Hi! I'm taking my significant other to this area for his birthday as its an area of Ireland he would love to see. Is there any restaurants or pubs in the area that come recommended to eat at? Thanks!

How about Northern Ireland? Any gifts specific to this region? Cheers!

Fasinating! I agree with Darren72-your posts are always interesting even if I am now left a little less sure of what I want. It is interesting to me that classically if you 'stir fry' you use a carbon steel wok but if you 'saute' you use a copper pan....quite different materials for the same application. There is no difference. The difference between "stir fry" and "sauté" is that the former is tyically applied to cooking Asian foods (classically, in a wok) and the latter is typically applied to cooking Western foods. The term "stir fry" is a relatively modern addition to the English cooking lexicon (mid 20th century), and is generally credited to Buwei Yang Chao in the book "How to Cook and Eat in Chinese" where it was used to describe the chǎo technique -- although the complete chǎo technique involces a bit more specificity than what we have now come to think of as "stir frying" -- which generally now means "tossing around a bunch of Asian ingredients over high heat." More information stir-frying here on wikipedia. ←

From what you describe I'm not sure I see the difference between your description of 'saute' and what I imagine 'stir fry' to be??

Hi there, Thanks for the reply. In fact I've read the Understanding cookware article many times but I still finish reading it unsure as to what exactly I want.... One of the main things I struggle with in the kitchen is browing onions. I know it sounds silly but for some reason I find it challenging getting the onions to a really dark brown for a curry base without burning the onions in parts or the spices. While this is the impetus for the purchase I also love trying to cook and would like to see what copper is all about. It's a 'treat' purchase for a new job I have so I'm happy to spend a little bit more but can't buy more than one so was hoping to figure out which style of pan would work best for me. Currently leaning towards Falks Sautépan cilindric.

I'm looking to buy copper of either a Saute or a frying pan but can't afford both. Would you say that a Saute pan can do what a frying pan can do but not the opposite? That was my impression but having never had a good quality copper pan in either wasn't sure. Cheers!

What brands (or materials type) of baking sheets, muffin tins and loaf tins does everyone prefer? I was looking around a hardware shop and noticed some enamel sheets? How does baking on these turn out?

Following up to my own thread I'm wondering if people here would agree with some comments I've heard. Do you find that you investigate the kitchen equipment you want to buy in stores and then order online as it is much cheaper (even with international shipping) that way? I'm in need of many pieces for my kitchen (best quality copper skillet, chefs knife, espresso machine, mixing bowls etc etc) and am new to the UK so hoping to find some great sources to buy but will shop online if that is what is recommended. Thanks!

Can any Aussy out there confirm if Weber has any carbon steel woks down under? In the UK I've written the distributor and they insist that only stainless steel is available.

I'd love to hearing opinions on the wok that weber has http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/accessory/chargear.aspx I notice it's stainless steel and I always thought carbon steel was the preferred wok material. Would love to hear if anyone thinks this wok would give good performance with the weber charcoal grill or if it is a gimmick. Cheers!

As the weather warms up I thought this a timely revival of this thread. I'm going for a charcoal grill and contemplating Weber One-Touch Gold Weber One-Touch Platinum Bar-B-Chef Texas Charcoal Barbeque on cart (however can't seem to find where to buy this in the UK!) Anyone else buying a charcoal grill this spring? Cheers!