When Cheaper is Just Fine

[bottomlesspit]

is it a chefs knife? I'd be interested, i really would.

[dougery]

I bought this little paring knife at a garage sale. Black plastic handle with a stamped blade but I love it. I don't know why but I rarely use my Wusthof paring, instead I use my 10 cent special for all of my paring and garnishing. Don't tell my wife though, the Wusthof was a gift : )

[Mottmott]

I have a bamboo grater I bought years ago for $5. It works wonderful for garlic or ginger and you absolutely cannot cut your fingers. I confess to not using it so often now that I have a microplane grater, but the bamboo grater is also a thing of beauty. Whenever I finally get a digital camera (distant future), I'll post a photo.

[baconburner]

One item we use a lot is an $11.00 CDN pepper/spice grinder we got from Ikea. It has an adjustable grind and one sweet advantage. The grinder is on the top so you have to invert it to use it. No more traces of pepper etc on the table when you put it down. The mechanism is ceramic so it works very well.

Cheers

[qrn]

Victorinox knives, (except one 9" messermiester chefs).

$4.50 foodsaver vac pack machine , and $5.00 Chef Choice knife sharpener, from the thrift store.

Sheet pans and cheepo pots and pans from the Rest. supply places.

Bud

[Jon Savage]

I too am a big adherent of the little white terry towels from Costo (Home Depot Wherever).

I have 2 smallish knives from Ikea (6" and 8") same general shape as a chef's knife that came bundled with a couple delron (blue!) cutting boards maybe 10 years ago. Cost like 6 bucks total.

Stainless unfortunately. On the other hand these have been my go to knives since I got them - take a nice edge and do what I need them to do. Long since discontinued ; no idea how the current crop of Ikea knives are. Still these rock - every year or so I consider buying a high end chef's knife but why bother? I also enjoy cast iron cookware immensely - hate caphalon for some reason or other.

Then there is the endless supply of varied and sundry Pyrex that seems to get left @ our house after party's. Good stuff.

Oh... a $1 plastic bowl (maybe 1/2 gallon) I bought at Ikea in oh.... 1985 or so.

And then there is the myriad of tiny bowls we buy from the Japanese Costco type place near here- great for mise en place. They have nifty knives there as well and we have several.

Don't get me started on the $20 rice cooker from the Cambodian market...

Edited March 21, 2007 by 6ppc (log)