Updating the Kitchen Essentials

[Shel_B]

Causes a shit storm every time I bring it up - but I do use stainless bowls in the microwave.

 

My uncle is a designer, engineer, inventor, and cook, and some of his products are microwave ovens.  In response to a video I sent him, and comments posted here, this is what he has to say about using SS bowls in the microwave oven.  And my subsequent comment.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Shel_B (log)

[MetsFan5]

In my experience, after moving out, I took things my parents didn't need and bought things on an as needed basis, based on my interest and ability of cooking. I lived with roommates and we taught each other our recipes over time, and eventually when I got married, the bulk of my kitchen items were either gifts of purchased by my husband and I. Start off small. If you anticipate moving, be cognizant of how much you accumulate

[andiesenji]

Early last year I helped two young women who were setting up their new homes and needed just about everything.

Both had limited means but had received monetary gifts, including cash cards.

 

I took them to the Tuesday Morning store in Palmdale where they found some amazing bargains for kitchen wares,  linens -

prices were better than comparables at other discount places, including Goodwill and Salvation Army.

 

Store locator is here.  Check them out and do some comparison shopping at TJ Maxx, Marshall's and other discount stores.

[kayb]

Does TJ Maxx and Marshalls carry All-Clad? 

From time to time, yes. Le Creuset, too.

[kayb]

I had cooked in my own kitchen for 40 years before i bought my stand mixer and a good food processor. I don't know how I ever functioned without either one.

 

My absolutely indispensible kitchen tools,though, are my two good knives -- a 5 1/2 inch utility and an 8-inch chef, Misono, that I brought back from Tokyo.

[MetsFan5]

The OP hasn't responded so that doesn't help us much. Personally, I was (rightfully so after a nasty accident) scared of quality knives.. Maybe all she needs is a can opener and a pot.

[gfweb]

The OP hasn't responded so that doesn't help us much. Personally, I was (rightfully so after a nasty accident) scared of quality knives.. Maybe all she needs is a can opener and a pot.

 

Crock pot and a big spoon?

[TicTac]

'Gadgets' typically are a waste of money.  The only things I use outside of the main 'tools' (pots, pans, cutting board, etc) are a good quality mandolin slicer (not really a gadget...) a really well made peeler (again, not a gadget) and thats about it....Oh, a salad spinner!

 

Save your dough and invest in higher quality core equipment, like a range (I chose Wolf for most of our hardware), pots/pans, knives, etc.

[Shel_B]

'Gadgets' typically are a waste of money. 

 

Nothing is a waste of money if you use it and it works for you, gadgets or otherwise ... there are many on this forum who use "gadgets" frequently.  A gadget is sometimes defined as "a small, useful device."

Edited July 7, 2015 by Shel_B (log)

[liuzhou]

a good quality mandolin slicer (not really a gadget...) a really well made peeler (again, not a gadget) and thats about it....Oh, a salad spinner!

 

 

Nonsense. All gadgets.

[MetsFan5]

Crock pot and a big spoon?

Or even a hot pot and some ramen?

[Alex]

i lived with my parents before and just moved out few months ago .i want to equip my kitchen and realized it should be a lots of money !!   right ?  i think i couldn't finish it right now . so many gadgets you need to buy ! countless ....

i have to equip my kitchen little by little . first of all is something you must own i already got .    this is what i got today  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X5WQO1E.  i want to know normally how much do you cost for your kitchen ?

 

This turned into an interesting forum, but Claire, as the OP, it would be even better if you participated, too (and answered the question I asked you a week ago).

 

(OP = original poster)

Edited July 7, 2015 by Alex (log)

[blue_dolphin]

An egulleter equiping a kitchen for the first time recently asked, "How much did you spend on your kitchen?"    In my case, it's been around 35 years since those days but I took a quick browse through the kitchen cabinets and spotted a few old timers that I still use regularly. I remember carefully considering and shopping for each of these items:

Clockwise from lower right:

• 3 qt stainless Revere ware pan with steamer and double boiler inserts.  This was the first new pan I purchased and I used it for almost everything in the beginning.  I still use it and the steamer insert often.  The double boiler doesn't get much use and is out in the garage.
• Mouli julienne grater/shredder.  Still my go-to for shredding cheese.  I recently repaired the knob with Sugru and need to watch eBay more carefully for a replacement.
• Wooden rolling pin.  Nothing special but I remember picking it out and feeling like a real baker after making due with a broom handle or canned goods!   I have others that I use for certain purposes, but I still reach for this one first.
• Braun drip coffee maker.  I remember researching this purchase carefully and remembering my dad questioning why I'd spent $40 on this brand when he'd just replaced his for $15.  It looks pretty ratty so I won't mind replacing it when it gives up the ghost but until then, I'm using it almost every day.
• National one-button rice cooker.  I remember shopping for this in LA's Chinatown.  I know I could get more functionality by replacing this guy but it still works. I use it once or twice a week for rice or other grains.  

I have other, older items that I received as gifts,  inherited or purchased at thrifts or garage sales at various times but I remember choosing and investing in these items for my earliest cooking needs.  And after this many years of service,  I'm calling them good investments.    

Which of your first purchases are you still using and would consider good investments?  Any dearly departed items from your first kitchen - things that you replaced, left behind or lost and now wish you could find again?
 

[blue_dolphin]

This question got me thinking back to my first college and post-grad apartments and the items that I purchased then and am still using. 

I started another thread, Best investments from your first kitchen, to ask folks which items from your first kitchens you still use and consider good investments.

Did you make good investments with your first kitchen purchases?

[Shel_B]

I had one of those Moulis ... great little tool.

 

From my first kitchen I still have and regularly use a 2-quart All-Clad Master Chef sauce pan, a 4-quart All-Clad Master Chef sauce pan, an All-Clad Master Chef sauté pan, a 12-inch All-Clad "Ltd" skillet, and a 4 1/2 quart Le Creuset Dutch oven.  The special Ltd coating has worn off from the 12-inch skillet, so, while it's ugly, it still cooks like a champ.

 

I also have a Forschner-Victorinox boning knife that I still use - it was purchased around 1970 +/-

 

Oh, I almost forgot, there's a Krups 203 coffee grinder which I've been using since 1976 or so.  Still works perfectly, and although the top looks like it's been through a war, it still does the job.

 

These have all been excellent investments ...

Edited July 7, 2015 by Shel_B (log)

[IowaDee]

Probably not the answer you're looking for me  but marrying a man who was more at home in a kitchen than I was has proven to be the best investment I  have every made.  He gave me the confidence to spread my wings and gain the confidence to cook. Many years, and many failures later, I am a good cook who loves everything about the job.  Best of all, my former teacher now asks my advice when it comes to recipes. Cooking together has become a joy and we have the extra weight to prove how much we practice it

The best appliances, knives etc. can't compete with having a partner who shares the joy of producing a shared meal.  Invest wisely and it will last a lifetime.

[minas6907]

Id say for myself its my matfer black steel pans. I used to work at a french place that used them. It took a little time to get used to (formerly I was used to cooking on aluminium pans) but once you do, they work like a charm and are bullet proof, I know its not as long as some of the items mentioned above, but ive had those for about 10 years. When me and my wife got married, I was a bit picky as to what could come along and what couldn't from her kitchen, she wasnt very disappointed (and she expected it). Most of her cookware went to her roomies, and id say the only about the black steel pans, it took her some getting used to, but she likes them now.

[Lisa Shock]

When I first moved out on my own I went to an Chinese market and purchased a wok that came with accessories which included a 2-basket bamboo steamer. I still have the wok, the rack that hangs off the side, and the steamer -although the steamer could fall apart any day now it barely survived a bad fire. I use the wok at least once a week for all sorts of things including popcorn and deep frying.

 

I picked up a Wagner 6" cast iron skillet at a thrift store. It is still the perfect small pan for eggs and reheating single portions of leftovers. I got a 10" cast iron skillet, new Lodge, a few years later. This is still my go-to frittata pan.

 

My mom gave me the 4 qt pot and 8" saucepan & lid from the Revereware she got as a wedding gift a year before I was born, I use these almost daily even though I own a fancy set of copper pots.

 

My French rolling pin (tapered, no handles) came from a mall kitchen store, they had a sale going and a huge bin of them at $2 each. I got the only one in the bin made of tiger maple, and it's gorgeous. It still inspires me to bake. Oh yeah, I almost lost it! One former roommate threw it in the trash because she thought it was junk!

Edited July 8, 2015 by Lisa Shock (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Let's see...not much here is original:  Wonder Ware cookware, Iron Mountain stoneware, oh, some Baccarat.  Some Japanese made (but not Japanese style) knives.  A rolling pin.  A charlotte mold that needs retinning.  I know there must be a Mouli grater or two here somewhere but I can't find them.

 

Then there is the rusty corkscrew I bought in Philadelphia the night I turned twenty one.

[Martin Fisher]

Griswold cast iron, Foley food mill, 1966 Rival variable-speed blender and Ecko stainless steel floating blade peeler, to name a few.

 

 

Edited to add: Saladmaster stainless steel cookware, Ice-O-Mat wall mount ice crusher and mid-1980's Mirro pressure canner.

Edited July 8, 2015 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Porthos]

My bachelor kitchens we rather rag-tag even though I had been cooking since I was 13. Being a starving student didn't leave much room for upgrading my junky stuff. When my sweetie and I married one of the pans we were given was a 3-quart Reverware pan with steamer and double-boiler inserts. It was the same pan that was my potatoes and veggies mainstay while cooking the family dinner when I was in high school. Our steamer insert went MIA (I replaced it when I discovered the wonders of steaming) but we still have the double-boiler insert as well as the pan. My wife didn't cook until we were married but she cooks well. Where she really shines is desserts. Anyway, she liked the Revereware pan so much that we bought a second one. I have the one that is older than me that I used as a kid put away as a keepsake.

 

We have a Revere 16 qt stock pot that we acquired early on. But my favorite early-marriage acquisition was actually a gift. My sweetie bought me a chef's knife for Christmas about 4 yeas into our marriage. It didn't my hand well so we went back to the store and exchanged it for a knife that was not manufactured for very long, a 10" Mighty Oak. It is still my primary knife 33 years later. I found a second one on ebay last year and that is my veggies-only prep knife.

 

Our Hobart-era KitchenAid 5 qt mixer has been retired but retained. We choose to upgrade to a 6 qt to better handle stiff cookies doughs. But the 5 qt sits in a box waiting for the right time to rejoin a kitchen.

 

Most of the others stuff has come and gone as various whims have struck us.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Porthos (log)

[SylviaLovegren]

Griswold cast iron, Foley food mill, 1966 Rival variable-speed blender and Ecko stainless steel floating blade peeler, to name a few.

 

 

Edited to add: Saladmaster stainless steel cookware, Ice-O-Mat wall mount ice crusher and mid-1980's Mirro pressure canner.

 

You still have the recipe book for the blender?  And the blender still looks brand new?  I'm not letting you into my kitchen.

 

I still have and use the hand-held electric mixer my brother gave me for my first birthday in my own place (we won't mention how many years ago that was) and the chef's knife I stole from my mom, along with the 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook I stole from her as well when I moved out.  She never really forgave me for either of those thefts... 

[gulfporter]

We moved 3 times in the past 12 years since we retired.  So I'll gauge my best investments as what I actually lugged around from DC-Metro to Arizona to Central Mexico to Coastal Florida.  

 

KitchenAid stand mixer

Cuisinart Food Processor

Immersion Blender

Madeleine molds (some from France trip in 1980s)

Heavy gauge removable bottom tart pans (at least 25 years old)

Zyliss garlic press (at least 30 years old)

 

We sold both the AZ and MX homes fully furnished, including kitchenwares/dinnerware, so the few items listed above really mean a lot to me.  

[weinoo]

 

• Braun drip coffee maker.  I remember researching this purchase carefully and remembering my dad questioning why I'd spent $40 on this brand when he'd just replaced his for $15.  It looks pretty ratty so I won't mind replacing it when it gives up the ghost but until then, I'm using it almost every day.
• National one-button rice cooker.  I remember shopping for this in LA's Chinatown.  I know I could get more functionality by replacing this guy but it still works. I use it once or twice a week for rice or other grains.  

I'm interested in where these were made -  as I am with DDF's  Rival blender.

 

I don't remember my first kitchen that well - it was somewhere in Santa Barbara, I think. In any event, I still have the first Chinese cleavers I bought. And the wok tools, but not the wok.  

 

I have some cast iron, that I'm pretty sure was gifted or purchased at flea markets/garage sales.

 

I have a few of the knives from my original set of Henckel's (tomato, paring).

 

And I remember buying a set of pots and pans from Macy's - they were called Tools of the Trade, and were well made at the time. I still have the 8 qt. soup pot, and maybe a saute pan or two.

[liuzhou]

I have nothing from my first kitchen. Except memories.

 

I moved too often. Too many countries. Too many wives!

I started out wanting to cook something better than my family were feeding me. I knew nothing. My first girlfriend's father made me a simple omelette. I was amazed. Wow! Eggs taste good!

 

I remember well the first wok I bought. It was terrible quality but very exotic. I had no idea how to use it. And an "Indian Cookbook" which was really a pamphlet full of hopeless recipes.

 

But the spirit never died and slowly I got a little better and my kitchens got better, only to be abandoned and I had to start again.

 

Still a thousand miles to go.

 

Here is my favourite corner of my latest incarnation