Updating the Kitchen Essentials

[patrickamory]

Ah, I was thinking tools only... I didn't include cutting board, pots or pans.

[scubadoo97]

Good quality tongs are a must

[patrickamory]

Good quality tongs are a must

ABSOLUTELY true. I forgot about these.

[qrn]

a CDNthermometer,so I know when stuff is hot enough,,,(or cold enough)

[Porthos]

12" chef knife

3 1/2" paring knife

Cutting board sized for the chef knife

12" saute pan

3 qt Revere pan with lid

Wooden Spoon

Plastic Slotted spoon

Spatula

Good tongs

Can opener

8 qt stainless steel mixing bowl - I hate cleaning plastic bowls and I dislike glass bowls in the kitchen.

Measuring cups and measuring spoons

Sieve or collonder (sp)

These are the essentials. However, my DW and I got fishing in the Sierras where we rent a house-keeping cabin. I have a tub full of equipment that also includes decent wine glass and I bring my knife roll and a few pots and pans because I don't do well mentally when I don't have the stuff I like to use. The cabin kitchens are furnished with Walmart-type bargain basement stuff and the knives there are an affront to anyone with any level of knife skiil. The essentials as listed above would see me through - I just wouldn't like it.

[ojisan]

4" paring knife, 8" chef's knife, 12" nakiri,

I've never heard of a 12" nakiri. Can you post a photo?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

4" paring knife, 8" chef's knife, 12" nakiri,

I've never heard of a 12" nakiri. Can you post a photo?

Here it is. It has no markings other than the characters on the blade, and it's a honking big knife. I found it at my local chef's store, and it came in a simple card sheath, so I have no clue about provenance. It handles and holds an edge like high-carbon steel. Even though I've got ridiculously small hands, I still love it to bits.

[Charcuterer]

That is a really pretty blade.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

It is, and I wish I knew more about it! I was in Quito today and asked the staff at the chef's supply store where I bought it. They say that four such knives were in the bottom of a crate of plates that came with an Okinawa postmark. They're not even sure how the dang things made it through customs. So, all I can say is that three other chefs in Ecuador have one of these oversized nakiri.

[radtek]

I have a smaller version bought at the Asian-mart for $7. After 8 years you could still shave with it and I've never had to sharpen it in any real serious way.

[Syzygies]

Wok: Flat or Round Bottom?

http://www.thaifooda...es/woktype.html

(Grace Young's book "Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge" takes the opposite view, but my best wok is round.)

Nevertheless, wok rings are too unstable for my tastes. These wok grates are $7 many places in any Chinatown, and replace your existing gas burner grate. I had to rasp two corners a bit to match the rounding of my existing 8.5" by 8.5" grate, then it fit like a charm.

[tsp.]

I'm putting it out there, and this is going to be controversial, my immersion circulator. I can prepare large amounts of meals in one hit and just reheat.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I don't think that's controversia, tsp. This thread is asking what you consider to be an essential tool in your roll, and if you figure that's an immersion circulator, then it's an essential tool for you.

[flourgirl]

Limiting this to tools. There are other things that I consider to be indispensable (like oven mitts that go up to my elbows), but they're not strictly hardware.

4" paring knife, 8" chef's knife, 12" nakiri, 16" cake knife, steel, CrO₂ stone, fork, veg peeler, bottle/can opener, tongs, silicone spatula, whisk, fine mesh strainers, barrel sifter, rolling pin, silpat, cup measure(s), measuring spoons, standard and candy thermometers (solid state), Microplane or grater or some sort, small digital balance with 5 kg weight capacity in mg increments. Of this, the only thing that doesn't fit in my roll is the barrel sifter - I have collapsable silicone 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 C measures, and my balance fits in the palm of my hand.

EDIT - Pots and pans are a whole 'nother story entirely, as are appliances. For example, all of the above is useless to me without a stove and an oven of some description!

I've never seen a 16- inch knife. What brand do you use?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Tramontina Linha Profissional. It's not even the longest cake knife they make.

[flourgirl]

Tramontina Linha Profissional. It's not even the longest cake knife they make.

How long is that knife?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

The longest Tramontina cake knife I've ever seen was 24" - that's excessive for my needs, and doesn't fit in my roll.

[flourgirl]

That is huge! I can't imagine what it's use would be.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

If you'd ever been to a very large Latin American party, the use would become obvious. I have been commissioned to make sheet cakes that cover the entire surface of large tables - and at that point, a 2 foot long knife would become indispensable for slicing. When clients ask for this, I always make sure they've got one of the 2-footers for cutting, or else some other method, because once a cake goes past 18 contiguous inches, I will refuse to cut it for them.

EDIT: because I normally contract a truck to deliver this volume of cake, I am reluctant to take any knife with me I can't hide in my roll. I've had drivers refuse to take me with openly carried knives, even when it's very obvious that they're for the event I'm catering.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[judec]

Out of all the knives I have, I consider my Chan Chi Kee chinese cleaver most indispensable. So lightweight and glides through anything despite its size.

[flourgirl]

If you'd ever been to a very large Latin American party, the use would become obvious. I have been commissioned to make sheet cakes that cover the entire surface of large tables - and at that point, a 2 foot long knife would become indispensable for slicing. When clients ask for this, I always make sure they've got one of the 2-footers for cutting, or else some other method, because once a cake goes past 18 contiguous inches, I will refuse to cut it for them.

EDIT: because I normally contract a truck to deliver this volume of cake, I am reluctant to take any knife with me I can't hide in my roll. I've had drivers refuse to take me with openly carried knives, even when it's very obvious that they're for the event I'm catering.

Understandably so.

I just ordered a 14 inch cake knife for torting and sheet cakes. It's good to know there are longer knives out there should I ever need one. Thanks

[flourgirl]

I love my KitchenAid mixer. It has opened a new world of baking for me. If it went, I would have to replace it the same day.

[Syzygies]

If it went, I would have to replace it the same day.

The old KitchenAids are great. I read lots of reviews complaining about plastic parts failing on recent models, so I spent the extra money for a Viking. But who knows, they might have fixed their recent problems.

http://www.amazon.co...duct/B0007WLJ3I

[flourgirl]

If it went, I would have to replace it the same day.

The old KitchenAids are great. I read lots of reviews complaining about plastic parts failing on recent models, so I spent the extra money for a Viking. But who knows, they might have fixed their recent problems.

http://www.amazon.co...duct/B0007WLJ3I

Do you like it? I have Viking cookware and I love it. They make a solid product.

[Syzygies]

Do you like it? I have Viking cookware and I love it.

Yes. I can directly compare with my wife's older KitchenAid in a different kitchen, and I prefer the well-built Viking. I use it primarily for very wet bread doughs; she uses the KitchenAid all the time for desserts of all descriptions.