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When Expensive Equipment Matters

lorea

By lorea
in Kitchen Consumer

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lorea

lorea

Posted
Posted

Inspired from the When Cheaper is Just Fine thread, what do you buy with the money you save from buying the cheap stuff?

When does it really matter to pay more for your cooking gadgets, cookware, & equipment? And what have you put your money into? Does brand matter?

For me, it's a good chef's knife, a great saute pan, and Microplane graters. Alright, microplanes aren't that expensive, but in this case, it DOES pay to spend just a little more.

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
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Almonds.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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chefboy2160

chefboy2160

Posted
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Besides gadgets I would spend my time and extra money(as time is money) on searching out quality food purveyers in your area and even online. Purchase the best of ingredients for your cooking and you shall be truely a happy cook.

Also support your local farmers so that they can survive and you and your friends and family can enjoy the fruits of there harvest. Also as you pointed out the most used tool in the kitchen is the chefs knife! Carry one that you like.My 2 cents,

Doug.............................

The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity!

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culinary bear

culinary bear

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I've had excellent almonds in spain, but being in the UK, where almonds are about as understood as the game of baseball, we're very limited in choice... what would you recommend, were I able to get a hold of them?

Allan Brown

"If you're a chef on a salary, there's usually a very good reason. Never, ever, work out your hourly rate."

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Anna N

Anna N

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...Purchase the best of ingredients for your cooking and you shall be truely a happy cook.

....

We can't all live in southern California or afford or source the best of the best, SO, when life hands you a couple of scrawny lemons, then make the best damned lemonade you can. :biggrin:

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Moopheus

Moopheus

Posted
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Just your essential food groups: chocolate, cheese, coffee.

When buying equipment, it kind of depends on how much I'm using it. Also, I like durable products. I basically don't want to ever have to replace something.

"I think it's a matter of principle that one should always try to avoid eating one's friends."--Doctor Dolittle

blog: The Institute for Impure Science

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Lesley C

Lesley C

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Posted

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

You just cannot compare the top EVOOs to supermarket brands. If you use olive oil as a condiment (for pouring on pasta or drizzling on bruschetta) you need the good stuff -- or I wouldn't even bother.

the right chocolate matters. Every time.

Sorry Marlene but I just can't agree. I have had side by side tastings of brownies made with Baker's unsweetened and Valrhona pur pate de cacao and no one noticed a difference. For something like a chocolate mousse, yes, but for baked goods it's a toss up.

My Webpage
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jsolomon

jsolomon

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Posted

Coffee (but, good, not simply expensive), chocolate, brie, knives, and cookbooks.

Yes, when I bought Kafka's book on Roasting new, it was nearly $50.00!

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

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NulloModo

NulloModo

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I am going to pipe in here with goat goat cheese. Once when I was in London I sampled the cheese of a goat and I thought it was very very tasty. Recently I saw a little loaf of the stuff in the dairy case at Wal-Mart, and grabbed it to savor at home, however, it nearly made me vomit. I shall now have to figure out where I can find good goat cheese in Delaware...

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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markf424

markf424

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More frequently than not, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is true. This is especially true if you can overlook highly marketed brands and look for genuine quality - a company or product that prides itself on craftsmanship as opposed to profitability alone. Numerous Italian products come to mind. One I'd challenge anyone to argue: Parmigiano-Reggiano vs. American Parmesan.

I tend to buy the better items for my kitchen, from utensils and tools to ingredients, but I avoid paying a premium for marketing and name brand when possible.

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Verjuice

Verjuice

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I'll gladly plonk down a pretty penny for a great cutting board.

It matters with almost all preserved and/or canned foods, the quality of which has everything to do with the cost of the stuff its marinating in. For example, have you ever had a cheap anchovy that didn't taste like a rat brined in sea water?

Also, as far as everyday red wine, sherry and balsamic vinegars go, almost everything under $8 a bottle is disgusting. And I am not suggesting that a $200 bottle of tradizionale should be used with abandon, either, just that there is a huge gray area, and I have found that I generally find that I get what I pay for.

On the Rocks With Salt:The Food Blog

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lala

lala

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Posted

Valhrona 70%, Plugra, Farm fresh eggs, Reggiano, good wine, good meats, excellent quality veggies.

Excellent knives. Le Crueset.

And paying off my credit card bills (only one more to go!)

:biggrin:

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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Jake

Jake

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I pay top dollar for fresh fish. :rolleyes:

edited to say I pay even more for wild fish over the farmed ones.

I agree. $$ Can really make a difference here.

And cheese. Cheese that has been properly stored/handled. Worth the money IMO.

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

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hedoness

hedoness

Posted
Posted
Valhrona 70%, Plugra, Farm fresh eggs, Reggiano, good wine, good meats, excellent quality veggies.

Excellent knives. Le Crueset.

And paying off my credit card bills (only one more to go!)

:biggrin:

Yes yes yes. I think you hit some of the most important items on my list, too.

“Seeing is deceiving. It's eating that's believing.”

James Thurber (1894-1961), American writer and cartoonist.

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lorea

lorea

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I agree with almost everything you're all saying.

Reggiano

Buffalo Mozz.

Fresh Herbs

Good knives

Freshly cut meat

fresh fish

good wine

Thank God I have a Wegman's close by!!!

Gosh, I've never tried buffalo mozzarella before. Now with 2 people talking about it....must....buy....buffalo mozz! :laugh:

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