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Kitchen Utensiles

Posted By: The Fool
Date: Sunday, January 29 2006, at 12:23 p.m.

Kitchen utensiles are very important to the avid home cook. Now, there are a lot of kitchen gadgets on the market, some good to have, some not so important.
Knives are extremely important. Don't skimp on the price of a knife. Spending $10 on a knife is a waste of time as it will be impossible to keep it sharp. Get a good german, spanish or american made knife. I own several Chicago Cutlery knives and am quite happy with them. Although you may have to spend $40, $50 or more on a knife it's well worth it. That doesn't mean you have to spend $50 each for 10 knives. There are only 3 knives that every cook must have. A chefs knife, a boning knife and a paring knife. A chinese or japanes cleaver is also nice to have. Other knives such as slicers (serrated) etc. can be purchased for a lot less. You will also need a sharpener. You can get a stone for $$5-$15, which is what I use, or there are many types of manual and/or electric models which can be purchased anywhere from $10 to hundreds. You should also have a steel to keep it honed. 10 years a go I bought a steel at a yard sale fo $5 which was made by a German company H. Boker & co. A famous knife maker from the turn of the century. The steel has a handle made from an antler, probably deer. The ridges have been worn away so it's probably 50+ years old or so. Still works though! Many people think a steel sharpens a knife but it doesn't. When you use a knife the blade will get small jagged edges. The steel just removes those edges to keep a clean, sharp blade.
A good collection of wooden utensils, spatulas (metal and rubber), whisks, a good can opener, tongs, grater are pretty much all you need. If you have a wok, of course you need a set of wok utensils, ladle, spatula and wire scoop.
With those few items you are pretty much set.
Of course there are a host of other items out there but are optional. Things like a mandolin, manual chopper (yuk) lots of electric items, blenders, choppers, mixers, food processors etc. All kinda handy but not necessary. The only electric I have is a blender.
You can spend a lot of money on kitchen utensils and/or items but you really don't have to. If you learn how to use your knives (which most people don't) you are good to go.
Keep it simple and have fun!!
The Fool

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Kitchen Utensiles
The Fool -- Sunday, January 29 2006, at 12:23 p.m.

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Message: > Kitchen utensiles are very important to the avid home > cook. Now, there are a lot of kitchen gadgets on the > market, some good to have, some not so important. > Knives are extremely important. Don't skimp on the > price of a knife. Spending $10 on a knife is a waste > of time as it will be impossible to keep it sharp. Get > a good german, spanish or american made knife. I own > several Chicago Cutlery knives and am quite happy with > them. Although you may have to spend $40, $50 or more > on a knife it's well worth it. That doesn't mean you > have to spend $50 each for 10 knives. There are only 3 > knives that every cook must have. A chefs knife, a > boning knife and a paring knife. A chinese or japanes > cleaver is also nice to have. Other knives such as > slicers (serrated) etc. can be purchased for a lot > less. You will also need a sharpener. You can get a > stone for $$5-$15, which is what I use, or there are > many types of manual and/or electric models which can > be purchased anywhere from $10 to hundreds. You should > also have a steel to keep it honed. 10 years a go I > bought a steel at a yard sale fo $5 which was made by > a German company H. Boker & co. A famous knife > maker from the turn of the century. The steel has a > handle made from an antler, probably deer. The ridges > have been worn away so it's probably 50+ years old or > so. Still works though! Many people think a steel > sharpens a knife but it doesn't. When you use a knife > the blade will get small jagged edges. The steel just > removes those edges to keep a clean, sharp blade. > A good collection of wooden utensils, spatulas (metal > and rubber), whisks, a good can opener, tongs, grater > are pretty much all you need. If you have a wok, of > course you need a set of wok utensils, ladle, spatula > and wire scoop. > With those few items you are pretty much set. > Of course there are a host of other items out there > but are optional. Things like a mandolin, manual > chopper (yuk) lots of electric items, blenders, > choppers, mixers, food processors etc. All kinda handy > but not necessary. The only electric I have is a > blender. > You can spend a lot of money on kitchen utensils > and/or items but you really don't have to. If you > learn how to use your knives (which most people don't) > you are good to go. > Keep it simple and have fun!! > The Fool
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