Good Kitchen Tools, Gadgets, White Goods etc…..
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Studies have shown wood's perfectly safe, and maybe safer than plastic. I think the most important factor is how you care for it. In our case, we frequently wash our block with soapy water, keep it oiled up with an oil that won't go rancid, and routinely flip it over so that any bacteria that have penetrated the grain on a given side can die off. We also avoid meat and cheese on it. The one thing that is a standing disadvantage for nice cutting boards is that you don't typically routinely replace them, but I am not sure the science is settled that there's a cumulative microbiome of bacteria that necessitates that. What I can say is we don't get sick, the board doesn't stink, and foods cut on it taste untarnished by it.
We love our Boos block and it is permanently on the counter, secured to the granite by a rug pad. We have plastic cutting boards for meats and cheeses. The only use for it than cutting vegetables is as a charcuterie board.
Excuse the mess, but here it is:
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Yep, thats what I read too, Oak boards even "kill" Bacteria because of the Acid that is in Oakwood (which is also used to tan leather). I do it like you @mclaincausey I use the Wood Board for everything then Chicken including Pizza serving and cutting and never had a single problem.
In great Michelin started Sushi Resturants basicly every cutting and preparing Surface is made out of Wood, I recently watched the "Omakase" Series on the Eater Youtube Channel and noticed that.
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We have a Joule sous vide wand and we love it. I have made 72hrs beef short ribs with it, as well as perfect roasts. It's been a revelation.
I also like the Thermapen Mk4 instant thermometer for when grilling steaks and the iGrill 2 for pieces I want to roast or smoke for a long time. If you've never cooked with a stay-in thermometer it will change your life.
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I wish I had not started this thread - it's costing me a feckin fortune….
I already spend a Fortune and I´m not nearly there
I recently discoverd Alpes Inox Kitchens an italian company that custom makes stainless steel kitchens with an insane eye for details, one of those will for shure go in if I buy my own place in the future
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WRT boards, I think the key thing is to not use the same boards for meats and items one plans to eat raw (e.g., salad).
The fact that a lab can detect the presence of a given bacteria does not mean that said bacteria is present in quantities large enough to contaminate.
Personally I like the Epicurean cutting boards because they look & feel "woody" but they go in the DW.
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Can also vouch for the Sous Vide. My brother got my mom one for Christmas and it's amazing. We've done steaks and burgers so far and they've been perfect each time. All you gotta do is sear them on the cast iron.
I'd also suggest the Ninja Foodi for easy cooking. I got my mom one for Christmas and it can pressure cook, air fry, broil, and there's a few other options. We did a rotisserie chicken that cooked perfectly, then browned it using either the air fry or broil option. She had a solid Christmas for kitchen gadgets.
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+1 on the Thermapen, @JDelage it is bad ass. Instant read is important, and that is the best I've used.
I also have a thermometer that you leave in while roasting and smoking and allows you to set an alert temperature. Both are important, no matter how much cooking one does by feel.
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Just ordered…..
https://www.riess-markenshop.de/en/p/riess-stainless-steel-cristall-water-kettle-with-lid-1
(Thanks @Steffen ::) )
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Pish tosh, y'all work way too hard.
Here in the 21st century, we have digital kettles:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bonavita-1-0-l-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck-Electric-Kettle-29602/301886683The gooseneck is great for tea and pourover coffee, but I'll even use it for a quick vegetable blanch (e.g., take the sting out of some julienned red onion). And setting specific temperature is great to get the most out of teas and coffees.
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@mclaincausey I use a Digital Kettle at the Moment but i really don´t like the Tons of cheap looking plastic on those things, it ruins the whole ahstetic in the kitchen, I recently dicoverd the Kitchen Aid Precision Kettle which seems to be new and I´m really tempeted to try it, it looks quite well made on the photos which would go against my therory that everything they make is trash expect the Kitchen Aid Machine itself (at least these days, the old toasters where solid like a tank) but we shall see.
I´m sorry for you loss of money @Giles don´t read further into what I wrote, there is a ton of money more at risk
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Wow, that is much more attractive @Steffen . Should I ever need to backfill, that will be on the short list.
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What about non-stick pans? I have two sizes of Henckels' ceramic pans. They are nice and hefty and conduction-compliant. I find that eggs can at time stick to them more than I'd prefer.
This morning I fried up some eggs. I sprayed the pan lightly with avocado oil and then added a touch of ghee for flavor.
Pickapeppa's Hot Mango sauce is one of the best condiments in the world. It is just fantastic on pretty much everything, and I don't typically like sweet things mixed in with savory. The red hot sauce is also very flavorful.
A quick scrape with a rubber spatula (metal is still not OK with this form of non-stick) removed the little egg crispies as seen here. Where it can get a bit stubborn is if you let the egg crust on the bottom of the pan, which is easier to do and harder to clean than I would prefer.
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@mclaincausey I prefer Iron Pans, there as blank as it gets and are if burned in as non stick as a coated pan but a more natural way.
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If by that you mean cast iron skillets, I certainly use those, as well as crockery (like the Le Creuset Dutch oven in use right now). But those are suited for different applications IMO based on not just the surface but the heat retention. You (or maybe it's just I) can't do certain things as well (say, a French omelette), or at least certainly as easily, on cast iron as on non-stick, and I feel much safer using ceramic than the coated varieties, which have been shown to be toxic in the past. I'm especially particular with eggs, as I find them pretty gross under- or over- cooked.
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@mclaincausey I mean carbon steel pans, the ones that you have to burn in and after time get blackish from the fats and oils that are used during the cooking. I only use that model in a 20cm and a 28cm diameter:
https://www.debuyer.com/en/products/mineral-b-pro-frypan-with-cast-stainless-steel-handle
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Ah, yeah I have an All-Clad that looks just like that, but I think it's stainless. That does sound interesting, as I love seasoning cast iron and the properties that imparts.
That said, I'm not sure steel is any more natural than ceramic, they are both man-made, industrial materials.
