Good Kitchen Tools, Gadgets, White Goods etc…..
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@Steffen inspired this thread.
As it happens I am building a new kitchen at the moment. I stumbled across Pot Fillers recently. They are not really a thing in UK, but seem to be pretty popular in The USA.
I really like the idea, so we hastily routed new cold water pipe and I bought a pretty cheap one on ebay. You can spend a grand on one of these, so I will use the cheapo one until I find a nicer one with potentially longer reach at a decent price.
(not my pic)
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Our Anova Sous Vide is indispensable in our house. We got one years ago and used it to the point where the motor is about to crap out. Got one for my stepson's family this Christmas, as he keeps giving himself food poisoning and his girlfriend is just a horrendous cook. They love it as well.
If you don't have one, you need it (and probably don't know it). Jody looked at me like I just wasted a hundred bucks when I first bought it. We just got our second one for when the first one dies.
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Julie and I talked about a pot filler for our kitchen, but we talked with a few friends who have them and decided against it. Everyone told us they tend to leak at the joints. Maybe that's just theirs, but it was enough to put us off the extra cost.
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We have a cavernous bucket sink and a high arc faucet with a detachable spray handle. Works great for filling pots.
Our dishwasher's button panel stopped working. The repair would be over $400, so we had the great unexpected, unwanted expense of a new dishwasher. We're getting a Bosch 300 series, so I am excited about the upgrade at least.
@DougNg do y'all sear after sous vide? A couple of interesting ways to do that.
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That's what I do, though I use ghee or avocado oil for a higher smoke point.
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Julie and I talked about a pot filler for our kitchen, but we talked with a few friends who have them and decided against it. Everyone told us they tend to leak at the joints. Maybe that's just theirs, but it was enough to put us off the extra cost.
That is a concern. I "blew" USD100 on one. It feels pretty robust, but time will tell whether it was a sensible decision….
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Oughta look at the ChefSteps Joule @Giles and as you replace yours @DougNg , some folks prefer it and it does have more power. I have no experience with either, but the main con I have heard with the Joule is a lack of display and controls on the unit (completely device-controlled). The pros are that it is smaller and more powerful. The practical impact of that is documented here: it took the Joule half as long (10 instead of 20 minutes) to heat 4L of water to 132.8 F from room temperature.
I haven't decided yet. I think they are pretty evenly matched.
What about Instant Pot? Anyone caught that fever yet? Everyone raves about them, though one of my friends is not impressed with hers.
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I'm fairly certain this won't work for us.
Mainly it comes down to the price. At twice the price, I'd like to know how robust is the motor. If the motor lasts twice as long then maybe, but our Anova has lasted over two years. We use our sous vide three or four times a week, one of the tasks assigned to it is to heat up a monstrous stock pot of water and cook several lbs of chicken for our dogs. How long it takes to heat up is irrelevant. I usually turn it on, let it heat up while I'm working out or running and get back to it when I'm ready.
I looked at the Instant Pot and haven't really had the urge to get one. We do use our Crock Pot a ton though. We also use that to make food for the dogs: they get bone broth with every meal.
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Another thing we use for cooking that I can't live without is my Akorn Kamado grill. Basically the "stove" or "chimney" that Mclain was talking about before.
I've gotten that thing over 900 degrees F, I don't know the actual temperature because my thermometer doesn't go that high.
I forget why I did that, I think I forgot I had all the vents open. I had a hard time getting within a couple feet of it when it was open.
They rust like a motherfucker though. I replace mine every couple years.
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Thanks for opening up the Topic @Giles and @neph93
After I promised I shall now deliver, bare in mind that the follwing Products are avilable in Germany/the EU (and the UK, at least for now) and are eventually not as easy to get elsewhere:
Cooking Pots/Pans:
De Buyer Made in France, Iron and Copper Pots/Pans, really high/pro quality, the very renowend Mineral B Series is really "cheap" for the quality, the copper pots/pans are expensive (as all copper pots/pans)
WMF Partly Made in Germany, an absolute German staple for Stainless Steel Pots, the german made products are really heavy, well made and not that cheap, the chinese made sets change name and pricing by the day and are basicly their way to make the Max amount of money with their known name
Enamel Pots/Pans/Bowls/Water Pots/Strainers
Riess Made in Austria, and absolute Staple straight from the Mountains since 1550 (!) the Products made by the absolute Intstitution when it comes to european enemal are high quality and well priced
-> Sidenote: Falcon Enemal ist marketed as british but actually comes from china for almost the same pircing as Riess
Kitchen Ceramics
Emile Henry Made in France, very colorful and well made cermaic products, they make everything from a baking dishes to kitchen utensils, 10 Year warrenty on basiclly everything
Römertopf Made in Germany, the Brick red Products are very well known all over Germany and are a staple in every household, their classic "Römertopf" was a classic present for every young women in the olden days when she left home nowdays they do everything from chicken grillers to bread storage boxes
-> Sidenote: Le Cruset and Staub Products cost the same or more then EH and Römertopf Products but are from China (both as far as I know only produce their Cast Iron Products in France these Days)
PorcelanThat is one Product Genre that isn´t to probelamtic in germany because we have Tons of good Manufacturers that do quality products in germany, if it´s on the finer Side of the Specturm with Brands like Rosenthal and KPM, on the "younger" Side like Arzberg or Thomas or with an more Rustic Approach like Gmundner from Austria everybody should find something
Kitchen Glassware
Pyrex Made in France, There is not much to say about Pyrex, no frills, good quality, good price
Glasses
The second "easy" category at least if you always read whats on the Box are Glasses, Manufacturers like Riedel and Schott deliver good quality Made in Germany but tend to Outsource their Cheaper lines which often times leads to bad quality
A really good Source for daily use Glasses is the Duralex Picardie Range of Bistro Glasses from France.
Tools/Knives
Solingen near Cologne in the West of Germany is one of the Knive Maker Capitals of the World and even tough some companys grew huge and sourced most of their Production out there is still quite a decent amount left that actaully produce in germany like Güde, Mono, Herder, Dick (Yes great name for Interntional Business) and more, just Google "Solinger Knives".
In General this industry is a lot of marketing, store displays and old names with no substance left, the amount of brands that are only left as Names with random branding on Asian products is insane to me. If I'd search for Asian Products Good or Bad/Cheap I'd rather buy them from the Asian Brands themselves then from a Eurooean brand with a 500% higher price.
I hope that helps you guys a bit if in search of a well made product, sorry if there are any misspells the last time a wrote a english text that long was at least 10 Years ago and I had to google a lot of Kitchen Vocabulary
EDIT: I almost missed the US Products because they where on another list, Epicurean makes Wood Based Cutting Boards in the US that are a really good sort of cheap alternative (at least when it comes to function) to the renowned Boos Blocks which are also US made. Microplane also do the grating part of their craters in the US.
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Mainly it comes down to the price. At twice the price, I'd like to know how robust is the motor.
Same/similar retail pricing now as Anova, $199 for the stainless/white version and $179 for the all-white one. Hard to say how reliable or robust the motor is, but if being more powerful means it doesn't have to work as hard, it could have a longer duty cycle. The reviews on Amazon remain positive (slightly moreso than Anova) but the warranty is only 1 year to Anova's 2.
I looked at the Instant Pot and haven't really had the urge to get one. We do use our Crock Pot a ton though. We also use that to make food for the dogs: they get bone broth with every meal.
Yeah, we have a crock pot and a pressure cooker, and we don't have one either–but to be fair, this is a different beast than either. I'm told even by Instant Pot enthusiasts that if you are doing low and slow, stick with your crock pot. What is interesting to me is compressing cook times down, but again, that's kind of a pressure cooker thing too. A quick Google search shows a bone broth recipe at 2 hours in the pot--that's what makes it interesting, as any broth I've ever made took a hard boil for a much lengthier period of time.
Being at altitude, pressure cooking in general is also interesting, as it take elevation-based variability out of the picture.
I have a feeling our gas range will be the next major appliance to go. I really, REALLY love gas ranges, but the ease of cleanup for induction ranges has me thinking about that, especially since we can get direct flame out on the grill. Anyone have experience with induction ranges?
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I've heard stories that Instant Pot doesn't let the flavors marry because it's so fast. That's probably my biggest reason why I don't have one.
I paid $99 for the top of the line Anova on Black Friday.
My bone broth recipe is pretty simple: bones, water to cover, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, crock pot on high for 6 hours, then low for 30 hrs. Most of the time the stock has the consistency of dense jello when its cooled, once in awhile depending on the cut of bones, it comes out like hardened rubber cement.
I'm pretty low rent when it comes to other things in my kitchen. Mason jars serve as storage, measuring cups, and drinking vessels. I have two Ken Onion Shun knives, and the rest are the cheapest Amazon Essentials knives I can find. Knowing how to sharpen things closes the gap between nice cutlery and cheap cutlery.
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There are no wooden cutting boards in my house nor will there ever be.
In my past life I was a manufactured food investigator/inspector.
There is too much shit that grows in wooden cutting boards.
Plastic. If there's a gouge, I'll sand it out. After that, it gets tossed.
No wooden cutting boards.
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In terms of white goods, Miele.
They are engineered and tested to last 20 years based on typical usage.
This is from someone who used to fix appliances from all manufacturers. -
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.
