With the holidays approaching, I’m starting to get more of this question from readers and friends: “What should I buy for my [friend/relative/s.o.] who loves to cook?” With that in mind, here’s part one of what I hope will be a series on kitchen gadgets I can recommend based on personal experience. Nothing on here is over $30 – I can do a more expensive list if anyone wants it – and I use all of these items regularly in my kitchen. Where possible, I’m recommending the exact make and model I own. If not, I’ll make that clear right away.
This knife is Cooks Illustrated‘s recommendation, and those of you who have bought it on my past recommendations, but you should know that I do not own this particular knife – I own a Henckels chef’s knife that I received as a gift but that runs about $100, and while I love it, there’s no reason for me to recommend it over a $28 knife that does the job just as well. You must own a good chef’s knife if you intend to cook; I tried to cook with a cheap one that we received in a knife set at our wedding and cut myself at least a half-dozen times inside of two years, while I don’t think I’ve cut myself five times in ten years since I received this knife as a gift.
I do own a BladeSafe
Your friend/relative already has a chef’s knife? If he or she is a meatatarian, consider this Henckels boning knife
I have that model, made by Kyocera and sold in several colors with red, for some reason, about a buck cheaper than the other options. I’d actually lost track of it in our house in Massachusetts as it ended up buried in the back of a cabinet, but rediscovered it when we moved – that has easily been the best part of this process, realizing that I owned things I should have been using for the last, oh, five to nine years – and have found myself reaching for it more and more often. It’s lightweight and the ceramic blade will never require sharpening. Best application so far has been for shallots: Mincing a shallot for a vinaigrette or a beurre blanc is a pain in the neck, and it cracks me up when I see TV chefs (America’s Test Kitchen is the biggest violator) try to mince a shallot like it’s just a miniature onion. I use this slicer to create very thin sheets of the shallot, then stack them roughly on the cutting board and go over them twice with a chef’s knife. No, Tom Colicchio might not approve of the uneven pieces, but this ain’t craftsteak and I’m not cooking anything for 24 hours. For my purposes it creates a perfect mince, saves time, and is safer than trying to execute the classic three-cut technique for an onion on a shallot.
And while you’re at it, you could add a pair of cut-resistant Kevlar gloves
The model I own is no longer available, and it didn’t come with that handy little tub at the bottom to catch whatever you’re grating, although I’ve found either a flexible cutting board or a large piece of waxed paper does the trick. I use mine at least five times a week, usually for grating hard or semi-soft cheeses. I’ve found nothing faster except maybe the food processor, and that can’t get Parmiggiano-Reggiano as fine as a box grater can. If you don’t want this exact model, make sure you get one with a strong, sturdy handle, and at least three different sizes of holes on the various sides of the grater. (I also own a three-sided grater as a backup in case the first one is in the dishwasher.)
I own lots of thermometers – a fridge thermometer (check your nearest hardware store; Fry’s sells them too), an oven thermometer
I own two of these and keep them in the half-sheet pans I bought from a now-defunct restaurant supply store in Belmont, Massachusetts. Silpat sheets are made of silicone and make any sheet pan a nonstick pan, meaning you can bake on the sheets without greasing the pan or using parchment paper. (I do love parchment paper, but why use more than you have to when you can buy a Silpat, never have to cut the paper to fit, and maybe save a tree?) It’s great for cookies, biscuits, and meringues, and Alton – I’d like to think we’re on a first name basis, even though he never returns my calls – uses his for candy-making. They sell other sizes but I only have this one.
Bit of a unitasker, but you can’t make great mashed potatoes without it. I’ve tried. A wire potato masher
(I do own a stick blender and use it often, but I don’t love my model, and it’s no longer available. I’m not sure which one to recommend.)
If amazon is to be believed, I’ve had mine for at least seven years, and it’s still as sharp as it was the day I got it. It’s ideal for zesting a lemon (those tiny “zester” tools are horrid), grating fresh nutmeg (because you would never buy it ground, right?), or grating small amounts of hard cheeses like Parmiggiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. Of all the items on this list, this is the one I’ve given most often as a gift.
Keith – might I inquire why you disapprove of the 3-cut method for dicing shallots? I generally use that method for garlic as well, am I missing something?
Will you be doing any cooking book recommendations? Particularly anything that would help my wife go from being “really good at following recipes” to “really good at making something from anything”?
I like the Cuisinart CSB-76BC SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender.
I have two, one for dairy and one for pareve, but I know that’s not a concern for many of your gentle readers.
I’ll second the microplane grater/zester. Zesting with anything other than a grater is a total pain in the butt. I couldn’t believe how easy it was after I got one. That, and I will never make anything with nutmeg again without grating it fresh. I couldn’t believe the difference. (It’s a lot cheaper buying nutmeg whole too)
Gordon – thanks. I cleaned up that link a bit.
John – I hate that cut even for large onions because you make one cut parallel to the board. It’s very dangerous. For tiny items, it’s more dangerous, and it’s unnecessary – the added advantage from a more precise, even dice is minimal when even my rough method will produce pieces of about the same size. (For garlic, I smash it once with the side of my blade, then run the knife over it several times.)
Nolan – I’m due for an update, but check out this old cookbooks post.
Nolan: The Flavor Bible
is good for the next step, where you’re bored just copying a recipe but still not sure what goes best (or clashes) with what. Not a necessity, but a solid reference if you’re building a library.
One other random idea in the $30 or less range for which I’m too lazy to add links.
– Pizza peel and stone (esp. if you pick up the peel at a restaurant supply house). I keep my stone in the bottom of my oven at all times, and use the peel there and when I make pizza on the grill (dough goes right on the grates).
I also second Keith’s endorsement of the Microplane grater. I even use it for large quantities of hard grating cheeses like parmesan because it’s so easy to clean.
And as for the chef’s knife, I have a Henckel’s like Keith, but I picked up a Victorinox (brand he links to above) paring knife at my local chef store for a whopping $4 and I love it even more than my old Henckels (which was stolen for some ungodly reason by an ex-roommate’s friend and cost about $35).
+1 for the Cuisinart stick blender. I had an older B&D that I got at Target that was awful. Wife got me this one for X-mas last year and really like it so far.
Hey Keith, my wife keeps hinting that she wants a bread maker for Christmas. Any suggestions on a decent model that won’t break the bank? Thanks!
Her hands? Ha!
But seriously, once you do it a few times, you can bang out bread in about 20 minutes of active time and I imagine its more rewarding than letting the machine do the work.
(If you do go this way, the gold touch bakeware from Williams-Sonoma is definitely pricier but spectacular from a non-stick standpoint. 2 of the 1 lb loaf pans and the french bread pan and you’re good to go with more versatility and less cost than a bread machine.)
Jason: I would have given Dave’s response – I bake a lot of bread but don’t own a bread machine. It depends on time, and her seriousness about baking bread, but I’d suggest Peter Reinhart’s books (he has published another one since then, maybe aimed at a more novice audience, Artisan Breads Every Day
, that might fit better.
You don’t need much specialized equipment. I own a basic nonstick loaf pan – the current version is this Chicago Metallic loaf pan
and Oxo pastry scraper
. I buy SAF instant yeast, 365 whole wheat flour and bread flour, and agave nectar from Trader Joes where necessary. I only use the stand mixer for pizza dough (needs more kneading for gluten development) and pain francese (too sticky).
Reinhart’s method lets gluten develop slowly and requires just five minutes of kneading after overnight soaking and starter development. It beats a bread machine 8 ways to Sunday, but your wife would have to have the time and willingness to work this way.
Hi Keith–this is not about cooking. I’ve been a fan of your ESPN commentary and recently found my way to your blog, and now I find myself scanning through back posts in search of things to read. Along the way I saw your criticism of And Then We Came to the End, which I also found disappointing, but I would recommend Ferris’ other book–The Unnamed. If no one else has recommended it, I hereby do so, and would be curious about your sense of it.
Keith,
I am moving into my first apartment next fall (goodbye dorm life!) and I am starting to compile a list of gadgets/tools to buy. This list is great and a huge help. I’ve got the basics like a stand mixer and food processor already on the list, but if forgot things like box grater, microplane, etc. I know you recommended Michael Ruhlman’s post about essential kitchen tools a few months back and was wondering if there were any other articles/lists like that you would recommend. Thanks.
Sorry, I forgot to search the site first and saw your post “Equipping a Kitchen on the Cheap.” Great stuff, thanks!