What is the kitchen utensil/gadget you can't live without?

[shootingstar]

I know that quality kitchen stuff is really expensive... I save money for the stuff I want, sometimes I ask something for my birthday like a Peugeot Peppermill, or I look out for special sales (like stores that have to close down...). And i participate in contests... that's how I won my creuset.

I just take my time.

When my partner's mother died last year, we inherited alot of her top-notch cooking ware. She was an excellent cook, baker and did use quality kitchen tools --ie. her special cooking pot for steaming and cooking dumpfenudel.

Yes, serious German cooks have a particular type of pot so dumpfnudels don't stick much and steam doesn't escape when cooking. Yup, it's been used since dearie and his brother have made dumpfnudel several times since her death. Dumpfnudel is like a Chinese bao, steamed white bun --but no filling for dumpfnudel. But each bun type uses a totally different way of making the dough and slightly different steaming technique and apparatus.

That's how we also ended up having some wonderful kitchen shears, etc.

[shootingstar]

This thread is interesting..really show such varied cooking style preferences. For instance, I can't get overly excited about certain Cruset pots nor Dutch ovens. I've never used a Dutch oven...yet.

[Tuckervill]

I cook outside with cast iron Dutch Ovens, too! Love its ease, and I especially like making a big breakfast in mine, but I don't see me going to any shows or cook-offs.

Karen

[papaver]

This thread is interesting..really show such varied cooking style preferences. For instance, I can't get overly excited about certain Cruset pots nor Dutch ovens. I've never used a Dutch oven...yet.

I didn't get it either... till I got one for free... seriously... you never burn things, it's perfect for slow cooking...

[shootingstar]

I didn't get it either... till I got one for free... seriously... you never burn things, it's perfect for slow cooking...

Well Dutch oven cooking or slow cooking like that in the oven, isn't my natural instinctual style of cooking. We use our oven for: baking my homemade of focaccia/pizzas with multiple variant toppings; roasting certain root veggies, occasional quiche-like flans and stuffed phyllo roll. We don't roast meat because we prefer not eat/prepare such a large amount of meat...for only 2 people. Anyway we only eat certain meats.

There are some Asian dishes that use clay pot but I've never tried them yet and haven't figured out if stovetop or oven-based.

For the actual cooking process, I just prefer the speed of the stove top dishes that we do..except of course for soups. We seldom have stewed nor braised entree dishes nor do we ever make casseroles. Neither he nor I grew up on casserole dishes so we haven't moved forward in life.

So we have too many casserole ceramic dishes as gifts.

[jobob]

There are a couple of excellent cooking shows on PBS, America's Test Kitchen and the related series Cooks Country.

One of the segments on (both?) of these shows are equipment tests -- they test everything from can openers to countertop appliances. They do pretty detailed tests, and cost is definitely a deciding factor. Ofter times they'll point out the "perfect" item, that is, the one that does the job perfectly but costs a bundle, and then they'll single out the item that tested very close to perfect but at a fraction of the cost.

Anyhow, a lot of their test reviews can be found here. Maybe you can find stuff for your wishlist.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/ratedcookware.asp

Argh, some of the reviews are available only if you register for the website. Still, at least you can see what they like on the main page.

[skhill]

I cook and bake a lot, and I'd hate to be without my kitchenaid stand mixer (inherited from my parents) and my lucky pie plate (from grandma; the pie always turns out great). But the one thing I really, really, couldn't survive without is a decent coffeemaker....

[papaver]

But the one thing I really, really, couldn't survive without is a decent coffeemaker....

How decent? this decent?



This baby will be MINE by the end of this month...

[ny biker]

This thread is interesting..really show such varied cooking style preferences. For instance, I can't get overly excited about certain Cruset pots nor Dutch ovens. I've never used a Dutch oven...yet.

And then there are people like me who would have to answer "the microwave" because we can't cook...

All the recommendations for good sharp knives makes me think of my mother, who has been using the same old paring knife for more than 50 years. I don't think she has ever sharpened it. But you should see her peel and slice a big pile of apples when she makes apple pie -- that knife works fine and there's no way she'd want to replace it.

[papaver]

my paring knife is about 20 years old, my mom's was her mom's and she got it wen she was 21. My grandmother was born in 1901. You do the math.

[ny biker]

my paring knife is about 20 years old, my mom's was her mom's and she got it wen she was 21. My grandmother was born in 1901. You do the math.

And I bet food tastes better when that knife is used to prepare it...

[papaver]

And I bet food tastes better when that knife is used to prepare it...

Hmmmm... nothing beats my mother's handcut frites...

[OakLeaf]

My parents got their Le Creuset pans around 35 years ago IIRC. They may as well be new, by the looks of them.

And they have a lifetime warranty if something should go wrong. The enamel on my 5-1/2 qt soup pot got crazed and all I had to do was send it back for a replacement.


Papaver, I was looking at the different types of whisk at Sur La Table the other day. What an assortment! I wondered what type of food each one is best for?