Kitchen Tools, Gadgets & Essentials

I've been getting great use out of a Braun steamer recently. I often cook vegetables by firstly steaming them, then another step like grilling or sauteeing. It softens them perfectly without draining their nutrients or making them floppy.

Also a set of 2 pots that can do bain-marie - extremely useful for sauces and baking.
 
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JJCT said:
Love my Globals there is nothing worse than using a blunt knife.

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awesome set these, very balanced set of knives, iv only got the chefs knife and it is brillaint. however for long periods of use i would have preferred them to come up with a more comfortable handle.

I have a set of Shun knifes, will post pictures when i can.
 
-pressure cooker is also very handy.
-as mentioned above, digital scale
- you can also never have enough measuring scoops/spoons
- fish bone tweezers also very handy
- pastry scraper ( for scooping chopped veg from cutting board to pot)
 
deni-do said:
Why was slow cooker your worst and how does it compair to the pressure cooker
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For the slow cooker: I don't feel comfortable leaving an appliance on the whole day while I'm at work, and then after cooking, I still had to transfer it to a pot to reduce the liquid so it wasn't so soupy.

The pressure cooker is great (I have a stove top one). You can brown the meat/veg before you add the liquid, then pop on the lid, 30 minutes later you have tender fall apart meat. Then you can continue cooking with the lid off to reduce and thicken up the liquid. It's great for tough cuts of meat that you want to be able to eat with minimal cooking time.
 
I really like the Joseph Joseph brand.
They make really useful (but common) kitchen utensils. I like to think that they have a bunch of engineers that sit around and think "how can we make stuff, but better?".

For example, the chopping board that folds up to pour your ingredients into a pot/bowl
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The rocking garlic crusher (most effective one that I've ever used)
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Spatulas that are raised so that they don't leave dirty marks on the counter when you put them down
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love my scanpan knife. I know its not really fancy but I smaak it. pisses me off when people that use it doesn't put it in the sheath when drying off.
 
Meat thermometer is a must. I also use it when making custards.

Silicon oven gloves from Makro

I have an analog scale, which suits me fine.

A stick blender.
 
eehellfire said:
I really like the Joseph Joseph brand.
They make really useful (but common) kitchen utensils. I like to think that they have a bunch of engineers that sit around and think "how can we make stuff, but better?".

For example, the chopping board that folds up to pour your ingredients into a pot/bowl
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This folding chopping board is great in principle. I bought one to try it out. Worked fine a couple of times. Now it does not stay flat while chopping and is a major pain to use becuase of that
 
I went through a few stick blenders because of normal day to day use and I add ice or frozen fruit to my protein shakes. So I went for the Bamix which I have had for the past 4 years and have had no problems, it's brilliant.

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RustyPrincess said:
For the slow cooker: I don't feel comfortable leaving an appliance on the whole day while I'm at work, and then after cooking, I still had to transfer it to a pot to reduce the liquid so it wasn't so soupy.

The pressure cooker is great (I have a stove top one). You can brown the meat/veg before you add the liquid, then pop on the lid, 30 minutes later you have tender fall apart meat. Then you can continue cooking with the lid off to reduce and thicken up the liquid. It's great for tough cuts of meat that you want to be able to eat with minimal cooking time.
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Don't like leaving unattended appliances also. Has anyone tried the wonderbag? https://www.yuppiechef.com/wonderbag.htm?id=11305&name=Wonderbag-Heat-Retaining-Slow-Cooker
 
JJCT said:
Don't like leaving unattended appliances also. Has anyone tried the wonderbag? https://www.yuppiechef.com/wonderbag.htm?id=11305&name=Wonderbag-Heat-Retaining-Slow-Cooker
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It's quite safe to leave the slow cooker unattended all day. However, a bigger issue is that it does tend to leave food mushy if you don't time it well, and it doesn't brown anything. You really need to have at least one other stage of cooking alongside the slow cooker. But otherwise yeah, no problem at all. I also believe that slow cooking a stew is the best way to release and combine the flavours, which a pressure cooker can't really do. But in terms of safety, slow cooker is far safer than pressure cooker, given the very real possibility of it exploding.
 
cerebus said:
It's quite safe to leave the slow cooker unattended all day. However, a bigger issue is that it does tend to leave food mushy if you don't time it well, and it doesn't brown anything. You really need to have at least one other stage of cooking alongside the slow cooker. But otherwise yeah, no problem at all. I also believe that slow cooking a stew is the best way to release and combine the flavours, which a pressure cooker can't really do. But in terms of safety, slow cooker is far safer than pressure cooker, given the very real possibility of it exploding.
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Good Gravy that is scary!!!!!!!!
 
A pressure cooker is very handy. Glorious soups and stews in a short time. The reason for it exploding is usually when the safety valves get blocked. Best to check on regular basis.
 
I think they can also explode if you boil them until they are dry.

Never had an issue with mine and I use it a fair amount. The trick with them actually is not overcooking food. Plus, add the majority of your flavourings after pressure cooking. Pressure cooking destroys volatile flavours like spices, so if you want to make a curry in a pressure cooker, spice it at the end.
 
I think the rules for pressure cooker safety also includes not cooking for long periods at high temps. I normally bring to boil and then simmer at 3; and not overfilling the pot (should not be more than 3/4 full)

I use mine mostly for soups, feijoadas and cat gravy.
 
bokdrol said:
I think the rules for pressure cooker safety also includes not cooking for long periods at high temps. I normally bring to boil and then simmer at 3; and not overfilling the pot (should not be more than 3/4 full)

I use mine mostly for soups, feijoadas and cat gravy.
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You make gravy out of cats? Do you at least euthanize them first, or just throw them into the pot?

Well I reduce the heat when it is up to pressure mostly because higher heat is unnecessary at that point.

Use mine for chilli con carne.
 
Ancalagon said:
I think they can also explode if you boil them until they are dry.

Never had an issue with mine and I use it a fair amount. The trick with them actually is not overcooking food. Plus, add the majority of your flavourings after pressure cooking. Pressure cooking destroys volatile flavours like spices, so if you want to make a curry in a pressure cooker, spice it at the end.
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Yeah I think pressure cookers are a good thing actually, even though I don't have one myself. It's just that making a statement that you don't use a slow cooker because of safety but you do use a pressure cooker is a little ridiculous. A slow cooker is basically a light bulb, and a pressure cooker is a sealed volcano. A friend knows someone whose face was burnt permanently red due to opening a pressure cooker too early.
 
Lurv my pressure cooker. Since I got it I haven't bothered using my slow cooker at all. Plus if you get a good one (referring to my AEG) it comes with lots of other functions.

If I had to list the best/most useful things I've bought for my kitchen:

Shogun peeler
Pressure Cooker
Halogen table top oven
 
Ancalagon said:
I think they can also explode if you boil them until they are dry.

Never had an issue with mine and I use it a fair amount. The trick with them actually is not overcooking food. Plus, add the majority of your flavourings after pressure cooking. Pressure cooking destroys volatile flavours like spices, so if you want to make a curry in a pressure cooker, spice it at the end.
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"Volatile Flavours" sounds delicious lol
 
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