Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Tooled Up for Food

Deborah

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 08:46:09 +1200

Best $10 ever spent – a knife sharpener, from Ikea. It's just the right size for me to hold it in one hand, and pull a knife through the slot which has whetstone at the bottom. Not the same as getting my knives sharpened professionally, but seeing as my kitchen…

Deborah

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 08:39:31 +1200

This is my stockpot.

"What stockpot?" you say.

That would be the stockpot buried in the garden. You can see the rim on the right hand side of the photo. My daughter was cooking up rice for sushi, but alas, she misjudged the amount of water, or time needed, or…

Russell Brown

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 07:49:40 +1200

Some people in the village did go and demand their stuff back, but we didn’t: the detective’s wife and children had still lost everything. But I hope they’ve enjoyed using that pan.

What a story!

Deborah

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 05:51:00 +1200

I would put up a picture of the best cast iron frying pan we ever had, but we gave it away.

When we first set up our household, we were broke. Really, really broke. So we bought various kitchen items from the Warehouse, reasoning that we would replace them bit…

Peter Calder

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 14:23:06 +1200

If you live in Auckland check out http://www.home-essentials.co.nz , a store in New Lynn opposite Lynn Mall (in the block on the corner of veronica and great north). A lot of top-end stuff at half the ponceonby prices.

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 14:22:35 +1200

Yes, I have one of those loop handled pans as well. It's quite bit smaller though so it doesn't get as much use. I too have grabbed the handle unthinkingly.

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 14:21:37 +1200

It's a great dish for chunky bits of beef slow cooked for hours. That said, I have a couple of friends who have some 3 year old, farm raised but unwanted roosters which I think would be perfect for a coq au vin. I'll probably do them in this casserole.…

Hebe

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 13:12:09 +1200

The cast iron

In my old cast iron suite almost the same, the lid fitted the frying pan to make the shallow dish cooker thing. The frying pan had the loop iron handle rather than the wooden one so it could go in the oven, lidless or with lid. That…

Russell Brown

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:47:53 +1200

A 70’s era very wide but shallow casserole which is perfect for very long, slow cooking. It’s so big I rarely get to use it.

That's nice. It's the same shallow profile as my fancy-ass Tramontina. It's a shape that works rather well.

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:38:41 +1200

The tagine

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:37:59 +1200

The cast iron

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:37:08 +1200

Rotated

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:34:26 +1200

Ok – I'll work on that rotation

Thrash Cardiom

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:33:51 +1200

My favourite dishes – Cast iron pan and pot. A 70's era very wide but shallow casserole which is perfect for very long, slow cooking. It's so big I rarely get to use it. An NZ made clay tagine.

BenWilson

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 10:09:22 +1200

you burn your tongue on the tomatoes and other watery bits.

Yes, they're perfect little heat bombs. It's a good characteristic, so long as you know in advance.

B Jones

Sun, 28 Jul 2013 09:03:59 +1200

Which I guess is why when you eat a dish that's otherwise not too hot, you burn your tongue on the tomatoes and other watery bits.

I made flour tortillas last night, and used my old Murray copper-bottomed pan for it – great when you want a hot pan and…

BenWilson

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 21:52:01 +1200

A surface transferring more heat will generate more caramelisation and Maillard reactions, and more tastiness.

The thermal conductivity of aluminium is around 3 times higher than iron. It also has over twice the specific heat, so per mass it is more resistant to temperature change, holds much more energy. But…

BenWilson

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 20:21:07 +1200

And that is why I’m suffering BBQ envy.

Me too. That is a fit piece of gear.

Islander

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:59:34 +1200

Gareth – I am really interested in black truffles – but not yet quite rich...if you email a price, I will do a bit towards new bbq thingies...

Gareth

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:57:35 +1200

Also they have a slight tendency to cause owners to rave about their virtues.

I noticed. And that is why I'm suffering BBQ envy. But they're not cheap. Will need to sell loads of truffle...

Hebe

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 19:25:46 +1200

Orange peelers. Is this what you were looking for?Exactly! You are an angel: I had never thought of google — I associate that gadget with 1970s Kiwi suburbia so had only looked in op shops!

B Jones

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 18:50:17 +1200

I don’t know why (possibly someone will tell me) but it did a far better job of browning onions and generally making things yummy, and was perfect for getting a good crust on sourdough,

I tried to find out, but only got this far. It's probably whatever that physical property…

B Jones

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 17:38:54 +1200

A thick paste of baking soda and water works ok too.

Marcus Turner

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:37:35 +1200

Something I overheard, in a British homeware store, regarding Le Creuset enamel: one way to destain the enamel inside the pot is by filling it with a solution of Sterident, or an equivalent (the material used to soak dentures overnight). In my limited experience, it works pretty well.

Marcus Turner

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:35:05 +1200

Orange peelers. Is this what you were looking for? (I haven't found any in NZ or Australia):

http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Kitchen/2-pc-Orange-or-Citrus-Peeler/0062823809055

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=18&categoryCode=KW

http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Ekco-1045651-Orange-Peelers-4-Pack-Orange/203945/Cat/1556

Lucy Telfar Barnard

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:29:14 +1200

We have a couple of Le Creuset casseroles/dutch ovens/whatever they’re called, which we’ve had for 13 and 14 years respectively. I thought they were good until we bought “temporary” IKEA cookware for our 18 month stint in the UK. That cookware included the “Senior” cast iron casserole (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/70131724/). The interior…

Bart Janssen

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:12:28 +1200

Tell me more…

Well a charcoal BBQ that uses bugger all charcoal, burns almost to completion, can maintain 80 C for 16 hours without needing adjustment or more charcoal, can heat to 350 C for pizza, cook with direct or indirect heat and function as a bog standard charcoal grill…

Hebe

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:07:27 +1200

Anything like my orange peeler?Not really thanks. I know yours because it was in a cutlery drawer i was once familiar with somewhere. This is more pointed and about the diameter of a big black pencil.

Bart Janssen

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:07:04 +1200

“Big Green Egg”, and tells me it’s brilliant. Looks very similar to your kamado.

Kamodo is a type of BBQ, Big Green Egg is a brand of BBQ. His picture and the one I proudly own as well are Big Green Egg brand kamodo type BBQs.

Same as photocopier and…

Gareth

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:27:02 +1200

kamado bbq

A friend in London has a "Big Green Egg", and tells me it's brilliant. Looks very similar to your kamado.

I could be experiencing a certain amount of bbq envy, despite possessing a Weber, a pizza oven and a wood-fired grill. Tell me more...

B Jones

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 13:45:50 +1200

Anything like my orange peeler? I got mine in the kitchenware shop I used to work in about fifteen years ago – you use the triangle bit to gouge a strip of peel to start you off, then the sharpened side of the spoon to slip between the pith and…

Hilary Stace

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 12:49:14 +1200

Thanks, I knew someone would know. Pity it doesn't go in the dishwasher though. Sadly, that is my main criterion for cookware.

Hebe

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 12:48:49 +1200

A kitchen gadget I have long lusted for and scoured op shops for without success: an orange peeler that was given away with oranges in the 1970s. Made of yellow plastic, it has a curved blade at one end, at the other a raised triangle of plastic on one side…

Marcus Turner

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 11:56:19 +1200

I don't really know how to tell the difference, but I know that the good ones were K Sabatier (as distinct from Sabatier).

I'm pretty sure I got mine here: http://www.sabatier-shop.com/

Bart Janssen

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 11:30:43 +1200

We cooked half a brisket (5 kg) in ours for about 10 hours .... oh god ....

Phil Lyth

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 11:24:47 +1200

I make no claims for my kitchen.

But the wonderful @cle0patra for a year or so blogged her foodie gadgets at http://beanslicer.wordpress.com/

May there be a meeting of minds.

Andrew Johnson

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 11:21:15 +1200

My favourite kitchen tool doesn’t fit in my kitchen… yet.

This is Mork, my kamado bbq. Oven, really. Bread, pizza, smoking, and charcoal bbq, and can hold temperatures from 80c to 450+c. Here he is, warming up before meeting an upstanding new friend.

Moz

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 10:50:49 +1200

At the complete other end of the spectrum, the "kiwi" brand (made in Thailand) cheap chinese cleavers are marvellous. I bought a small, lightweight one when I first got to Sydney (in 1999) for under $20, possibly under $10 and still use it several times a week. For all that…

Emma Hart

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 10:33:20 +1200

Incidentally, I’ve forgotten who mentioned it, but keeping ginger in the freezer was an excellent tip. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Hebe

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:41:29 +1200

My ex is a chef, and one of the things I loved about him was his Sabatier knives. They were carbon steel and like you said stained easily — wash and dry well after each use otherwise the steel pits. The blades were soft, they wore away with sharpening, but…

Bart Janssen

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:19:08 +1200

What is it about cast iron

Mostly mass and thermal conductivity. In order to be strong enough to use for most purposes cast iron must be reasonably thick, which gives it mass. This means changes in temperature are slower than say an aluminium cake tin. For baking in particular, and…

Marcus Turner

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:16:19 +1200

Incidentally, I've forgotten who mentioned it, but keeping ginger in the freezer was an excellent tip. Thank you.

Marcus Turner

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:14:30 +1200

A friend gave me a K Sabatier knife. Previously, I had thought I used good knives: this one made all the others seem substandard.

I bought a couple more, choosing the non-stainless-steel option. I've found that I need to take care with washing and drying these: they stain very easily…

Rich of Observationz

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 08:50:40 +1200

Awesome. Yes, I will drag the microwave out on my next storage unit trip and let you know.

Hilary Stace

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 08:29:51 +1200

You can still get some new old stuff. Ruth Pretty sells new old fashioned gem irons. What is it about cast iron that makes for such good baking and cooking?

ilmars Gravis

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 06:46:51 +1200

I haven't had time to read all the responses to this wonderful blog. Nice to see blokes getting excited about stuff that really matters.
I'm prepared to stand corrected, but from many conversations and interactions with the fairer sex, good cooking skills are pretty much at the top there with…

Chris Waugh

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 00:50:35 +1200

Having read your explanation, I must admit I am relieved.

merrica

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 23:57:45 +1200

Can you still buy brand new Moulinex machines in NZ? My Mum swears by them. Other brands she swears by in a different sense.

Can't seem to find them in the shops any more though

merrica

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 23:56:21 +1200

Oh no, please don’t, really, you didn’t, did you? I don’t say this out of fear of losing an income stream (though I don’t do Korean-English, so no direct threat in this case), I say it out of professional pride. Yeah, sure, for something formulaic and technical like an instruction…

Hebe

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 22:56:10 +1200

My ma has had the grey and white Kenwood as long as I can remember – with the liquidiser, mincer and hooks. They go forever! Hers is at least 50 years old and never blinks.

Islander

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 21:47:59 +1200

Nah there’s just the 3 or 4 inset pieces, triangular, rounded or square – let us know Rich – I am a *serious* recycler! Cheers – n/n Okaritoan-
Oh! And dimensions of the microwave!

Kumara Republic

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 21:37:45 +1200

My mother still has a Kenwood Chef mixer, similar to this one, from my folks' wedding day in 1970. And last I checked, it was still operational.

Believe it or not, the latest versions haven't changed much since.

Islander

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 21:01:55 +1200

Nah, they’re around: if you want, send me a diagram/photo -and because these things cost basically nothing & I’ll cheerfully send it to you for the postage-

I need the underside configeration-

Nora Leggs

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 20:40:25 +1200

Back on the stock pot..... Russell you'll be very glad of it when you make pasta for a crowd.
It also doubles as a storage container (maybe for other essential gadgets) in between bouts of making stock, pasta for a crowd etc.

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 20:22:41 +1200

Really? It's the glass I need and I understood they were all different and impossible to buy.

I have a better one, but if I had a glass top I could sell it working.

Martin Brown

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 20:12:45 +1200

Microplanes! Brilliant.

Islander

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 18:50:19 +1200

Rich – all good recycle centres have both turntables and glass tops – if you want to keep the thing going?
I've bought 2 of each for dying microwaves...

Russell Brown

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 18:25:40 +1200

So have Global knives bought advertising here yet?

They would be welcome. But, then, why would they bother?

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 18:13:00 +1200

I have a microwave oven with no turntable.

Free to a good home – obviously won't cook too well, but you could use it for science experiments (AT OWN RISK).

Hilary Stace

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 17:41:05 +1200

I've got one of these 1940 sunbeam mixers in the garage (complete with juicer). My mother used it for about 50 years. I think it still works but haven't checked for a few years. My daughter wanted to throw it out but one day someone will want to rescue it.

Tinakori

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 17:08:31 +1200

I can’t remember who it was, but to the person in the food/equipment session a couple of weeks ago who recommended the steel frying pans from the Dunedin engineering firm (Southern Engineering, perhaps?), thank you very much. Our cast iron ones have been relegated to the second team. Very good…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:43:41 +1200

So have Global knives bought advertising here yet?

Raymond A Francis

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:11:01 +1200

Got one, not as a wedding present thank goodness
Two family cooking items the first is a marmite/casserole made by my mother in the 70s pottery craze which makes food that just doesn’t taste the same made in anything else
And a chopping board I made when first married from…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:47:41 +1200

And finally for those of you who love old things … here is a genuine 1970s fondue set, with original forks! In the height of fashionable colourways. Somehow I snaffled this when I left home 30+ years ago and it has stayed with me ever since – melted cheese mmmmm…

BenWilson

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:44:43 +1200

The two most useless things in my kitchen: Coffee tamper (I just use the back of the teaspoon that I'm ladling the coffee in with), and wok (electric stove, admittedly many would argue that it's the stove that is useless)

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:43:12 +1200

Here's my "more power" gadget, complete with pasta rolling attachment.

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:41:09 +1200

Here are three of our knives, a global, that we routinely fight over who gets to use, the middle one is usually our sharpest and used for slicing roasts or raw salmon and the left one is the first real knife I ever bought. It's over 25 years old, not…

BenWilson

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:39:31 +1200

As far as gadgets go it’s hard to get simpler than a bit of wood

Nothing beats a good piece 'a hickory.

BenWilson

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:38:50 +1200

a decent fucking egg beater!

My folks have one of those, and it is indeed the Bomb. I haven’t needed any kind of blender since the whiz-stick, though, with multiple attachments. It takes up less space than a hand beater. I love how rinsing takes about 2 seconds, just stick…

Gareth

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:38:20 +1200

Yes, that's the meat thermometer I've got. Transformative, in a good way.

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:27:51 +1200

These may look simple but there is nothing simple about a tool made by a laser! These microplanes (badly) photographed on my workbench are very very sharp, laser cut metal makes for very sharp cutting surfaces. They excell at grating parmesan and knuckles. The one on the left is used…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:23:20 +1200

As far as gadgets go it's hard to get simpler than a bit of wood, but over the years we've tried lots of different wooden spoons, untill we discovered these. The shape is perfect for stirring and getting into the corners of pots and pans. It also is just somehow…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:19:52 +1200

We decided we needed a proper thermometer after becoming addicted to "Good Eats". Alton Brown showed us why knowing the internal temperature of the meat is the best way to avoid dry roasts. It's made a huge difference the ease of making a juicy pork roast.

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:10:30 +1200

In the same vein as the teapot was this small copper pot. I know I really won't use it that much but it makes me happy to have it. The copper ladle is a souvenir from our visit to Hampton Court Palace. It can be used but it's mostly about…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:06:54 +1200

OK so here are a few of our favourite things:
First is this teapot, it’s a recent addition, like the steam/convection/microwave oven underneath (which BTW does and amazing job defrosting). We don’t drink much tea but it was too pretty to walk past.

wendyf

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 13:41:19 +1200

Gasping here! And drooling. The Thermomix looks wonderful. A rice cooker is doable – I have enough Flybuys. Had discarded the idea but I'm talked into it. I gave away the iron frying pan – it was kind of wrist-breaking to lift it. But I have a small Ranzware pan…

Lucy Stewart

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 11:55:16 +1200

Wrangling multiple monitor boxes (excellent volume for linear dimension!) through the necessary succession of airports is no fun for anyone, but that just makes it more likely that you’ll cry and then they’ll feel bad for you and waive the excess baggage fees.

Oh, we're going to be shipping stuff…

Ross McA.

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:38:56 +1200

And my indispensable Peter Lorimer knife, which seems to be getting sharper with age and no help from me.

Ross McA.

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:36:22 +1200

This is my most excellent Paua mincer, like new when I acquired it from a garage sale many moons ago.

JacksonP

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:19:40 +1200

Snap on the Spong. As may have been apparent for some of you, I have a thing for coffee machines. The Presso the most manual in my collection actually works pretty well, and often comes with us on holidays

And was pleasantly surprised to find the little oven dish, perfect…

Carol Stewart

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:18:56 +1200

An ulu! Thanks Andrew. I love that article. Mine did come from Alaska and it does look most like the Alaskan version shown.
What a tool! Its applications include skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child’s hair, cutting food and, if necessary, trimming blocks of snow and ice used to…

TracyMac

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:18:13 +1200

I stole my mother's Mighty Swift Whip about 20 years ago, without a blink of guilt. Never thought to check op-shops.

Mum's is still going strong, despite a wobbly handle, and blows away any modern device. I don't know why the modern ones are so much less efficient...

Amy Gale

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 09:23:14 +1200

Being somewhere for 5 years is a bitch cookware-wise, though, because it’s long enough that you’d like some nice stuff to work with, but short enough (and far away enough from home) that I don’t want to pick up too many things I can’t bear to part with.

I packed…

Luke Williamson

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 09:20:08 +1200

We have a Circulon set of pots from same era as your pan Russell and they are still going strong, although, I'm sure I see bits of the lining in my roux when I do it. And, by another coincedence, we also have exactly the same small cast iron pan…

Hilary Stace

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 09:09:01 +1200

That photo of the pasta machine reminded me that when a former flatmate (later husband) moved into our flat in 1981 he brought his pasta machine, parmesan cheese grater (cylindrical with a handle at the top), one-person expresso coffee pot, wok steamer, rice cooker, mongolian hotpot thing and a whole…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 08:49:29 +1200

We had to get rid of all our kitchen stuff when we moved to the US, unless it met the criteria of “I will be overjoyed to get this back in five years”.

We had the same problem. We stored some things but when we got to the US we…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 08:26:55 +1200

While I do appreciate the lovely old kitchen tools I also love gadgets. We have a gunmetal grey kitchenaid mixer that is both a joy to use and a joy to look at. It just exudes a sense of engineering and strength of any really good power tool.

For my…

Andrew Stevenson

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 08:14:22 +1200

a strange device that I don't even know the name of – it's similar to a mezzaluna but has just one handle in the middle. It's really good for slicing pizza and chopping up baked slices and sundry small tasks.
Sounds like an ulu, an Inuit utility knife – see…

Russell Brown

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 07:57:32 +1200

It took me a while to adjust to rice cookers, but once you get used to them they’re great for both regular rice and various East Asian styles of porridge. Fill ’em up, turn ’em on, and forget until you get hungry.

I can't believe it took me as long…

Lucy Stewart

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 07:48:20 +1200

The Spong & Co No.2 coffee grinder is a cheap-o antique from eBay. They must have known how important a good grind was back in the forties.

My parents have a wall-mounted ceramic coffee grinder which my sister and I have already had a low-grade dispute over the future ownership of,…

AdamPope

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 06:01:17 +1200

This post and comments are cookin' hot. I can get a handle on a new-fangled electrical gizmo when necessary, but I try to use traditional methods where possible.

I picked up the mincer in a French village street market for €2; with a bunch of smoked paprika and green peppercorns…

Lucy Stewart

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 01:01:00 +1200

We had to get rid of all our kitchen stuff when we moved to the US, unless it met the criteria of "I will be overjoyed to get this back in five years". As we were just coming out of uni, there wasn't a lot of stuff that qualified -…

Carol Stewart

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 00:56:24 +1200

I love all the items shown here.
A couple more that I can't quite imagine doing without are:
a) small Victorinox knives for slicing tomatoes, paring fruit etc – cheap and brilliant;
b) a strange device that I don't even know the name of – it's similar to a mezzaluna…

Robyn Gallagher

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 23:54:31 +1200

My grandfather was a saw doctor and knew a thing or two about a good blade. He hand made this bread knife for my parents and 40 years later it is still the business. The wooden handle especially is a pleasure to hold.

Chris Waugh

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 23:46:23 +1200

Cheap but outstanding in so many ways. Cuts, bashes, useful to scoop up sliced food…probably the single most useful kitchen tool I have.

Oh yes, cleavers are awesome in so many ways. One thing I especially love about being in China is how easy cleavers are to find – and…

merrica

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 23:19:47 +1200

Best thing I ever bought for the kitchen. The carbon steel chinese cleaver from Chinatown in London. Cheap but outstanding in so many ways. Cuts, bashes, useful to scoop up sliced food...probably the single most useful kitchen tool I have.

In my more insane moments – I dream of buying…

Ross Mason

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 23:10:19 +1200

This Myott porcelain serving dish, my discovery of bamboo cutting boards and a decent fucking egg beater!!! The Mighty Swift Whip. I buy them when I find them and give them to family kids as they get married.

Gareth

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:54:18 +1200

A cheap Chinese cleaver...

... is reserved for dismembering chickens. I have a chainsaw for the pumpkins.

(PS: rediscovered poached chicken last week – another reason why big stockpots are kitchen essentials)

Hebe

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:24:59 +1200

My favourite gadget is a Le Creuset thing called a marmitout

A fine multi-purposeness that marmitout, and a great name.

Hebe

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:23:45 +1200

A cheap Chinese cleaver...Be careful: mine was a gift without irony from a previous husband. A few years later in another life, I was chopping a pumpkin when the thing flew up and smacked me in the forehead. As I saw the beast flashing toward my face, I could only…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:17:21 +1200

But since it has returned to service it has churned out a large number of cheesy wafers, using cheese straw recipe. Also experimented with deep dark valrohna chocolate wafers with some success.

Awesome. It's like it was technology from the future that you acquired in the past.

Robert Sinton

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:15:55 +1200

My late Mother-in-law's mortar and pestle.

No great rarity—you can get similar ones here—but obviously this one comes with a lot of history attached.

Solid stone and of a considerable size, I carried it back from Malaysia as hand luggage. Not sure of the exact weight, but my arms have…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:15:15 +1200

(Next food thread should be nonnas, Russell, although in our case that would be Mamgu and Nanna)

You're on.

Hebe

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:12:26 +1200

snicker
Hoot.

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:10:40 +1200

We managed to make a pavlova, that ended up all of 2cm high. We had difficulty finding a beater or even a whisk in our town. Well, we did find one that ran on AA batteries, which proved insufficient to the demanding task of beating egg whites. We were reduced…

Hebe

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:10:05 +1200

Having said that, the item I most covert is a Thermomix. Friends of mine in the UK has one, and say it is worth the ridiculous amount of money.
I really wish I hadn't followed up that mention. My kitchen equipment is, of spatial necessity and by choice, pared down…

Gareth

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 22:05:14 +1200

It's only now, 28 years later, that I realise how lucky we were with our wedding presents.

Sabatier knives, still sharp.

Le Creuset saucepans (four: two big, one medium, one small).

Le Creuset casseroles (one for the wedding, one big one for our first kitchen).

More recently, a Le Creuset…

Fiona

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:33:55 +1200

I love the stories of items with a story behind them.

I spend way too much time cruising the aisles at Moore Wilson's variety department, fortunately I am limited by the small size of my kitchen, which means lots of double duty.

My favourite things are my enamel falcon pie…

Hilary Stace

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:25:57 +1200

I spent many happy hours as a child mincing various foodstuffs for my mother with one of those – my favourite was making the Christmas mince using the gooseberries that grew prolifically around our lawn. Consequently, I have always preferred slightly tart mince pies. This house is full of three…

Ben Chapman

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:13:30 +1200

Back at the beginning of the millennium, Deirdre and I were living in rural Japan while I was on the JET Programme as an assistant English teacher. Every year, each of the town's assistant English teachers could request one thing for their apartment. For reasons I can't remember, my request…

Nora Leggs

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:12:57 +1200

I just had to have this gadget twenty or so years ago. Sat in the cupboard for most of that time and has suddenly been pressed back into use in the last year. It’s intended for making sweet crispy wafery biscuity things – I got it to make pizelle and…

Kate Doherty

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:12:29 +1200

This Instant Juice Press No. 2 makes short work of a grapefruit glut. A present from a lovely flatmate, from a second hand shop in Symonds St back in the 90s.

Islander

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:11:26 +1200

I know exactly where mine comes from – at least six generations of mother to daughter, back to the 1850s. It’s got a sheen like silk on it.

I dont know how many generations family has owned it – 7-8? maybe more?– but it is so smooth, so efficient…arnt we…

Morgan Clare

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:06:23 +1200

My partner and I are just setting our first kitchen up together, so much on the wish list but we're having to do it a bit cheap and rough to start with.

So far my most favourite things are the Scanpan Santoku Knives, so well priced and so handy. Absolutely…

Susannah Shepherd

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:01:20 +1200

We have my Nanna’s girdle-iron – which belonged to her Nanna & was brought to ANZ from the Orkneys…I still cook iron breads & potato cakes on it

Snap – they made that stuff to last back in the day! My most precious piece is a cast iron frypan that looks like…

Islander

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 20:46:53 +1200

lost a large chunk of me left index finger nail
They are brillant blades!
I have 2 – but I cherish more the damascened blades my late next-door-neighbour's
son-in-law made (my family also pay him to sharpen his knives...)
They *slip* through flesh-

Islander

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 20:43:44 +1200

We’ve got something similar but not that kind – aluminium yep, but wider mouth.
My Uncle Bill used it for mincing busher ram/venison/wild pork flesh which his Mum (my Nanna) then made into sausages or rissoles…it was also used for making mince from a wether or downed cow from my…

Manakura

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 20:32:49 +1200

but when im being lazy i use my grandmothers 1970s era kenwood chef… here teamed up with my favorite blade, Te Hiatoto – so named because the first time I used it i lost a large chunk of me left index finger nail

Manakura

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 20:29:20 +1200

i got my great-grandmothers hand-mincer made by husqvarna – just like the one pictured. it's almost 100 years old and still minces paua with the same way it did when i was kid growing up at aramoana – only with the application of arm-breaking effort. which (along with a hua…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 20:01:26 +1200

snicker

Chortle.

BenWilson

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:58:00 +1200

so the time it boils in a kettle? Not good enough.

I was talking about a whistling kettle, as in a stove top one that you can let whistle as long as you like, for use on camp cooker/BBQ etc. But yes, even a big one is only going to…

B Jones

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:52:33 +1200

snicker

Islander

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:49:42 +1200

PS Are you allowed to love cookware and kitchen stuff yet hate cooking?

Why not?
Aesthethically pleasing useful things are collectibles in their own right.

Wanna see my collection of edged weapons???(from mere to rapiers!)

BenWilson

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:48:14 +1200

Which one of these does it look like?

The one on the left. Real 70s look. I expect new ones are actually more fully featured, probably use less power. But it works just fine, and the inner is also a large oven safe casserole pot.

ETA: Snap, Islander.

Islander

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:42:54 +1200

Which one of these does it look like?

Left one.
You can still get ’em-

and thanks Russell! We cherish the thing absurdly – there’s been intense family discussions as to who is it’s next cook-guardian…I’m tempted to have a bake-off between the nevvies & nieces*** to see who is the…

B Jones

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:38:30 +1200

My favourite gadget is a Le Creuset thing called a marmitout, very much like this one. The lid doubles as a little non-stick frying pan – fry your onion and garlic in the base, brown your meat in the lid, throw it all together with a few other things and…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:38:24 +1200

We have my Nanna’s girdle-iron – which belonged to her Nanna & was brought to ANZ from the Orkneys…I still cook iron breads & potato cakes on it-

I love this too.

Islander

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:28:35 +1200

nd this is the companion piece: nonna’s rolling pin, made from a single piece of cherry wood. It was more or less nonna-length, by the time she was in her eighties.

We have my Nanna’s girdle-iron – which belonged to her Nanna & was brought to ANZ from the Orkneys…I still…

Hebe

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:26:22 +1200

And boiled water for ice.

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:08:35 +1200

And this is the companion piece: nonna’s rolling pin, made from a single piece of cherry wood. It was more or less nonna-length, by the time she was in her eighties.

I love this.

andin

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:51:21 +1200

A big cast paella dish, Icebear knives, a cheese slicer not a grater, and peeler with easy grip handle sorry dont have pics. My favs

Ana Simkiss

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:45:06 +1200

My current kitchen favourites: cast iron pan, a wedding present for my parents, smallish le creuset casserole which is used every single day, a paella pan, recent gift & already well used, and the mandoline. I don't know how I ever lived without it. These are also my go-to gifts for…

giovanni tiso

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:36:59 +1200

And this is the companion piece: nonna's rolling pin, made from a single piece of cherry wood. It was more or less nonna-length, by the time she was in her eighties.

giovanni tiso

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:32:56 +1200

I've banged on about this in most mediums, but it's pretty much my most prized possession. Even though I can't really use it yet. (Have to go up several pasta-making belts.) It's a curtlina, that is to say the blade used to cut fogliate (local Mantuan variety of tagliatelle). It…

Lilith __

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:59:10 +1200

I'd advise anyone seeking a nice set of copper-bottom pans to cosy up to someone who's getting an induction cooker. I got some lovely pans from a kind friend in this way. Can't let them go to waste!

James Butler

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:49:11 +1200

Cor, check out the patina on that one!

James Butler

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:47:19 +1200

Le Creuset, c. 40 years old – almost the only thing I inherited from my Dad that doesn't have wheels. Story is that it was a wedding present for his attempted first wedding, which fell through at the last minute. But he got to keep the cookware, so.

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:31:53 +1200

I get a little misty using my grandmother’s original Ralta Crock Pot, with the fawn outer and Temuka pottery inner. It gets used most weeks

Oh man, I have needs now …

Which one of these does it look like?

Edit: Yes, I did just type "Ralta crockpot" into Trade…

Lilith __

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:25:51 +1200

Boiling drinking water, right? So you boil it then leave it to cool in the pot, then decant into bottles?

Yes. Drinking water. Tooth-brushing water. All water you’ll use in food preparation that won’t otherwise be boiled. It’s more than you’d think.

Want to wash the veges and fruit? Want…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:23:45 +1200

Commercial Circulon is great, hard anodised, solid as – I have one huge pan and a smaller one. Jan’s Dad ( ex-panel beater ) picked up the big pan one day and was so impressed by the quality of the build and the rivets we had to find one for…

Emma Hart

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:14:01 +1200

Boiling drinking water, right? So you boil it then leave it to cool in the pot, then decant into bottles?

Yes. Drinking water. Tooth-brushing water. All water you'll use in food preparation that won't otherwise be boiled. It's more than you'd think. It has to be boiled for three minutes…

Julian Melville

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:12:49 +1200

I've got that same small cast iron pan, mine was part of a mail order set that was incredibly cheap from LD Nathan years ago. I loved the idea of ordering something like 20kg of kitchenware by mail. The big casserole pot from that set weighs a ton and is…

BenWilson

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:08:40 +1200

I get a little misty using my grandmother's original Ralta Crock Pot, with the fawn outer and Temuka pottery inner. It gets used most weeks.

Enormous stock-pots are essential. They're for boiling water after earthquakes.

Boiling drinking water, right? So you boil it then leave it to cool in the…

Eediot

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:00:29 +1200

I pop (drive or cycle if it's fine) over to cutler Phil Ruddenklau's house in Remuera every 3 months or so to get my main (well only one I ever really need) kitchen knife sharpened. It's 9 bucks cash and we discuss his epic cycle tours while he does it…

Martin Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:00:10 +1200

Commercial Circulon is great, hard anodised, solid as – I have one huge pan and a smaller one. Jan's Dad ( ex-panel beater ) picked up the big pan one day and was so impressed by the quality of the build and the rivets we had to find one for…

Hilary Stace

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:53:06 +1200

PS Are you allowed to love cookware and kitchen stuff yet hate cooking?

Hilary Stace

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:46:23 +1200

What beautiful cookware and in such immaculate condition. Not sure whether anyone watches Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals on Saturday night but he uses a wonderful collection of old pots, chipped plates and dishes and wooden boards with fading paint (and some very nice shiny new stuff).

Chopper

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:40:57 +1200

I spent almost A$250 on a 7-piece set of Brasilia knives (German steel, made in Brazil). My wife thought I was absolutely nuts. Then she tried using them. Our existing $20 set from IKEA was immediately in the op shop pile and now we have fights over who gets to…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:33:56 +1200

Enormous stock-pots are essential. They’re for boiling water after earthquakes. You’re welcome.

And that's why I bought it. My darling will thank me when the Auckland Volcanic Field kicks off, you mark my words.

Emma Hart

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:29:45 +1200

And, finally, the Tramontina

Oh gods, I'm having deeply complicated near-physical yearnings for that thing. Mmmm....

The first year we were together-alone, when we were very poor, my partner bought me a meat tenderiser for my birthday. All our friends laughed and mocked. I LOVED it. The balance. The hand-feel.…

barnaclebarnes

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:27:16 +1200

I scream, you scream, we all scream, ICE CREAM!

I put a KitchenAid stand mixer and ice cream attachment on our wedding registry out of share hope that someone might want to pony up that sort of cash but alas we only go the ice cream attachment. Luckily I only…

Public Address

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:27:16 +1200

Discussion from blog post.