Kitchen Stuff! - Plate, Cookware, Gadgets

[doctor_doom]

I am wondering what are some really nice, cheap knives? I am in dire need of some new knives and have new clue where to start.. so I hope someone here could point me in the right direction.

[Hocus Pocus]

Victronix makes decent cheap knives that are sometimes even cheaper on amazon.com

[Solix]

Wusthof has a pretty nice, affordable 7-piece set for under $150 on Amazon.

[youkinorn2]

second the victronix/forschner rec.

love those $4 paring knives.

[dismalfuture]

white le creuset is mad kawaii. I don't get so excited about the Japanese style knives though.

[echoepidemic]

i LOVE white le creuset... ugh

[Solix]

I honestly prefer the under $5~10 Thai "Kiwi" brand knives that are ubiquitous in Asian markets/grocery stores. The blade grind isn't that great and needs more frequent touch ups because the steel is of lesser quality, but they're light, easy to sharpen, come in good blade shapes, and are so cheap, they're nearly disposable.

http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/kiknfrth.html

I still keep quality knives around for nicer cuts on fish and red meat for special occasions, but for the most part, the Kiwi's are my go-to's.

[jyoni]

a heads-up for youngins looking for a single pan, or for people who like to keep a non-stick "beater" around: kohl's is selling the "food network" 12" jumbo cooker with glass lid for 40 bucks in-store. i found it randomly by scanning the tag. it's discontinued, which is probably why i didn't see a price on any signage and had to scan it.

i picked one up myself since we keep a nonstick around for quick breakfasts, cabin trips, or any wipe-n-go cleaning. it's super nice and huge. anodized aluminum, tough coating, big rivets, nice finish, thick heavy and solid. the lid is boss too. you could cook anything with this. it's so big it could double as a medium pot as well.

http://www.kaboodle....jumbo-cooker-73

i wrapped it but i'll get some better photos tomorrow.

*pics. pretty nice for this type of pan.

Edited December 29, 2011 by jyoni

[bruised]

my last impulse buy was a nice olive wood 13 in spoon from amazon. after i broke my last wooded spoon and was with out one for a week, i realized a nice wooden spoon is essential.

http://www.amazon.com/CHEFS-Olive-Wood-Deep-Spoon/dp/B001I6O40W/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1325099335&sr=8-19

[Orrery]

Just got a sweet programmable slow cooker for Xmas. Got some Cook's Illustrated weekday chili cooking.

+3 on the forschner fibrox knives.

[jyoni]

^ this would be a good pickup for you

http://www.amazon.com/Cooker-Revolution-Editors-Americas-Kitchen/dp/1933615699/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325196096&sr=8-1

It blends techniques, so it will have you broiling or microwaving stuff here and there. I've tried a few and it's a great cookbook so far.

[Orrery]

^ Thanks for the tip. I like the ATK stuff; plus the studio/test kitchen is 5 min from my apt.

[jyoni]

^ nice. do they let the public in for any seminars etc?

i don't know if it's okay to post ebay finds in here. people were talking about cast iron and i noticed this auction just came up. it isn't mine.

these don't look deep hardcore vintage, more like '50s-'60s, so the price might actually stay reasonable on them. they're fucking sweet!

http://www.ebay.com/...=item256b39cc02

i just bought some wood-handled ones from the old u.s. foundries. nothing famous, just generic with plain stamping, but i've never seen a wood-handled set from those foundries. I've only seen cheaply made imports, or else heavily stylized sets from France/Belgium that lack the pure robust utility. They're a little crusty so i want to zap em and refinish the handles for some before/after pics.

Edited January 9, 2012 by jyoni

[Pennsylvania]

^ Loving the old cookware. Big fan of older kitchen stuff myself.

Most of what I have is an inheritance from my mom. When I got my first apartment in college, I got all the old stuff. Some of it goes even further back in the family. I have a few newer items (mostly large appliances) but my cookware, bakeware, flatware, and dishes are all vintage 70s/80s stuff; some goes back to the 20s like this cool antique flour sifter I have. I did get new glasses though--wanted multiple sizes.

Not sure how many of you have a toaster oven, but I'm wondering how Black & Decker is with their warranties. Got mine as a gift a little over a year ago. Box says it has a 2 year warranty. I have no receipt but this thing has some issues--always smells like it's going to burn down, even at low temperatures. Yes, it's been used and broken in, and the smell got so bad it set off my smoke alarms last time. Had to get my old one from the 90s out for now; it's pretty small but still works great and fired right up after sitting idly for a long time. Probably will swap it from a Cuisinart if I can't get anything from B&D. Everyone in the family has one now except me and they seem like better machines overall.

Aside from that, a pretty solid little machine. Claims it can hold a whole pizza, although I've never tried one in there.

[jyoni]

I'm tempted to post pics since you like the old stuff. I'll wait though. They're a little skanky and I need a chunk of free time to supervise before I start messin around with electricity and water. I don't want to post pics of just the junk state. They'll clean up well though, really nice pans. I might turn some fresh handles from rock maple or something. I can't tell what these are yet but they don't seem like a premium hardwood.

I like the funky 70s dishware too. I've been looking around for some deadstock aluminum tumblers. I love those things.

[redX]

won bidding (20€) on no-name cast iron pan on ebay turns out it's le creuset

[Vampyrvargfesten]

kopped a vintage griswold #8... should be comin in soon, stoked

anyone got a rec on a good mandoline??

i have an old beringer one thats kinda fucked up now

should i get one with a ceramic blade?

[youkinorn2]

nah fuck a ceramic blade. get another benriner or just get a new blade (if that's what's wrong with yours). Gotta spend way more money to get anything that works better.

[jyoni]

Nice pickup on the Griswold. What size did you get? Careful man, fully-stamped Griswold can be some spendy shit. I like their "Iron Mountain" stuff because it's too plain to give collectors any hard-ons, and you can put together a super nice set for a good end cost. Plus they have a nice aesthetic: Simple stamping and the handles have a touch more design in them. All the iron mountain I've ever seen has had heat rings though, which can be bothersome sometimes.

[BIZ]

recently picked up a Vitamix 5200 Blender .... this thing rocks

[youkinorn2]

I recently started working in the kitchen of a restaurant and today my chef said my knife was sharp as shit. It was at the end of a shift with lots of prep and I didn't refine the edge as much as I usually do when I sharpened last. Made me smile.

Edited January 25, 2012 by youkinorn2

[youkinorn2]

cross post from what are you eating today:

Carrot foam.

More info here:

http://thingswithtee...com/carrot-foam

[pepper davies]

Cheap, dependable cast iron and food mill? I have no idea what I'm doing looking around ebay at the vintage stuff.

[jyoni]

^Lodge on the cast iron. For a little more you could ebay-cop that Griswold "Iron Mountain" I mentioned.

[blm14]

About cast iron: I've been collecting cast iron, for both cooking and decorative use, for a VERY long time.

For starters, if you want really quality stuff you will need to do one of three things:

1) Buy vintage, as in the past the castings were of much higher quality AND they polished the finished product.

2) Buy pre-polished modern pieces, which are limited to only a few styles (ie: I've not seen any modern polished dutch ovens with lids): http://www.wagnerware.com/ProductDetail.asp?Filter=PL&PCat=1&PLine=4&Prod=94&PSub=38

http://www.wagnerware.com/ProductDetail.asp?Filter=PL&PCat=1&PLine=4&Prod=101&PSub=5

http://www.wagnerware.com/ProductDetail.asp?Filter=PL&PCat=1&PLine=4&Prod=100&PSub=5

3) Buy modern crappy castings and polish them yourself. You can do a REASONABLY good job of this with sandpaper but it will take a long time.

The whole "seasoning" thing is a little bit of a misnomer. The main thing is that you need a layer of oil on the iron to a) provide a nonstick surface and prevent rust. But it's not strictly necessary to allow oil to keep building up forever.

I have LOTS of griswold (in fact a #11 double burner griddle just arrived today!), and several wagner ware pieces. My favorite is my grandma's number 10 wagner ware dutch oven. That thing is so money...

There's lots of people with cast iron blogs if you look around, with recipes and care etc.

[Solix]

I don't find that there is much difference whatsoever between having a polished finish versus the more modern coarse one aside from aesthetics. I received my first vintage polished skillet about a year back when turned 21 from my grandma who had been using it for over 70+ years. Compared to the more modern skillet, wok, griddle, and dutch oven that I'd been using for the past 6 years, they all perform in the same way.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Solix

[blm14]

^ Not been my experience. My really good old cast iron pans will result in an egg that slides across the pan with only a tiny pat of butter. I've seen eggs stick in the newer ones.

this picture says it all:

[bruised]

Just got this 8" chefs knife

http://instagr.am/p/kbcqy8f7-z/

Edited May 10, 2012 by hailxenu