Kenwood Major Titanium Mixer; Your Top 5 Kitchen Gadgets
I'd hire a personal chef before I spent almost a thousand dollars on a stand mixer—especially when more-than-serviceable models from KitchenAid can be had for a quarter of the price or less—but this Kenwood Major Titanium "kitchen machine" is a good-looking, if spartan bit of a cooking gear. I thought you might like to gaze upon it, but I certainly don't recommend buying it.
It's also a good excuse to ask the question: What do you consider your top five kitchen gadgets? I'm in the process of retooling my kitchen, from stalwarts like a new cast iron skillet to a just-purchased juicer (I'm going to go hippie for a while) and it's got me thinking about what sort of machines are actually worth the price.
Here's my list, which I wouldn't suggest is universally applicable, but have stayed in regular rotation in my kitchen over the last couple of years:
• The aforementioned KitchenAid stand mixer. (Pretty much any model will do, but I suggest the grinder attachment with sausage stuffer for meat lovers.)
• The Fresh Roast Plus 8 coffee bean roaster – I can't say that the green beans I roast make the best coffee I've ever had, but I enjoy the whole process. (And the coffee I make is at least better than any off-the-shelf ground stuff and most commercial whole beans.) I do need a real burr grinder, though I've been afraid of dropping the cash for one.
• I hate the process by which the replacement CO2 bottles must be replaced (although I can't suggest a better way than the home delivery service), but I've used my Soda Club machine a lot. Not to make soda, but just to make carbonated water, with which a squeeze of lime is my inexpensive go-to summer drink.
• My Bodum Insulated Press Pot. There may be better french press pots out there, but the insulation means that I can actually have a second (or third) cup of coffee an hour or more after I actually brew it, unlike regular glass-walled pots that cool immediately.
Actually, that's about it for me! (Does that mean I need to buy that burr grinder?) I have some other gadgets that get a lot of use, but they're pretty standard stuff: corkscrews, etc. I'm actually curious how much I'll use the juicer I just got—I suspect I'll have a brief honeydew honeymoon and then leave it aside. And since one of you guys (Gregger) pointed out that you can still buy Dishmaster faucets, I've had my eye on them, but since I rent I'll probably leave that one in my dream kitchen for now.
Kenwood Major Titanium [Appliancist.com]
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1) 12" Cast iron skillet, you can cook almost anything in this and for less than $30 it will last forever.
2) Exoglass Spoon, a nonporous temp resistant spoon than can go from pizza sauce to custard without transferring odor or tastes.
3) Kitchen scale, how else will you know how much flour is in your bread or cookies?
4) Big, heavy, SS mixing bowl set, use for everything from a double boiler to handing out candy.
5) Kitchen timer, my favorite has 4 timers so I can keep track of everything going on.
1. Anything cast iron.
2. Unglazed ceramic bakeware. Once this stuff gets seasoned it is a wonderful natural non-stick cooking surface.
3. Maverick Model MM5501 Meat Grinder. I use this for making raw cat food, and I can testify to its' ability to devour whole chickens/turkeys (yes, bones too) and not blink an eye.
You shouldn't leave your coffee hanging around in your french press. It will continue to steep and get funky. You should read this great blog post over at Dethroner.
Wait, you and the guy who runs that site have the same name... strange. </sarcasm> :)
Ditto on eExoglass spoons. Mine's a workhorse that never seems to age. Cuisinart has finally begun to manufacture their prep boards again (hooray!). These $10 marvels have raised edges, which means you can chop tomatoes and other juicy items and not have the juices run off onto your counters. Also, they're diswasher safe. My old ones are 20 years old and I had been frantically searching for something I liked as much. Now, I can retire the two I absent mindedly placed on burners.
I love cast iron skillets and for my birthday this year, my wife gave me a Lodge Signature 12" skillet, which I love to death. They are pricy, but Cabella's sells them at a good discount. OTOH, I've picked up really good cast iron cookware for pennies at thrift shops -- kind of hard to resist bargains like that.
Years ago, we bought a bunch of Calphalon cookware, but we found it was higher maintanance, less versatile, and, despite the advertising, not robust enough for every day use (you WILL need to have it re-annodized). Over the years, we've replaced almost all of it with thrift store cast iron and Le Cruset casseroles.
1. Decent 10" cooks knife, sharp.
2. Set Analon pans
3 Analon griddle
4 Wine glass
5 Old butchers block as chopping surface.
(I've seen an earlier version of the Kenwood used, by my wife, in a pro kitchen every day for 5 years and it is a bit rough but still A1 working. Thats value).
1: hand blender. sauces, mayo, soups, salad dressings - and doesn't take up much room! I've got the Braun MR430HC comes with some good attachments.
2:griddle - cuisinart gr4 , with flat and stripey plates
3: weber baby q - not strictly kitchen but just outside the door- use it almost as much as the stove.(cast iron griddle is superb)
4: a good adjustable pepper grinder
5: opinel #9 knife
1.) my bottle opener made from an old bicycle: a pie slice of an sprocket brazed to a loop of bike chain.
2.) a big oval shaped dinner plate stolen from the local German restaurant: the curbed edges, the size, the weight oooooobaby it's perfect for everything, even the local truck's super burrito, the "food log".
3.) Big stainless cup from a shake mixer: perfect for carrying almost a liter of my favorite drink: "Whiskey C**k" = two jiggers of Jim Beam to one pint powdered lemonade (pink lemonade makes "Tender C**k").
4.) Great Grandmas cast iron stew skillet; seasoned with nearly a century of stew, bacon, pan biscuits, and jambalaya.
5.)Well no. 5 would either have to be the Chemex coffee carafe/maker or our homemade vise mounted, flamethrower based quesadilla machine (mostly an outdoor toy but if you have concrete floors inside, you'll be fine... )
Re: the "Soda Club": For the CO2 workaround, I would get a small refillable tank and regulator from a homebrew beer supply house or the local gas/welding supply.
But that's me, a crusty dork.
@grouchosuave: I have the same bottle opener, it rules!
How have 6 people and the original author posted about kitchen gadgets and not mentioned the most handy-dandy-iest often-under appreciated tool, food-processor/Cuisanart? If you've never owned one, its hard to appreciate the near infinite uses for one of these until actually have one (I was admittedly an unwitting gift-recipient).
Over the years, I have found this to be the most versitle tool for cooking - used way more than my blender, mixer, toaster oven, etc. Making perfect pie crust and dough, chopping chocolate and nuts, making sauces and purees, blending, juicing, and more - a food processor is the ultimate in powered kitchen tools. Personally, I prefer the smaller, "pint sized" processor - I find the smaller bowl allows more uses for smaller portions if you're cooking for 1 or 2.
I'm partial to my espresso machine, OXO salad spinner, and microplane. All three get heavy use in my kitchen.
Soda Club - sounds interesting, but (1) can you just make Coca-Cola, and (2) WTF with the "licensed" CO2 bottle? Look at http://www.sodaclubusa.com/images/TX-USA-Shrink%20Alco110.pdf , you're actually licensing it, you don't own it, and you have to return it:
Alco2Jet 110 Carbonator - NOT FOR SALE
Licensed for use with
suitable home soda makers only
THIS ALCO2JET CARBONATOR IS THE PROPERTY OF SODA-CLUB (CO2) ATLANTIC LLC. (HEREINAFTER "THE CARBONATOR OWNER") AND TRANSFERRED TO YOU SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE USER LICENSE CERTIFICATE (“THE USER LICENSE”) ATTACHED TO THE INITIAL ALCO2JET CARBONATOR WHICH YOU RECEIVED.
BY OPENING THE VALVE SEAL OF THE ALCO2JET CARBONATOR YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE USER LICENSE.
IF YOU PREFER NOT TO BE BOUND, PLEASE PROMPTLY
Joel, after having Tonx on that other site for one of your best ever week topics... ever (twice for emphasis), how could you eschew the grinder! Well not really eschew, but not have one regardless!
Brudda... get one pronto. Starter: Baratza Maestro Classic. Advanced: Baratza Virtuoso. Here's a tip - contacting Baratza opens u up to some refurb possibilities and savings of 20-30%.
Wow, the user license for the Alco2Jet canister is pretty absurd.
I don't use a ton of kitchen gadgets, but here's my short list:
1. Orange-X citrus juicer: If you ever juice citrus fruit, it's well worth the price. One press gives you pretty much all the juice, and cleanup is fast and easy. There are others, some may be better, but my experience is limited to the Orange-X. Beware the cheap knockoffs - the cup will probably crush with time. Oh, get the mid-size; the large won't fit under our upper cabinets.
2. Rice & veggie steamer: I have a Kitchenaid "Handy Scenter" but anything with a separate rice bowl inside a steamer basket should be fine. Rice, steamed asparagus, and any other awesome dishes are much faster and easier with one of these.
3. Cuisinart, as has been said. Hefty, will last you a lifetime if you don't physically damage the plastic bits.
4. Kitchenaid stand mixer: Iconic for a reason. Again, so overbuilt it will last you a lifetime and possibly your heirs' lifetime too. The attachments can come in handy, too: I got the shredder and it will go through a bag of potatoes (To make hashbrowns, of course!) in minutes.
5. Griddle pan to use on my gas stove: I use this for almost everything. The aforementioned hash brown potatoes, eggs, bacon (usually fake in my case), "grilled" sandwiches, etc. I prefer cast iron but did get a Calphalon (non-stick) for my birthday and must admit that the cleanup is astoundingly easy.
Wow, I made it to five! :-)
1) really nice 10" chef's knife. i like global, for the styling as well as the feel, but of course ymmv.
2) kitchenaid stand mixer. got mine secondhand and it's gotta be at least 15 years old already. yay craigslist.
3) 12" cast iron skillet. indispensable.
4) enameled cast iron dutch oven. cooksillustrated recommends the $40 one you can get at target, and i can attest, having cooked with both, that it is definitely comparable, though smaller. but hey, i can take a 1.5 quart reduction in capacity in order to save $160
5) there is no entry number five. i guess im kind of pedestrian in that all my most favoritest tools are so basic, but whatever.
I've never used a french press, having skipped directly from an old drip coffeemaker (don't laugh) to the wacky and lovable Aeropress, previously pimped by Mark F. right here on Boingboing. Cheap and simple and awesome, it improved my daily coffee experience by 200%.
I used the recovered counter space to make a permanent place for my 15-year-old Osterizer blender, with which I made a tasty chocolate banana milkshare earlier this evening. Yum!
I am partial to semi-disposable flexible cutting boards.
And it's not a gadget, but my kitchen experience is much improved since I started using baking parchment (silicone-impregnated paper) for nearly all oven-related activities. Any readers who, like me, are barely competent cooks, take note!
Finally, YMMV greatly on this one, but I keep a rubber mallet in the kitchen to even out the thickness of boneless skinless chicken breasts, a major staple food for my family. I feel like justifying this by claiming it offers more control than a standard meat tenderizer mallet, but I could be lying to myself. The rubber mallet is more fun.
Love a stand mixer and believe in the grinder attachment as long as everything is kept very cold during grinding. Prevents the blades from "tearing" the meat rather than mincing. Sausage stuffer on the other hand can give inconsistent results...often tougher to produce good sausage than it's worth due to it's top location and awkward control of the stuffing speed. Spend a few bucks and get the "crank-style" stuffer.
I feel the same about the pasta attachment. In my opinion, the stand mixer is fine without trying to replace everything in the kitchen with it.
On the other hand, I have seen some strange homemade gadgets operating on a Kitchen Aid that looked quite effective...I accidentally stumbled onto photos of those while searching for music by "Brazilian Girls." :-/
I also love my new Le Creuset Tagine that my girlfriend gifted on my birthday. And of course the Weber Kettle grill.
Wow limited to 5 huh?
1. Good Japanese vegetable cleaver (more agile than a chef's knife)
2. Stand mixer - who doesn't go with kitchen aid?
3. microplane grater. they rock
4. Cast iron skillets are the best
5. Bunn BH-10 coffee maker - like commercial but for the home.
As for a good coffee grinder that is actually pretty cheap look at the kitchen aid ProLine series burr coffee mill. it is about $200 but well worth it.
If you don't want to drop a grand on a new Kenwood, get a second hand Chef - I've got a couple of A901s. G_d knows how old they are but they just don't give up. I've just picked up an A900 (the original Chef) - it's got to be 40 or 50 years old, and it still works a treat.
Hmmm, 5 as of right now:
1) Double sided 2 burner sized cast iron grill/griddle. Grill (meat, veggies, anything) on one side, make pancakes, eggs, etc. and brown anything on the other.
2) Any press pot. I have a huge one for home and just started playing with an "Australian" press for work (http://www.timolino.com/products/apa05.htm). Really great for 1-2 cups with hot water from the office coffee maker.
3) Hand mixer. A Braun of some sort that has a few attachments. Essentially a baby Cuisinart that will also let me blend in the cup/pot.
4) Slow cooker/Crock Pot. Don't fear the scary crock pot meals of the 70's. It's great for experimenting and coming home to a hot meal.
5) Meat/Oven dual digital thermometer. I can slide it into the meat, set the preferred oven and meat temperature walk away. It lets me know if the oven gets too hot and when the food is done. I'd prefer to have this built in to my oven, but that's not going to happen until I build my own kitchen.
On a coffee sidenote, does anyone have an opinion on the best fast and east espresso? I've been playing with a nespresso at work and starting to love it, but I'm open to all opinions.
Pyrex bowls with the lid. Borosilicate glass can handle everything but the broiler, don't retain flavor/smell and when it's cool, slap a lid on it like plastic bowls. I got them in my kitchen and another set in my lab. A kitchen is just a chemistry lab.
Flexible cutting boards rock.
Those nifty side cut can openers.
Kitchen Aid mixer of course.
One of those lids/covers that live in the microwave, $2-$3 at Target. Have not needed to clean my microwave in months.
1) Several have mentioned knives. I love my 8" Wusthoff Grand Prix chef's knife. It holds an edge for a long time, and really feels like an extension of my hand. My backup is the cheaper Forshner/Victorinox model recommended by Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. It's OK, but I like the Wusthoff better.
2) Edge Pro sharpening system. I'm a bit of a knife geek, and this is the best that's out there for my money. If you don't feel the need to buy such a thing, at least get a good quality ceramic steel, and take your knives to be sharpened professionally every year or so.
3) Remote thermometer. You stick one end in the meat, and it transmits the temp to the little remote that you clip to your apron or belt. Mine's a Polder brand, but I guess there are others out there.
4) Food processor. I have a Cuisinart, but I rather wish I'd gone for the Kitchenaid one instead. The Cuisinart has rather too much in the way of safety hoops that you have to jump through to make it go.
5) Le Crueset dutch oven. Spendy, but I got mine from an outlet store at considerable savings.
1. pressure cooker (Have had mine for 13 years and use it almost daily). No need to have clunky easily chippable la crueset pots--this does all the work in minutes as compared to hours. Mine is a Fagor, but WMF and Fissler and Kuhn Rikoh (not sure of the spelling of that name) make great ones.
2. salad dressing maker from ikea --don't think they sell it anymore--but it includes a juicer attachment.
After juicing the lemon, put in the oil and spices and secure the dimpled top. The dimple is just in the perfect spot to put your fingers while you shake up the jar. Salad dressing done in seconds--and delicious!
3. Silicone bakeware--colorful, flexible and my popovers are the best!
4. 4 sided box grater---good for grating cheese, chocolate, slicing cucumbers, etc.
5.maxim crepemaker
Just 5 is tough! If the list were expanded to 10, I would have included the braun hand mixer, my cuisinart, and the cuisinart griddler/panini maker,my microplane, my fissler pots, and my wusthof knives....
Yes, Flwombat: Rubber mallets rock in the kitchen! I love to use non-kitchen immplements in the kitchen, from my propane torch for roasting chiles and eggplants for babaganooch to plastic putty knives for scraping my cast iron skillets after cooking, to using weight plates to hold down pan lids when braising or steaming.
BTW, except when making mass quantities, I find my large Cuisinart more trouble than it's worth. I can cut one to two onions or tatties by hand easier than I can clean the blade and plastic parts of my robo chopper. Besides, I think I mostly like to cook because it allows me to play with knives and fire.
Yeah!! I used to have an Erlenmeyer flask with one-hole rubber stopper in it as my sugar dispenser. I don't use sugar much any more, so now I just have a bag o'sugar in the cupboard.
I also had a test tube rack and test tubes, with cork stoppers, for all my spices. I broke a couple tubes and got tired of refilling the others; it's really only practical if you rarely use spices. (Since refilling is such a pain.)
'course, that was all back when I had old chemistry lab cabinets and cultured slate counters. I probably have neurological problems from the chemicals I absorbed into my food. But it looked cool.
I even had a huge piece of slate for my dining room table top. It weighed over 400 pounds. Sigh, I was cool back then.
Two tools I love, offhand, and haven't seen mentioned yet:
1. Food Mill- for tomato sauces, mashed potatoes, and anything else you want to pulverize with control. Hand-crank your grub through slotted disks and end up with smooth potatoes and seedless sauces. Plus, hooks allow it to hang over your target pot for direct application. I do love anything with a sturdy crank, and many models come with different grades of sieving discs to adjust the consistency of the final product.
2. Mezzaluna (sometimes referred to as a "rocking knife")- giant curved blade (some have two blades) with wooden handles on each end. Makes chopping herbs or vegetables into tiny bits superbly fun. Target sells one online for about $20, but I can't vouch for its quality.
My favorites:
1. Wusthof kitchen knives: 8" chef's knife (or cook's knife) and 3.5” paring knife.
2. Risoli 10" grill pan.
3. KitchenAid 5-Quart stand mixer.
Regards,
Ganka Vasileva
Kitchen Mixers - Useful Appliances for Your Kitchen
http://helpful-kitchen-tips.com/small-appliances/kitchen-mixers/index.html