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Stocking a Kitchen - Page 3

post #31 of 116
4/28/10 at 4:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gomestar View Post
+1 on the bigger yet cheaper pot. In fact, I'll be picking up a 7 or 8 quart stock pot this weekend from a kitchen supply store. Should be no more than $35 but I have been seriously needing one for a long time.

We have this gold mine of cheap kitchen crap that's been around Cambridge for ages.

It's perfectly in this vein of stuff where there's no point to spending more. Across the street from Drinkwater's.


- B
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post #32 of 116
4/29/10 at 12:34am
^I dated a girl who lived around the corner from that place. Sigh.
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post #33 of 116
4/29/10 at 1:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
this is true ... in fact i'd ask why in the world you would ever want a cast-iron stock pot? total waste of money and it'll be heavier than a mother. Get a decent one with a relatively heavy bottom. since everything you're going to be cooking is going to be suspended in water, scorching won't be an issue. and be sure to get one that comes with a pasta pentola and a steamer. that's among the most-used pots in my kitchen.

You must have never used a cast iron, enameled french oven...they are so much more useful that a simple stock pot but can serve many of the same dutys.

Now if only I could get one without paying out the ass for it (my only le crueset thrift find has been a tea kettle)
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post #34 of 116
4/29/10 at 1:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by otc View Post
You must have never used a cast iron, enameled french oven...they are so much more useful that a simple stock pot but can serve many of the same dutys.

but he has. I hath seen video proof.
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post #35 of 116
4/29/10 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gomestar View Post
but he has. I hath seen video proof.
Lol...maybe I should have looked at who the poster was before replying. I still maintain that I would gladly substitute this for this I know that le creuset makes full size stock pots in enameled steel, but most of what I use a stock pot for does not really call for a really tall pot...being able to cook with it in all situations and have a beautiful pot to serve from seems like a pretty good deal.
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post #36 of 116
4/29/10 at 12:21pm
I see your point, though I still like a stock pot around for making pasta and stock (making my own then freezing for soups or risottos or whatever requires stock has made a dramatic improvement on the quality of stuff coming out of my humble kitchen). I like the higher sides for when things need the boil, plus higher sides means less actual surface area and thus skimming is easier.

However, my Le Creuset is second to none when it comes to braises or soups or sauces or stews ...
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post #37 of 116
4/29/10 at 12:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gomestar View Post
I see your point, though I still like a stock pot around for making pasta and stock (making my own then freezing for soups or risottos or whatever requires stock has made a dramatic improvement on the quality of stuff coming out of my humble kitchen). I like the higher sides for when things need the boil, plus higher sides means less actual surface area and thus skimming is easier.

However, my Le Creuset is second to none when it comes to braises or soups or sauces or stews ...
Make stock in a pressure cooker. It makes a better product.
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post #38 of 116
4/29/10 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
Make stock in a pressure cooker. It makes a better product.

Crockpot?

20 years I read in Julia Child not to use pressure cookers to make stock and I never have for that reason. Now my faith is shaken.
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post #39 of 116
4/29/10 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
Crockpot? 20 years I read in Julia Child not to use pressure cookers to make stock and I never have for that reason. Now my faith is shaken.
One of these: http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/pr...=16&show_tab=4 I think it extracts more flavor and more aroma from the bones and meat in a stock. It is also faster, which is nice, but the quality is soooo much better, as far as I can tell. A bit darker, more gelatinous and more aroma. For veal I cook it about 1.5-2 hours at 15 pounds of pressure. Some other kinds of pressure cookers are said not to work as well, particularly the cheaper ones that vent more steam. Here: http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/01...ith-chemistry/ K-R is the only non-venting home one I know of. It is also the only kind I have ever had, so I can't vouch for their results about venting models.
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post #40 of 116
4/29/10 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
Make stock in a pressure cooker. It makes a better product.

that would take up so much dang space. I'm lucky that I even have a little bit of counter space in NYC, my previous apartment had none.


And for $450, I'm sure you can guess what I will be buying instead.
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post #41 of 116
4/29/10 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otc View Post
Lol...maybe I should have looked at who the poster was before replying.

I still maintain that I would gladly substitute this

for this


I know that le creuset makes full size stock pots in enameled steel, but most of what I use a stock pot for does not really call for a really tall pot...being able to cook with it in all situations and have a beautiful pot to serve from seems like a pretty good deal.

those are two entirely different things and certainly any well-stocked kitchen should have both. the problem with making stock in a dutch oven is that the surface-to-volume is way off. It's so wide you'll evaporate off a lot more than you want. and, of course, a stockpot is totally useless for making stews. You can get a perfectly fine stockpot/pasta pot/steamer for less than $40. You can get a decent cast-iron dutch oven for less than $100.
I love my le creuset (bought at DEEP discount at a close-out place), but if you're stocking your first kitchen, you can buy your whole batterie for the price of a decent one.
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post #42 of 116
4/29/10 at 3:27pm
Discussing pans and pots is all nice and well, but remember that some of the most time consuming activities with cooking are chopping and peeling. Do not cheap out on knifes, chopping boards and particularly peelers.

Also, do get a good quality food processor, it will do most of the work for you.
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post #43 of 116
4/29/10 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
I love my le creuset (bought at DEEP discount at a close-out place), but if you're stocking your first kitchen, you can buy your whole batterie for the price of a decent one.

Thats why I mentioned it as a potential upgrade for my already stocked first kitchen

Echoing the hate on bamboo...I have a little bamboo board that I keep with my other cocktail supplies and I feel that cutting against the grain is like cutting on glass and the knife I use on it always seems to need sharpening. end-grain bamboo might be ok...but there are far better materials than flat bamboo.
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post #44 of 116
4/29/10 at 3:49pm
+1 on a good peeler.

I don't use my food processor for vegetables, however. It can't give me an even chop, there is too much size variation in pieces (some pieces end up big while the stuff at the bottom is literally a puree).
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post #45 of 116
4/29/10 at 3:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gomestar View Post
+1 on a good peeler.

I don't use my food processor for vegetables, however. It can't give me an even chop, there is too much size variation in pieces (some pieces end up big while the stuff at the bottom is literally a puree).

What do people use a food processor for? I have never felt a need for one. I have a blender, which I use all the time for soups, but I've never found myself saying "I sure wish I had a food processor for this."
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