You can only pick five. No picking "a set of knives of all shapes and sizes" nonsense. Five items, period. So, let's say it is some crazy cooking contest, or you are stranded in the woods, whatever. Just really try to think of what the five most basic utensils you use are. (I was thinking about this tonight as I made sauce.)
I would choose:
1. My cast iron skillet 2. A large stock pot 3. A small, sharp filet knife(I got my husband one from one of those knife people. That thing can cut anything apart, as well as butter bread) 4. A good metal spatula 5. A big wooden spoon(I really want a slotted spoon, but then I could not scoop anything out. But darn, the slots would be good as a strainer.)
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quote:1. My cast iron skillet 2. A large stock pot 3. A small, sharp filet knife(I got my husband one from one of those knife people. That thing can cut anything apart, as well as butter bread) 4. A good metal spatula 5. A big wooden spoon(I really want a slotted spoon, but then I could not scoop anything out. But darn, the slots would be good as a strainer.)
That's not going to do you much good without a stove or heat source of some kind. Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I'm going to pick mine based on the "crazy cooking contest" idea, where I'm assuming that cooking appliances (i.e. refrigerator, oven, range) will be provided and it will be my task to bring the movable cooking utensils (and dishes) with which to cook something. Or bake.
And really, considering the only crazy contest I'd enter would be a baking one, my list runs as such:
1. glass 9x9x2 baking pan 2. medium-sized metal bowl 3. big honkin' wooden spoon 4. small flexible plastic scraper-spatula 5. a tablespoon
I think. I'll have to think on this further.
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-A silicone scraper/spatula -a fry pan -a 9x13 pyrex baking dish -wire whisk -the best chef's knife I can get my hands on
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Assuming I have stove, oven, forks, bowls, etc. and we're talking actual things that are specifically for cooking/preparing food with, and that pot holders don't count:
Large-ish chef's knife Large Dutch oven (cast iron, seasoned-- this can include the lid and still be one, right?) Good spatula (metal) Good-quality chopping board Well-seasoned wooden spoon
I chose the Dutch oven because you can do almost everything with it-- fry, roast, boil, even bake...
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Hollowearth, it's a brand of cookware, non stick usually heavy based. scanpan
I have two sizes of the roasting dish, one sauce pan and two sizes of fry pans and they are all awesome.
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*My* wooden spoon (there's one in every kitchen, it looks burnt and a bit worn around the edges, but gets used for everything; from stirring to batting inquisitive fingers...)
A medium sized pyrex bowl
A sharp carving knife
A wok
A fork
All this thinking of cooking has made me hungry By the way, if anyone can post a link to a 'dutch oven' I'd be grateful. Thanks.
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LeCreuset makes an enamel-coated cast iron version with a lid of the same materials. (The lid is enameled cast iron as well, but it has plastic handle -- however, that plastic is safe to use up to somewhere above 400 F.)
Lodge makes a cast iron double Dutch oven with a lid that can be used as a skillet or casserole dish.
We have a large hand-carved hardwood wooden spoon that I love. Even with the oblicatory burn and scarring, it is a thing of beauty and a joy to use.
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A 7" Santoku knife - I got one for christmas and I love it. A large (7-9") chef's knife would suffice.
A slotted nylon spatula
A pair of large wooden chopsticks - it was tough to pick between these and a pair of long-handle metal tongs. I took the chopsticks because they double as an eating utensil.
A roll of tin foil would be my runner up.
I'm assuming a lighter doesn't count as a "utensil". If it does, I'm sure I could get a friction fire going if it's not wet, and I have the better part of a day. Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:We have a large hand-carved hardwood wooden spoon that I love. Even with the oblicatory burn and scarring, it is a thing of beauty and a joy to use.
They always are. As long as it's mine, of course. Everyone else's is gross. And wrong.
EDIT - also, that Lodge dutch oven is really cool.
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A well seasoned cast iron dutch oven. A metal spatula A large very sharp chiefs knife A small high quality paring knife A wire whisk.
I hadn't originally considered pans as utensils. If I could add one more it would be a silicone rubber spatula.
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Its interesting that the list is something of a compromise between the things I use most (like the knives) and things that I don't actually use much but which are good multi-use items like the dutch oven and the metal spatula.
There were things I left off like a wooden spoon because they aren't suitable for everything. I do use mine for many things but I don't like to use it for tomato based sauces, stews and curries. It absorbs the flavors and then they show up in other things where they are completely inappropriate (like fudge).
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If I'm in the woods, can I make stuff out of wood?
I guess I just don't understand the parameters of this challenge well enough to make an educated guess. If we are talking a handcart journey, I'd go with a big knife, a little knife, a wok, a big fork and a measuring cup.
Actually, I'm going to be renovating my kitchen, and I should probably think of streamlining my inventory of kitcheny stuff.
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We have a blondwood wooden spoon (very hard wood -- requires a carbide blade to work), and it doesn't seem to pick up any odors at all. Cross-contamination of flavors is something I am really sensitive to as well, so it was worth the investment.
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Yeah, that's why I said "well-seasoned" wooden spoon, and should have added "quality hardwood"-- I've found that nice hard spoons that have been seasoned a bit through use do not pick up anything.
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quote:Yeah, that's why I said "well-seasoned" wooden spoon, and should have added "quality hardwood"-- I've found that nice hard spoons that have been seasoned a bit through use do not pick up anything.
I guess I just know too much materials science and bacteriology to believe that. I also own a very nice hard wood well seasoned spoon that I've had for years. I no longer use it for spicy foods because to me it picks up flavors.
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Well, I've used it for turmeric, curries, garlic, chilis, etc., and then after a good scrub have used it for cheesecake, with no transfer.
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Assume you have a stove or oven(or fire or campstove if you are in the woods.)
You can have eating utensils and bowls/plates, but they cannot be used for cooking. (no turning bacon with a fork unless it is one of your fave five)
Really, I am just wondering what the most basic utensils are that you use.(and I am including pots and pans as utensils) I was thinking that, for my favorite fodds, my list would suffice, because I could bake in my cast iron skillet if necessary, and I just love that thing.
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Well, I've used it for turmeric, curries, garlic, chilis, etc., and then after a good scrub have used it for cheesecake, with no transfer.
Yes, but afterward you put ketchup on it all which kind of masks any flavors transferred in the wooden spoon. Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Elizabeth: Assume you have a stove or oven(or fire or campstove if you aI was thinking that, for my favorite fodds, my list would suffice, because I could bake in my cast iron skillet if necessary, and I just love that thing.
I love my cast iron skillet too and I have baked in it on many an occasion. But it just doesn't work for making soups or stews or for anything that needs to be boiled, its too shallow. That's why I went with a good well seasoned dutch oven. Its a lot like a cast iron frying pan with tall sides so that you can use it as a pot as well. That way I could have two knives.
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I agree, Rabbit, but this pan was my grandmother's, and I use it almost every time I cook. Hmm. Maybe I could change my large stock pot to a cast iron cauldron. Do they make those with covers?
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Sure, and I've recently discovered that there are myriad ways to open a can without a can opener. Quite a bit easier just to use the tool, though.
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quote:Originally posted by plaid: Strainer = must -- need for washing garden veggies, draining beans and pasta, etc.
I've been doing with out a strainer ever since I got to Trinidad. Its not preferable but I can manage using the pan lids to drain things and washing veggies directly in the sink.
I probably would have gone out and bought one if I ate pasta more often.
[ April 03, 2008, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: The Rabbit ]
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1. A good knife. I can't start cooking the food until I cut it up. It can mash garlic, peel fruits and vegetables, and mince things almost as finely as a grater grates.
2. A 9 x 13 x 2" baking pan, for baking bread, cake, cookies, roasting a chicken.
3. A saucepan of the right size for fixing sauces, cooking some vegetables, making oatmeal, rice, polenta, boiling potatoes, fixing macaroni.
4. A 6 quart Dutch oven that could handle stocks, soups, braises, stews, and go into the oven for roasts, but that could also be pressed into service to saute, fry, make a scrambled egg. I could steam in it, too, by propping up the food on some crumpled foil to hold it above the level of the boiling water.
5. Big, shallow spoon to skim soups, stir pots, ladle out hot foods.
Of course, I'll need a set of these for dairy, for meat, and for Passover. For measuring, serving, chopping surfaces, mixing, I'll rely on my glasses, dishes, and cutlery, which I don't consider to be cooking utensils, although they can certainly be pressed into service as such.
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