Good Quality for Kitchen Essentials

Smart Way to Build a Functional Kitchen

Third set of kitchen essential will focus on the importance of good quality. Items and equipments in the kitchen should be of good quality that would mean it last a lifetime, which in a human lifetime is about 30-50 years. A thing that has a great quality will last more than one lifetime, where it would be passed on and utilized to its fullest from one generation to another. The ultimate money saver is when an item has fully depreciated, in accounting-financial term, and lasted a lifetime but very much functional and efficient.

The first kitchen essentials reflects the initial items one needs in a kitchen to get one starting not only just cooking but also appreciating good healthy food. The second set of essentials discuss versatility, a bonus it also to set up so one could cook, a basic but delicious meal, Carbonara. This current set hope to convey that good quality is important. Price tag and/or a known brand are not signs of good quality; it takes mindfulness and critical desertion with the help of information from material and manufacturing process use, honest reviews, verifiable experience of other and oneself in order to conclude that certain item is of good quality. Let us sharpen that sensibility with the following kitchen essentials.

1. Kettle

Kettle, or teakettle, is a type of pot used in cooking, specifically for boiling water. Classically it is made from metal, with main structures of a lid, a spout and a handle. Considering kettle will be used every day, functionality wise a lighter weight stainless steel is practical than a cast-iron kettle. Copper kettle is another light weight but quite tedious to clean, similar with a cast-iron. Hence such types are not ideal for daily use, but would be fine as a cooking ware collection, like a Japanese cast-iron kettle called Tetsubin [1].

Another quality I consider in selecting a kettle that has a circular structure with a heavier the bottom, as it will conduct more heat. A long thin spout kettle would be ideal for coffee drinkers who used dripper, like me, but I will forgo for more utilitarian purpose of a goose neck spout. Then, for the rest of the appearance it is all purely for aesthetic reason, preferring a more classic look would mean it will never go out of style and it would outlive modern trends.

Plastic components are a concern in anything that is subjected in intense environment, like heat or cold. These are the parts that break easily and/or deforms and making a kettle looks unpleasant and harder to clean, hence functionally, quality and beauty wise it is a great letdown. So, it is more preferably having no or limited plastic component as much as possible.

Owning a kettle would be a money and time saving measure as you can make your own coffee and minimize buying over-priced, waste accumulating and high-sugar content commercial coffee. Making your own coffee or tea will help in reducing garbage and increasing your savings. It will also help in predicting what kind of food you will be preparing in the future.

2. Dripper

This is a must for all the coffee drinkers aka caffeine addicts out there. A wide range of designs and princes are available.  An alternative item for  tea and/or non coffee drinkers would be a small metal deep cone-shaped fine mesh sieve with long hooks and handle  to strain tea leaves and herbs for making tea; strain seeds and/or clumps for making sweets, custards and other pastries.  

3. Paring knife

The essential 8 inches chef knife is meant to be use on the cutting board, the 3-3.5 inches paring knife is meant to be use off the cutting board, like for peeling, coring and the likes. One could still use it on the cutting board for small work, but it meant to be use for the hand [2].

4. Flatware

Flatware denotes to flat tableware, such as dishes and saucers made of metal, but it is refer especially to eating and serving utensils, such as forks, spoons and knives [3]. It is basic cutlery but made of stainless steel, compare to silverware that is made of or plated with silver. Stainless steel flatware is produced with different alloy quality described by percentage of chrome that range from 18/10, 18/8, 18/0 to 13/0 [4]. The first number represent chromium, which gives the flatware rust and stain-resistant qualities, while the second number refers to amount of nickel, as there is more nickel the shiner it is, mimicking the sheen of silverware. There have been speculations that 18/10 doesn’t exist and it is just a marketing strategy, if you want to know more about this issue, let me know from your comment below. Another factor to consider is the finish, pertaining the comfortable edges, and smoothness.

       

5. Dishware

These are dishes used for serving food, a wide range of variety based on function, on material and manufacturing process. Since this article pertain to essential choosing for the purpose of kitchen aesthetic and/or entertainment might be better covered in another article. Dishes material and process varies from ceramics, fine china, bone china, stoneware to glass, would depend on its availability and affordability. The very basic items one needs are dinner plate, salad plate and soup bowl, and maybe a couple of serving plate. For the basic design and size of dishware would depend on the number of housemates. White is classic and safe to assume it is lead-free, hence a lot who like it simple are partial to the brand Corelle.

6. Glassware

Glassware is another type of drink ware, together with a couple of microwavable mugs, these are few essentials to add on, starting with tall highball glasses and short old-fashioned glasses. These are everyday glasses like the highball or tumbler type could contain 240 to 350 ml, the more volume the better. It is ideal for drinks with lots of ice and volume, like sodas, iced teas, iced coffee, shakes and smoothies, while the short old-fashioned glasses are for fruit juices. Other glassware like wine glasses, beer glasses and the likes are collections that would be suited under barware.   

Good quality synonymous to durability. Kitchen essential should be made for everyday use, and with basic care should last a lifetime. However, with profit-oriented industries and corrupt politicians who aims to deregulate quality standard due to vested interest the honesty to manufacture good quality product is becoming rare. With great hope this post provided good information for better decision making and inspires ideas that could help in assembling and/or improving one’s kitchen.

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As always enjoy cooking!

Reference

1. California Academy of Sciences. (n.d.). Tetsubins: Iron Treasures of Japan. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/tetsubin/index.html

2. Hiroyuki Terada - Diaries of a Master Sushi Chef. (2017, July 9). How To Choose The Perfect Knife - 4 Things To Consider. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nTBEbMQBGQ

3. Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10^th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 

4. Crate&Barrel. (n.d.). Everything You Need to Know About Choosing Flatware. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.crateandbarrel.com/ideas-and-advice/flatware-buying-guide 

Kitchen for Beginners: How to be Smart in Assembling a Functional Kitchen

Living organisms need fuel to have the energy to survive and replicate. Food is one of the main energy sources but as a human beings and a higher form of organism it is not just any substance. Somehow, we have improved and elevated its preparation and consumption. It may be either for very practical purpose of hygiene, health, and economic or for aesthetic purpose of stimulate and gratify our basal senses, consequently enrich one’s life.

Normal functioning olfactory and gustatory perception will result to appreciation of sumptuous meal. Food appreciation leads to more food digestion and/or preparation. Then we have foodies who take it to the next level: collect food recipes, watch baking and cooking shows, and aspire to cook delicious meals, as evident to home cook meals.  Cooking your own meal is one of many simple ways to save money, if one can’t cook anything will be left with limited options either buying expensive pre-made food, ordering restaurants or food deliveries. Home cooking would most likely use fresh and natural ingredients, thus making it a healthy endeavor. In Addition, cooking is not a natural talent but a learned skill, a continuous one. As learning stimulates the brain and augment the effect of dopamine, a happy hormone, greatly help in maintaining motivation and satisfaction after learning activities [1]. Home cooking has it great benefits from being wise with money, staying healthy, keeping oneself motivated, and make one’s life a little sweeter.

Most prolific home cooks are guilty of being obsess in having a fully equipped functioning kitchen. Such passion can lead to dangerous addiction that will suck money from unnecessary spending on kitchen equipment and ingredients. So such tendencies drive the need to have a firm plan supported by honest self-assessment and diligent research. Always consider acquiring items with these following factors: functionality, quality, economic and aesthetic.  Assembling a functional kitchen from ground up is slow but purposeful leads to well-being and long-term economical benefits.  It will minimize redundancy, wastage and squandering of limited resources.

Here are recommendations in how to be smart in assembling a functional kitchen, starting with 6 basic essentials: 

1. Sauce Pan

A high-quality 2 quarter stainless steel sauce pan with a heavy bottom with transparent lid cover and metal bar handle would be a great investment. It is just the right size for preparing one serving meals hence avoid food wastes and saves ingredients. As always choose stainless steel with heavy bottom for more equal heat conduction. Purchase the best one you could afford, take care of it and it will be a saving in the long run. Such sauce pan has multi-purpose from simple boiling water to preparing pastas, noodles, rice, soups, sauces and egg recipes. 

2. Wooden Spoon and Spatula

A 14 inches wooden spoon and spatula would be long enough keep away heat while still adjusting to high temperature. Wooden or bamboo utensils help in preserving the longevity of metal pots and pans; it won’t cause scratches that could wear out the pan or pot surface faster.

3. Cutting boards

It is health safety to have 2 cutting boards to avoid contaminating ready to eat vegetables and cooked food with uncooked meat bacteria. The ideal surface size would be bigger than the knife, plus extra space for cut portion. There are various materials to choose from, it would depend on purpose and preference. I would recommend buying 2 cutting boards, one good-quality, wooden board for vegetables and display, another one hard plastic for meat. Wood and plastic would be less expensive, safer and would not dull knives faster, compare materials made of glass, marble, or pyroceramic.

4. Chef Knife

The first knife that a kitchen needs is a standard 8 inches chef knife to learn basic control and access one’s cutting style. Chef knife is mainly use for cutting and chopping on the cutting board. Choose a good knife that is basically one piece where the steel or blade is running through the handle or all the way back, and the handle should fit nicely in your hand. It would be great if it has a good grind where the knife has been nicely tapered from the thick bolster, part of the knife blade near the handle, to the thinner tip as well as a nicely tapered from the spin down to the edge. A cheaper knife does not have full face grind and only the edge has been grinned which is called hollow ground edge. Basically, it is for rough work, like breaking harder foods, like crabs and lobsters. For a beginner and economic reason, purchasing such knife would be fair, as long as the blade is in one piece and the handle fits your hand. Mercer is a brand that has this kind of knife and it is of fair-quality, while Victorinox and Dexter Russell are companies that have a good-quality commercial-grade-stamped steel, full face grind with medium price range knives. Resist buying an expensive knife until you have assessed your knife skill, cutting style and knife purpose. Once you have honestly evaluation could go find and buy good quality knives, even indulging with the knife shape: German, French or Japanese shape; the forming: stamped or forged steel; and type of steel: soft or hard. And designate your old cheap knives to its rougher purpose [2].

5. Large Mugs

Two large microwavable heat-resistant mugs are not only for coffee and/or tea. It could also serve as bowls for single serving meals, until one could afford and find decent and preferred dishware.

6. Cutlery or Utensils

Buy a good quality that one could afford and have at least two of each spoon, fork, knife and teaspoon. A good-quality is that it doesn’t bend with minimal force, so have a go.

For me these are the 6 kitchen essentials to start with in assembling a functional kitchen. One would be able to start cooking simple recipes and facilitate in assessing food interest and cooking skills. Look out for next month blog on “Kitchen for Beginners.” 

References

1. Neve, K. (Eds). (2010). The Dopamine Receptors. New York, NY: Humana Press.

2. Hiroyuki Terada - Diaries of a Master Sushi Chef. (2017, July 9). How To Choose The Perfect Knife - 4 Things To Consider. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nTBEbMQBGQ