{"id":1288,"date":"2016-10-21T11:00:52","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T22:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2021-05-18T09:42:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T21:42:35","slug":"my-favourite-equipment-for-the-real-food-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/my-favourite-equipment-for-the-real-food-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"My favourite equipment for the real food kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a baby boomer, and back in the day it was expected that girls would know how to cook.<\/em><\/h4>\n

When I went to intermediate, once a week we went up to the college (high school) for \u201cmanual training\u201d. The girls learnt cooking and sewing and boys learnt woodwork and metalwork.<\/p>\n

I was the oldest of four, and at the weekend, I often cooked breakfast for my younger siblings. Saturday afternoons were usually spent in the kitchen with my mother, baking some goodies for school lunches for the next week. During the week, I\u2019d need to do some dinner prep before mum got home from work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Back then our only high tech equipment was a Kenwood mixer for baking, with a mincer attachment for when we wanted to make rissoles. The leftovers from the lamb roast would go through the mincer, then be mixed with mashed potato, and fried up in little patties.<\/p>\n

Nearly 50 years later, there is so much high tech equipment that our kitchen benches are filled with the stuff. Even the equipment that isn\u2019t electric is higher tech. Think of silicon molds for baking or making chocolates.<\/p>\n

But how much of it is really useful?<\/h4>\n

Here are my favourites \u2013 the things I actually use \u2013 and the things I don\u2019t use any more.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with low tech equipment<\/h4>\n

I\u2019m going to assume you already have the basics:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Good quality knives in various sizes
\n\u2022 Vegetable peeler, spatula, turner, slotted spoon
\n\u2022 Chopping boards
\n\u2022 Saucepans in different sizes
\n\u2022 Oven trays
\n\u2022 Casserole dishes<\/p>\n

One thing you will have that is worth discussing separately is your frying pan. If you currently have a non-stick pan, be aware that these are toxic. Yes, I know they\u2019re easiest to use, but just don\u2019t. We have:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Two x cast iron frypans (small and medium\/large) which we mainly use for steak. Keep them well seasoned, and never wash them with soap or a scrubber.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Two x stainless steel frypans (medium and large). These are used for anything that is likely to stick (eg eggs) or is acidic (anything with tomato). The large one is also good for any kind of mince (ground meat) and vege dish, though you could also use a large saucepan for that. We use them for pan frying fish, caramelising onions, frying or scrambling eggs. Don\u2019t be afraid of using plenty of fat to prevent sticking. As long as it\u2019s a safe fat like butter, ghee, coconut oil, pork lard or beef tallow, you\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n

You might also have non-stick bakeware. I\u2019m not really happy with any of the alternatives. Although people are now using silicon a lot, I wonder whether it\u2019s healthy when it gets hot. So I have to admit that I still use my old non-stick bakeware, but make sure I line it with baking paper, or use paper cups (known as pattie pans in NZ).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Things I use regularly that you might not have:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Saucepan with steamer \u2013 I prefer steaming my veges to boiling them<\/p>\n

\u2022 Stock pot \u2013 a very large pot is very useful for making bone broths, soups and stews<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mandolin, Julienne peeler or spiraliser \u2013 If I was starting my kitchen from scratch, I\u2019d probably go for a spiraliser. What I actually have is a large mandolin, and a small julienne peeler. The mandolin is great for making noodles from zucchini or daikon radish, or slicing thinly. But I find it doesn\u2019t work well on very hard things like carrot or kumera, so use the julienne peeler for those.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Jars for fermenting \u2013 in a traditional kitchen, you might want to do some fermenting. This might include sauerkraut or other fermented veges, kefir, kombucha or other fermented drinks like beet kvass. These are great for improving your gut flora, as well as a way to store produce.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Strainer \/ colander \u2013 useful for straining out kefir grains, or draining cooked noodles or other veges.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Metal sieve \u2013 no good for straining anything acidic, but useful for sifting flour or other dry ingredients for baking<\/p>\n

\u2022 Silicon moulds \u2013 although I don\u2019t trust silicon for baking, I do use it sometimes for making homemade chocolate, fudge or gelatin goodies into interesting shapes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Meat mincer \u2013 not powered, just one you stick on a bench and turn the handle, which works fine<\/p>\n

High tech (powered) equipment<\/h4>\n

Again I\u2019m going to assume you have some basics, such as:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Electric jug \/ kettle for boiling water for hot drinks OR a coffee maker, if you love your coffee
\n\u2022 Toaster \u2013 if you are still eating grains. Even if you\u2019re Paleo, it\u2019s nice to be able to toast up some Paleo bread<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My other favourites are:<\/p>\n

High speed blender<\/h4>\n

The Vita Mix is the best known brand, as it was the first. But there are other good brands available now. Ours is VitaEasy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We use this every single day for things like:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Smoothies<\/a>
\n\u2022 Making nut milk<\/a>
\n\u2022 Grinding up seeds<\/p>\n

You could also use it for:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blending soups<\/a> (I use my stick blender)
\n\u2022 Making nut butters
\n\u2022 Grinding coffee beans
\n\u2022 Frothing milk for coffee<\/p>\n

The manual also says it will mince meat, but trust me, you don\u2019t want to go down that road! After trying it, I went straight out and bought a hand mincer for that.<\/p>\n

If you already have a lower speed blender, it will still do a lot of things, like smoothies, nut milk or soups. It just won\u2019t be as smooth or finely ground.<\/p>\n

NutriBullet or Magic Bullet<\/h4>\n

We don\u2019t have either of these, as we already have a blender. But if you wanted simplicity and didn\u2019t have much space, one of these would be a good choice of blender. From what I\u2019ve read, choose a Magic Bullet if you just want to make smoothies from soft ingredients. But the NutriBullet is more powerful if you want to use hard or frozen ingredients.<\/p>\n

Full size food processor<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If your blender is a high speed one, you might not need a food processor as well.<\/p>\n

I use mine for:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Baking<\/a> (where I would have used a cake mixer)
\n\u2022 Low starch breads eg my cashew bread<\/a>
\n\u2022 Mixing together ingredients for snack bars eg my whole food chocolate and fudge<\/a>
\n\u2022 Mixing together nuts and veges for a nut roast<\/a><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a blender, you could use your food processor for soups.<\/p>\n

They usually also have attachments that allow you to slice or grate cheese or veges.<\/p>\n

3-in-1 \u2013 stick blender & mini food processor<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The stick blender is my favourite tool for:<\/p>\n

\u2022 blending up soups<\/a> or sauces \u2013 just stick it right in the pan
\n\u2022 making mayo (use it with the container that comes in the set)<\/p>\n

The whisk I use where I would once have used the cake mixer with the whisk blade:<\/p>\n

\u2022 beating eggs for omelettes or frittata
\n\u2022 whipping cream<\/a>
\n\u2022 beating egg whites for meringues or pavlova<\/a><\/p>\n

The mini processor is great for when you have small amounts to process:<\/p>\n

\u2022 pancake mix for one
\n\u2022 chopping onions
\n\u2022 mixing up a jar of nut butter with come raw cacao and a dash of honey to make my own chocolate nut butter<\/p>\n

Crockpot<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How fabulous is it to come home from work and smell your dinner all ready for you in the crockpot \/ slow cooker?<\/p>\n

I use it for:<\/p>\n

\u2022 stews
\n\u2022 mince (ground meat) and veges
\n\u2022 roasting chicken or chicken pieces (with a layer of onions underneath)
\n\u2022 making bone broth<\/a><\/p>\n

They are also used for:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cooking breakfast porridge overnight
\n\u2022 Making ghee<\/a>
\n\u2022 Anything you want to slow cook really<\/p>\n

Dehydrator<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t really NEED a dehydrator. You can use a VERY cool oven instead. But a dehydrator is easier than tying up your oven for days, and you feel safer leaving it on when you go out. I use it for:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Making jerky \u2013 including my meat and vege jerky<\/a>
\n\u2022 Drying excess summer produce to store it for winter
\n\u2022 Making fruit rollups
\n\u2022 You can even dehydrate broth!<\/p>\n

Juicer<\/h4>\n

We have had a few juicers over the years, including an expensive cold-press kind. If you want to do some juicing, it is worth getting cold-press to preserve the nutrients.<\/p>\n

But we always find we end up not using it. For me, as a Protein type, I need to add some fat such as coconut cream, cream or avocado to my juices to avoid a blood sugar spike. Yes, even with pure vege juices. So we tend to just just throw everything in the blender, and ending up selling our expensive juicer on Trade Me.<\/p>\n

Ice cream maker<\/h4>\n

I don\u2019t often use this, but in summer it\u2019s nice to have some homemade ice cream with ingredients you trust. Usually I just throw some frozen fruit pieces, a dash of honey and some cream or coconut cream in my mini processor, to make semi soft ice cream<\/a>. But occasionally I will go through the more complicated process of making \u201creal\u201d ice cream<\/a>\u00a0or coconut ice cream<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But what about my XYZ?<\/h4>\n

Ah, you noticed a few missing things, did you?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Microwave \u2013 I tend to be an early adopter, so we had one long before every else. We also stopped using it long before everybody else as we became aware of the adverse effects they have on food. The only thing we\u2019d ever use it for now is to heat up a wheat pack to warm our frozen winter toes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Deep fryer \u2013 Personally, I never use a deep fryer. If you do use one, make sure you use stable fats like animal fats or coconut oil. Never use canola, soy or other so-called vegetable oils. (Have you ever noticed that no vegetable oils actually come from vegetables?)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Breadmaker \u2013 I used to have a breadmaker as well. If you are able to eat grains, you might want to check out my breadmaker recipe for pre-soaked spelt bread<\/a>. Or you may prefer the old fashioned methods of sourdough breads. And if you\u2019re grain free, the breads you\u2019ll make don\u2019t need to rise.<\/p>\n

Originally posted on Steemit, at https:\/\/steemit.com\/food\/@kiwideb\/my-favourite-equipment-for-the-real-food-kitchen<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Steemit is a new blogging platform where authors can be rewarded for their work. Go check it out!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a baby boomer, and back in the day it was expected that girls would know how to cook. When I went to intermediate, once a week we went up to the college (high school) for \u201cmanual training\u201d. The girls learnt cooking and sewing and boys learnt woodwork and metalwork. I was the oldest of four, and at the weekend, I often cooked breakfast for my younger siblings. Saturday afternoons were usually spent in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1855,"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/1855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}