Cooking tools and gadgets/tools/toys

[keithmarder]

My wife loves her electric tea kettle.

I just got the Bodum, which I like better than the Braun that I returned. I tried a million stovetop kettles but hated them all. They all felt tinny, even the Le Crueset.

[salemj]

My wife loves her electric tea kettle.

I just got the Bodum, which I like better than the Braun that I returned. I tried a million stovetop kettles but hated them all. They all felt tinny, even the Le Crueset.

Yes, I have to add an electric kettle it my everyday simple but amazing gadget list. I’ve had the same one for over ten years: a Hamilton beach stainless insulated. It wasn’t too expensive, seems to last forever, is extremely attractive, and heats water as fast as any I’ve come in contact with (usually much faster). Highly recommended. I even use it to start boiling water on the stove sometimes for cooking because it is so much faster than using an element.

[jbart65]

I am not always sure when a vital cooking utensil becomes a gadget and I try not to buy single-task devices, but here are some of the things I find valuable aside from stuff already mentioned (electric kettle, Thermopen):

*Spoonula - my single favorite utensil. Read about on Cooks Illustrated a few years ago. Does the job of spoon and spatula. I’ve got three of them. I never use my old spatulas anymore except for a very stiff one good for moving things like biscotti dough.

*Mini-tongs - Tovoli brand. Got a pair that I use for almost everything. Great for small-scale home cooking when larger tongs might seem a bit unwieldy.

*Hand-held potato ricer - I use this for all sorts of root vegetables. More handy than a foodmill.

*Melon baller - for scraping out seeds and flesh of smaller chiles.

*Hand-held crinkle cutter - Simple way to pretty up a few vegetables and make a dinner plate look nicer.

*Mortar and pestle - I’ve got a beastly 25-pound one from Thailand that has 5 cup capacity. Use it just about every week to grind spices, curry pastes, pulverize lemongrass.

*Breville handheld blender - the first of a half dozen I’ve owned over the years that keeps from reaching for my regular blender.

This bad boy is powerful! Plus the attachments, particularly whisk, are very handy. Great range of speeds from low to high.

*Fuzzy Logic rice cooker - Brown rice always gave me trouble. Brown rice no longer gives me trouble.

Next up: A pressure cooker mainly for cooking dried legumes.

[Kit Craft]

Oh, I like my mortar and pestle too!

[keithmarder]

Oh, I like my mortar and pestle too!

This mortar and pestle is due to arrive from Amazon today.

[datster]

Couple of items beyond the normal Thermapen, Sous Vide circulator, Kitchen Aid mixer, etc.

A good juice press ...... https://www.amazon.com/Rated-Zulay-Prem ... ress&psc=1

Fireboard because I cook some serious BBQ ..... https://www.fireboard.com/shop/fireboar ... q-edition/

[Bensbites]

Oh dear, reading this I almost feel bad.

Kamado joe/associated toys
Thermopen
Anova
2x KA mixers
Instant Pot
Knives
Coffee roaster/grinder/brewer

[jbart65]

Whatcha got for coffee grinder and brewer, Ben? I am set to buy a cold brew device, coffee maker, burr grinder and perhaps a pour-over thingie. Complete overhaul.

[Bensbites]

Whatcha got for coffee grinder and brewer, Ben? I am set to buy a cold brew device, coffee maker, burr grinder and perhaps a pour-over thingie. Complete overhaul.

I have a behmor brewer, it is one of the few you can set the temp of the water. My grinder is a rocky, back from my espresso days, completely overkill for drip. Sweet Maria’s has a nicely curated selection of brewers. I have cycled through most brewers. For cold brew, nothing fancy is required, brew in a bowl or large mason jar. Filter off the solids, done.

Once you get an grinder, I can’t recommend an areopress emphatically enough. $25 and the best coffee I have made. Manual, and not fast.

I strongly prefer steep and filter coffee. Look at the clever dripper or bonvita has a ceramic version. They are like a pour over with a valve on the bottom. Steep and drain.

Next up... roast your own. Look at the behmor 1600.

[salemj]

Whatcha got for coffee grinder and brewer, Ben? I am set to buy a cold brew device, coffee maker, burr grinder and perhaps a pour-over thingie. Complete overhaul.

With a good grinder, I don't think you need a cold brew "device." Better grinds make filtration easier with a basic pour over.

I bought an Baratza Encore burr grinder and it seems just fine. I'm sure one can do better by stepping up in the line, but I'm not sure a typical home set up needs better unless you drink a lot of coffee regularly (by that I mean more than 2 people more than 1-2 times a day). From what I understand, the next up grinds a bit faster and a bit better, but I'm not sure "better" means anything unless you are brewing very fine grinds like espresso; I think that, for drip grinds and cold brew, the Encore is consistent enough for most people. (I planned on getting the nicer one until I moved to Canada and found they were even more expensive here. I guess I'm just saying that I am plenty satisfied and feel no need to upgrade, which is rare for me when I know "better" exists within reach.)

I found a fun little pour-over

It was cheaper when I bought it. Nearly perfect for my needs. I like that the design helps the coffee maintain temperature. Also, the hole for the drip is plenty big that it will drain quickly if you like, or you can pour more slowly and get a bolder flavor. It only makes enough for two larger mugs at a go, though. It does have one design flaw, though, in that if you pour it with the top still on and filter in, it will drip. I think they have another model that doesn't do this, though.

[Kit Craft]

Yeah...I use a magic bullet to grind coffee. It was free and I use it for a lot of things. I got it long ago when I went to college as a dorm gift. I then use the grounds in either a Moka pot or cold brew in a jar. Otherwise my wife and I simply use a Nespresso machine. Better than random ass pot coffee and cheaper than an espresso at the cafe. I sure miss Europe, where I didn't have to make my own coffee and it was only a single €. (I lived above a cafe. )

[gladius]

Reading this thread is stirring up a craving for coffe again, I’ve become a tea drinker.

For small batch one or two cups at a time, I found the Hario Ceramic "Skerton" Coffee Mill Manual Grinder to work beautifully: very consistent grind, no waste and easy to clean. I’d cycle between the AeroPress and paper in ceramic pourover - both methods produce different yet very delicious cups of coffee. It became an addicting and fun morning ritual. There are a number of variables which make for fun experimentation: bean, roast, grind, water, temperature, time, filters...

[keithmarder]

Whatcha got for coffee grinder and brewer, Ben? I am set to buy a cold brew device, coffee maker, burr grinder and perhaps a pour-over thingie. Complete overhaul.

I cold brewed for a while. I liked the simple Toddy. It's cheap and easy to use. I don't know about burr grinder for it because you need a course grind like a French press.

[jbart65]

I like hot and cold coffee. Depends on my mood, the weather, time of day. What I don't like is overroasted coffee that's tinged with bitterness. I drink it, but I know better is out there. My recent trip to Spain reminded me just how good simply made good coffee can and should taste.

Oxo makes a tidy and simple cold brew contraption that costs less than $50. I'll get a coffee maker that mimics a pour-over and I will get a pour-over device for the odd occasion I want to hover over my coffee. Unlike Ben I doubt I will ever roast my own coffee. I might try it in my oven just to try it, but I am satisfied with excellent coffee that is not the very best. I only make it for myself on the weekends.

Even then, I only make it sometimes. I also drink tea - white, green, black. I always have several loose varieties on hand.






I also drink tea

[Bob Z]

A good digital scale.

I use my kitchen scale for obvious things - like baking - and for less obvious things, such as mixing drinks for myself and friends, and for measuring whole coffee beans for grinding each morning. Ladyfriends get in the habit of using it to measure snacks. I'll also use it for re-calculations, such as when I want to use bulk chocolate to substitute for chips or squares or ounces of baking chocolate and the like (this is also why it is good for drinks: very easy to mix bigger or smaller on the fly using grams/ml and ratios than ounces or shot glasses and whatnot). Definitely stays out on the counter at all times and worth every penny for a good one.

I have to second this one. I like to bake but seem to use this for more than that. Its the larger OXO model and works great! Getting a scale, dont go cheap get one of these!

[Kit Craft]

A good digital scale.

I use my kitchen scale for obvious things - like baking - and for less obvious things, such as mixing drinks for myself and friends, and for measuring whole coffee beans for grinding each morning. Ladyfriends get in the habit of using it to measure snacks. I'll also use it for re-calculations, such as when I want to use bulk chocolate to substitute for chips or squares or ounces of baking chocolate and the like (this is also why it is good for drinks: very easy to mix bigger or smaller on the fly using grams/ml and ratios than ounces or shot glasses and whatnot). Definitely stays out on the counter at all times and worth every penny for a good one.

I have to second this one. I like to bake but seem to use this for more than that. Its the larger OXO model and works great! Getting a scale, dont go cheap get one of these!

Mine was like $9. Seems to work okay. Things turn out.

[Bensbites]

I like hot and cold coffee. Depends on my mood, the weather, time of day. What I don't like is overroasted coffee that's tinged with bitterness. I drink it, but I know better is out there. My recent trip to Spain reminded me just how good simply made good coffee can and should taste.

Oxo makes a tidy and simple cold brew contraption that costs less than $50. I'll get a coffee maker that mimics a pour-over and I will get a pour-over device for the odd occasion I want to hover over my coffee. Unlike Ben I doubt I will ever roast my own coffee. I might try it in my oven just to try it, but I am satisfied with excellent coffee that is not the very best. I only make it for myself on the weekends.

Even then, I only make it sometimes. I also drink tea - white, green, black. I always have several loose varieties on hand.






I also drink tea

One of these days I will send you 1/4 pound of freshly roasted Latin American beans. I have trouble finding them locally without paying a fortune, even then they are not always to my liking. Look at the behmor brewer. You can replace the bean basket and carafe with a chemex of you like.

[5698k]

Alton Brown’s advice is to avoid one hit wonders in the kitchen, it helps keep the clutter down.