stories : The Ten
 |
Save Your DollarsFor many kitchen items, cheaper is better |
Sometimes you do get what you pay for, when what you pay for is a sturdy, inexpensive kitchen tool. Some kitchen equipment is worth splurging on and some isn’t. Here are 10 items that don’t require serious coin, no matter what the marketers would have you think.
1. Mandoline. We always reach for the Benriner slicer over an expensive mandoline when we want paper-thin cuts or a perfect julienne. Wallet-friendly at around $30, the Benriner is extra sharp, reliable, and compact. (The wider super version is only about $20 more.)
2. Mixing bowls. Mixing bowls get lashed by whisks, beaten by spoons, and subjected to a wide range of temperatures. Plastic bowls can’t hold up against very high or low temperatures, and ceramic bowls are heavy and can chip. Stainless steel bowls are your best bet: They’re nonreactive metal so they can withstand acidic vinaigrettes, they’re highly conductive for use as a double boiler, and they can take all the abuse you can dole out.
3. Paring knives. While you should pay good money for a high-quality chef’s knife, your paring knives can be cheap and plentiful. Why shell out 40 bucks for one, when less than that can buy you five? If one is all you need, we recommend this version from Forschner.
4. Measuring cups and spoons. Measuring cups and spoons do not need to be so expensive. Stick to cheap metal versions with the measurement mark etched or pressed into the metal (that way the demarcations remain no matter how many trips they take through the dishwasher) and they’ll last you a few lifetimes.
5. Corkscrew. The familiar waiter’s corkscrew follows the design that was patented by Samuel Henshall way back in 1795. Some things are best left unchanged. The classic corkscrew costs much less than new-fangled designs, works better (if you know how to work it), and can slip into your pocket for vino on the go.
6. Wok. Two hundred dollars for a wok? For a wok? (And this is the cheaper model!) High-quality, heavy-gauge stainless steel is what you want for sauté pans; it’s not necessary for woks. A good carbon steel wok or a cast iron model will set you back only about $20. (Save the rest of your cash for that plane ticket to China.)
7. Salad spinner. Good design is sometimes worth the higher price. But a $100 salad spinner is inexcusable. Get the cheaper version.
8. Baking sheets. To get reasonably priced baking sheets that never warp, head to a restaurant supply store or website. The half sheet pans that pros use are less than half the price of the name-brand retailer’s version.
9. Grill pan. While a plethora of grill pans cost upward of $100, we still love our tried-and-true cast iron Lodge grill pan, a steal at under $25.
10. Pasta machine (electric versus metal manual-crank). It’s mind-boggling as to why an electric pasta maker should cost 40 times that of its manually cranked counterpart. The Imperia hand-cranked machine is so reliable that one of our food editors has a model that has been passed down for three generations.
This article, if a bit obvious in some places, is so much more useful and interesting than the top 10 knife cases article. The traveling-chef population probably already knows about those, and the rest of us will probably never need one.
However, it may be noted that stainless steel bowls don't come cheap. When I was looking, I almost always saw the melamine bowls for less, and I couldn't afford a set of stainless until I found them at Ross. But I agree: they are vastly more useful than anything plastic or ceramic.
While your at it, skip the Pro Logic pre-seasoned grill pans at the mysimon.com link and get the regular Lodge grill pan, season it yourself, and save ten bucks.
I found a Le Creuset grill pan on the street in the West Village. It was filthy, but I lugged it home (eliciting comments from a number of bemused New Yorkers), cleaned it up with a paste of baking soda and water, and then re-seasoned it. And, even though scoring a $100 grill pan for free is pretty cool, I must admit that it's not the best grill pan. It's way too heavy for the limited space it provides, for one thing. And this heft makes it impossible to store. Go Lodge all the way if you're acually paying.
I also say Lodge all the way. I got a free Creuset Grill pan too and I use my cast iron one that straddles 2 elements a heck of a lot more
Find a grungy, cracked, half-dead Le Creuset on a street corner or at a garage sale? Send it back to the company for a replacement.
If you don't want to pay alot for stainless steel bowls, look for them at thrift stores and flea markets. They clean up nicely. I also find my Pyrex and Corningware items at thrift stores.
RE le creuset...
IMHO, it's not quite honest to request that a manufacturer replace an item that one never paid for in the first place.
I've never used a mandoline. Is it good from making cole slaw?
val ann c use your FP for cole slaw it's faster.
re: cheap stainless steel bowls - I got mine at Kmart. They were Martha Stewart Living branded, and they cost $1.85 and $2.15 respectively. They're enormous, very light, and absolutely invaluable. (And still totally like-new, after 6 years of constant use).
Gotta disagree about the cheap measuring cups -- I've had metal ones like the ones in the picture, and the handles eventually break off. I replaced mine with some much more heavy duty ones that still weren't that expensive (under $20 at Sur le Table). Actually, I think the heavy duty ones are better for heavy things (like cups of flour or sugar), while the lighter weight ones are good for the smaller fractions (under half a cup).
Don't need a mandoline for cole slaw, a plain old knife is fine. But the Benriner is amazing for thin sliced cucumber, zucchini, carrots and the like. Nothing else goes as thin, or as fast.