If you, like us, watch the Food Network, you’ll no doubt have noticed all the nifty gadgets and high-end cookware the star chefs are using. It’s pretty, and we’re sure it sells well after Bobby Flay chops his omnipresent mango chutney next to it, but do you really need all those copper pots and $100 knives? Nope. Hooray! According to Mark Bittman, you can equip a kitchen for $200, and nicely equip one for $300. That’s less than we paid for a semester’s worth of text books in college. (Goddamn you, Art History degree.) So what did Mark buy?
A knife. $10. Instant-read thermometer, $5. Three stainless steel bowls, $5. You get the idea. The trick? Mark did his shopping at a restaurant supply store, (Bowery Restaurant Supply, 183 Bowery Street, for you New Yorkers out there.) Check out the New York Times article for his complete list. And step away from the bread machine. Shhh. It’ll be OK.—MEGHANN MARCO
A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks [NYT via Get Rich Slowly]
(Photo: Tony Cenicola/New York Times)
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kelmeister: Seconding that. A salad spinner is a money saver! However, I’ve somehow managed to cook at a fairly high level for over a decade and never use a rice-cooker.
not_seth_brundle: Amazon Calphalon is the way to go. It’s crazy cheap and truly high-quality.
The_Shadow: The only reason QVC is still in business is because not everyone has figured out about Amazon just yet.
Please don’t cook with aluminum, ever! Unlike iron, aluminum is not one of those minerals you need in your diet. Cooking tomato sauce or anything else that is acidic will dissolve trace amounts of the metal into your food.
For frying pans go with good old fashioned cast iron. Don’t pay more for the machined surface, it sticks more. Once you get it well seasoned (a thick coating of burned on cooking oil) then it is the best non-stick frying pan you can buy and makes your food taste good too! I got a nice one for like $10 at Wal Mart.