Kitchen Tips

Some useful gadgets and policies in no particular order.

• e-Cloths are an essential item and can be used for everything from kitchen counter to car cleaning (preferably not the same one). However, I’ve found that if you use them to clean up flour then no matter how much you rinse them, after a few days they start to smell. I tried home autoclaving them in a pressure cooker and then washing in the washing machine but seemingly this didn’t help. Aside from avoiding flour, the best way to clean them it turns out is to put them in the dishwasher - no more smells.
• Thermometers around the kitchen. Any Heston Blumenthal (HB at Home is worth reading) fan will know the importance of this. Measuring the internal temperature of foods can help tell when they are done (so you don’t ruin them) or when they are safe to eat (so you don’t give yourself or anyone else a dodgy gut).
  • I also use my ETI Oven Thermometer to monitor the progress of my bread to avoid having to guess the required time or keep taking it out and tapping the bottom.
  • Infrared Thermometers are very useful for measuring the exterior temperature of non-shiny things that you don’t want to get too close to - or you don’t want to ruin by poking with a probe. I use mine to check griddle pans are 200-230C before making Chapatis and flat breads. I originally bought it to measure cold spots in radiators and find the source of cold drafts / damp around the house. My fluke was a bit expensive but this IR thermometer would probably work just as well.
  • The ETI SuperFast Thermapen is a great gadget but it is rather expensive unless you find it on special offer. However, there is a reason it is so much more expensive that other similar items - so don’t be fooled into cheaper look-a-likes. The key feature is its speed - around 3 seconds to go from one extreme to another. This may not seem like much but when you’ve got the oven door open, super heated steam is burning your face and you are trying to check something isn’t incinerated - seconds count. Don’t take my word for it though - check this review too Cooking For Engineers Thermometers.
• ZipLoc Gallon Slider Bags are super useful and are so durable that you can just wash them out and use again. I use them for freezing bread, which has been cut ready for sandwiches. Unfortunately they are very difficult / expensive to get hold of in the UK. The benefit over cheap versions is that not only can they be reused but also the zip is so easy to slide open and closed that you actually do it - unlike the fiddly press together versions.
• Kitchen knives are worth getting right. They don’t have to be expensive (see catering supply shops) but I do like my selection of Shun and Global knives, I also have a great Chinese Cleaver that I bought for 10 pounds at a Chinese supermarket. My 7-inch Shun Santoku is the most used of the bunch. It’s worth reading up on sharpening and honing.
• Catering Supply Shops - I was first introduced to these in Los Angeles with the marvellous world of Surfas, since coming back to the UK Stephensons has filled the gap. Unlike consumer-targeted kitchen shops, these focus on substance over style. Ridiculous kitchen gadgets are not to be seen, instead there are sturdy pans, giant casseroles, proper good-value knives, and the occasional novelty item - e.g. Mini Oak Picnic Bench.
• Asian Supermarkets - Wing Yip (Manchester) and places like it - worth the trip just to see the selection of unusual items.
• Lock ‘n’ Lock - these air-tight storage boxes are considerably better than the Tupperware boxes of old. Use for lunch, cake, flour, sugars, left overs, etc.
• Sistema Soup Mug - great for bringing soup to work. Handy steam vent for microwaving with the lid on to prevent microwave filthification from spluttering.
• Just in Time (JIT) stock control - thanks to online shopping it is now easier to order things just ahead of when you need them. Buying in bulk is ok for some things, especially when they are on offer (e.g. dishwasher tablets), but for most store cupboard items you are normally better off buying a slightly smaller size or not buying until you need them. Nuts are a good example - they go off surprisingly quickly. Likewise coffee beans are better when fresh see 15s rule.
• Rubber band stock control - even if you use JIT you will end up needing to store new stock. If you tie small packets together with rubber bands then it tends to reduce accidental repeat ordering.
• Pizza Peel - essential for getting pizzas out of the very hot ovens need to cook pizza properly. There are two types - wooden ones for making the pizza on an putting into the oven and metal ones for getting it out and turning it around.
• Good Grips Y Peeler - my vintage 2001 version is still going strong
• Peeling root ginger with a spoon - this is a tip I picked up from The Test Kitchen
• Magimix 5200 - A food processor is a tool that you probably don’t need very often but for some jobs there really isn’t a substitute. Using it for chopping (rather than learning proper knife technique is probably lazy) but it would be difficult to make a curry or chilli paste without one. Sponge cakes and tray bakes are also super easy with the all-in-one method.
• KitchenAid Artisan Mixer - this is a real luxury item (we won ours in a prize draw!). I only really use mine for getting very wet bread doughs started and for the occasional carrot cake. However, the attachments make it worth considering.
  • Pasta attachment - this seems like overkill versus the hand-cranked versions that were very trendy for wedding presents. However, the job is a tricky one requiring years of skill to do with one hand whilst the other cranks. This gadget allows you to use two hands and makes the whole process trivial and very quick.
  • Meat grinder - bought this during horsegate to make my own mince from beef shoulder (best for burgers). It requires a knack to work properly and hence there are some negative reviews out there. You need to Goldilocks (not too much, not too little) tightening on the blade assembly and you need to feed in long thin strips (longer than 50mm is better) of meat to allow the worm gear to pull it through.
• Mini Spice grinder - whilst pestle and mortars are coveted items that look great in the kitchen (bigger is better), the are actually not that effective in practise for a lot of jobs. Trying to grind coriander and cumin seeds (better freshly ground and needed for many recipes) is time consuming and frustrating as you end up with lots of large shell fragments. By contrast, a quick whizz in a mini grinder takes no time.
• Ice Cream Maker - another luxury items that may put you off ice cream for life. My research suggested that cheap ones that require freezing are very hit and miss and you needed to get one with a built in cooler. I went for the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker when I realised that Carte D’Or vanilla ice cream was so full of stabilisers that it didn’t actually melt over night. I spent many months making delicious ice creams but then started to baulk at the ingredients - and in particular the 500ml of double cream. Have experimented with frozen yogurt (best without any vanilla) but this doesn’t freeze well.
• Sandwich toaster - you can’t beat a cheese and ham toasted sandwich. The KitchenAid is good on paper, not the end of the rainbow. Go old school with a Breville.
• Kuhn Rikon Garlic Press - good as a gift - very easy to clean and you don’t need to peel the garlic before crushing - but you still will.
• Gas hobs, electric oven - I’ve not tried any of the new fangled induction hobs but I doubt you can beat the gas hob for quick response and adjustment. Fancy modern ranges have ‘wok rings’ but even these are feeble imitations of commercial wok burners (circa 3kW versus 8kW!).
• Seasoned Black Steel Wok - these are a bargain at only about 10 pounds from a good Asian supermarket. I would avoid anything with Teflon (PTFE) - for a start it starts getting dodgy around 260C - easily in range of wok temperatures - never mind the whole PFOA scare stores. Seasoning is pretty straightforward - but is critical to get right.
• Silicone Spatulas - Le Creuset make good ones but the key is that they can cope with high temperatures. Previously only used for scraping out bowls, they are now used for anything from scrambled eggs to stir frying in the wok.
• Le Creuset Casserole Dish - on old favourite - why change a winning formula. Don’t bother with a small one - make extra and use later in the week.
• All Clad pans or good quality 3 or 5-ply 18/10 pans - expensive but worth every penny. Tall sides are more helpful than you would assume. The 4 Quart Sauce pan with loop handle is used daily.
• Digital kitchen scales - essential tool - especially for baking and bread making. 1g increments are best and capacity of at least 5kg prevents going overweight when you add to bowl. Tare functionality and quick readings also key, as is long battery life, wipeable and portability. I’ve not yet found one that has all these features but still looking.
• Ceramic coated cast aluminium saute and frying pans - Aga branded, made by Berndes. These are the first genuinely non-stick pans I’ve used. They are unbelievably good. Washing is a breeze and they are rated to very high temperatures (c.f. PTFE). Get the white ones - all of a sudden you can see what you are cooking.
• Kitchen cupboard personalisation - There is little more frustrating in the kitchen than badly designed storage that keeps getting in your way. We stacked foil, film, bag and bin rolls into a cupboard and they were always getting tangled. The simple addition of a partition to give a second shelf removes this annoyance.
• Large plastic mixing bowls - sets of stainless steel mixing bowls are very trendy and may look great but for some things they are just not that practical. Plastic versions are strangely more satisfying and are not unwieldy even when very large (30cm / 12 inches).
• Microplane graters (course, fine, shavings) - best graters around. Daily use for Parmesan grating, lemon zesting, chocolate shavings - different ones for different uses. Go straight for the fully stainless steel ones. The even make versions for woodworking they are that sharp.
• Lemon & Lime squeezer - sliced bread has nothing on these - ignore cheffy types that use their fingers (and get covered in juice) - these get the job done fast, efficiently and don’t mess about.
• Flip top drizzlers - e.g. olive oil / vinegar - great time saving tool - avoids wrestling with lids with dirty hands - flip top gives comfort that things are not getting in when left.
• Dishwasher pre-rinsing - avoids smells and clogging up the filter. Feels like ‘cleaning for the cleaner’ but avoiding the smell makes it worth while - spilling milk directly into the machine and leaving it there for a few days isn’t that appetising if you think about it.
• Bottom watering herb tray - available from Ocado - watering pot basil from the bottom seems to keep them going much longer.
• Spontex non-scratch scourers - cheap alternatives are just aggravating - buy in bulk instead.
• Vileda Fresh Dish brush - washing up made easy.
• Silicon Baking Mat
• Tongs - these have escaped the BBQ and entered the kitchen. Silicone Locking Tongs are particularly useful.
• Leaf Tea infusers - twisting ball versions are probably better than the strainer style - less faff to clean.
• Waffle iron - still not got to grips with this
• Waring Blender - useful for smoothies - but requires good weather
• Tagine - we have an Emile Henry Flame Tagine - still not sure quite what the tagine achieves over a normal casserole dish but we use it surprisingly frequently - looks good on the table if nothing else.
• End grain wooden chopping board - supposedly better for knives
• BioSnacky - makes sprouts from seeds. mmm. sprouts.