Cooking from scratch...Materials?

[Jzsnow]

With the thread about cooking from scratch being so helpful, I thought I would ask what appliances are needed or helpful? I am thinking of buying a food processor, but do I need it?

 

What kitchen helps have aided you to be able to cook from scratch?

 

Jessica

[OnTheBrink]

An excellent book is Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen.

 

I cook from scratch and I have:

 

food processor

blender

bread maker

good set of knives (chef's knife, paring knife, bread knife, utility knife)

good set of pans (two skillets, one chicken fryer, three sauce pans in various sizes, one dutch oven, one stock pot, a steamer basket, one small non-stick pan)

metal tongs

pizza stone

cookie sheet stone

two aluminum baking sheets

2 bread pans

stone fluted pan (bundt pan)

counter-top electric grill/griddle

kitchenaid stand mixer

 

If you can check Alton's book out of the library, or pick up a copy, I think you'll find it helpful. He does NOT always suggest the biggest and most expensive stuff and he's big into tools that multitask. I found his book to be a big help in my figuring out what I needed for my own kitchen. :)

[Diana in OR]

I cook mostly from scratch. My must-have appliance is my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I also use my Pampered Chef food chopper a lot. Not a must-have, but I recently got a Magic Bullet and really like it. If I didn't have it, I would suggest a blender.

 

Other helpful items are:

 

rotary egg beater

good set of knives

good set of stainless steeel pans

good quality vegetable peeler

large glass mixing bowls

counter-top electric griddle

 

 

I have a food processor and I never use it! With my little manual food chopper and Henkle knife set, I find the hassle of dragging out my fp and the clean up afterward to be more work than it's worth.

[PeterPan]

Well I cook basically everything from scratch, so to me it depends on what you're cooking. Over the years I've asked for a single, really nice knife for Christmas, say a Wustoff, and that's a TERRIFIC investment. I love my Wustoff Santoku, and I like my others (chef, paring, etc.). Boos makes the best cutting boards, and I keep 3. The largest is for supper salads, medium for lunch veges, and small for things like guacamole. And immersion blender doesn't have to be expensive but is invaluable if you like to make split pea soup, refried beans, salad dressings, deviled eggs, etc. Yes, a good food processor is helpful, but start with the knives.

 

Marc Bittman's How to Cook Everything is a terrific cookbook.

[Jane]

What kitchen helps have aided you to be able to cook from scratch?

 

I love my food processor. When our family was smaller, I used a very small one and could chop up an onion w/garlic in seconds. It fit into the dishwasher nicely. I stored it in a drawer easily with my pyrex measuring cups. Now that my family is slightly larger, I own a medium size food processor and need to make it more convenient to use because I often still grab that little one and just chop up one onion at a time. (I double, triple, and sometimes even quadruple recipes for freezing purposes at this point.)

 

As for other items, I'll have to go read the previous thread and think about it. I rarely have convenience foods (so costly and not as nutritious), but the tools I use (mini food processor, garlic crusher, lemon zester, etc.) are second nature to me. I guess there are a few I know I prefer to do without like that special tool for juicing a lemon (I use lemons a lot) and egg separaters, but that's my style. I prefer as few items as possible.

 

HTH.

[Jane]

With the thread about cooking from scratch being so helpful,

 

Jessica, I couldn't find this thread. Could you please link me or tell me the title so I can do a search? I love good healthy eating threads. Thanks. :)

[PariSarah]

What I use most often:

 

3 really good knives--a chef's knife for chopping, a serrated knife for bread and tomatoes, and a little paring knife.

A couple cutting boards.

An immersion blender (soups, pesto, certain eggy batters, some dips and dressings)

Salad spinner, for washing salads and herbs.

Several liquid measuring cups, in a range of sizes (1c, 2c, 4c)

You also might find you're using your utensils a lot more (whisk, measuring spoons, spatulas, etc), so that it's helpful to have more than one.

 

I never found a stand mixer very useful, but I know a lot of people love theirs. I did get a Bosch, because I make a LOT of bread, and most of it's whole wheat. I don't use if for anything else, though.

[Jzsnow]

here is the link to the made from scratch thread.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61497

 

I hope that works!!

[Spy Car]

What kitchen helps have aided you to be able to cook from scratch?

 

Jessica

 

Are you going to be a "cook" or a "baker", or both?

 

Because the "needs" are different depending on the answer.

[Jzsnow]

Both!! I love to bake...of course...i buy the premade crap that you just stick in the oven! LOL!! but, i'm trying!

[gardening momma]

I won't list everything I have & use, since a lot of that has been listed already, and you'd probably have a lot of it (pots & pans, etc..) even if you don't cook from scratch. A couple of items I like because of their usefulness and small size (easy to store, don't take up much space on the countertop) are the Pampered Chef food chopper and a baby food processor (made by DEX Products, originally bought to make baby food, but it's just a mini food processor).

[dhudson]

I love my Bosch with all the additions (food processor, mixer, blender).

 

Good pots and pans - good ones, not inexpensive ones. I learned this lesson the hard way until I had parents who gave me good ones for Christmas ( who knew that I would burn less stuff in good ones) and they didn't like that the material mine were made of and were worried I would poison the grandkids.

 

Good measuring tools - and mixing bowls that have a pouring lip - my favorite are either from Williams and Sonoma or Crate and Barrel.

 

Apple peeler -corer - also a present fro Cmas which I use all the time!

[CalicoKat]

An immersion blender doesn't have to be expensive but is invaluable if you like to make split pea soup, refried beans, salad dressings, deviled eggs, etc. Yes, a good food processor is helpful, but start with the knives.

 

Marc Bittman's How to Cook Everything is a terrific cookbook.

 

:iagree: don't get a cheap one though, they die quickly. This will save you from an exploding the blender with hot soup in the kitchen.

 

I also have a kitchen scale. I use it to measure out bread dough so the loaves are equal.

[LibraryLover]

What's a good immersion blender brand? I've had two in the past, and they were very frustrating. But there are lots of times I want one.

[melissel]

I cook from scratch a lot, but I really don't have toooo many gadgets I use. I mostly chop everything by hand (occasionally by Pampered Chef food chopper, but my dishwasher doesn't really get that thing clean, so it's a pain too)--it's more of a pain for me to deal with cleaning and storing a food processor. I lovelovelove my breadmaker, occasionally use my crockpot, chop almost everything on a dish (rather than a cutting board), and pretty basic knives from Macy's. Probably the best things I have are my good pots and pans, and they're really just a stainless steel from Macy's. But the handles don't get hot, they clean up beautifully, the bottoms are good and heavy, and there are enough of them for me to be cooking a bunch of things at once. I had to add an extra 2 qt saucepan and an extra...6 qt, maybe, or 8 qt?...BIG stockpot, and I use my huge frying pan (it has a special name, I don't recall what though) all the time. I'd a also recommend a good roasting pan and rack, and a good cast iron pan for eggs or whatever. Get one that can also go in the oven--that's a useful thing too.

 

Also make sure you have a few good-quality wooden or metal spoons and a flippers or two. If you like homemade pizza, you might consider a baking stone for it. You can use nonstick trays, but making pizza in it ruined mine. Also some good bakeware (Pampered Chef makes that baking stoneware that I'm dying to get my hands on but can't afford yet) and a couple of good Pyrex dishes (9x13, an oval casserole dish). Oh, and a couple of good mixing bowls--small, medium, and nice and big!!!

 

Definitely start with your local garage sales and thrift stores for a lot of this stuff, but IMO, quality in these items is money well spent. My pots and pans are going on 10 years old and look like I bought them yesterday. My good ceramic mixing bowls just gave out (one was very old, and was cracking and crazing all over, and the other must have taken a hit in the cabinet and broke), so I'll be looking for some new ones myself.

 

Enjoy stocking up! I love to cook :D

[Laura Corin]

Things I use regularly:

 

A couple of good knives

A vegetable peeler

A few cutting boards, so you can throw them in the dishwasher (especially important when cutting meat)

A few wooden spoons

A spatula for getting under things

A potato masher

About four heavy-bottomed pans and a frying pan

A slow cooker (not essential, but very useful for busy people).

A couple of casseroles to put in the oven, including one big enough to hold a whole chicken

A couple of roasting trays

Measuring cups

 

I do own a food processor now, but don't use it that much - it wouldn't be near the top of my list. Oh, I don't bake.

 

Laura

[Audrey]

With the thread about cooking from scratch being so helpful, I thought I would ask what appliances are needed or helpful? I am thinking of buying a food processor, but do I need it?

 

What kitchen helps have aided you to be able to cook from scratch?

 

Jessica

 

I pretty much ONLY cook from scratch. I'm a kitchen minimalist. I think all you need are:

 

a good set of knives that YOU like (seriously -- hold them and feel it they fit your hands)

 

a good set of stainless cookware (no non-stick pans, they're all junk, IMO, as the coating gets scratched so easily) I prefer pans I can whisk in and beat around in.

 

a good set of bakeware -- basics would be round and square cake pans, a 9x13 pan, a roaster pan sized for your usual family needs, a couple of cookie sheets. Now, I like the pyrex for everything but the cookie sheets and roaster, but get what you like.

 

an accurate oven, or, failing that, an oven thermometer so at least you know what the temperature REALLY is.

 

a microwave -- although I almost never use it cook a meal, I do use it to reheat things and to defrost things. Just makes life a little quicker.

 

a slow cooker

 

a good food processor

 

a good stand mixer with a dough hook

 

a hand blender (I have a cheap one and it works great). Great for blending soups and sauces right in the pot.

 

If you like making your own pasta, a pasta roller is very handy. I don't like the extruding pasta makers, though. The texture is icky, IMO. You can use your food processor to make the dough, by the way.

 

Things I think are a waste of time:

Rice cookers. Bought one. Used it once. I make better rice on the stovetop in the same amount of time.

 

Bread machines. Bought one. Used it a few times. Possibly could be handy for mixing the dough, but I have a dough mixer for that. The baking results are cr*p. The oven is much better, plus it can be any shape you want.

[Parrothead]

...and they didn't like that the material mine were made of and were worried I would poison the grandkids.

 

 

Can you get your parents to talk to my parents?

 

The things I use most often are my Pampered Chef chopper, my knives, measuring cups (wet and dry) and measuring spoons, my cast iron skillets and my food processor. It did take me a while to get used to using the processor regularly. Now that I'm using it I think it is great.

[gardening momma]

I have really come to appreciate my assortment of transparent glass bowls (mostly Pyrex and Anchor Hocking) that I use for mixing, baking and serving. I love that they can be used in the oven and then go straight to the table, and look great as serving dishes. I never really paid much attention to serving dishes until I got married and noticed my MIL cooks great meals, but serves in Rubbermaid!

 

I also have one set of metal mixing bowls.

[tibbyl]

I pretty much ONLY cook from scratch. I'm a kitchen minimalist. I think all you need are:

 

a good set of knives that YOU like (seriously -- hold them and feel it they fit your hands)

 

a good set of stainless cookware (no non-stick pans, they're all junk, IMO, as the coating gets scratched so easily) I prefer pans I can whisk in and beat around in.

 

a good set of bakeware -- basics would be round and square cake pans, a 9x13 pan, a roaster pan sized for your usual family needs, a couple of cookie sheets. Now, I like the pyrex for everything but the cookie sheets and roaster, but get what you like.

 

an accurate oven, or, failing that, an oven thermometer so at least you know what the temperature REALLY is.

 

a microwave -- although I almost never use it cook a meal, I do use it to reheat things and to defrost things. Just makes life a little quicker.

 

a slow cooker

 

a good food processor

 

a good stand mixer with a dough hook

 

a hand blender (I have a cheap one and it works great). Great for blending soups and sauces right in the pot.

 

Audrey, what brands stainless cookware do you recommend?

 

I second what Audrey said about knives. For decades I labored away with cheap knives until my family bought me some quite nice ones. They have made such a world of difference that when I am outfitting my young adult children's kitchens, I will splurge on well made knives.

[iquilt]

I would say the most important tools in my kitchen are my kitchenaid stand mixer (I make all of my dough with it as well is baked goodies) and a really good knife for chopping. I do have a food processor but it really only gets used occasionally compared to everything else. I cook from scratch a lot and have found the best is to have several sets of measuring utensils as well as other utensils so that you don't have to wash so much in between batches. HTH

[Amy loves Bud]

Yes, a good food processor is helpful, but start with the knives.

 

 

 

I agree with this! Good knives will make the difference between enjoying your time in the kitchen and loathing it. The food processor is more of a hassle for me than a help for all but the biggest jobs.

 

I do like my Kitchenaid stand mixer very much, but lived without it for a very long time and did just fine.

 

Some little things that help a lot

 

- cookware that you love. Buy one piece at a time if you have to. I've used Calphalon for the last 15 years, and it was good, but I'm switching over to Le Creuset one piece at a time as the outlet near us has sales.

 

- prep bowls

 

- a variety of sizes of measuring cups

 

- several cutting boards in a variety of sizes

 

- plenty of mixing bowls in a variety of sizes - I am the reformed queen of trying to cram too much into a smaller bowl :001_smile:

 

- a good stainless colander or two with feet

 

- a wine glass you love to sip from while you cook ;)

[melissel]

- a good stainless colander or two with feet

 

Oh, this is SO true. Great point.

 

Can I just say, I don't really get the knife thing? I mean, mine are just basic Macy's Tools of the Trade knives. When my chopping knives gets dull, I sharpen them with the thingie and move along. Am I missing something? Do good knives chop FOR you or something? Because, yeah, that would be worth the extra cash :lol:

[Amy loves Bud]

Oh, this is SO true. Great point.

 

Can I just say, I don't really get the knife thing? I mean, mine are just basic Macy's Tools of the Trade knives. When my chopping knives gets dull, I sharpen them with the thingie and move along. Am I missing something? Do good knives chop FOR you or something? Because, yeah, that would be worth the extra cash :lol:

 

It's that the balance and the way the knife sits in your hand takes the stress off and makes it easier to chop. You don't need a lot of knives, either. Start with a chef's knife - the largest you can comfortably hold.

[Chika]

Has anyone said a grain mill yet?? That's one of my must-haves! We love using fresh ground flour in our recipes. And I don't just grind wheat, but rice, millet, quinoa, beans, popcorn and more ...

 

And I'm "there" on the knife thing-- maybe I need to try really, really "good" knives, but my fave right now is the $2.50 one I got from Ikea.

[tibbyl]

It's that the balance and the way the knife sits in your hand takes the stress off and makes it easier to chop. You don't need a lot of knives, either. Start with a chef's knife - the largest you can comfortably hold.

 

Actually if I were starting over again, I would not purchase an entire set of quality knives. Out of the super pricy set, I truly only use two of them most of the time. I'd go to a chef supply store to test which knife felt best in my hand.

[tibbyl]

Oh, this is SO true. Great point.

 

Can I just say, I don't really get the knife thing? I mean, mine are just basic Macy's Tools of the Trade knives. When my chopping knives gets dull, I sharpen them with the thingie and move along. Am I missing something? Do good knives chop FOR you or something? Because, yeah, that would be worth the extra cash :lol:

 

You sound like me, Melissa, before my conversion:tongue_smilie:. I boasted that I had never had any problem cutting anything with my set of cheap steak knives that were a company retreat door prize. When I say cheap, I mean these suckers would bend if you glared at them.

[PeterPan]

On the immersion blender, my first was a Braun, and it worked just fine, still does. I wanted one that was stainless so I'd could put it in hot pots and cordless, so dh got me the one from Williams Sonoma. BTW, finding quality isn't hard, just get a WS catalog and order. There are other cool places too, but if you don't want to research and want to know it's good, just get what WS sells. Oh, as far as the immersion blender from WS, it's great having it be cordless. Turns out it has some stupid safety feature where you have to depress two buttons at once to make it work, totally obnoxious. It does a really nice job, but I'd keep looking. Alton Brown uses one on his cooking show that is stainless all the way, so there must be more brands. Is his a Cuisinart? But like I said, even my inexpensive Braun was perfectly fine, just not good in hot pots.

 

On the knives, yes the weight and how they feel in your hand makes a HUGE difference. It's very personal, so you want to try them out. For instance Wustoff has 3 levels of knives, each with a different price point and feel. You really want to try knives to find the one that fits your hand best and then collect that brand. A Santoku is awesome with veges. I own lots of paring knives, but you can go with lots of brands for them. I have inexpensive ones, expensive ones, and frankly I like them all. There's a cheap $5 one (victrionix?) that Cooks Illustrated recommends and it's nice, but I like having super nice, super pointy ones too.

 

Ditto on the Le Cruset.

[cillakat]

~cuisinart - at least 14c. watch the video. start using it right away and you'll never stop. cleaning by hand takes all of 30 seconds. they key is keeping it easily accessable. front row access. no digging:)

 

~stand mixer. kichen aid professional (the drop down, not the tilt bowl preferred)

 

~blender - top quality, sharpest blades, glass jar preferred

 

~immersion blender. bamix is the best, otherwise, something with a stainless (not plastic) stick and blade housing.

 

~bread maker - even if you bake it in the oven, it's unbeatable for the mixing/kneading

 

~silicone spatulas....the standard size spoon/scraper on, a large large flat one and a tiny skinny one

 

~couple of wooden spoons, wisk, narrow metal spatula perfect for cookies

 

~crock pot

 

~potato *ricer* (not masher) if you like real mashed potatoes

 

~salad spinner (love zyliss)

 

~one liquid measuring cup 4c by good grips

 

~three good sized mixing bowls....one small enough but not too small.

 

~9X13 baking - ceramic, stainless or glass (no aluminum

~9x9 baking, 8x8 baking

~8x8 rounds, 2 (springform is ideal)

~9" round (springform ideal....i wouldn't know but that's what i hear:)

 

~high quality griddle (stovetop or electric, freestanding) if you're a pancake person.

 

 

~two very large cutting boards, plastic is my preference for washing, spraying with h2o2/vinegar combo for disinfecting. one for meat, one for everything else. I also have a tiny one on hand that I keep by the sink (lemons, sandwichesand that sort of thing)

 

~Wusthof, Henckle or other good knives that can be sharpened. (don't buy a whole set) the 'eversharp' type really aren't, they tear rather than cut and are subpar to excellent, high quality knives that sharpen. Professiona sharpening 1-2x a year is amazing. (6" chef's, 8" chefs's, paring knife, bread knife, utility knife, tomato knife)

Victorinox has the *best* little paring knifes, serrated or strait with plastic handles. sharper than anything else. be careful.

 

~good collection stainless steel tri-ply pans plus a stock pot that is non triply yet still stainless with a 'clad' bottom ....don't buy sets, generally get wierd sizes, too many things and not the things you want/need. the following sizes are key.

 

tri-ply10" fry, 12" fry (fry has sloped sides), largest saute you can get (straight sides), lid to fit it - i think that's the size, it's big and I wouldn't want it any smaller, 2 qt sauce, 4.5 qt sauce, dutch oven the last three with lids. the fry pans don't need lids, everything else does.

 

one stock pot -stainless steel with clad bottom a steamer basket. pasta insert for stockpot if you do a lot of pasta in sufficient quantities to necessitate the use of such a large pot.

 

~I avoid nonstick at all costs (google teflon endocrine disruptor) so i use enough oil to keep things from sticking, use proper temps, wash right away and keep a small square plastic pan scraper on hand. they work beautifully. then i fold my microfiber cloth over the edge of it and use that to get the last bits. it's really quite simple and suprisingly fast.

 

~the best peeler you can get. I'm still looking.

 

:)

 

Katherine

[Spy Car]

~the best peeler you can get. I'm still looking.

 

:)

 

Katherine

 

I recommend the OXO Good Grips peeler.

 

Bill

[LibraryLover]

Oh, my. That Bamix is awesome. My finger is twitching maddly to double click the "Add to cart" link. Must. Go. To. Bed.

 

Stainless-- my All -Clad changed my life.

 

:001_smile: Seriosuly. Really. I use my large All-Clad skillet daily, and multiple times daily. It's a deep one, so it pretty much does it all.

[keptwoman]

I cook from scratch always.

 

My absolute essentials:

Good knives

Good pots and pans

A variety of chopping boards, I like them wooden but it's personal choice, cheap plastic will do to start with as long as it will survive the dishwasher.

A good quality wok

Lots of various sized mixing bowls in toughened glass or ceramic.. you can microwave them, put them in the oven, cover them with foil and use them as a casserole dish, the uses are endless.

A lasagne dish.

A blender, stick is fine for most things.

Lots of wooden spoons

Tongs, whisk, potato masher, measuring cups and spoons

 

Nice to have but not as important as the above

Stand mixer

Food processor

Bread maker (you can hand make it and put it in the oven)

Pasta maker, the rolling kind (actually I often don't bother getting it out and just do it by hand and with a knife)

Grill (we have the George Foreman but any will do)

[keptwoman]

Actually I've been pondering this more overnight.

I think good knives and good pots are nice to haves. I mean you do need them but you can get started with crappy pots and crappy knives. It's just that the good ones would be first on the purchase list after the basic bowls and utensils needed.