Kitchen Gadgets

@Kate Ellery I've had one of those fish turners for a few years. They are very handy. Regarding your stainless pans...if I remember to, I may ping you later on to see how they're working out for you. I've read stories of folks really struggling to learn how to cook in them. And I never fry anything without some type of grease, even in my cast iron pans.
 
I also have a few of the fish spatulas, even one in a silicone to use in non-stick. They are my favorite type of turner.

My most-used cookware is All-Clad stainless. I have owned most of it for 20+ years and it is really great cookware. Nice weight, well-balanced, and made in the USA. I have never had a problem with things sticking but the pan needs to be heated before food is added.

Also, I seldom cook eggs in stainess unless I'm frying with enough oil. Scrambled, etc. is the reason for non-stick pans IMO.
 
I’ve had the new scanpan frypans about 6 months now @John Brunner the small one is about 8.5 inches …and the other about 11 inches
think they are called impact …Stainless steel I’m not home so can’t check ….
My youngest son was a chef , and one day I asked him how do you “season” a new frypan ….he simply said ….heat about 3/4 cup of salt till it’s to hot for you to pick up a pinch between your fingers ….leave it in the pan till it cools a little and trip in sink …..repeat after frypan has cooled ( don’t tip in sink if you have a plastic sink ..it sizzles like a steak ~ ) it’s so hot when you tip it out ….buy plain cooking salt ..not iodine salt …
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I also have a few of the fish spatulas, even one in a silicone to use in non-stick. They are my favorite type of turner.

My most-used cookware is All-Clad stainless. I have owned most of it for 20+ years and it is really great cookware. Nice weight, well-balanced, and made in the USA. I have never had a problem with things sticking but the pan needs to be heated before food is added.

Also, I seldom cook eggs in stainess unless I'm frying with enough oil. Scrambled, etc. is the reason for non-stick pans IMO.
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Ditto. Everything you said. :) I have had All-Clad stainless cookware forever too. It lasts a life time.
 
The gadget I use the most is my mom's old Foley Food Fork. At least 50 years ago, the wooden handle broke and my dad replaced it with the plastic handle from an old screwdriver.

You couldn't pay me to give it up for a new one....it represents food made by the loving hands of my mom and the fact that my dad could jury-rig anything .... it might not be  pretty, but it would work.

Same thing with my fork. It ain't purty, but it gets things done.
 
I'm considering buying an upgraded Instant Pot. 🤪 There is a model that has settings for sous vide and small-batch canning, as well as the normal functions. Of course I don't need it at all, but it's about time to waste some money on a new toy. I use my old IP a lot; actually much more than I thought I would. I was hoping it would finally die but it's still going strong.

I have never tried sous vide and have to wonder how a deep pot with no "stirring" would actually work. I suppose the pot just maintains the water temperature and that's it.

Does anyone have an Instant Pot with the sous vide function?
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I'm considering buying an upgraded Instant Pot. 🤪 There is a model that has settings for sous vide and small-batch canning, as well as the normal functions. Of course I don't need it at all, but it's about time to waste some money on a new toy. I use my old IP a lot; actually much more than I thought I would. I was hoping it would finally die but it's still going strong.

I have never tried sous vide and have to wonder how a deep pot with no "stirring" would actually work. I suppose the pot just maintains the water temperature and that's it.

Does anyone have an Instant Pot with the sous vide function?
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The one thing I would look at is the maximum time you can set it for...unless it can be Always On in the s.v.setting. If you do a roast sous vide, you'll not want to cook it any other way (except you gotta start 36 hours ahead of time and you can't roast veggies with it. :rolleyes:)

I've yet to read of anyone using that function on an Instant Pot. I'm curious as to how well it would work, since it sounds easier that getting out a big stock pot and setting up the s.v. heater.
 
John Brunner said:
The one thing I would look at is the maximum time you can set it for...unless it can be Always On in the s.v.setting. If you do a roast sous vide, you'll not want to cook it any other way (except you gotta start 36 hours ahead of time and you can't roast veggies with it. :rolleyes:)

I've yet to read of anyone using that function on an Instant Pot. I'm curious as to how well it would work, since it sounds easier that getting out a big stock pot and setting up the s.v. heater.
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I watched a youtube video of a woman making 2 strip steaks using the sous vide function. She used the "minimum" sous vide time of about 2 hours I believe. Anyway, the IP pot is 6 qt and has a usable volume of about 5 qt, so it will only work for smaller things.

Here's the video, though it's 5 years old so there may be updates to the process. (Video is 13 minutes so you may want to do some fast forwarding.)

 
Beth Gallagher said:
I watched a youtube video of a woman making 2 strip steaks using the sous vide function. She used the "minimum" sous vide time of about 2 hours I believe. Anyway, the IP pot is 6 qt and has a usable volume of about 5 qt, so it will only work for smaller things.

Here's the video, though it's 5 years old so there may be updates to the process. (Video is 13 minutes so you may want to do some fast forwarding.)

Click to expand...
I went to the YouTube page and followed the link to the recipe on her website. The Insta Pot she has does sous vide as low as 120°F, which is the lowest I've seen any of my recipes recommend. 120°F is very rare beef. Chicken breast can be done as low as 140°F (they shred like pulled pork at this temp.) Veggies are 180°F-185°F. As you said, the Insta Pot has limited capacity. But I've had mine since Aug 2020 and just did my first roast in it, and I bet it could have fit in an Insta Pot. It was around 2#.

I don't use mine much. I played with it a lot when I first got it. Corn on the cob is "interesting". It almost taste raw, the flavor is so bright and the texture remains right-off-the-stalk crunchy. Asparagus gets too limp (I only like mine fresh, steamed/roasted al dente.) Sliced carrots in honey, ginger, etc are very good. Meats are perfectly done and are very good, but the flavor obviously is different than frying/broiling/grilling/etc. You can't overcook them, as long as you sear on a high enough heat that they get done quickly and don't continue to cook. I really like the texture of chicken breasts done this way for making chicken salad or using it in a casserole.

The upside is that you cannot overcook stuff and can hold finished foods for a couple of hours, except fish and shellfish, which break down rapidly. But even extended hold time is of minimal benefit to those of us who cook a lot and already have the "Everything finished at the same time" thing down without even thinking about it.

I'm curious to hear what you make with yours. I've not sought out dessert recipes.
 
I do not have a lot of gadgets per se. Air fryer and coffee maker are all that is on counters and island. Would have a hard time without are two 10 inch Santoku knives. The handles fit my hand and you can shave with them.
 
My fold-up potato masher!

Just finished using it to make a banana cake, and what a kitchen utensil it is. Still have my moms potato masher I inherited, which I use, but love being able to fold down the head of my modern potato masher for storage in the drawer.

Sturdy-Folding-Stainless-Steel-Potato-Masher-for-Versatile-Kitchen-Use-Ideal-for-Avocado-Beans-Vegetables-Fruits-Baby-Food-and-Meat_42398a45-6f3a-4b4e-a78a-96f030bdbab4.ddacfc6adef84689fa4c8e10eed07ef6.jpeg
 
John Brunner said:
I went to the YouTube page and followed the link to the recipe on her website. The Insta Pot she has does sous vide as low as 120°F, which is the lowest I've seen any of my recipes recommend. 120°F is very rare beef. Chicken breast can be done as low as 140°F (they shred like pulled pork at this temp.) Veggies are 180°F-185°F. As you said, the Insta Pot has limited capacity. But I've had mine since Aug 2020 and just did my first roast in it, and I bet it could have fit in an Insta Pot. It was around 2#.

I don't use mine much. I played with it a lot when I first got it. Corn on the cob is "interesting". It almost taste raw, the flavor is so bright and the texture remains right-off-the-stalk crunchy. Asparagus gets too limp (I only like mine fresh, steamed/roasted al dente.) Sliced carrots in honey, ginger, etc are very good. Meats are perfectly done and are very good, but the flavor obviously is different than frying/broiling/grilling/etc. You can't overcook them, as long as you sear on a high enough heat that they get done quickly and don't continue to cook. I really like the texture of chicken breasts done this way for making chicken salad or using it in a casserole.

The upside is that you cannot overcook stuff and can hold finished foods for a couple of hours, except fish and shellfish, which break down rapidly. But even extended hold time is of minimal benefit to those of us who cook a lot and already have the "Everything finished at the same time" thing down without even thinking about it.

I'm curious to hear what you make with yours. I've not sought out dessert recipes.
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Honestly I can't imagine going to the trouble of sous vide for fresh vegetables, so I would only try it with meat (if I try it at all). The newer Instant Pots (no "insta pot" pls :D) make yogurt, slow cook, steam stuff, etc. Really more of a multi purpose cooker.
 
Krystal Shay said:
How cool! I must have one! Running off to Amazon to take a look-see! :ROFLMAO:
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You're going to love it, Krystal.

A gentle squeeze of the two arms (either side of mashing head), and you can swivel the head flat. I had my reservations at first when I found mine thinking the masher wouldn't stand up to the rigors of potato mashing, etc, boy, was I ever wrong.

Equally as strong as a fixed-head masher, and with a curved mashing head it's a dream to use in mixing bowls!
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Honestly I can't imagine going to the trouble of sous vide for fresh vegetables, so I would only try it with meat (if I try it at all). The newer Instant Pots (no "insta pot" pls :D) make yogurt, slow cook, steam stuff, etc. Really more of a multi purpose cooker.
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Amazon is successful because they even take money from stupid people.
1x1f8NC.jpeg


Apparently no one else on the internet wants my business.

Corn on the cob is worth trying just once. Plus sous vide is probably the most healthy way of cooking veggies to retain the vitamins, since there's no water and low heat. I wouldn't mess with it, but...

Shrimp is another one that really needs heat to generate flavor. Sous vide requires leaving them in the shell to get some flavor, but it's wholly unsatisfying.
 
John Brunner said:
Amazon is successful because they even take money from stupid people.
1x1f8NC.jpeg


Apparently no one else on the internet wants my business.

Corn on the cob is worth trying just once. Plus sous vide is probably the most healthy way of cooking veggies to retain the vitamins, since there's no water and low heat. I wouldn't mess with it, but...

Shrimp is another one that really needs heat to generate flavor. Sous vide requires leaving them in the shell to get some flavor, but it's wholly unsatisfying.
Click to expand...

It's like "could care less" and "irregardless." So many morons say it that it became a thing. :D
 
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