Kitchen Equipage

Julia Child’s classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking opens with a discussion of pots and pans. That’s a very practical place to start; very Julia Child. Child recommends pots with a heavy copper bottom or, if that’s not available, enameled cast iron. I was fortunate to inherit a few of these saucepans from my mother. You can find them at upscale department stores or kitchen specialty shops or perhaps even an estate sale.

Tools of the Trade

There are a few tools in my kitchen that I searched for a long time and finally found, so I am passing them on to you. Note, the links are affiliated with Walmart, where I receive a small commission at no cost to you, if you choose to buy through the link.

1. Commercial Can Opener with Rotating Handle

Because my kitchen pantry has many canned items, finding the best possible can opener has been essential. I searched for years for a can opener that would really work, and, well, here it is, a commercial can opener with a rotating handle. It works consistently and dependably on all kinds of cans. Even better, anyone with arthritis or even a wrist injury can use it comfortably.

2. Adjustable Electric Salt & Pepper Grinder

There will come a point as you develop your cooking skills when you will want fine pepper in some instances, coarse pepper in another. Mostly I like coarse pepper, and I’ve gone through half a dozen pepper grinders over the years (even a Peugeot) and been unhappy with all of them. This brand has proven to grind pepper perfectly.

3. Adjustable Coffee Grinder

I seldom grind coffee in my coffee grinder. I use it for many other things, notably to grind seeds just before serving so the antioxidants stay fresh. I store hard-grain teff in the emergency pantry because processed flour doesn’t keep, and this adjustable grinder works well for flour milling.

In Search of the Perfect Knife

A good knife is hard to find. Historically a carbon-steel paring or chopping knife was preferred by chefs, which rust easily. However, the rust can easily be scrubbed off with a scouring pad. Materials engineering has come a long way where kitchen knives are concerned, but I have always found the “never sharpen this knife” claims to be false.

When I was cooking on the ranch in Montana, I always had a sharp knife because sharpening knives is a pleasant evening past-time for cowboys. I’ve never had sharp knives like that since. I have tried different knives that claim they will remain sharp for life, but they are not all that sharp, not like a true knife. If anyone can recommend a good knife, let me know through the Contact form!

Is a Microwave Safe?

When people find out I don’t own a microwave, they immediately re-evaluate owning a microwave. Or, on the other side of the spectrum, they’ll share about the YouTube videos they’ve seen where microwaved water kills house plants. I put this urban legend in the category of albino alligators living in the sewers of Chicago because a pet alligator got loose. Of course pouring boiling water on plants will kill them! What microwaves do is create free radicals. Plants neutralize free radicals. The only issue I have with microwaves is that I don’t want to expose myself to any more free radicals that I have to. And besides, my Ninja Crispi air fryer cooks things just as fast and takes up just a fraction of the counter space.