Favorite Kitchen Item?

[Radar53]

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Hi Taz. I've never managed to post photos to CKTGF in ten or eleven years on the forum. I think that Mr Xerox has written some destructions about it recently, so I'll read those & try again[/quote]If you still have difficulties, DM or email me and I'll try to address them. Alternately you could send me the photos and I'll post them for you.
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Mr Xerox ~ thanks for the generous offer

[TheLegalRazor]

Two Hasegawa soft cutting boards, one for meats and the other one for fruits and vegetables. My cherry cutting board by The Boardsmith is beautiful, but the Hasegawa get used two or three times a day, every day.

[taz575]

Go to full editor & preview, attachment tab under the text block and add files under 4mb, then insert inline.

[ex1580]

Go to full editor & preview, attachment tab under the text block and add files under 4mb, then insert inline.

In addition, if the file is too big then Image Compressor can help: https://imagecompressor.com/

[salemj]

Umm...my knives? haha.

[mauichef]

Digital scales and Thermapen.
I'm lost without them!

[salemj]

Digital scales and Thermapen.
I'm lost without them!

I did think of my thermapen, too. When I go somewhere else to stay or cook, the first four things I consider taking with me in order of priority are: 1) some of my knives, 2) my thermapen, 3) my digital scale, and 4) my microplane. After that, it becomes a lot more random and related to other food.

[taz575]

I always have the meat thermometer. It's a cheap version, but works so my wife doesn't complain the food is raw.

She likes her proteins cooked well done and dry, not "leaking" or "wet" So I cook them to the 165 and pull them out and let rest (wiping down the plate to remove the moisture that comes out as they rest) instead of letting them go super long so they are like leather. She doesn't like "leaking" proteins, but if I tell her they were 165 on the thermometer, she will eat them and sometimes still complain they aren't don't enough! I don't do salmon much anymore because she wants it cooked fully through so it's dry. If I want dry fish, I'll eat canned tuna! Any moisture left in meat to her is "uncooked".

I rarely use the scale I have except to weigh portions for weight loss purposes. I'm getting fat again, so I gotta go back to measuring and tracking carbs/calories

[XexoX]

Got any pics of the Kauri cutting board?? I did a few wa handles using Kauri and its a plain, but beautiful wood! Has a nice iridescent shimmer to it!

Hi Taz. I've never managed to post photos to CKTGF in ten or eleven years on the forum. I think that Mr Xerox has written some destructions about it recently, so I'll read those & try again

And here is the picture from Mr. Radar.

Kauri wood cutting board and some other "toys".

IMG_1255.jpeg (25.38 KiB) Viewed 245 times

[salemj]

I always have the meat thermometer. It's a cheap version, but works so my wife doesn't complain the food is raw.

She likes her proteins cooked well done and dry, not "leaking" or "wet" So I cook them to the 165 and pull them out and let rest (wiping down the plate to remove the moisture that comes out as they rest) instead of letting them go super long so they are like leather. She doesn't like "leaking" proteins, but if I tell her they were 165 on the thermometer, she will eat them and sometimes still complain they aren't don't enough! I don't do salmon much anymore because she wants it cooked fully through so it's dry. If I want dry fish, I'll eat canned tuna! Any moisture left in meat to her is "uncooked".

I rarely use the scale I have except to weigh portions for weight loss purposes. I'm getting fat again, so I gotta go back to measuring and tracking carbs/calories

I definitely use my scale for portioning. Often daily for alcohol and coffee beans (I can't drink coffee any more, but my partner can!). My favourite way to make drinks is using the scale, as I just use a gram standard (most drinkable liquids are close to 1gm = 1ml) and then all ratios are flexible for any portion size. Same is true with coffee once you convert (60 grams of coffee per liter, which easily converts down, although I tend to use a 15 grams per 400ml standard for slow-drip). But I also use it to help portion rice noodles, pasta, etc., so that I'm not tempted to eye it based on "hunger" in the moment. In the end, it keeps me from overeating and I'm rarely hungry after the meal itself. (I make leftovers of the basis for many dishes, but do not make leftovers for these components, which I find is a good way of making food efficiently without being tempted to overeat because there is a lot in front of me.)

I guess my point is that, when you use the scale for some things, it is easy to use it for lots of things, and portion control feels a little less obsessive-compulsive and a little more routine. I hope this works for you, too, once you get in the groove so that life doesn't feel like a "diet." (Despite a healthy diet, my genes set me up for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, so I am also basically on a forever diet of food selection despite never being overweight...I sympathize!!)

[taz575]

I do the Keto diet, so I can have TONS of many veggies, but need to watch the calories and carbs I take in to stay in Ketosis. With Keto, I am not always hungry, but it's more of keeping myself in check to be in calorie deficit until I get into the maintain weight mode! The wife and kid eat the same food, but aren't watcing the carbs/calories, so it's easier for me to portion and track after I cook everything instead of doing a single portion for me and then what they want.

Plus the weighing and tracking in an app helps me see the progress and what works and what doesn't work! When I get in maintenance mode, I just eyeball the portions, but I enjoy food and like to eat and overeat due to that. Once I get into full Keto, I burn body fat for energy and I got plenty of that not to feel hungry! LOL.

[XexoX]

What scales are people using here? Mine (Taylor I think) don't seem to want to accurately weigh the small additions, like 10 grams of salt, yeast, whatever. So annoying. I'd buy a new one, but the ones people have recommended to me are discontinued. Sigh. Woo is me. Do I want some cheese to go with that whine?

[ex1580]

Hi Taz. I've never managed to post photos to CKTGF in ten or eleven years on the forum. I think that Mr Xerox has written some destructions about it recently, so I'll read those & try again

And here is the picture from Mr. Radar.
IMG_1255.jpeg

I like the look of those "toys"!

[aporigine]

What scales are people using here? Mine (Taylor I think) don't seem to want to accurately weigh the small additions, like 10 grams of salt, yeast, whatever. So annoying. I'd buy a new one, but the ones people have recommended to me are discontinued. Sigh. Woo is me. Do I want some cheese to go with that whine?

I bought some cheapie off the Zon like fifteen years ago. It drifts for a minute while warming up, and anything below 0.4 grams tends to get auto-tared out. If I allow for those quirks, it weighs up to 1kg with 0.1 gram resolution.

The affordable ones are gonna be Chinese. Get one that does not have a ton of one-star reviews, and don’t hesitate to return or exchange it if it isn’t operating to spec. Bonus points for buying one with the weirdest brand name.

Factette du jour: using “scale” to describe a weighing instrument is incorrect despite near-universal acceptance. Such an instrument is a balance.
Fish, musicians and cartographers have scales. Cooks&chemists have balances.

[taz575]

Those boards and knives are sweet!! Love that golden hue the boards have! Never got to see the handles after they oxidized a bit.

[Radar53]

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I like the look of those "toys"!
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Just for interest's sake, toys top to bottom are;
1) Kurosaki Hammered Gyuto 240mm R2 https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kur2hadagy24.html
2) Harukaze AS Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/haas24wagy.html
3) Kikuichi Swedish Warikomi Damascus Gyuto 240 AEBL https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kiswwadagy24.html
4) Shiro Kamo Damascus Gyuto 210mm SG2 https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shkar2gy21.html

Also, "Thanks" to Mr Xerox for posting the pic on my behalf

[mauichef]

What scales are people using here? Mine (Taylor I think) don't seem to want to accurately weigh the small additions, like 10 grams of salt, yeast, whatever. So annoying. I'd buy a new one, but the ones people have recommended to me are discontinued. Sigh. Woo is me. Do I want some cheese to go with that whine?

I have a few but my daily go to is an OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display. Very accurate down to 1g.
I appreciate the pull out display when I'm using larger bowls or pots.

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainl ... tchen?th=1

[Radar53]

Those boards and knives are sweet!! Love that golden hue the boards have! Never got to see the handles after they oxidized a bit.

Thanks taz. I like the colouring too & I think that the 100% pure Tung oil, applied properly has helped with the appearance and durability.

[Kekoa]

This might sound funny, but if we are not talking about necessities in the kitchen, then one of my favorite things is a standing broom and dust pan! Things are always falling on the floor, their are six kids at my house, and I hate bending over constantly to pick stuff up, or pulling out a big corded vacuum, when I could just sweep it up real quick with a light and easy dust pan and broom. I need to get another one because I lost my old one.

That, and I really do like my XOX peeler. I usually don't like specialized bladed tools, but I can't imagine not having a peeler. It gets used constantly.

[mauichef]

Yes...I'd forgot a peeler.
Definitely up there with a scale and Thermapen for me.
I'm a Kuhn Rikon Classic Swiss Peeler kinda guy