FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Most outlandish/useless/expensive kitchen gadget

at Thu, 21 Apr 2005 23:07:56 GMT in
> ,
(Peter Aitken) wrote :

>"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
.. .
>> at Thu, 21 Apr 2005 19:14:50 GMT in <1114110890.887833.128590
>> @o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>, (Dr. Dog) wrote :
>>
>>>Anyone have any nominations?
>>>...But is
>>>there anything truly useless and preferably expensive that is on the
>>>market now for chefs who have everything?
>>
>> Chocolate temperers
>> Electric deep-fryers
>>
>> At a lower price point:
>>
>> Pizza stones
....
>> Microwave ovens
>> Nonstick pans
>> Stainless steel knives
>
>Pretty good list with only three boners.
>
>Pizza stone - essential for good crusts and certain kinds of bread.

Not when you can buy unglazed quarry tile at a *fraction* of the price that
does an equally good job with much better oven coverage because you can
pave the oven wall-to-wall, both racks, with tile.

>Microwave - excellent for fish.

What can a microwave do with fish that more conventional heating methods
won't? Furthermore microwaves are very sensitive to timing with something
delicate like fish. I prefer something I can monitor constantly.

> Does a perfect job on risotto and
>polenta with 1/10 the effort.

IMHO not as good because the stirring develops the starches, I've found, in
ways letting it sit doesn't. The starch becomes more thoroughly uniform and
creamy in both cases, where if you just allow it to sit and cook, it stays
somewhat pasty. I don't argue the effort bit, though - doing it the
traditional way *is* labour-intensive. But you can equally well let the
same things sit on a stovetop and they'll be OK. (I've done it this way
before when I've gotten lazy)

>Nonstick pans - not really necessary but make so many dishes easier with
>no loss in quality.

I find the care you have to take in cleaning them nullifies any
minimisation of effort in the cooking stage.

--
Alex Rast

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