Sunday, February 24, 2008

Kitchen Knives and Other Weapons

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work in the kitchen while handicapped by a set of bad knives. You may remember the last time you tried to cut and chop with the knives provided at a holiday rental property. Good knives are expensive but they are a joy to use and last for decades. Also, contrary to the impression given by many knife manufacturers, one does not need a large butcher's block filled with them. In fact, those of us not in the restaurant business rarely need more than five different kitchen knives: (i) chef, (ii) carving, (iii) boning, (iv) paring and (v) bread. One could even dispense with the boning knife and get a combined carving/bread knife which would reduce the number of essential knives to three.
(i) The chef's knife is the most important knife in the kitchen and usually has a blade between 8" and 10" in length. This knife is used for most general purpose chopping of vegetables and cutting of meat, fish and poultry. If you are going to spend money on any kitchen knife, this is the one. (ii) The functions of the carving knife are obvious. The carver is usually longer than a chef's knife. If you want a combined carver/bread knife you will need a knife with a serrated edge. However, in my experience, a serrated edge does not make for a good carving knife and I recommend buying a dedicated carving knife with a straight edge. (iii) The boning knife is relatively short and is used for meat and poultry; its edge is concave as opposed to the convex shape of most other knive blades. (iv) A paring knife is between 3-6" long and is useful for a variety of kitchen jobs. (v) The bread knife is long, serrated and sharp; it can also be used for cutting soft fruit and is ideal for tomatoes.

How to choose a knife. As with most kitchen equipment, you get more or less what you pay for and it is well worth making an investment in a tool that with proper care will last for decades. I suggest that you confine your choices to products made by reliable and high quality manufacturers of which there is no shortage. Until relatively recently, the majority of high quality kitchen knives sold in the U.S. were made in either Germany or France. With the increasing popularity and availability of Japanese knives, the first major decision one now needs to make is whether one wants a European or a Japanese knife. It is important to distinguish between the western-style Japanese knives discussed here, which are based on the familiar European model, and 'original' Japanese knives that are used in Japan and by sushi chefs around the world. European knives tend to be heavier, not as sharp, and less expensive than their Japanese counterparts but have the great advantage of being relatively easy to maintain. Japanese knives are usually light, delicate, esthetically pleasing, and with a very sharp blade which holds for a long time; however, these knives are expensive, need special care because of a tendency to chip, and are difficult to sharpen properly. Therefore, if one wants a good knife that requires minimal care and attention, I would recommend buying a European knife. The following manufacturers all make good quality knives: Wusthof, Henckels, Victorinox, Merrermeister, Sabatier, Viking, Chicago Cutlery, Culinary Instituate of America. My personal favorites are Wusthof, Henckels and Merrermeister. On the other hand, if one places a high value on esthetics, one is willing to expend the effort required for proper care and sharpening (ideally with whetstones), and comfortable with forsaking the dishwasher entirely, then the Japanese knife is the way to go. There is a bewildering number of manufacturers that produce Japanese knives including: Shun, MAC, Hiromoto, Masamoto, Global, Hattori, Misono, and Tojiro. For those new to Japanese knives, the MAC Professional, Shun Classic or any of the excellent value Tojiro knives would be a good place to begin. My favorites manufacturers are Hiromoto, Masamoto, and Misono. Additional information on Japanese knives can be found at www.japanesechefsknife.com or www.korin.com. Ultimately, one's choice of knife is on the basis of personal preference and there is no substitute for handling several different knives in a good kitchen shop before making a decision. One should take note of the weight and balance of the knife and whether the handle is comfortable; a knife that feels perfect to one may appear too heavy or awkward to another. I do not advocate testing knives in a kitchen shop and then making your purchase on the internet (as suggested the the host of a popular radio food show) though one may save a little money. If we were all to behave like this, kitchen shops would disappear and we would never have the opportunity to test the product before purchase. Good knives should not be put in the dishwasher though most European knives are forgiving if one forgets.

Cookware (Pots and Pans)

Unless one insists on cooking using a skewer over an open fire pit, it is impossible to avoid the necessity of cookware. We all need pots and pans of various types. These vessels hold food as it is boiled, sauteed, fried, roasted or steamed. Proper cookware should have the following characteristics: excellent heat transfer, easy to clean, relatively light, pleasing to the eye, and not outrageously expensive. This usually translates into a pot with aluminum and copper in the base, and an otherwise stainless steel construction. Steel is relatively easy to clean and copper has one of the highest heat transfers of any metal. Of course, one can get pans made completely of copper with a stainless steel interior, which in many ways represent the zenith of cookware, however, the outside is difficult to keep clean, the larger pieces are quite heavy, and they are very expensive. If you happen to employ a strong-armed cook, and have both a diligent housekeeper, and a significant income then I would recommend nothing other than copper cookware in the kitchen. For most mortals, however, a few copper pieces, a casserole perhaps and one for delicate sauces, are more than adequate.
The most common quality pot in the US market has an aluminum core in both the base on the sides, and is lined with stainless steel but has no copper. Among the best manufacturers are All-Clad, Viking, Kitchen Aid; Calphalon is a little less expensive (though they do a cheaper line for some discount stores), however, many of their products do not have stainless steel lining and in my experience are difficult to clean. Most of these manufacturers also do a pot with a copper base but these tend to be quite expensive. A personal favorite of mine for both price and quality, which does have a copper base, is the Sitram “Catering” product line, which is available in some specialty stores and on the internet. Cookware made from cast iron is also excellent for heat retention and slow cooking. Cast iron frying pans can be bought quite inexpensively but they need to be “seasoned” with oil and frequent use before they acquire a patina that will reduce sticking; otherwise they will be the bane of your life. Le Creuset is a high-end manufacturer of cast iron cookware products that are lined with enamel and are relatively low-stick. These pans are quite expensive and heavy but work wonderfully well as casseroles or stewpots.
You may wonder why anyone in the 21st century would cook with anything other than a non-stick pan. These pans are not durable, generally have poor heat transfer and recently there has been some question about the health safety of the non-stick surface. Although every kitchen should have one non stick pan for cooking eggs, or frying fish and potatoes, for most other uses a stainless steel lining, which is generally low-stick, is far preferable. In fact, when frying meat or poultry you often want some sticking as this will form the basis of any sauce that you will subsequently make. It is incredible to me that approximately 85% of frying pans sold in the US are non stick; it makes no little sense for anyone who is even moderately interested in cooking.
Now that we have discussed the best type of pots and pans, how many of them do you need? Obviously, this depends to some extent on cooking preferences, and the size of the family. For the average household in which cooking is an important part of family life, one will need two regular frying pans of different sizes, one non-stick frying pan, one or two saute pans, three or four saucepans of varying sizes (consider 1 quart, 3 quart and two 5-6 quart), and one large casserole. A roasting pan is also essential in every kitchen. Most manufacturers and specialty cookware stores offer sets of cookware of a particular type at a reduced price; this many be a good way to start if you are beginning to outfit a kitchen or replace what you already have. A good set of cookware will be a significant investment but one that you can use for several decades.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

The Baked Potato

A complete meal in one. Crispy on the outside, warm soft and floury on the inside. It is cheap, nutritious, and is suitable for any variety of toppings such as chili, cheese, and meat or vegetable stews. It goes particularly well as a starch with roast beef or steak as well as hamburgers. If one wants to keep it simple, it is delicious just with butter.

Given the advantages of taste, nutrition, versatility and economy why is this food item so poorly prepared, particularly in restaurants but also in many households? This humble tuber often sweats to death surrounded by tin foil in the oven and arrives at the table limp, wet, and smelly.

The following is guaranteed to produce the perfect baked potato. Set the oven to 400 F. Pierce the skin of a washed potato once or twice with the tines of a fork. The potatoes should be done in about hour but you can check for doneness using a fork or skewer after 50 minutes. Do not leave the potato in the oven too long as it begins to collapse, looses its crispness and becomes wet. Do not coat the potato with oil before cooking as this leads to a rancid, unpleasant taste from the skin. Ideally, baked potatoes should be served when they are just cooked; if they are left sitting around they become soggy and wrinkled.

Tips. Any type of potato can be used though Russets or other large oval potatoes tend to work best. I also like Yukon Gold potatoes which have a very different texture from the usual baked potato. Chose potatoes of a uniform size, otherwise, the cooking times may vary quite a lot. Make sure that you buy firm potatoes without sprouts and store in a cool place (45-55 F). Unfortunately, the refrigerator is not an ideal place for long term storage as the temperature is too low though for most households the alternative, which is to store at room temperature, may be more injurious.