Help me build a culinary tool kit

[markum9]

I've had this knife set for 4 years now and am very happy with it. Cook's Illustrated, which does robust testing of products and recipes, rated them the best value. Almost as good as the really expensive knives, but for about half the price. IMO cutco knives are crap.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=4596

[amplify]

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I've had this knife set for 4 years now and am very happy with it. Cook's Illustrated, which does robust testing of products and recipes, rated them the best value. Almost as good as the really expensive knives, but for about half the price. IMO cutco knives are crap.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=4596

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Half? This whole set costs what one premium knife costs, can they really perform that well? I may get a set just out of curiosity.

[guids]

I have a 12.99 knife I bought from a cutlery store a couple blocks away, it is great, I use it all the time, but I also take good care of it (a huge must).

honestly, if you are shopping for a class, Id take a look at a 99 cent store if you ahve one near you and see if they have anything that you think you can work with. Its not too tough to see the disparity between a really [censored] spatuala a one that will get the job done.

[Imrahil]

Oxo tongs are supposed to be good.

This is also supposed to be a great paring knife:

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=746

[SamIAm]

As with all knife questions, it's vital that you try it out and buy what feels most comfortable to you. My personal choices are a Global chef's knife and a Wustoff paring knife.

For tongs, I like silicon for fragile nonstick pans, scalloped instead of straight tips for gripping stuff, and a good lock. These OXO ones are great:



Alton Brown goes gaga over this spatula. It's silicon, so takes high heat. And the silicon goes all the way to the handle, so there aren't any grooves to catch food. I dunno; it's just a spatula.



If you really want more recommendations, I like a Measuring Beaker, because it's narrow at the bottom, for precise measuring of small liquids, but wide at the top for high volume.



But now we're getting silly. Brand doesn't matter for the vast majority of your list. Get thee to a restaurant supply store.

[edfurlong]

I hate the weak ass springs in oxo tongs. The dirt cheap restaurant flavor are much easier for me to work with.

Fish spatulas are great for delicate stuff.

[SamIAm]

I'm surprised you don't need a microplane. It should certainly be part of a culinary toolkit. (Brand matters on this one.)

[markum9]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I've had this knife set for 4 years now and am very happy with it. Cook's Illustrated, which does robust testing of products and recipes, rated them the best value. Almost as good as the really expensive knives, but for about half the price. IMO cutco knives are crap.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=4596

[/ QUOTE ]
Half? This whole set costs what one premium knife costs, can they really perform that well? I may get a set just out of curiosity.

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I guess I should add that I've never actually owned a really expensive set so I'm just going off Cook Illustrated's review where they tested them against some hard-core professional knives. I got them based off a recommendation of a guy who's really into cooking and the whole culinary scene. I cook almost every day and while I don't do any fancy knife-work, they do everything that I need them for, and they've stayed sharp the whole time.

Amazon reviews if anyone's interested:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/custome...customerReviews

[Ioz]

Yes they do. I have had an 8" Forschner chefs knife for a couple of years. They really hold an edge for a long time.
They handle really well. I like everything about it.
These are the people that make the swiss army knives.

[kolotoure]

don't get a chefs blowtorch, a normal one does a better job