Delicious UK - (09)September 2020

I

lovemykitchen
somuchI usedto
bringit presents.
Seriously.Whenever
I wentonholiday,
whereverI wasintheworld,
I wouldfindsmall,obscureand–
betweenyouandme– oftenquite
uselessbitsofkittohaulhome
withme.AtonepointI wouldbuy
woodenspoonswhereverI went,
eventhoughquitefranklymost
woodenspoonsarealmostexactly
thesame,andevenif theyaren’t,
theyfulfila similarrole.Thesoup
doesn’tknowwhetherthe spoon
is pine,oliveormaple.
I literallyhadtowritea book
ondeclutteringtocuremyself
ofthishabit.It helpedwhen
I realisedthatwhatI reallyliked
todowastostalkhomeware
shops,thekitchenaislesof
largeforeignsupermarkets
andfleamarketsacrossthe
globe.It wasn’tabout the cherry
stoner,stupid.
Thisis whatI’velearnedfrom
paringbackmyownkitchen
equipmenttotheessentials,what’s
worthspendingmoneyon, and
where you can save...

PURCHASENUMBER 1
Let’sstartwithknives.Theseare
themostfetishisedpiecesof
kitchenequipment,theonesI’m
askedaboutmostoften– usually
bymen.Myanswer,depending
onyourpointofview,is deeply
disappointing.Inallthe
professionalkitchensI have
worked,foreverytattoo-sleeved
youngchefwitha rollofJapanese
handmade,diamond-finished
knivesthatcosttheequivalentof
a year’sworthofgroceries,there
arefarmorepeoplecreating
wonderful,perfectlypreppedfood
withcheap,sharpknivesbought
fromthecateringsupplyshop.
If youwanttoinvestina workof
art,byallmeansdo.Butfortherest
ofus,a triptosomewherelike
nisbets.co.ukanda fewYouTube
tutorialsonhowtokeepa blade
sharp are a better investment. You

don’tneeda wholeset.Mostofus

dojustfinewitha chef’sknifeof

about20cm,an8cmparingknife

anda breadknife.Somepeoplelove

a mandoline,butpersonallythey

terrifyme.Theyrequirenerves–

andpossiblya glove– ofsteel.

I managea lotofwafer-thin

cutting,forsaladsandgratins,

witha good,sharpvegetablepeeler.

TheOXOGoodGripsone,andalso

theKuhnRikonOriginalSwiss

Peeler,arebothsharp sharp sharp

and quite cheap.

PANS:MANYORFEW?

Whenit comestothese, you need

a smallpanfor

meltingbutteror

warmingmilk,

a 20cmsaucepan

anda larger

saucepanforboiling

pasta.Personally,

I likethesetohave

ovenproofhandles

soI cantakethem

fromthehobtothe

oven(ifyoursdon’t,

youcanprotectthe

handlesbywrapping

themina coupleoflayersoffoil),

andtheyshouldalsogointothe

dishwasherwithoutcomplaint.

Theyneeda heavybaseforeven

heatdistribution,andI prefer

stainlesssteeltoanyofthemore

tricksy,temperamentalfinishes.

I alsohavea hugestockpot,

whichI boughtatourlocalmarket

forabout 30 quid,forboilingup

vastquantitiesofstockormaking

chilli,souporcurriesfora crowd.

A coupleoffryingpans– a small

oneforfryinganeggortwo,plus

a larger24cmsautépan,willsee

youthroughmostthings.

A roundorovalheavy-lidded

casseroleis a goodinvestmentfor

slowbraisesandstews.Asa young

woman,I spenttheequivalentof

twoweeks’rentona 29cmLe

Creusetcasseroleinclassicvolcanic

orange,andit’sstillgoingstrong

30 yearslater.Sainsbury’sdoes

a fantasticrangeofenamelledcast

iron cookware too, and its cast iron

griddlepanandlargeanodised

roasting tin are good too.

BAKINGKIT

If you’rea keenbaker,you’llneed

electronicscaleswitha taresystem

(soyoucankeepresettingthemat

zeroasyougo)tosavetimeand

washingup.Propermeasuring

spoonsareessentialtoo.I likeoval

onesasthey’reeasiertogetintothe

mouthsofsmalljars.If youuselots

ofAmericanrecipes,you’llalso

needa setofUScupmeasures,

unlessyouwanttodriveyourself

madconvertingtometric.Along

with the usualbakingsheetsand

caketins,investin

atleastonebundt

tin(I lovethe

NordicWareones),

astheytransform

thesimplestof

cakebattersinto

somethingof

architectural

beauty.A trickleof

icingandyou’lllook

likea genius.And

stillonthebaking

theme,buysome

reusableSilpatlinersforbaking

sheetssoyoudon’thavetowaste

time cutting out baking paper.

THESMALLANDTHEBIG

Asforsmallappliances,you

knowwhatyou’relikelytouse.

A Thermapenthermometerwill

helpyoucookmeatjustright– if

youeatmeat,ofcourse.Andthere’s

nopointhavinga largeexpensive

mixerclutteringuptheworktopif

youneverbake,nomatterhow

beautifulit is.Personally,I use

myBamixstickblenderand

Cuisinartminichopperfar

morethanI domylargerbits

ofkit,forpuréeingsoups,

whizzingupa batch

ofbreadcrumbsormaking

dressings,marinades

andmayonnaise.

Andthereyouhave

it.Myessential

shoppinglist.No

cherry stoner required.

Somepeople

lovea mandoline,

butpersonallythey

terrifyme.They

requirenerves

• andpossibly
  a glove– ofsteel.
  I managewith
  a veg peeler

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 19

food for thought.