Cookware Question

[shaggy]

I've built up a collection of Wusthoff knives over the years. I cook a lot and they make a huge difference. I pay to have them professionally sharpened because I don't want to wreck them. I have six or seven, use them all, and can't imagine needing more.

For cookware I have Calphalon Unison non-stick. I didn't go with a set because I like picking my own pieces. I think I have five and that's all I need.

BF loves his All Clad professional but it's hard to clean IMO.

My pressure cooker is my go-to cookware item. I've owned four different brands and WMF is by far the best.

[kork13]

I have an excellent basic set of Henkel knives -- 6" & 5" chef's, 3" paring, 8" serrated bread, 4" serrated sandwhich knives. On these, I didn't skimp. I don't remember exactly what they cost me, but I think it was around $300-$400 total. As others have said, quality knives make a huge difference, especially if you cook often. They slice with far more precision, smoothness, and control. I have a few cheap knives as well that I received from my family when I moved out, and there really is no comparison.

I have an Analon set of anodized aluminum pots/pans -- large stock pot, medium & small sauce pots, small and medium skillet pans, and a large sauté pan. I think I got them all for around $300 total. I would have preferred to get a bunch of All-Clad's steel & copper core pots/pans, but at the time (fresh from college) I simply couldn't afford the extra $500+ premium to get them (I'll admit that I kinda stretched on my knives/pots/pans as it was). As with knives, there is definitely a distinct benefit that you'll get from quality cookware. Even heating is one of the most significant IMO. It's alot harder to burn (or undercook) something when the entire pan is heating evenly & you don't get any hotspots.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

My pots and pans are so worth it. I noticed right away the difference. I may splurge and buy one knife and see how it goes.

[disneysteve]

I may splurge and buy one knife and see how it goes.

You won't regret it. Make sure you actually handle a few in person before you decide. You want one that feels good in your hand, solid but not too heavy, well-balanced, comfortable grip. If buying steel, drop forged and full tang for sure.

[humandraydel]

My pots and pans are so worth it. I noticed right away the difference. I may splurge and buy one knife and see how it goes.

All you really need is 1 knife. I'd suggest something like this 6" knife.

[bUU]

Don't try to pare vegetables with a 6" chef's knife. Very dangerous.

[disneysteve]

Don't try to pare vegetables with a 6" chef's knife. Very dangerous.

When I want to peel something, I use a peeler, not a paring knife. I can't tell you the last time I actually used our paring knife.

I use a chef's knife for almost everything, a serrated blade for slicing bread and tomatoes, and a utility knife for slicing cheese. There is nothing that I routinely do - and again, I do a lot of cooking - that requires a paring knife.

[Caoineag]

When I want to peel something, I use a peeler, not a paring knife. I can't tell you the last time I actually used our paring knife.

I use a chef's knife for almost everything, a serrated blade for slicing bread and tomatoes, and a utility knife for slicing cheese. There is nothing that I routinely do - and again, I do a lot of cooking - that requires a paring knife.

Same here with the exception that my chef's knife is also used on the tomato and cheese and my bread knife is literally a bread knife only (we eat a lot of artisan bread so we have a wicked looking blade attached to a wrap around wooden handle).

My grandmother used to own paring knives and I tried using them and despised them, I am safer with a peeler. I also have almost nothing that I peel since we prefer potatoes with the skin on even when mashed. Most of the few things we peel are peeled after cooking which means you just pull the skin off with your fingers.

[disneysteve]

My grandmother used to own paring knives and I tried using them and despised them

DW and DD both use the paring knife but I'm a lot more comfortable with the chef knife even when doing smaller jobs like coring an apple.

[shaggy]

DW and DD both use the paring knife but I'm a lot more comfortable with the chef knife even when doing smaller jobs like coring an apple.

You must have relatively large hands and a lot of strength.

I have weakness in my hands (since you're an MD it might interest you to know it's due to bilateral cervical ribs causing thoracic outlet syndrome) that makes it hard to use the chef's knife for fine cutting jobs.

I use the chef's for chopping only. I have two paring knives for fine jobs, a de-boner (I cook whole chickens and the de-boner lets me get between joints as it's slightly flexible) and two sizes of chef's knife (I find the 10" chef's hard to manage sometimes).

[bUU]

My spouse makes this point very often: Smaller hands, smaller knives.

[disneysteve]

My spouse makes this point very often: Smaller hands, smaller knives.

Yep. DW is petite. DD isn't so petite but just feels safer with a smaller knife though as she has gotten more comfortable in the kitchen, I find her using the chef knife more.

[Caoineag]

My spouse makes this point very often: Smaller hands, smaller knives.

While I am not a fan of paring knives, neither of my 2 good knives are 10", the chef is 8" and the santoku is 7".

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ahh, the lowly paring knife can't seem to garner much love and support. I beg to differ because I use my paring knife often. These are some examples;



1) For apples and pears (and persimmons when in season) I like to first use my 10" chef's knife or 7" santoko knife to cut it into quarters lengthwise. Subsequently, I will use the paring knife to cut the skin off and cut the seeds out using a "U" shaped motion.



2) For tomatoes I will use the paring knife first in order to jab out the stem section in a circular motion. And then I'll using my 10" chef's knife to cut up slices.



3) For strawberries I will follow the same procedures for tomatoes (when I have time on my hands to avoid wasting some of it). However, when I'm rushing I'll just use the larger knife to slice off the stem portion (but I feel wasteful doing this but sometimes a person's got to do what a person's got to do, lol).



4) For potatoes (and sometimes when I buy a whole pineapple) I will use the paring knife to dig out the black parts.



5) Adding to this list, mangoes.

[dawnwes]

We got ours as a gift, and they are ok, but all of the tips have broken off now.

We have a few other knives that aren't part of a set that work ok too. I needed a good serrated bread knife and got a Tupperware one.