Kitchen appliances chat

Sharpener is https://www.onbuy.com/gb/pro-sharp-twist-n-sharp-black~c13443~p13072392/

Definitely going to get Santoku plus assorted knives as you suggest. Good news is I’m left handed so going to be a £££ option as a treat.

Don’t use that sharpener on any good knives.

Also, I’m left handed too, left handed knives are not worth it. Some single bevel or uneven bevel knifes exist, but unlikely to be knives for general use.

Also that sharpener will completely ruin any knives that are good enough to have a left hand specific bevel.

That’s awesome! Get it clean, get it hot and grill something tasty on it ASAP!

Try soaking it in very hot soapy water to loosen the crud. It won’t rust as it’s not raw cast iron. I appreciate you would not do this with your Lodge as it would rust immediately.

Sweet marinades will make it almost as gunky after a single use, so bear in mind.

Noted. Will leave it in my parents kitchen drawer.

And a 3 pack of Victorinox paring knives for £15.

I don't like the Victorinox paring knives much. Don't seem to sharpen that well and just the wrong combination of rigidity and flexibility for me.

The victorinox tomato knives are amazing however.

I think they do three packs with 2 serrated/tomato and one paring.

The Victorinox have a shallower angle than a lot of other knives, so might be why you can’t sharpen them?

I run the victorinox knifes through a Global ceramic roller sharpener and it gets them super sharp.

The little victorinox pen sharpener seems to do a decent job with the little knives for very little effort. Not very aggressive.

Victorinox Dual Knife Sharpener, Swiss Made, Portable, Black/Red https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000AR7AKG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_73E2P8D7PDDMFTZWNHBZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

IKEA do a 3 grade sharpener that's not bad actually, brought my parents knives back to life.

Santoku FTW, I use mine for most things these days, or the paring knife. Hardly use the other 4.

I do have one of those somewhere. Will have to dig it out.

Does anyone have a boiling water tap? We cook lots of pasta, and I drink a lot of tea, so considering getting one.

Last time I looked it was only really Quooker available, and they are miles out of my price range, there now seems to be much more options out there, screwfix even sell one for £299...

Further to the chat above, what's the recommended way of cleaning a cast iron griddle pan? I've got a lodge one that's always a ballache to clean as stuff crusts in the grooves but leaving it to soak ends with rusty spots.

probably depends on what state it is in but I usually heat it up again after cooking with some water in it and that will lift anything, like you would deglaze it if you are making a sauce.
Then scrub the rest with a brush.

leaving it to soak ends with rusty spots.

That will just be surface rust so it doesn't matter. Just put it on the hob and blast it. Then lightly oil with veg oil.

But to clean the de-glaze method and some elbow grease. Ultimately though, this is why non-stick pans exist for 99% of cooking. It's a classic eg of some nostalgic bit of kit being less easy and requiring more effort to maintain.

But you can't replicate something cooked on a cast iron griddle.

Cheers, I'll give that a try.

I actually got it back out as my Le Creuset toughened non-stick with the lifetime guarantee is starting to no longer be non-stick after just over a year.

All I really want is a non-stick pan that can be used at high temperatures and the non-stick lasts for 10 years.

Talking about knives, I love my very cheap cleaver style thing: https://www.chopchopchop.co.uk/22.html - think it was a tenner, def my most used knife.

They haven't cracked how to achieve that over however long we've had dedicated cookware.
Well seasoned cast iron/ carbon steel pans is about as close you're going to get with high temps and non-stick, without filling your body with harmful chemicals.

The problem with grooved griddle pans is that the grooves collect marinade and debris and burns it on. On a barbeque, it falls between and gets burnt up. I prefer flat surfaces for hob cooking.

There’s a few on EBay currently

Oh ta!

Don't suppose anyone has any experiences with the Ninja 3 in 1 food processor? Looks like obviously better value over the KitchenAid which I'm also considering...

I've been gifted this recently, but just the food processor version. I'm not entirely sure why you'd need another 2 mixing vessels in all honesty.

Do like it though, lives out on the counter and can leave it to blend. Heavy enough that I don't feel that it needs a hand on top to stop it drifting round and mauling something else.

Because of course this thread exists. Rule 34 or something.

Thanks @Tenderloin and @Acliff for the info here/the 'other' thread.

Update to the above; bought the Kitchenaid mini chopper, around £50 delivered. Love it!

Does anyone have experience with pasta extruders? We make most of our pasta ourselves but shapes like penne and macaroni are out of reach with a roller. I've looked at some videos of the KitchenAid extension but it seemed to be excruciatingly slow and I don't think I have the patience for that.

@dancing james because I believe you have every KitchenAid accessory available.

It’s not fast but I am happy with the kitchen aid. Actually if it was much faster the workflow wouldn’t be very manageable. Have mainly used it to make fusili and spaghetti. Need to try the other dies it came with.

Pasta/stock pot:

Looking for induction compatible 4-5L stock /pasta stew pot.
A bit easier to wield than a Le Creuset casserole.

The IKEA Sensuell pots look surprisingly good for the money (tri ply).

Anything I should consider?
Mauviel & Le creuset stainless appeals, but too much money for what I’m going to use it for I think.

@Acliff John Lewis' 'the pan' range?