Tags
antique cookware, canning jars, cooking, kitchen appliances, kitchen storage, kitchenware, knife block, Knives, pots and pans
I don’t have small appliances. No toaster, no microwave, no blender. I have an electric handmixer for those times I must make a frosted birthday cake, and an electric kettle came with the house. I sometimes covet a stand mixer, but I really don’t need one.
We have lived off-grid in tiny dwellings. Kitchen things had to do double duty, or more. Mixing spoons and serving spoons were the same item. Pans were also casseroles. The canning kettle has been the bread box. The cutting board was the right size to cover one half of the double sink.
It’s always so tempting to run to a department store or go online and order a whole suite of lovely cookware, stainless steel, with glass lids and insulated handles. Mine is all older, even antique. I have three sizes of covered pan, and the largest one doubles as a canning kettle. The cobalt blue Le Crueset pot is the most recent, and was a gift from friends fifteen years ago. The copper teakettle is lined with tin and resides on the stovetop for a constant source of hot water when the fire is going. The big blue canner also has water, which becomes washing water for the sink. The other pan I use is a large cast iron skillet. I would like a second, smaller one. I have no pots and pans with nonstick coatings. They leak molecular particles, no matter how inert the maker claims they are. Avoid them.
knife block
Invest kitchen money in good knives. They will make your life simpler and safer. Dull knives tend to slide and roll off anything tough. Then they will nick your hand. Good steel knives, either stainless or carbon steel, will hold an edge better and be more efficient. I have a sharpening steel, but one of those knife sharpening gizmos that hold the stones at the right angle work well, too. Knives shouldn’t need to be sharpened more than a couple of times a year except in professional kitchens. If a good knife doesn’t seem to hold a good cutting edge it needs to be reground. Poor sharpening technique most likely took the temper off the edge. Most of my knives were inherited, including a real Sabatier chef’s knife, which is at least as old as I am. I also have a carving/boning knife that is as long as a short sword, two utility type Wusthof knives, a serrated stainless knife for half-frozen meats, a very old carbon steel knife that came from my great-grandmother’s kitchen, and a Henckel serrated bread knife. I don’t use a paring knife. I use the old carbon steel knife or a horizontal-blade vegetable peeler. Again, a good quality peeler is worth the extra cost. A real wood cutting board of hardwood, of an inch or more in thickness, is a necessity. I do not use plastic or resin or glass cutting surfaces. They dull the knives and hold germs. A wood cutting board properly washed in hot water, never left to soak, and never left with liquids pooled on it, is more sanitary and lasts a long time. I can’t use anything with a microbial agent in it, whether it is a cutting board or a sponge. Wash the cutting board with hot water, no soap, and dry promptly. It will last a decade or more. My knife block came from a church rummage sale. It is a necessity because knives in drawers get dull with rubbing against each other, and it is dangerous to reach into a knifey drawer.
Work spoons and utensils also need to be of good quality and easy to clean. I use only olive wood or bamboo wooden spoons, so I pay more for them. They last much longer, too. Very cheap wooden spoons can be used for craft projects or to stir paint. They splinter and break and absorb food. My best wooden spoons are 20 years old. My other utensils are solid stainless steel. They are 20 years old as well. They are heavy-gauge and most have hanging holes at the top, although I keep them in a crock on the countertop. Utensils with nylon, rubber or plastic handles can harbour pathogens in the joint where the metal meets the handle. They are not as strong, either. All nylon or plastic utensils are useless and accumulate bacteria. Throw them out.
jars for canning and storage
I can’t store anything in plastic because I have a very serious allergy to chemicals used in many kinds of plastics. I have quite a few old canning jars no longer suitable for canning, and rice, beans, pasta, spices and herbs go in these and into the cupboards. It is best to store food away from light. I save good jars, wash them thoroughly, and take off labels and any lid liners. I even freeze in them, leaving some head space. I despise cabinets full of plastic containers, stacked and nested to the gunwales, with the lids poised to jump out at the unwary cook the minute a door is opened. Any plastic tubs that make it into the house get washed and hustled out to the garage to be used next spring for seed starting.
I use only enameled, ceramic and glass mixing bowls, which also work as serving bowls and storage bowls in the refrigerator. I bought some elasticized covers or I use a plate or saucer of the right circumference as a cover. The plastic covers don’t come in contact with the food, so I don’t mind them.
I have the usual range of baking dishes – a couple of glass casseroles, cookie sheets, loaf pans, cake pans, roasters and square pans. I have muffin tins as well, but I am not baking much besides bread, as we are on a low refined sugar diet. I will be experimenting with natural sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup soon.
That’s about it. I don’t have cupboards, pantries and cabinets full of kitchenware. I have just about all I need for a lifetime now.
