Reddit reviews Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen

Buy Alton Brown's books Gear for your kitchen and I'm just here for the food. Buy what can for your kitchen within your budget and start teaching yourself how to cook.


Make sure you have a comfortable bed.


Realize that getting a good night sleep and eating well are the cornerstones for a happy life.

>Dude here.

Ditto.

> bride multitasking her way to a mental breakdown and groom just trying not to get yelled at.

Bingo.

>we are there to not fuck things up.

At first I was told my responsibility was to show up (mostly) sober and dressed.

> I'd wager he wants to be more involved too but doesn't know how.

See: and groom just trying not to get yelled at.

I like the idea of the weekly meeting, but getting closer I think that time frame would probably have to be shortened a bit. I know it was hard for her to get me involved, but like you suggest she found the things I was comfortable with and put those with me. Thankfully it wasn't anything I could really screw up either.

It started with something very basic: stuffing and sealing the various envelopes. From there she added picking up specific items from certain stores (texted to me so I could check numbers and such). I am at the point of building/painting pieces needed for the reception, printing stuff, and even helping to register (partial thanks to Alton).

It's all stuff that I am more than capable of dealing with on my own, but when you add in the complications of budgets and schedules and all that other stuff (like making sure she is happy) it can be overwhelming at times.

>I'd go Death on the Nile

Second, but just because I like the style.

Alton Brown has a rule - no uni-taskers!

His book on kitchen utensils fucking rocks!
http://www.amazon.com/Alton-Browns-Gear-Your-Kitchen/dp/1584796960

I fell in love with his cooking show after borrowing this book from a friend. Good stuff!

Gonna hijack a top comment here to give a plug for one of the most useful books I've ever owned, Gear For Your Kitchen. When I moved into my first real home after college and decided to make my kitchen a priority, Alton's book helped me to choose what kitchen tools to focus on and what to skimp on or what to avoid entirely.

Seriously? Fuck ramen.

Learning how to cook will serve you well for the rest of your life. Better nutrition, less money, better taste, and everybody loves good food.

Get a copy of The Joy of Cooking for a compendium of awesome and some Alton, Brown, Books, to learn what equipment you need and how to cook.

(Commas to annoy Nazi's and show there are multiple links)

Our family does a white elephant exchange where none of the gifts are allowed to be purchased (must find stuff lying around in your house). This year I ended up with a bunch of wire hangars. My husband? Signed copy of "Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen". The giver said, "I found this in a dumpster, saw it was in good condition, but I didn't know who Alton Brown was."

I would recommend Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen. He's a huge fan of multitasking kitchen instruments and he really goes through what you need and what you don't. Probably not "minimalist" standards by any means, but it might help you.

And I forgot roasting pan. That's another one I use a lot, and you can find them cheap at restaurant-supply stores. And a steamer insert for your stockpot, if you like steamed veggies.

And I should add all I learned about kitchen gear, I learned from Alton Brown. His book, Gear for your Kitchen is awesome - it runs through all of the major things you might want, for all tasks from cooking, to baking, to small appliances. He believes in using cheap alternatives to pricey stuff (like using a block of a certain kind of tile from a home store as opposed to an expensive pizza stone).

Alton Brown has a book called "gear for your kitchen" that is packed full of practical advice for selecting appropriate tools for a kitchen - I personally think it's a great resource. You can probably find it at your local library, or here's an amazon link.

My wife picked it up as a gift for me a few years ago and I read it cover to cover. I still pull it out when I'm in the market for a new device because he goes over what features are desirable/worth paying for and what features are shiny gimmicks.

A good book to get is Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
http://amzn.com/1584796960 (I'll fix the link when I get home). It breaks down your must haves, the nice to haves and the kitchen luxury items in almost all categories.

With that said, I had good success with my Paderno pots and pans. They go on sale a few times a year and you can get awesome deals on them. Mine was a $1000 set and I got it for $300.

I love my Shun knives. I know you said you have knives already, but they make some nice sushi knives in a few of their lineups.

A carbon steel wok is also a great thing to have. If you season it properly, it will be an amazing asset in the kitchen for all kinds of cooking.

Not mentioned yet, but a good pepper mill is a pretty valuable tool as well, especially if you're seasoning a lot of meats. Something with a crank that is sturdy enough to quickly grind up a bunch of fresh pepper for a recipe is pretty awesome to have.

Alton has had a few endorsed products and specifically designed pieces come out on the food network website! Give me a bit to find links and I will edit my comment! I have a measuring cup from him I will never give up.

Edit!

"“Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen,” his long-awaited homage to tools and gadgetry, was published by STC in September 2003 and was nominated for both a James Beard Award for Best Cookbook in the Tools & Techniques category and an IACP Cookbook Award in the Food Reference/Technical category. Gear is an essential guide to all the “hardware” you need in the kitchen packed with practical advice and tips, this book takes a look at what’s needed and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t." (This is more of a guide for the whole kitchen, but this is a start)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1584796960/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/176-8554438-3212524?ref_=pd_bxgy_b_img_c


Off the Good Eat's Fan Page here's a more specific list, and I know back in the day he has endorsed all-clad and Viking cookware (most chefs will endorse all-clad)

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/References/Equipment.htm


Hope this helps for anyone who is curious!

Consider picking up Alton Brown's "Gear for Your Kitchen".

If you just need to know what the best blank is, try googling whatever item you are looking to buy, followed by the words "cook's illustrated." They rigorusly test and review kitchen gear, and give their recommendations as to the overall best and also the best value.

Here is a list of their "best" cookware.

get Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen. It explains what's good and why, what you shouldn't get and why, and what you need depending on what you cook. That and it's an excellent read, Alton has a great way of writing.

That article is bad. Cheap cookware takes more time to work with and produces bad results.

The trick is just to be selective and pick up just what you will really use. There are plenty of quality items available for moderate prices. Gear for Your Kitchen (amazon link) is probably the best book I've read on the topic. Brown is very essentials/pragmatic about supplies on his Good Eats show too.

Check out this book. My wife got it for me for Christmas a couple years ago. It's full of practical knowledge about selecting kitchen gear.

While it does make a few direct product recommedations, it focuses more on educating the reader about what they should be looking for when buying equipment. I think that's a great idea, because while I could tell you about all my favorite kitchen tools, you might have some different preferences.

This book will tell you what too look for in a good product, and it covers everything from graters, knives, and cutting boards, to pans, pots, thermometers, and cooling racks.

In his book, he refers to those things as "specialty items" and thinks you should get rid of them if you don't use them at least once every six months (stuff like waffle irons, ice cream machines, etc.). What the above video is about is tools designed for one purpose, which other tools could do just as easily or better. For instance, you can slice strawberries with a strawberry slicer, or you can slice strawberries, and everything else, with a knife; you could cook eggs in a rollie, or you could cook eggs, or anything else, in a standard pan.

There's always his book: Gear for Your Kitchen

Looks cheap and space consuming - a unitasker. Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot chef's knife. If you want something to do the same job (and since you mentioned you were trying to save money), go to Goodwill or other thrift store and get a real food processor.

FYI, I also recommend getting a used copy of Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen. You can get it for under $10, and it'll help you avoid redundant or cheap stuff while helping you figure out what you really need. My wife used mine when we set up our gift registry and we were very happy with the results.

Alton Brown for my husband. He loves this guy! Would love to add more books to his collection!

Thanks for the contest :-)

i started with this and i am still going