Five + Kitchen Tools You Didn’t Know You Needed – Till Now

(Gerry Furth-Sides) A cookware set, a stovetop pressure cooker; a sharp knife,  induction stovetop, wooden board and cooking class certificate

(1) Affordable DiamoTech, the same one on all the tv ads as “the last one you will ever need” is professional level equipment covering all your cooking and baking (if not grilling) meal needs, including breads and desserts, with equipment going from stovetop into oven, priced at only $119.99   Available at www.diamotechpan.com.  Individual pans and smaller sets are also offered.  Enforced Aluminum for uniform heat distribution cooks food evenly and thoroughly with no “hot spots.”  The 4-layer cookware is PTFE/PFOA/PFOS free.   Infusion Diamotech means its Non-Stick Ceramic Coating is Scratch & Abrasive Resistant.  The  tight-fitting pot and pan lids have a hole for the air to escape, glass lid to see how the dish is going and an ergonomic, heat-resistant handle.   The biggest DiamoTech set of 10 includes mid-sized and large pots and  pans. A  generous Steamer Basket fits inside of the 5 Quart Pot with Lid.  For details, please see://localfoodeater.com/how-to-cook-like-a-pro-with-one-affordable-cook-set/

(2) A stove-top pressure cooker.  I no longer need Nutritionist-author Jill Nussinow  and the Sitram stove-top importers to convince me that their modern SITRAM pressure cookers deliver purer flavors, texture, and color in addition to cutting down meal prep by 70%.  After all Sitram produced the first pressure cooker in 1963. Since that time Sitram has curated several pressure cooking lines that are touted by fine chefs around the world.  Culinary educator Jill Nussinow information on Sitram’s most popular (heavy duty and heavy) model, the Sitra Pro  is gathered in  her comprehensive cookbook,  Vegan Under Pressure (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016).  Yes, Martha, among others, is touting her plug-in electric but this one is the best. (//sitramusa.com/pressure-cookers-2/).  For our story, please see. (//localfoodeater.com/french-sitram-puts-american-chefs-under-pressure/

(3)  A wooden board plus sharp knife/sharpener board.  Another thing we learned was the need for a sharp knife and cutting board.  Any professional chef will tell you there a good pan and a high-quality chef’s knife are the his two main essentials, other than a heat source. At one time chefs wore their knives in a belt holder to have them nearby at all times. A knife is, in fact, an extension of a chef’s hand.   We recommend and use beautifully crafted, colorful, forged (not stamped) New West knives, distinguished by their heavy blade and pronounced heel.  For information, please see:  (//www.newwestknifeworks.com)   For our story, please see //localfoodeater.com/cutting-edge-knife-world/

Cocobolo Knifeblock Set

G-Fusion Mini-Chopper

(4) A really good wooden board.  Works with The best, custom-hand-cut one that can be personalized come from Kim Strassner and Mike Parasas with a wonderful story.  Kim’s first custom cutting boards from leftover butcher block as gifts for family and soon were endorsed by the likes of Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey.  Their artisan team hand-cuts words into the one-of-a-kind custom cutting boards  in Baltimore’s eclectic Hampden community.  Instructions are also provided for the  wood cutting boards they can last forever, including cleaning, oiling, soaking and resealing and restoring to keep them hydrated. For detailed information, please see: //wordswithboards.com/

(5) MOSO air purifying bag for the fridge.  The air-deodorizing packets from Moso Natural. Moso are  eco-friendly, all-natural bamboo charcoal bags are guaranteed to keep any space fresh for up to two years, Moso Natural bags are such an elegant, neutral design of refined burlap.  This very simple and effective solution provides odor-less results within hours of opening the plastic wrapper and placement.  All the bags are non-toxic and chemical/fragrance free, fragrance free.  A short time in the sunlight every month or so rejuvenates the bag for two years and after that, remarkably, the 100% sustainable Moso Bag can be opened and spread throughout the garden to promote plant growth. For our story with details, please see: //localfoodeater.com/the-living-moso-air-cleaner-bag-gift-that-recycles-into-the-garden/ All products are available online at www.mosonatural.com.

(plus!) Induction stove (and cooking class!) We were first introduced to induction cooking at the Gourmandise Cooking School.  Your pan is heated by a magnetic field instead of having its bottom sitting on a (gas stove top) flame with (an electric stove)  element.  It is so much more efficient – and precise than a gas stovetop where the flame serves to heat around the pan rather than on your cookware bottom.  When you turn on the burner and place,  an iron or stainless steel pan set on it generates a fluctuating magnetic field with many smaller electric currents but no heat on the burner itself.   And this is only one of the things I learned in the class so I recommend a Gift Certificate for you or as a gift.   The Gourmandise School in the newly remodeled Santa Monica Place shopping center in 2011. is rightfully considered one of LA’s most respected cooking schools.  For details, please see: //thegourmandiseschool.com/