Turn the knob up or down on a gas burner and the flame and temperature changes immediately and you can continue controlled cooking on it. Not so on an electric burner where a knob change has no effect, as the burner stays too hot or cold for a minute or more. That’s why gas is …
Can One Cookbook Author have Two Magnum Opus’s?
In 2015, Kenji Lopez-Alt published The Food Lab, arguably the best and most comprehensive science-heavy cookbook since the five-volume Modernist Cuisine came out in 2005. I’ve read both tomes cover-to-cover and they have confirmed most but changed some of my cooking techniques. Now Kenji has done it again with The Wok. I love cooking with …
Universal Lids
Save for my popcorn popper and double boiler, these two so called universal lids are all I have, the rest, seven or eight, have been tossed as unneeded. It’s fine if a new pot or pan you’re looking at comes with a matching lid, but don’t pay for one. Buy a universal lid instead. Al …
Electric Cooktops Never Look Clean
Not much experience with glass cooktops other than to notice that they never look clean. This little bottle of cleaner was on the stove when I moved in, so I assumed it was part of the GE Profile stove package, since all the kitchen appliances were newly installed. This stuff really cleans when generously applied …
Car Battery Minders for Geezers
Today’s cars are computer chips with wheels. Even when parked, there is usually something running in the background. Leave it parked for a week and the battery is run down but will recharge if you drive it for a while. Leave it for three weeks while on travel or because of some dreaded post-op scenario …
No Kitchen Vent? Here’s One Solution
Dyson is best known for their vacuum cleaners, but they make other expensive stuff including air purifiers. Pictured is their Model TP-09, which is a beautiful, compact, well-designed and engineered smart air purifier. Just set it to AUTO and it sits there 24/7 purring and filtering until it senses odors and spins up. However, I’ve …
In Praise of the Wok (again)
The wok is a perfect cooking tool to combine heat and motion. 1.5 billion Chinese eat from it most every day. This a new wok. My old one from Hong Kong, where I purchased it for $13, was left for the new owners at the old house, as it had a proper round bottom designed …
This Thing Works
This is Theragun by Therabody.com. It is a percussion massage device that is very powerful yet quiet. Well designed and engineered, it reeks of quality. As a geezer, there are few body areas that don’t benefit from stimulation (OK, don’t go there). I use it mostly on a chronic lower back and an arthritic right …
Two Very Different Knives Designed For the Same Purpose
We’re all familiar with the western style boning knife. This one by German Wustof is 5 inches long, machine-forged from 2 mm thick stock. and double edged. It’s a classic because it is light and nimble and very well designed to break down and debone poultry. The Japanese boning knife is called a garasuki. This …
Overpriced, but there is not a better, more versatile or higher quality multi-cooker out there.
The Vermicular multi-cooker ($600) is comprised of two parts: The “musui” a cast iron pot with a machined tight-fitting cover and the “kamado” a cradle for the pot with interior induction heaters bottom and sides and an exterior control panel. Everyone is familiar with slow cookers and multi cookers and what they do, so I’ll …