Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen_ An Indesp - Tyler Florence [3]
Cutlery Care
A magnetic knife strip that mounts to your kitchen wall is the safest and best way to care for your expensive knives. Piling sharp knives in a drawer is not only dangerous but also can warp the handcrafted blades. Wooden knife blocks trap moisture and are hard to clean; this in turn promotes bacteria. Plus the blocks take up precious counter space. I do not put my knives in the dishwasher; a quick rinse with hot water and a soapy sponge is all you need to keep them clean.
The only proper way to maintain the factory edge of a blade is by using a whetstone. If you do not have a whetstone and are not inclined to learn how to use one, find a local cutlery or knife sharpening store; just make sure they are not using an electric sharpener. Electric sharpeners wear down the metal and shorten the life of your knife—never use one at home either! A good sharpening will actually make chopping fun and run you only about $8 for a chef’s knife. Depending on how much you cook, you may need to sharpen your primary knife as often as every couple of months.
To extend the life of your newly sharpened knife, I recommend using what we call in chefspeak a steel. A sharpening steel is a honing device that keeps the blade true, which means straight and aligned. Steels are made of either ceramic, magnetized steel, or diamond-impregnated steel. A few even strokes on each side of the blade right before you start working on that masterpiece salad will keep those tomatoes paper-thin.
Pots and Pans
When it comes to pots and pans, no one makes a better product than the French. I have a few heavy copper-lined sauté pans that I picked up in Paris. I’m not going to tell you how much they cost, but let’s just say that I’m glad I can write those things off on my taxes. Copper is an amazing conductor of heat and the bottoms are quite thick, so they hold heat very well. But let’s get real, fancy French cookware is by no means a necessity. Here’s the bottom line: A heavy-bottomed 2-gallon stockpot with a lid is a must-have for stews, braises, and simmered dishes like chili. Add to that a 4-quart and a 2-quart pot (with lids) for soups and sauces, a 12-inch skillet for sautéing in large quantities, an old-fashioned cast-iron skillet, and a nonstick omelet pan for perfect eggs in the morning. If you’re in the mood to splurge, Sitram from France makes a stainless steel line that is amazing, and Paderno, an Italian company, produces another fantastic line. Both are on the pricey side, but if you are a firm believer that you get what you pay for, then their cookware is worth every penny. In a medium price range Le Creuset and All-Clad are outstanding. You can often find sets on sale for a few hundred bucks, or you can assemble your own set as your budget allows. When assessing cookware, no matter what you’re buying, there are a few things that you always want to look for. First, that the cookware has an all-metal construction (no plastic handles) so it can go from the stove to the oven to the dishwasher. You’ll be amazed by how much time it saves if you can “pan-roast” a chicken breast by sautéing it first then finishing it in the oven.
Second, make sure that your cookware has a thick, heavy bottom for proper heat distribution. Cast-iron skillets have been a kitchen staple for hundreds of years, for good reason: Thin-bottomed pans get hot spots and don’t cook evenly (i.e., they burn things). Lastly, it’s a good idea to spring for stainless steel— it’s simply easier to clean.