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I can't believe I forgot these on my list of essentials yesterday: a sharp knife, a can opener, and a cutting board.
One thing you may have noticed, not one of my essentials involved electricity.
There are a few reasons for this. One is, cooking is a meditative process for me and doing it by hand helps me to concentrate on the food. Slightly less important is that I occasionally cook at campsites. If I only know how to whip cream with a stand mixer, there's going to be a problem.
Most important is that I'm kackhanded with electrical things. The first time I tried to use a blender, everything ended up pouring out of the bottom and covering the counter. The next time I tried it, the blades got stuck and I cut my fingers into the food and had to throw it all out. The last time I tried to use my blender (mom gave me one), I managed to keep everything intact -- so intact that I couldn't take it apart to clean it.
Yes, I'd rather not beat egg whites to a stiff peak with a whisk. My wrist aches after about three minutes, and it takes at least twice that long to get them to the right stage. However, I get them to the right stage and don't have the issues with accidental overbeating that can come with not paying attention to the mixmaster.
My feelings about food processors are mixed. Things tend to go slushy very quickly, and, with onions and some other flavors, the heat from the motor can change the taste faster than one would think. Also, having to cut something up to put it into a machine to cut it up confuses me. If the thing would take a small whole onion, I could see using it -- if only to cut down on crying.
Now I will say, I plan to own a Kitchenaid with a sausage attachment some day. I also own things that are manual plus, like hand beaters and a hand grinder (for things that are difficult in the mortar and pestle).
I think everyone should do it once without the gadgetry. As someone said at my first Pennsic (where I made Waterzooie for the encampment over an open fire), "doing this once gave me more respect for my ancestors than every women's studies book I ever read."
If you know you can do it even if the power goes out, I think it gives you a confidence in your competence that can't be replaced. After that, use what you like.
One thing you may have noticed, not one of my essentials involved electricity.
There are a few reasons for this. One is, cooking is a meditative process for me and doing it by hand helps me to concentrate on the food. Slightly less important is that I occasionally cook at campsites. If I only know how to whip cream with a stand mixer, there's going to be a problem.
Most important is that I'm kackhanded with electrical things. The first time I tried to use a blender, everything ended up pouring out of the bottom and covering the counter. The next time I tried it, the blades got stuck and I cut my fingers into the food and had to throw it all out. The last time I tried to use my blender (mom gave me one), I managed to keep everything intact -- so intact that I couldn't take it apart to clean it.
Yes, I'd rather not beat egg whites to a stiff peak with a whisk. My wrist aches after about three minutes, and it takes at least twice that long to get them to the right stage. However, I get them to the right stage and don't have the issues with accidental overbeating that can come with not paying attention to the mixmaster.
My feelings about food processors are mixed. Things tend to go slushy very quickly, and, with onions and some other flavors, the heat from the motor can change the taste faster than one would think. Also, having to cut something up to put it into a machine to cut it up confuses me. If the thing would take a small whole onion, I could see using it -- if only to cut down on crying.
Now I will say, I plan to own a Kitchenaid with a sausage attachment some day. I also own things that are manual plus, like hand beaters and a hand grinder (for things that are difficult in the mortar and pestle).
I think everyone should do it once without the gadgetry. As someone said at my first Pennsic (where I made Waterzooie for the encampment over an open fire), "doing this once gave me more respect for my ancestors than every women's studies book I ever read."
If you know you can do it even if the power goes out, I think it gives you a confidence in your competence that can't be replaced. After that, use what you like.
