Alton Brown Has Fun With Kitchen Gear

I love Alton Brown's approach to food in general, but in particular I love his take on kitchen gear that makes any passionate eater/home cook's life easier and simpler. In his terrific book Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen he has a funny and smart (just about everything Alton says and writes is funny and smart, isn't it?) chapter titled "Small Things with Plugs." It wouldn't be a stretch to call this post my interpretation of "Small Things with Plug's Greatest Hits."



1.  Burr Grinders
Alton loves his burr grinder: "A burr grinder takes all the guesswork and imprecision out of grinding," coffee beans or anything else that needs to be ground. What exactly is a burr grinder? "It's a grinder that operates on the same principle as old-fashioned manual grain mills. Instead of smashing the beans to bits with a spinning piece of metal, burr grinders feed them through two rotating plates covered with spikey-looking things." Alton uses it to grind everything from coffee to rice, so anyone wanting to make a Vietnamese baguette to make banh mi sandwiches with should consider purchasing a Burr grinder to make their own rice flour. Alton uses a Starbucks Barista Burr Grinder, which set him back $125 (he says it's worth every dime).
 

2.  Electric Kettle
Alton is also crazy about his electric kettle: "I'm far from British, but I do share one attribute with with those folks: I am dependent on the electric kettle." Unlike the British, who tend to limit their use of electric kettles to make a spot of tea, Alton uses his to "keep broth or wine hot for risotto, as a bain marie (warm water bath) for a squirt bottle for chocolate sauce (yum!), or for plain old hard-boiled eggs." He never has to boil water any other way because he says his "Chef's Choice electric kettle is so darned fast." Alton says either a stainless steel or plastic electric kettle will do, though he likes stainless steel because he thinks it heats faster and lasts longer, though he acknowledges that plastic stays cooler to the touch.

Brands that Brown mentions in his book: the aforementioned Chef's Choice, a $90 Delonghi stainless steel model, and a simple plastic Braun model ($35-40)

3. Heating Pad
Finally, Alton uses a heating pad to maintain proper temperature for making yogurt and for keeping chocolate melted for dipping. His advice on which heating pad to buy: make sure to buy one with a waterproof pad to cope with kitchen spills.

There's tons of other super-useful kitchen gear advice in the book, so if you don't have a copy in your house you're missing out. Ahh yes, a book. Remember those?! A little bit of old technology to make your life easier.
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