> Where do you suggest learning this? What do you think of my idea of hiring a culinary student to give me private lessons?

In nearly 10 years of professional cooking I have never met a culinary student with hands. Unfortunately, I cannot explain it more than having the right attitude, with there "always being room for improvement" and "oh he's asian." My first chef and cooking job told me I had "heritage knife skills." You are on the right track with Shun and simply wanting it. I can post some demo videos eventually, when I sober up and have more in my pantry than onions (I work ~80 a week between two kitchens, I don't eat much at home).

> I don't have any friends who work in the food industry, where would you suggest meeting such a person (similar question as above)? I would buy a whetstone, but I have no idea how to use it properly. Also, most of my knives are from Shun, and I know they have a service where you can send them off to get them sharpened for free. I haven't done this yet (knife set is pretty new). Would you suggest this?

Shun is good people, but I resharpen my knifes everyday for use in a professional kitchen, with volume ranging from cutting three bunches of celery to 100 lbs of onions on top of service--I don't like to play with dull knives. And it is a skill you never really lose, though I wore a hole in my finger the last time I sharpened knives, but I sharpened knives for the entire staff and was fairly drunk at the time--maybe you shouldn't be friends with us, unless you like waking up to a pile of dishes and beer cans in the morning... Once again, I would be willing to sharpening technique on youtube, but I'm certain there are videos of it there, "Japanese knife sharpening."

> I enjoy cooking and I absolutely find it cathartic and meditative. However, I have time constraints. I have a job, hobbies, chores, occasional medical problems that sap my energy, and I have to cook ALL my meals. I feel like I spend too long prepping vegetables as it is now. I realize for some recipes that getting perfect cuts is important, but 90% of the time, I would like to just go faster. Do you have any tips for this?

For me, speed come with knife sharpness and monopolizing a single cut. So if you have to julienne a ton of onions, do not try to do one at a time, cut them in half, clean/peel them all, then focus on the julienne so you are repeating the same motions over and over vs attempting different angles and having to move finished product into a container or off the cutting board.

> One major thing I have going for me is that I have great resources in terms of grocery and kitchen options.

>I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Seattle area, but we have an amazing variety of grocery stores/markets here. There is a farmers market every day, Pike Place market, Amazon Fresh (delivery), multiple organic co-ops, Costco, multiple Asian grocery stores, specialty international food stores, Cost Plus World Market, Whole Foods, upscale grocery stores, regular grocery stores, etc. etc. I can get pretty much any ingredient. The problem with most of the produce is that it might be sprayed with the pesticide that I am allergic to. CSAs only work if the produce comes exclusively from certain farmers that don't use this pesticide. When that stuff is in season, I buy huge quantities directly from the farmer and load up my chest freezer.

This makes me happy, but I was happy anyways since I had a few after work. In terms of recommended reading, I suggest looking into pickling assuming you are not allergic to citrus, even so you can probably still use refined vitamin C. Here are three pickling Amazon links: Balls. Can. Ferment, sorry, couldn't resist the urge.

Something else I borrowed off one of my ECs: On food and cooking, Harold McGee.

Another to add to your library: Food lover's Companion

Food is great in that it is a kinesthetic science, a lot of great cooks are also great "scientists" they just don't know it, they are just doing it by "feel, taste and smell." This is where organization and precision come in--know your objective/hypothesis and continue with experiment procedure from there, speed is a measurement: how long, how fast, etc, etc. "If you don't measure you cannot improve." I feel like recipes are more or less, just successful lab reports.

Since you mentioned vegetarianism I feel like I can discuss my on and off relationship with veganity. I do try to build muscle from time to time and so it is hard for me to ignore the nutrient/protein density of tasty decaying animal flesh. But generally in terms of vegetables and fruit there are few exceptions to them having more benefits apart from them being consumed raw: namely Goitrogens.

So this may lead you, as well as it lead me for a time to a "raw/vegan" diet. I dunno though, I get stuck between it and "Paleo" and sometimes just eating raw meat--I cannot tell if I am just becoming lazier as a cook or if I am making strides my personal health.

Back onto topic of sorts:

> My kitchen is already pretty good. I have a nice gas stove, which I feel makes a big difference. We are planning a remodel to enlarge the kitchen.

Hrmm, I am at odds with enlarging for the sake of "bettering," I feel like you can get away with great results with little space and a little ingenuity, but with great precision. I have a portable induction cook-top, a juicer, a blender and a shitty built-in electric range/stove, just missing a dehydrator, PID temperature controlled water bath, a blow torch, vacuum sealer and I wouldn't be too far from a NY test kitchen--I feel like I could feed a hundred people, no problem without using the electric ranges: it comes down to organization. You are one person, trying to feed yourself and your family at any given time, make prep easier for yourself by doing much of it at once or at least eliminating a step or two, prep for half the week or prep for the next step, for example: celery--strip all of it away from the root, throw it in water and save it for later, this keeps it springy and passively washes it; I was taught a long time ago to not drain root vegetables but rather pull them from a bath of water, in that the dirt sinks and stays at the bottom rather than being agitated and back on the vegetables after straining; then you can come back to cut it in any variety you wish. I've kind of made a habit out of bathing veggies vs spraying/rinsing, of course there are exceptions, things that you will peel anyways, that spot of dirt that needs scrubbed and that we need "RIGHT NOW."

The problem I have with recipes is the objectivity in creating "the dish," most of the time, my creations or "specials" come from leftovers or something that is on the verge of being completely useless. Simplicity is king. At my one restaurant we had some black beans that were starting to smell fruity (which is normal, but no one had a planned use for them), a few onions and peppers, some spices, a quick roast then blend with some lemon juice/vinegar and we had a black bean salsa, which I tried to pair with some fish and roasted tomatoes but everyone just wanted the salsa with chips--whatever, I'm Asian, I don't know.

So rather than filling your refrigerator with a dozen half eaten dishes, fill your refrigerator with an endless possibility of dishes: prepped greens for salads; portioned meats for cooking; pickled items for accoutrements, garnishments or just adding that extra acidity; gutted/peeled veggies or fruit--you picking up what I'm laying down?

From there you can experiment with single servings: a celery leaf salad--balsamic vinegar, pickled radish, mustard greens, olive oil, crushed red, salt, julienned carrots, diced red onion and toss in a soft boiled duck egg if you feel the urge. Professional cooking is just a hodgepodge of "stone soup" that everyone has grown to like and accept, everyone has something to add and or learn from.

Restaurant dishes are designed to sell. Try to keep in mind the overt commercialization and not take the small successes you have in just enjoying a simple salad with some boiled eggs, while not getting sick, for granted. Good health tastes great, don't let anyone tell you hard boiled eggs and some celery sticks isn't a meal--"It is until I eat again!"

Speed is just an increase in efficiency in carrying out the procedure. You'll get it, just know what you want and are doing first, then be deliberate. I'll help out best I can.

• Ah this is actually a big topic.
  
• For a hone, you have three options. A basic grooved steel, a ceramic rod, or a diamond coated steel. The grooved (most common) and the diamond will hone your edge but will also sharpen for better and for worst your edge at the same time due to the courseness of the grooving / diamond coating. The ceramic will do the same, however because it's smooth, it's usually designed to give you a very fine grit at most in it's "sharpening" process ie removes as little metal as possible, maybe at most polish the edge a bit which favors most nicer knife owners. For a western style knife such as yours, and especially stamped blade with a low hardness, your edge usually will roll and fairly often and thus a hone is actually best for you to own and use on a somewhat daily basis. I recommend any non diamond, grooved steel although I find that diamond steels grind far too much metal at inaccurate angles (due to the very wild free hand motion of steeling) but does help give you a quick toothy edge. My personal one of use is ceramic.
  
• As for sharpening, while I don't like pull through or machine sharpeners at all and personally use stones, I don't exactly recommend them for you. The reason is I just don't see the time spend hand sharpening on stones worth the blade/blade material. That is, your knife isn't designed to hold an extremely keen edge, nor is it designed to hold an edge for an insane amount of time, thus for me, when I use a nox or a stamped blade a pull through or a machine sharpener is fine by me. As recommended the accusharp , or any of the decent chefchoice sharpeners will work very well for you. However if you want to progress and learn, then I recommend a low to medium grit combo stone. Say 600 and 1000/2000 so that if you feel like it, you can reset the bevel and then give your knife a decent working edge.
  
• Now say if you upgrade to nicer blades, then by all means stones is the way to go if not an Edge Pro system. Reason for it is that your paying for very nice metal on your blade and thus the very aggressive grinding actions of machine and pull thru sharpeners hurts your investment far more than helps it. Further more, you control the angle and the fineness of your blade. Have Super Blue core steel? Hap40? Bring that sucker down to 9-10 degrees a side with a 20k mirror polished edge. I like to see a machine do that. Plus, usually, with these 'nicer blades' your often running into Japanese knives. J knives are usually made with pretty hard metals, hrc 60+ which does not work with many steels on the market since J knives aren't designed for that to begin with. J knives are designed to have keen, hard , steep edges that are meant to be held for a long time and most likely to chip than roll so whenever it's time to touch up, it's by stones only.
  
• Anyways thats likely more than you ever wanted to know, so to answer your OP, for a steel I recommend the Tojiro Sharpening steel, if you prefer the ideal of a diamond steel giving you a toothy edge while your hone then a DMT fine will suit you. If you want your hone to just hone and not sharpen, then the Idahone fine is pretty much everyone's favorite.
  
• For sharpeners the AccuSharp is my favorite pull thru sharpener, the Spydero sharpmaker wasn't too bad and any of the common electric sharpeners will give you a working edge pesto pesto "pro" or get a basic combo stone

I am in the same position you are in. Love cooking, no formal training, but love the science, theory and art behind it all. I have a few books that I find to be indispensable.

• How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything: Vegetarian by Mark Bittman are two of my favorite recipe books. Loads of pretty simple recipes, lots of suggestions for modifications, and easy to modify yourself. Covers a bit of technique and flavor tips, but mostly recipes.
  
  
• CookWise by Shirley Corriher (the food science guru for Good Eats!) - great book that goes much more into the theory and science behind food and cooking. Lots of detailed info broken up nicely and then provides recipes to highlight the information discussed. Definitely a science book with experiments (recipes) added in to try yourself.
  
  
• Professional Baking and Professional Cooking by Wayne Gissen - Both of these books are written like textbooks for a cooking class. Filled with tons of conversion charts, techniques, processes, and detailed food science info. Has recipes, but definitely packed with tons of useful info.
  
  
• The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters - this is not much on theory and more recipes, but after using many of the recipes in this book and reading between the lines a great deal, this taught me a lot about how great food doesn't require tons of ingredients. Many foods and flavors highlight themselves when used and prepared very simply and this really shifted my perspective from overworking and overpreparing dishes to keeping things simple and letting the food speak for itself.
  
  And mentioned in other threads, Cooking for Geeks is a great book too, On Food and Cooking is WONDERFUL and What Einstein Told His Chef is a great read as well. Modernist Cuisine is REALLY cool but makes me cry when I see the price.

I'm a very visual learner, so I got good by watching Julia Child. She regularly peppers her shows with advice about how to get good at something, and how to customise a recipe when things go wrong, or when you want to switch things up a bit. She's got a decidedly French leaning, but French food is a very good place to start anyway. The full set of DVDs of The French Chef can get had for about $50 from ebay.

There's an episode where she was featuring four recipes for potatoes. She was trying to make a potato cake type of thing. She'd added plenty of butter to the pan, and threw in the boiled lightly crushed potatoes. She didn't let it set for a very long time, but tried to flip the whole thing over in one piece. Half of it ended up on the stove. Without skipping a beat, she scooped it off the stove, threw it back in the pan, and said the iconic line "When you're alone in the kitchen, who's going to see?" She then proceeded to dump it into a dish, throw in a load of cream and a few cubes of cheese, and instructed you to let it hang out under the broiler so that it gets bubbly and crisped up. She mentioned that you shouldn't ever apologise for how something came out, and just carry on as if that new thing is what you'd intended all along.

Whenever she had the ability to do so, she'd show you how to do something from scratch, including how to filet a fish, how to separate out a whole chicken, and how to break down larger steaks into serving sized portions. And, because you're watching her do it all for you, you get an idea of what it is you're looking for, step by step.

Another great resource (although their recipes are white, and tend towards the bland) is America's Test Kitchen's TV Show cookbook. On the show itself, they don't go into technique very much, but they certainly do so in the book. There are large, colourful pictures about how each step of the cooking process should look, and hundreds of recipes to try out. They thoroughly test out each recipe repeatedly, using tools that the average home cook will have access to, and taste test the results. It's an excellent resource to have on hand. You can generally find it used for about $20.

If you're curious to try out baking your own bread, I cannot highly recommend enough Bread by Eric Treuille.

https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Eric-Treuille/dp/1409352722/

It has HUGE full colour photos of the final product, and lots of foundational advice about the art of baking bread. They discuss various flours, how to combine them into an existing recipe, and the effects they have on the final loaf. It's one that I turn to whenever I have a craving for home made bread, and it's never lead me wrong.

If you want SOLID advice about how to quickly build up your cooking repertoire, Mike Ruhlman's Ratio is your best bet.

https://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728/

He realised that most basic recipes can be broken down into ratios, so that if you need to scale up or scale down, you can do so very quickly. His technique to teach you how to get comfortable with ratios is very good.

Another EXCELLENT place to start learning to build your own recipes is Julia's Kitchen Wisdom.

https://www.amazon.com/Julias-Kitchen-Wisdom-Essential-Techniques/dp/0375711856/

She gives some basic techniques on foundational recipes, and then tells you how to tweak the recipes to work with whatever you've got on hand. It's less a by the books recipe compendium, and more of a philosophical understanding of how recipes work, and what flavours should go together.

Speaking of flavour. Get The Flavour Bible by Karen Page.

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/

There are hundreds of ingredients, and the things that go well with them. Instead of giving you a recipe, it gives you ideas of things to combine together, so that they go together in delicious ways.

If you are going to get a ruler, go ahead and get a kitchen ruler:

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Rules-Mini/dp/B00DT1XYDM/

It's small, but it has a TON of great information on it. Very useful to gauge whether or not you're hitting your marks for whatever size you're aiming for.

This is going to be the opposite of what you want to hear. But, you asked for it and I respect that. I think that there's no substitute for going about this old school and traditionally. The good news is that you can mostly do this for yourself, by yourself.

If you're disinclined (due to time or for another reason) to enroll in a culinary program get yourself either The Professional Chef or Martha Stewart's Cooking School

I know what you're thinking, "Martha Stewart? What am I? A housewife from Iowa?" Fuck that. I've been fortunate to have met and worked with Martha Stewart she's smart enough to know what she doesn't know and that particular book was actually written by a CIA alum and very closely follows the first year or so that you'd get in a program like that. It starts with knife work and then moves on to stocks and sauces. This particular book has actually been criticized as being too advance for people who have no idea what they're doing so, despite appearances, it may be perfect for you. If you want to feel more pro and go a little deeper, get the CIA text but know that it's more or less the same info and frankly, the pictures in the MSO book are really great. Plus, it looks like Amazon has them used for $6 bucks.

These resources will show you HOW to do what you want and they follow a specific, traditional track for a reason. Each thing that you learn builds on the next. You learn how to use your knife. Then, you practice your knife work while you make stocks. Then, you start to learn sauces in which to use your stocks. Etc. Etc. Etc. Almost like building flavors... It's all part of the discipline and you'll take that attention to detail into the kitchen with you and THAT'S what makes great food.

Then, get either Culinary Artistry or The Flavor Bible (Both by Page and Dornenburg. Also consider Ruhlman's Ratio (a colleague of mine won "Chopped" because she memorized all the dessert ratios in that book) and Segnit's Flavor Thesaurus. These will give you the "where" on building flavors and help you to start to express yourself creatively as you start to get your mechanics and fundamentals down.

Now, I know you want the fancy science stuff so that you can throw around smarty pants things about pH and phase transitions and heat transfer. So...go get Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking THAT is the bible. When the people who run the Ferran Adria class at Harvard have a question, it's not Myhrvold that they call up, it's Harold McGee. While Modernist Cuisine always has a long, exciting complicated solution to a problem I didn't even know I had, when I really want to know what the fuck is going on, I consult McGee and you will too, once you dig in.

Another one to consider which does a great job is the America's Test Kitchen Science of Good Cooking this will give you the fundamental "why's" or what's happening in practical situations and provides useful examples to see it for yourself.

Honestly, if someone came to me and asked if they should get MC or McGee and The Science of Good Cooking and could only pick one and never have the other, I'd recommend the McGee / ATK combo everyday of the week and twice on Tuesdays.

Good luck, dude. Go tear it up!

I'll throw my vote in for a sharpening stone. If he doesn't already have a nice sharpening set, maybe consider getting him something like a nice diamond sharpening stone; I've seen them for $50 or less.

Tools are always nice. Here are some suggestions to think about:
~ microplane grater
~ Japanese mandolines can be fun to have around.
~ Fish spatulas can be a handy tool.
~ Does he have a good quality peeler? Everyone has a "normal" peeler, but I like to have a good quality horizontal peeler, like one of these, to use sometimes.
~ Does he do a lot of baking? If so, maybe some silicone baking mats for his baking sheets, or maybe some parchment paper.
~ Does he like to use fresh citrus juice very much? Does he have a citrus reamer?
~ Does he like to use fresh garlic? Maybe a garlic press?
~ Silicone spatulas?
~ Does he have a pepper grinder for fresh ground pepper?
~ Does he have a set of mise en place bowls or something to use to keep his stuff organized when he's working?
~ Does he have a scale? You can find plenty of options for home-use digital scales that can weigh up to 11 or 12 pounds, and use either pounds, or grams (if he's doing anything metric.)
~ Something like a good quality cast iron pan can be a lifetime investment, because if they're well cared for, he'll be able to pass it on to his grandkids someday.
~ A dutch oven will always be useful to serious home cooks. The enameled cast iron type are very popular, but they come in many different sizes and shapes, so keep that in mind when picking one out.
~ Knives are always nice. Paring knife, utility knife, serrated slicer, etc.

Those are just a few suggestions that popped into mind. Good luck, I hope you find something nice for him.

See my answer here, which is about tikka masala, which is the exact same dish with a different marinade (tikka instead of classic tandoori). Quoting the salient parts:

> A lot of cookbooks and videos will attempt to give you the "authentic" kind; I myself was consistently disappointed until I found the key. Or keys, actually. A few things they tend to do wrong:
>
> Too little onion. The gravy in Indian food is based on onions. It's what gives the sauce its smooth body; it acts as a thickener and a very subtle but important flavour enhancer. Can't make Indian food without it. It's not just one onion chopped and then "fried for 5 minutes until translucent". No — you need a whole bunch of onions, cooked (sweated) until tender and then blended into a fine pulp. Some Indian restaurants will also cook the onions with peppers, cabbage and tomatoes, among other things. Sweating the onions for 45-60 minutes is absolutely paramount. Sweated onions develop complex aromatics that taste completely differently from onions that have been just lightly fried in some oil.
>
> Too much unconcentrated tomato. Rather, a lot of recipes call for you to plop in a can of chopped tomatoes. This makes no sense: Tomatoes have a lot of water, so you don't get a concentrated gravy out of this, not unless you cook it for hours. It's the same shoddy deception as the classic cook-book illusion that pretends you can caramelize onions in five minutes. No, you need tomato paste: A really concentrated reduction of tomato.
>
> No ginger-garlic paste. One of the cornerstones of Indian food (and coincidentally also some middle-eastern cuisines and Thai) is the ginger-garlic paste, but it almos never comes up in recipes. In India you'll find jars of this in the supermarket. Making your own is better. It's what it says: Chopped garlic and ginger, minced in a blender until a fine paste.
>
> They skip the blending step. A lot of recipes ask you to combine chopped onions, tomatoes, spices and what not, and you get this chunky mess that is nothing like a true tikka masala. All the flavour is distributed in bits of onion, bits of coriander, watery tomato sauce. A great tikka masala sauce must be blended for about 5-6 minutes until perfectly smooth.
>
> Not enough fenugreek. This one is a matter of preference. I think tikka masala absolutely needs to be made with (a modest amount of) fenugreek leaves. To me, it's what turns something good into something awesome.
>
> Not enough paneer. Again, this is a matter of preference. Some cooks apparently only add paneer to butter chicken, not tikka masala. For me, the sauce is exactly the same thing (and historically, I think that is right: tikka masala is butter chicken sauce + tikka chicken). Anyway, adding crumbled paneer to a sauce makes it a lot better.
>
> The only recipe I have found to match the stuff you find in restaurants is an ebook by a British cook named Julian Voigt: The Secret to That Takeway Curry Taste. It's amazing. (I'm not affiliated with the author, just a happy customer.)
>
> Voigt runs a small "BIR"-style (British Indian Restaurant, pretty much what you associate with Indian food in the West) takeout place in England. His own recipes come from recipes he learned by working in Indian restaurants before he started his own. And unlike many recipes which claim to be "authentic", they truly are. The book is charmingly amateurishly put together and completely unpretentious.
>
> Voigt's recipe is basically a three-step process, from memory:
>
> Onion gravy base. This is, at its most basic, sweated onions + lots of neutral vegetable oil + fresh chili + some tomatoes + garam masala, cooked for about 90 minutes and then blended until perfectly smooth. The base smells like old gym socks and has a brown, goopy, unappealing exterior. It's used as the base for the actual sauce.
>
> Tikka masala sauce base. This is yogurt + tomato paste + spice paste + red food dye. Voigt uses a combination of several off-the-shelf Indian spice pastes as a shortcut.
>
> * Final sauce = heat onion base, add a few spoonfuls of tikka masala sauce base + ginger-garlic paste + coriander leaves + coconut powder (aka coconut flour; a BIR oddity, I believe, but it does makes the sauce mellower) + fenugreek leaves + paneer (optional, it's not in the book) + a little heavy cream to finish.
>
> The whole book is made from the perspective of a restaurant chef, so everything is scaled to large batches. That's why the sauce bases are separate. The nice thing is that you can make 5 liters of onion base and freeze what you don't need; the onion base can be used for all sorts of dishes since it's pretty flavour-neutral.
>
> I highly recommend the book.

Spices are a great way to up your cooking game, but they definitely take some learning. It's almost like learning how to read a language - there are different symbols that represent sounds, and there are grammatical rules for how you put them together.

I recommend tasting examples of spice combinations - go out to eat at places that do interesting spices, like Greek, Indian, Ethiopian, Korean, etc. Then read up online about what kinds of spices and herbs they use for their various dishes. This trains your palate and smell along with your knowledge. Indian cuisine is the hardmode for learning spices, but it's super sophisticated in how it's used. You can and do prepare spices in all sorts of ways for Indian cooking - toast whole, toast then grind, toast whole in oil, grind then bloom in oil, etc. And their different masalas are an excellent way to learn blending of spices. 660 Curries is a great encyclopedic resource for learning about spices and how they're used in Indian cooking.

Try getting a couple spice blends to try - such as Herbs de Provence (French) or a barbecue spice rub - use them in cooking and look at the ingredients. Make it almost like flash cards - you try or smell something, then look up what it is. That will help you become better at recognizing spices and herbs when you encounter them in the wild (in food) and also show you the patterns where they fit together. Generally, spices give more flavor when they're heated with oil, so make sure that your test preparations include that element somewhere to get the most out of the spices.

I assign my partner to create spice rubs for our steaks now, because it's a way for them to practice using their nose and knowledge to make a blend that not only tastes good, but that fits their idea of the flavor experience they are trying for.

Lastly, consider getting The Flavor Bible, which is a great resource for suggesting ways to pair ingredients with flavors, including spices and herbs. While you personally may not like every pairing, it's a good way to practice combining flavors that are generally seen as compatible.

A good knife is a very personal thing, like a religion. Some people belong to the church of Whustoff (like me), others the Church of Henckel. Even some will claim no church allegiance and say that This Victorinox is the best chef's knife. Really though, it's a straight matter of personal preference.

Most high quality knives don't differ all that much. They manufacturing and forging methods are basically the same. What's left is looks, weight, feel, and other things. There is no objective answer to the question "what shape handle is preferable" as it will depend on how big your hand is, what kind of grip you use, and other things like that. My chef's knife is a Whustoff Classic 8" wide Chef's knife. I bought it after going to a local cookware store and personally holding and trying out every chef knife they had in stock. For me, the 8" size is good, but the extra width gives the knife a good heft that I really enjoy, especially because my primary knife before that was a large butcher's knife. I also like the way the handle is shaped, as it feels good in my hand.

Being of the Church of Whustoff, I will recommend the Whustoff Classic line of knives. But to be honest, the blade will be very similar to the comparable Zwilling Henckles chef knife. These are both very traditional knife designs, and your preference will likely be decided by how they feel in your hand. Other brands exist, though, I don't know too much about them. Global, for example, makes extremely sharp, extremely lightweight knives. I tried some out at the store, but didn't really like they way they felt. Not enough heft for my purposes.

For size, I would recommend getting the standard 8" knife. It is the most common size, and it is probably the most versatile as well. I liked the feel of the 10" knives I tried, but I think their length is not for everyone.

TL;DR go to a store where you can try all their knives and get the one that feels best for you.

I would highly recommend the victorinox as a first knife. It's a great knife and it's cheap. There are better knives in the world, but none I've met give you a better quality:money ratio. Learn with the victorinox - your first knife will take some abuse as you learn how to control it, and it's better to ding up a $30 knife than one that costs $100+.

Keeping your knife sharp is also a high priority. I would also recommend getting a knife sharpener like the Accusharp. You can run this over your knife a few times after each use and it will stay in top condition. This will take the guesswork out of sharpening. For a pricier knife, I wouldn't recommend actually sharpening a knife after every use since it takes off a tiny bit of metal each time, but the victorinox is cheap enough that this is not a major concern; you could sharpen it after every use for a few years before destroying the knife, which is more than enough time for you to learn knife skills.

Once you have more experience, you can buy a butcher's steel and a sharpening stone to perfect your sharpening technique which will be easier on your knife, and eventually you can splurge on a fantastic knife based on what feels comfortable to you. But starting off, the victorinox and the accusharp are a great, affordable kit that will put you leaps and bounds ahead of what most people actually have.

First, to answer your question, I have found that How to Cook Everything has really helped me get comfortable with some basics like pan sauces/gravy and seasoning profiles.

As mentioned, obviously you can reduce a recipe proportionally, but as far as instructions go, a 3-4 pound pot roast will take much longer than a 1-1.5 pound one. You really just need to understand what the goal is. Is it color, tenderness, and/or temperature? A thermometer is key. The other two come with experience in adapting recipes.

Another thing about expiring ingredients. This has a lot to do with meal planning. So you have a small bag of golden potatoes. Maybe one night you decide to be classic and have steak & potatoes. So you boil 4 small potatoes, drain, quarter and add butter and dried parsley. Then, maybe later in the week you do breakfast-for-dinner and have eggs, homefries, and maybe you have some leftover steak to make it easier. Another example: Hot dogs one night? Don't let the buns collect mold -- make some garlic bread for some sort of pasta dish a couple days later.

I'm with you on fresh herbs. I use mostly dried spices and it works out for me pretty well. Occasionally I'll buy cilantro or basil, but not always. I only use chopped, minced garlic in the big jar. But I always have onion and bell pepper on hand. Something to check out is the website Still Tasty. I don't really use it often, but I have referenced it from time to time if I'm considering cooking with a produce item I don't use often.

Also, just a tip, buy family packs of meat and use a vacuum sealer such as a FoodSaver to individually package your proteins. You save money in the long run and have better quality ingredients, even if they've been in the freezer for a couple months.

The King 1000/6000 stone is all you need to get started. The 1000 is coarse enough that you can fix chips in a reasonable amount of time, and the 6000 is fine enough to get a shaving-sharp edge. You don't need a stone holder, a damp kitchen towel will do. You don't even need a nagura. Look up Murray Carter on YouTube—he's a really cool knife maker who uses 1000 and 6000 King stones on his crazy-expensive hand-forged knives. He's got a nice way of rigging up a sharpening station over your sink with a 2x4, although I just use a cutting board that happens to fit nicely in my sink. Carter's videos are more geared toward traditional Japanese knives, so I wouldn't use his exact technique, but his equipment setup is inexpensive and easy to use. Anyway, learn how to use the 1000/6000 to get a shaving-sharp edge (Carter calls it "scary sharp") and you can move on from there to more exotic gear.

All that said, I don't know if whetstones are the best choice for most people. If you really want to get into it for fun, by all means, go nuts. It's a nice relaxing ritual and you can get incredible results if you're willing to put in the time to practice. But if you're only interested in having a reasonably-sharp knife, then there are better options that can get you there with less fuss. A decent two-stage pull-through sharpener (i.e., one with two slots) will get you a knife that can slice paper and cut onions just fine. It won't shave your arm or slice ribbons of newspaper, but it's totally usable. I have a Wusthof one that cost about $30 but it seems Amazon has some higher-rated choices for the same money. They even have a single-stage sharpener that people rave about for $10.

A good knife is always a good idea. That being said, there are knives out there that are cheaper than the one you're looking at. I have the Victorinox Fibrox 8" and I love it. From the first cut I made with it, I knew I had a good knife. It's a solid knife for a home cook. If you still want the santoku style blade, Victorinox also makes one with a Granton blade for about 1/4 the price.

One other point: if you do get a good knife, make sure you have a good place to store it. You don't want to just put it in with the rest of your cooking utensils; it will get all beat up and blunted very quickly. The best option is a heavy wood block with slots to put the knives in. But you can also get something like this. I have one that has slotted foam at the end to stick the knives in. Other maintenance items like a honing steel and a whet stone are good to consider as well.

Here is what you're going to do: you're going to cheat.

First, buy Sodium Citrate. Sodium citrate is a very powerful emulsifier, and will let you make cheese sauce of a perfect consistency with no guesswork, using just cheese and, well, that's pretty much it. The result is a sauce where the cheese flavor is not covered up by milk or butter.

There are a lot of recipes that you can find online using sodium citrate, but in my experience the best is this: boil 1lb of dry pasta to just shy of al dente in salted water, drain but reserve the pasta liquid, add 1-1.5 cups of the pasta liquid back in, add 1Tbsp sodium citrate, then gradually, mixing as you go, add 1lb of shredded cheese. Use whatever cheese or combination of cheeses you like, use more cheese if you want a saucier mac and less cheese if you want a less saucy mac. You'll probably need to add more liquid--if you do, use beer, wine or the pasta liquid, and only add a bit at a time. Mix everything up well over low heat and you'll get a perfectly creamy mac and cheese with intense cheese flavor. You can also add spices and other flavors--I like a little hot sauce, a little garlic powder, a little paprika and a teaspoon or two of brown sugar.

This sauce will never, ever break. You can try your best to break it but it won't happen, and if it does just add another pinch of sodium citrate, heat it up, mix it together and problem solved. So stick it in a casserole dish, top it with bread crumbs or cheese, and bake it just the same way you would a normal mac and cheese!

If you've watched the videos, how are you always readjusting the food? They clearly show it.

I'd get an easier knife if you're slipping though, maybe the Victorinox Fibrox. I'm just a home cook, who's gotten more into cooking the last couple years, but doing prep work and watching videos really helped me.

Besides a sturdier easier to hold knife, maybe look at your cutting board. How big is it? I'm always awkward when it gets small. I just got a custom ~24x22" board and it's frakking heaven.


But if you're constantly readjusting, accept that nothing will be perfect just keep going. I doubt cooks worry about getting the last little slice of something, or the perfect cut every time. Yes, they're better than you and me but probably through repetition. Cooking isn't a slow paced job, my neighbour who's a cook used to always laugh at me about how perfect I would try and get things. I'm more precise now, while caring less[ Edit].

I think what's helped here is that by not being so stressed, but still concerned, I've gotten into a rhythm or flow with cutting things.

I went with the Solicut 8" chef and 4" paring combo. I checked every place in town, none of them (aside from Bed, Bath, and Beyond) had any higher end knives. I tired all the ones in the BBB display in my hand, but none felt just right. The Solicut has a thinker handle, which I think I will like. If it doesn't feel just right in my hand, I can send it back for free, because I am a Prime member. The next thing I will try is the Shun knives. Hopefully the Solicut will be good, though.

Thanks again for the help.

Ive got these but it looks like they're not on amazon anymore. I think most well rated quick read thermometers should be just fine though. I'm not a huge fan of the fork style, they don't seem as quick as the ones like I just linked. this one looks great, but ive never used one

For grilling or cooking in the oven I use my iGrill all the time. I had an original and it broke on me, but then I picked up the 2 after seeing them at CES (before Weber bought them) and hearing how it was all new etc. etc. and its been rock solid for me since. Ive picked up a few minis for friends for Christmas as well and they all unanimously love them. I see the 3 is out now, but I have no experience with that.

Edit Looks like the igrill 3 is just crappier and only works with some grills. How dumb is that. If you're going to get one in that case, get an iGrill 2 or a mini

As everyone is/will be quick to answer, one of the best values out there is the Victorinox Fibrox.

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-8-Inch-Fibrox-Straight/dp/B008M5U1C2

It's not flashy, it's not forged in the blood of peasants, but it works great and does exactly what you want/need it to. I've worked in restaurants and I use a fibrox half the time at home.

The next level I guess would be a Wusthof/Henckels/Global/Shun, which are made a little better, look nicer, and have some personality to them. They are in the price range you mentioned, but there are definite differences to them that are best explained by you trying them out rather than me saying Wusthofs are "rounder" than Henckels, Globals are light and slippery, etc.

After that you start getting into the more high-end stuff, usually $150 and (much) up. My starting point (and one of my favorites) in this would be a Misono UX10.

Of course, everyone's opinions will vary... but not really on the Victorinox. I don't think I've seen anyone NOT like that knife yet. And it's $40 or less.

You really need to take some photos and describe it better. How heavy is the pan? Is it light enough for you to wave it around in the air? If not, it might be cast iron. A 12" cast iron skillet weighs around 8lbs (going by these details on the Lodge pan on Amazon).

What color is it on the outside? Cast iron will be black all the way around. What material does it seem to be made of? Aluminum is very light and often pretty thin. I doubt it is stainless steel because the inside being black would mean it is just really dirty.

Did you ever wash it? Will that stuff that you can scrape off wash off with a good scrubbing?

Have you asked your mom? Most pans have specific ways that you need to care for them to keep them in good shape and to work their best. For example, you shouldn't use metal utensils in Teflon coated pans because you'll scratch the non-stick surface. Also, you shouldn't let cast iron pans sit around wet because they'll start to rust and they need a good season to perform their best.

Also you know, thinking about this, here's my best advice for you:

Try to move away from the idea of needing "recipes" and think about cooking more holistically. You don't really need a recipe for a roasted chicken. You need a chicken and an oven and a basic idea of time/temp. After that it's all in what you like? Coat it with olive oil? Sure. Add lemon pepper? Sure. Use BBQ rub? Why not! Stuff the inside with an onion and some rosemary? Go for it. Use butter rather than olive oil? Absolutely.

So much of cooking is not about adhering to recipes but understanding the basics of how to cook and then applying your own tastes.

A fantastic book, if you're really interested in learning how to cook w/out having to rely on recipes all the time is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Ruhlmans-Twenty-Techniques-Recipes-Manifesto/dp/0811876438

The book takes 20 cooking techniques - things like braising, frying, baking, sauteeing, and explains how and when you would use them. He does provide recipes in each category, but overall you learn how to apply the techniques to just about anything and it really opens your understanding of how to cook ANYTHING.

Ratio by Michael Ruhlman (https://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728) - My absolute favorite at home cook book, hits everything you're looking for I think. Has baking and cooking recipes

Baking by Hand (https://www.amazon.ca/Baking-Hand-Artisanal-Pastries-Without/dp/1624140009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468117705&sr=1-1&keywords=baking+by+hand) - More technically complicated, but still great. One of my go to books when I'm looking to learn something new. Mostly breads, but some pastries too

How to Cook Everything (Vegetarian) by Mark Bittman (https://www.amazon.ca/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Meatless/dp/0764524836/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468117750&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+cook+everything+vegetarian) - this is the dark horse, you'd be surprised how much he includes in these books. Pizza dough recipe is the bomb.

We usually source all of our hydrocolloids from Chef Rubber since our school gets a discount, since we order in bulk for a lot of the pastry specialty students. Fairly decently priced for first time experimenters. They don't get into very specific hydrocolloids (like the three different types of Carrageenan, or two types of Methylcellulose) but they give you enough to work with.

Willpowder is a good source to find some more specific hydrocolloids, and a few recipes. However, they don't supply some of the tools you'd need, as Chef Rubber does.

L'Epicerie is another source for the VERY specific needs in mind, at the highest quality, and price.

As for literature, Khymos is still our first stop to shop on knowledge. They do a very good job on this blog of finding, and sharing information from professionals using MG methods, as well as point you to printed literature on the subject. If anything, we like to take ideas from the blog, and then tinker with them to make something else using the same process they show.

One thing I can't stress enough in playing with MG, is know and understand flavour. Every single member of our club has a copy of the Flavor Bible and usually the second thing looked at after we get an idea bouncing around.

300$ is top of the line stuff, you should be able to find stuff under 100$ pretty much everywhere. Have you checked Amazon, Walmart or similar? For example I have a no name SS from Macy's I bought almost 15 years ago and it cooks perfectly, still in pristine shape. I think I paid like 30 bucks for it.

Otherwise if you want a one size fits all nonstick pan to hold you over, Cook's Illustrated rated T-Fal their top pick. It's 26 bucks on Amazon US. It's a great pan!

https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Professional-Nonstick-Thermo-Spot-Indicator/dp/B000GWG0T2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483926536&sr=8-1&keywords=nonstick

Checkout the victorinox line. They don’t have a full tang and it’s a fibrox handle but it’s very sharp, feels good in the hand, and it’s easy to sharpen. Plus it’s cheap, I enjoy this knife as much as my Japanese and German steel.

Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8-Inch Chef's FFP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M5U1C2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vZskDbP2G8HNX

If you haven't read/studied [Harold McGee] (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537944622&sr=8-1&keywords=on+food+and+cooking+harold+mcgee), that'll set you up with a solid foundation for knowledge.

As for skills, that's on you to practice. Definitely subscribe to quality content from quality sources that help keep the passion alive and learn from that. Buzzfeed Tasty is probably the best way to injure yourself over mediocre slop if you were to mimic them (Although I think I've seen one set of hands use a knife safe and proper.)

Mercer and wusthov are both fine knives, but if you want the most bang for your buck, you really should buy individually. That doesnt mean you cant get a nice matching set though. Copying and pasting this from a thread a few weeks ago.

>
>The Victorinox ones are probably the best value around. Thats speaking as someone >who owns several hundred dollars worth of mostly Shun and Mercer knives.
>
>All you REALLY need is a
>
>Chefs Knife
>
>and a
>
>Pairing Knife
>
>
>to start with, those will handle about 85% of anything your ever need to do, but if you >want to expand i would get a
>
>
>Boning knife
>
>Bread knife
>
>Slicer
>
>And dont forget a honing steel.
>
>And MAYBE a pair of shears.
>

http://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/1nbho7/baked_potatoes_i_made_last_night/cchbgh9

They wont come all together in a nice box, but no reason you couldnt get a nice block too and just wrap the whole thing...

I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but I enjoyed Ratio:
http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728

It doesn't really focus on flavors, but it does explain why certain ingredients are used in specific ratios to create certain types of food, e.g. bread, cookies, stocks, sauces, custards. I really enjoyed it.

I have a King water stone, and have used it to put new edges on blades that have been neglected for years. IMO once you have the right tools, technique is where you should be spending your time. You might want to take a look a Global's knife sharpening technique video. The technique in the video tends to work best on knives with relatively flat blade profiles (Global makes Japanese knives), but I've adapted it to work with my western knives relatively easily.

Edit: Wow, downvotes? Great job people

I got a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet off Amazon for $17 bucks a few months ago. It's pre-seasoned and fantastic, and Lodge is a great brand. Ships free too. I absolutely adore it.

Check it out: http://amzn.com/B00006JSUB

The Flavor Bible gets thrown around a lot, but for good reason. It's a great resource when trying to formulate your own recipe. It focuses on things like which foods have affinities for other foods, seasonality, and sensations different foods have. It's a great thing to page through when you have whatever the equivalent of writer's block is for cooks.

I like Ad Hoc At Home for relatively simple food done very well. It will help teach you to respect good ingredients while opening your eyes to some interesting flavor combinations.

I also have On Food and Cooking, which is dense but will teach you about food so that when you do pick up a "super fancy" recipe you may have a chance of actually understanding what the chef is doing and why.

And, of course, there's Ruhlman's Twenty, which is also very informative but is much more accessible than On Food and Cooking.

Not that I'm an expert but I think you're going about this wrong. Find yourself a good cheap knife (I think most of us here would recommend the Victorinox Fibrox series) and then find an automatic knife sharpening device.

Personally I recommend the Accusharp draw type sharpener. It has two tungsten carbide sharpeners set at the proper angle. You just drag through the unit a couple of times and your knife is 90% as sharp as if you spent 20 minutes using a stone.

Once you have a working knife system (and some extra cash) you can go ahead a purchase a bit of a better knife and some stones you like in order to develop your sharpening skills.

I'd suggest this thermometer: https://smile.amazon.com/Lavatools-Javelin-Digital-Thermometer-Chipotle/dp/B00GRFHXVQ/.

They make cheaper and (much) more expensive ones. I have several. This is the best value. Fast and accurate.

If your boyfriend is into cooking and will also get use out of the thermometer you can upgrade to the Thermopop (~$35) or the best of the best Thermapen ($80) found on the thermowork.com website.

I LOVE the book Culinary Artistry for this exact reason. A big portion of it is a compilation of pairings and components, both for specific cuisines (Italian, Indian, English, etc etc) as well as ingredients. So if you look up Limes, it'll give a list of items that it pairs well with, an well as which cuisines. A great cross-reference for when you want to branch out and try coming up with something on your own!

Cook's Illustrated recommended this one as their best value: http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-40520-Fibrox-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000638D32

I have the 10-inch version and love it. I only have four knives: that one, a paring knife, bread knife, and fileting knife. I probably use the chef's knife 6 days a week and am only finding I need to sharpen it now after about 2 years of use.

I believe the rule of thumb for chef's knives is that you should use the largest one you feel comfortable with.

If you want a fool proof method, get an edge pro (or similar knock off) system.

If you want to learn to free hand sharpen, get a King 1k/6k water stone.$30

These are not the best stones in the world, but they are a good price point to get into it.


You get to pick the angle you want! But its VG-10 steel so it can go pretty steep, 15 deg would probably be recommended. Watch some videos to get a good idea of what you are doing, and how to hold an angle. You could also get an angle guide if you want.

You don't need a flattening stone right away, but you will eventually. A cheap ish option is to buy a low grit (140 is sometimes recomended) dimond plate and use it. $30

Lots of videos.

On Food and Cooking is pretty popular when it comes to understanding the transformations that foods undergo. It's not a cookbook per se but it's pretty heavy on the science of stuff. I used it as a sole resource for a short paper I wrote in eggs a couple semesters back. It might not be the most enjoyable read but it sure is informative.

The mandoline is the right answer, though I would encourage anyone to try to use a good chef's knife. Thin slices, then fan them out on a cutting board & take thin strips off the thin slices. For the quantity a home cook needs, this is probably fine & the knife skills one gains are invaluable. Oh, heck..... just by the cheap Benriner mandoline. They are great for the money.

If you don't have strongly defined needs/preferences, I would get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-8-Inch-47520-5-2063-20/dp/B000638D32

Solid knife, good one to use while learning about knife care. Maybe you will be happy with it for a long time. Or maybe you will learn what you want in a fancier knife later. Keep it simple until there is a good reason to pay more.

It's toast. Don't buy another one; replace it with this pan, the T-Fal oven safe 12" non-stick. It's recommended and used by America's Test Kitchen. I have one, and I love it, but it's also $28, so when it dies in another 2 years, I won't cry when I have to buy another one.

I learned this lesson with my Scanpan 9" skillet, which lasted a good 5 years or so before getting so scratched up that it's not really non-stick anymore, but that cost $75. Buy a good one, but buy cheap, and assume it's disposable and replaceable on a ~2-3 year cycle.

I wanted to cook but was unable to take time off to attend a school. I'd been enraged with a crap meal in an expensive countryside resto at a dinner for someone, so the next day I went up the High Street and found THIS.

I wasn't smart on cooking but I realized as I think you do that learning technique rather than reciting recipes is the way to a happier kitchen future.

After that, I eventually got an edition of THIS. It helped expand on, but not replace, the lessons from Cordon Bleu.

I went through those before this day of Internet videos and information sharing occurred; you are a beneficiary of more modern times being able to search for a solution to your problems.

I wanted to ask a question about your relationship, but hesitate. I mean, (blushing) how much stock do you put into your ability to please your husband with cooking? I only offer that as a point of consideration as a long-time married man. Restaurant-quality food at home won't make or break a marriage (although horrendous food at home can contribute to a break-up); other aspects of a marriage more than compensate for the quality of home-cooked food. Take it from a long-time married person. An offer of a PM stands, and best wishes in your journey to moving your already-good home cooking to a higher standard.

It doesn't have quite that special gift feel to it, but this is America's Test Kitchen's best chef knife for like 30 years in a row. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000638D32/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_tTgUDb7PKMT5V

I want to argue against it.

Getting a proper edge is almost impossible without a guided stone setup, and even then you can't get the best general purpose edge, because it involves 2 different angles on each side (double bevel).

Cooks Illustrated (pretty much the gold standard for the prosumer chef) recommends either a simple hand sharpener, or an electric one that can put a good tripple bevel edge on a knife.

The reality is that its 2014. We have better ways to sharpen knives than by hand with a stone. Yes, a stone does work. No, its not the best or even the ideal situation by a LONG shot.

For an everyday home kitchen use, spending an extra $100 or $200 won't do much for you. Some brands are really nice and they can keep their edge so you don't need to sharpen it as often, but you can still do the same with a decent one. Just don't go to Walmart and think you found a good knife. You can find a decent Wustoff knife online or even better, at your local restaurant supply store.
As for whetstones, they work but for me personally it does take quite a bit of time and you can get the same affect from using something like this http://www.amazon.com/AccuSharp-1-001-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00004VWKQ.

Pot
Frying Pan
Strainer
Baking Dish
Can Opener
Wooden Spoon
Mixing Spoon
Microwave
Turner
Cutting Board
Chef's Knife
Paring Knife
*Measuring Spoons/Measuring Cups

I also highly recommend How to Cook Everything. It is a great resource and actually discusses this exact topic. He gives basic and advanced cooking instruction and tips. Great book.

Ikea makes a really good non stick for 25$ or so. It has all the things you described.

Also the tfal prof 12.5 has a thicker bottom and does a great job. It's also around 25$.

If used both and enjoyed both. The Ikea one is much heftier. But the tfal pro is very slick and makes the perfect French omlette.

Edited: 7 years is a good life span for a non stick. Mine last a year to two years depending on how much I abuse them. So 25$ ever 1.5 years puts you a little behind your 100$ u year investment.

Edit edit:

Ikea pan with lid
https://m2.ikea.com/us/en/p/oumbaerlig-frying-pan-70292095/

Tfal

T-fal Nonstick Fry Pan, Professional 12-Inch Nonstick Pan, Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator, Black, Model E93808 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GWG0T2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rrEwCb32CNRBH

So your whetstone isn't going to actually sharpen much of anything. The grit is way too coarse to actually get an edge. It's good for repairing a chipped edge and such or reprofiling a knife if you want to change the blade angle. Then you need something finer to finish the job and get it actually sharp.

This is the stone I use. It does a pretty good job. Although the one I got was pretty far off of being flat and I had to flatten it. It's probably not a common issue since the reviews didn't mention it.

https://www.amazon.com/KING-KW65-Combination-Whetstone-Plastic/dp/B001DT1X9O

I'd recommend a victorinox 8" chef knife with fibrox handle, like this http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-8-Inch-Fibrox-Straight/dp/B008M5U1C2

From the same brand, I'd grab a bread knife, a paring knife, and maybe a 6 inch utility. That will cover 99% of anyone's knife needs.

Then grab a sharpener. This kind works well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004VWKQ/ref=pd_aw_sims_5?pi=SS115&simLd=1

You see a lot of hate for this type of sharpener around here because it removes more material than a stone. However- for someone who doesn't want to spend a ton of time and money using special water stones and sharpening jigs, it gets the job done very well. We used them in the restaurant kitchens I worked at. Quick and easy.

You might also get a honing steel.

Keeping knives sharp can be as simple or involved a process as you want. Being a master sharpener is not a prerequisite to being a good cook.

Im not an expert but I would say poor ventilation is your issue. The humidity in ovens seem to very greatly. From what I have experienced, electric ovens tend to be completely dry, whereas propane or natural gas ovens have that little bit of humidity present. Gas ovens usually have those ports on the bottom on each side right above the burners and the vent is usually located in the back above the racks.

Also, I've seen better results with these ovens when cooking on a much higher heat.

Humidity is vital in bread baking for browning and crisping as well as other aspects of baking. There is a good book you can get that would it explain it in a more scientific way.

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012

The The Flavor Bible pushes dill, cilantro and mint (a combo for which which I do not care, personally) and dill, cucumber and salmon as their headliners.

My personal favorite with dill in an onion flavor, so I would think about a kalonji (nigella) seed tarka/tempering poured over the veg and under the salmon. I have a mustard oil source that I trust to fry the kalongi seeds, so I would use that oil to fry the seeds; if I did not I would fry black mustard seeds with them in a neutral oil. It will really set off the dill and create a lot of flavors in the combinations.

Bitter is the other way to make the sweetness work with the dill to good advantage. I would consider coarsely chopping a bunch of black walnuts and toasting them to mix with the roasted veg bed to up the bitter and provide textural contrast if you like bitter direction better.

I already own a decent skillet, a frying pan and a cast-iron skillet (at least I think it is, it looks like this).


I want to be able to boil rice/potatoes/pasta, saute veggies, cook a steak/hamburger, make pasta sauces, stew/slow cook, make sauces, ... You get the idea. These tasks are all pretty basic, so I think you do pose a good question if I'd need all those pots.


Would it be a good idea to get these pots:

• Standard pot
  
• Stockpot (also useable for stew/simmer/slow cook?)
  
• Sauce pan

Read about building flavor profiles.

There are a couple of good books on the market: The Flavor Bible and The Flavor Thesauraus. They both have a lot of information on what ingredients go well with each other.

Also, learn by doing. Try things you think may go together well, even if it's not conventional. Even if the things you try don't come together, you can still learn from it. Try to understand WHY it didn't work (cooking method, flavor profile, preparation all have an affect), think about what you can do to correct the mistake, then implement that the next time you try that dish. I don't own a copy of it myself (yet), but Cook's Illustrated Magazine's The Science of Good Cooking would probably help in that regard.

In general, I consider Alton Brown, Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen, and Julia Child to be very reputable in the information they convey.

Honestly use sodium citrate. It is a super powerful emulsifier and you can make a sauce that is literally just cheese, water, and sodium citrate. That's probably going to be the closest you'll get unless you want to just melt velveeta.

EDIT: http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese/

http://www.amazon.com/Grade-Sodium-Citrate-Molecular-Gastronomy/dp/B00BLPNMYY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405199071&sr=8-2&keywords=sodium+citrate

Madhur Jaffrey is really the source for Indian cookbooks. But I'd actually like to mention two others as well:

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer is a big one, with recipes covering all levels of complexity. Some are great, some aren't, but there's just so much content in this book that it's hard to beat for the price.

[The New Indian Slow Cooker by Neela Paniz] (http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Indian-Slow-Cooker/dp/1607746190/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411415629&sr=8-1&keywords=neela+paniz) is a brand new book, but I've had access to a couple of the recipes for a few months now and here's the deal: Neela's recipes are occasionally complex. I've taken a few cooking classes from her and her "normal" vindaloo, for example, is really too long for anyone to do unless you have the whole afternoon to devote to it. But this book, due to its "slow cooker" focus, dumbs down a lot of steps without sacrificing much of the flavor, so it's a good compromise. What's more, even though it's focused for a slow cooker, you can easily convert it to a stovetop with very little effort.

The Flavor Bible is an excellent resource for this. You look up an ingredient and it shows a general "scale" for commonly paired ingredients. There are no recipes, but if something piques your interest there's the whole Internet for that :)

This book explains it much more succinctly than I ever could. But yes, co-mingle, although vague is exactly what is happening. The flavors play off of and compliment each other the longer they co-mingle.

The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook https://www.amazon.com/dp/160819874X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qEaMDbBKB1QE1

If she doesn't have a copy of McGee, it is worth picking up. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with The Joy of Cooking.

Or, like BBallsagna said, anything by Rick Bayless.

On Cooking is a great textbook

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Textbook-Culinary-Fundamentals-MyCulinaryLab/dp/0133103196/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347481964&sr=1-1&keywords=on+cooking

For flavor creation I recommend the Flavor Bible

http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347482072&sr=1-1&keywords=the+flavor+bible

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer is my favorite curry book.

My favorite Thai curry paste is Mae Ploy. My favorite Japanese curry is House Brand.

Get the Victorinox on Amazon, I was skeptical about it being a "cheap" knife but it's amazing, it sped up my prep time for dinner and I can make a huge meal so much faster now with it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008M5U1C2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=MHH3CB3P2DQ3&coliid=ISLZK3QB3YHDM

http://www.amazon.ca/Victorinox-40520-Fibrox-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000638D32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347164249&sr=8-1

Vicotrinox Fibrox 8" chef's knife... super versatile, super durable. I got mine about 12 years ago and it's still kinda my go to...

Culinary Artistry is a WONDERFUL book, and has a lot of useful information related to what you want.

Ditto on The Flavor Bible, and The Flavor Thesaurus.

On Food and Cooking is a great way to learn what pairings and what flavors work together. Hope this helps!!

Honestly ... I love my cheap ass Victorynox Fibrox. I just take care of it with regular sharpening on a Japanese wet stone. (Stone was more expensive than the knife) I have had this knife for nearly ten years through many brutal kitchens. Pair it with a nice steel to keep the blade straight between sharpening and it becomes an awesome cheap knife.

As for a whole set? Honestly ... I only use my chef knife. Rarely I will pull out a boning knife because my chef knife does a fine job. My pairing knife usually only ends up being used to open packages. A scalloped edge knife is good for bread but little else. My slicer only comes out if I am doing some carving in the front of house.

PS: Rachel Ray uses santoku knives ... Dont be like Rachel Ray.

I like this grinder. It has a little pocket in the top to hold you nutmeg and is smaller.

It is a savory spice, I like it with mashed potatoes and with savory custards. The Flavor Bible highlights apples, braised beef, chicken, chowders, chocolate, dried fruit, pumpkin, souffles, and lamb, amongst many others.

It mixes well with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom, ginger, and mace, which is the dried skin of the nutmeg.

I personally like books by Ruhlman like techniques or ratio they aren't too chefy for me and are easy to read.

Here's a great book

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of Cooking
http://www.amazon.com/On-Food-Cooking-Science-Kitchen/dp/0684800012

Cooking for Geeks
http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=14FPMEDBMV4EW2MS7PBR

*The Science of Good Cooking
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Cooking-Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbooks/dp/1933615982/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=14FPMEDBMV4EW2MS7PBR

That's actually kind of useful, with it listing the ingredients under each link as "+cumin", "+cilantro", etc.

Another helpful resource for your bookshelf: The Flavor Bible, which is a directory of ingredients, each listed with recommended complimentary flavors.

YES. I love referencing the flavor bible whenever I feel stuck on what components I need to add to really unify a dish. I should probably keep it in my knife kit! That book and Culinary Artistry really changed the way I approach food and techniques as a whole.

Definitely not a professional. I just want to give him something that is solid and will last a long time. I was thinking of:

Victorinox Fibrox and a BearMoo Stone.

That being said, if a Wustof is better in the long run, I'm not adverse to getting one of those with a sharpening stone.

It's a pretty basic recipe. Try the one in this book! It's bulletproof works every time. Also this is just an incredible book...Buy it now and thank me later ;)

https://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728

You could get a Wusthof Classic 8-inch chef's knife for $80.

If you're not willing to spend even that much, there's a reason this Victorinox Fibrox is the #1 seller on Amazon. It's stamped and has a nylon handle that feels cheap, but it works, it's well balanced, it can hold a good edge, and it'll last.

The flavor bible might be a good resource for you.

It gives nice flavor combinations and what works well together.

Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

I used this book: http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-America/dp/0470421355/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

it has a lot of step-by-step basic techniques with pictures, and some scientific explanation. it doesnt have as much personality as the books mentioned by other commenters - i think it's intended as a cooking school textbook - but it's pretty comprehensive.

I would look at this book:
Paul Bocuse: The Complete Recipes https://www.amazon.com/dp/208020095X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rkkjybM2R3694
It contains many recipes for traditional French dishes like onion soup, sole meunière, bœuf bourguignon.
As far as techniques go, I found this book to be the best:
The Professional Chef https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470421355/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vmkjybW84N5YZ
Especially the section on stocks. It also has a lot of French recipes.

Try The Flavor Bible! It helped me go from using recipes to making dishes on the fly out of what I had on hand and helped me come up with new recipes based on exciting food combinations I read about.

http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

I read in [Ruhlman's Twenty] (http://www.amazon.com/Ruhlmans-Twenty-Techniques-Recipes-Manifesto/dp/0811876438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373518144&sr=8-1&keywords=ruhlmans+twenty) by Mike Ruhlman that you should soak the chicken in water for the same amount of time you overbrined it. EDIT: I've made [his] (http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/12/11/sage-garlic-brined-pork-chops-recipe) brine for pork, but used pork loin in the oven and it and it came out great.

I think the general consensus on those sharpeners is that they don't work really well. From other knife sharpening posts, the products I've heard most about are the swing arm type of sharpeners, like this, stationary angled sharpening stones like this or getting fancy whetstones, like this.

Has anyone had a bad experience with an AccuSharp? At $9, it's supposedly one of the best values out there, and I can verify my knives are sharper than I was able to get them and stay sharp for a reasonable amount of use, but it does seem to take a lot of metal off rather easily, so I have to be overly careful.

Culinary Artistry has a ton of charts in it that offer traditional and non-traditional flavour pairings for ingredients, as well as how to use those to your advantage with seasonality. It's great! I use it anytime I am stuck for ideas when looking at the ingredients I have to work with.

ok, I purchased these, and it's all worked fine, though there is probably better for more $
http://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Classic-3-Piece-Paring/dp/B005LRYWEW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1421083440&sr=8-4&keywords=victorinox+paring

http://smile.amazon.com/AccuSharp-1-001-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00004VWKQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421083618&sr=8-1&keywords=acusharp

http://smile.amazon.com/EZE-LAP-D12F-Sharpening-Steel-12-Inch/dp/B002RL83FO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421083704&sr=8-5&keywords=diamond+steel+oval

Use a light touch with the acusharp and the steel.

Culinary Artistry really helped me as a young chef, helping to put together flavors that compliment as well as contrast. Highly reccomend http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0471287857

Has anyone tried the Thermowand? It seems to be a fairly new product marketing itself as a lower-priced competitor to the Thermapen. The reviews on it seem pretty positive. I really would like a good thermometer, but just can't bring myself to spend so much on a Thermapen.

I bought The Flavor Bible last year for my wife and myself. It's a very thorough guide to pairing flavors. Really well organized. A bit overwhelming at first, but we really enjoy it now.

Edit: Put in name of book...

Take a recipe you've followed a few times and then do it differently. Start with something small like dicing instead of slicing something. Then try using chicken stock or wine instead of water. Do something you know you're not supposed to do but you're not sure why. Maybe have a fire extinguisher on hand.

Buy a bag of onions and a sack of potatoes. Look up the difference between a chop, slice, dice, etc. Practice those methods. Then cook those onions and potatoes different ways at different times and temperatures. How does a diced potato cook in the oven at 500 degrees or 300 degrees for 10 minutes? What happens when you toss the potato in oil? Does adding salt prior to cooking change the outcome? Form a hypothesis and determine why your hypothesis was right or wrong after you run the experiment.

Just like anything in life, if you want to learn about it, study it. Some people learn better from books. Others from doing. It's frustrating but I appreciate my failures in the kitchen. It means I learned something that day. As far as books go, I'd recommend The Professional Chef. It's a little advanced but it covered a lot of the basics. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470421355

I'd also add that if you're able to follow recipes you already know how to cook. "Knowing" is relative.

I also completely agree with /u/buttunz, The Professional Chef is a must have if you're planning on a career in the culinary field. What I like the most about the Cuisine Foundations text book is all the pictures of the knife cuts. It really helped me improve my knife skills.

Thanks for the detail! I currently have one of these guys which does a good job for my beater knives, and I use a honing steel for my chef knife (haven't had to sharpen it yet), but I'd imagine a whetstone might do a better job and not remove as much of the blade material as what I have. I can't find any good resources online discussing this.

Ahhhh, my condolences, how tragic!

I'm something of a cookbook minimalist, and keep my personal collection pretty concise; I'm quick to give away books if they've been on my shelf too long without much use. I used to be a cookbook hoarder, but I don't have the space for it anymore, lol.

The cookbooks I have on the shelf rn are Season, The Palestinian Table, Arabesque, Afro-Vegan, Donabe, and several Japanese-language cookbooks.

For dessert-related things, I have Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique, SUQAR, and the Flavor Thesaurus.

You can't go wrong with the Victorinox Fibrox. It's great bang for your buck.

When I was looking for a new digital thermometer, I was a little put off by the price of the Thermoworks. I think they are great devices but I just didn't want to spend $100. I also was weighing the difference between the models, like you.

But then I found the Lavatools Javelin.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRFHXVQ

It had everything I wanted and was only $25. I gave it a shot and it's been in my pocket while cooking ever since.

I know a lot of people swear by the Victornox Fiborox series

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-Straight-Chefs-8-Inch/dp/B008M5U1C2?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&tag=jpin

Personally I bought a cheap Shun Wasabi chef's knife. Mostly because I like the single edged thinner japanese style, it was 35 bucks and I live 45 minutes from where I can take it and get it resharpened or repaired free.

> So if you sharpen a cheap knife with a good quality sharpening stone, it will still be able to cut as good as a expensive knife, but won't hold its sharpness for long because of the cheaper metal used in it?

It depends on the construction of the knife. I've had some cheap knives that struggle to cut a banana (okay, maybe a tiny bit of an exaggeration), but I've had cheap knives that will split hairs. The point I was trying to make is that price doesn't always determine the sharpness and quality of the blade. Some steel simply won't sharpen, no matter how long you grind it on a stone...I can't speak very well on the particular composition and make up of the steel, but I just know that some blades just simply don't get sharp.

For example, these kiwi's and this victorinox that are mentioned in this sub quite frequently are both solid knives that are incredibly sharp, will maintain their edge for quite some time, and are very cheap. I've used them both before and were quite satisfied with them. Conversely, I've had some knives that were given to me, bought from Chinatown as a novelty gift that literally warped and eventually cracked while I was rinsing it off under hot tap water.

As for the sharpening stone, you also need to know how to properly use it or it's useless as well. I haven't the slightest idea, so I just get my knives sharped by someone else.

It's not free, but The Flavor Bible is pretty much what you want.

Are you talking aboutOn Food and Cooking?Also a great book!

Just start buying spices and building up your store cupboard, then it gives you all the options you need when its time to cook.

Mostly its just through experience that you learn which flavour combinations work. If you consume lots of cookery shows (tv/youtube), you will gradually pick it up without even realising.

Failing that, there is always The Flavour Bible, which is an excellent book

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

Also watch some Asian cookery youtubes, Indian cuisine in particular has mastered the use of spices.

This book is amazing if you really want to learn the this and that of culinary arts. It's the place I learned about various starches for the first time.

>I was thinking of getting a victronox set of some sort

Do this. This one specifically. It's the best knife you will ever buy for the money.

>but I saw a Japanese knife at the grocery store for 20 bucks that I thought looked ok.

Don't do this.

As far as how to spot quality, it just comes down to reading about the knife. Metal quality and build quality are the two key things that go into overall knife quality. But a 'good' knife depends on your own preferences on weight, handle, bolster, blade curvature and a few other things. Don't just go out and drop a few hundred on some Shun from Williams-Sonoma or whatever. Get a feel for what you need in knife first.

I'm fairly new to this myself and was told early on to check out the Victorinox line. Very inexpensive, great balance with a great handle. They come sharp, too.
I own the 10" but will prob get an 8" as well.

Hard to say without knowing what he already has. Assuming he has knife, cuttingboard, pans etc, maybe a stick blender like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ARQVM5O/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile

Or a mandoline like this: http://www.amazon.com/Benriner-Japanese-Mandoline-Slicer-Green/dp/B0000VZ57C

Those are two of my favorite odds and ends that make life easier but took me a while to purchase them because they weren't necessary per se

The Flavor Bible

A great resource for budding cooks, or just as reference.

That's such a great book idea that Michael Ruhlman already wrote it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ruhlmans-Twenty-Techniques-Recipes-Manifesto/dp/0811876438

I'd go with Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife 40520, 47520, 45520, 5.2063.20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000638D32/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_tQIIub1A25KFQ
Or Wusthof Silverpoint II 8-Inch Cook's Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00192V368/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_.RIIub1G4ZC8T

Great all around knives.

I finally bought the T Fal Professional after watching the Test Kithen guys use it for years and claim how great it is. I'm pretty mad that I hadn't one a few years ago. And it's only $28




Here's their review of Pans

The Victorinox Fibrox 8 inch chef’s knife is only $36 on Amazon and is consistently rated top honors by America’s Test Kitchen. It is sharp, keeps an edge, and even though I own a Wusthof I usually end up reaching for it first. It’s not $80-100 but I still can’t recommend it enough!

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/1433-chefs-knives

Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8-Inch Chef's FFP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M5U1C2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QxTOCbC90W0RV

If you’re looking for something reliable and sharp for daily use (and aren’t yet sure-about/familiar-with high end knives), look no further.

You'd be surprised; milk is exceedingly resilient to heat. You can literally cook all the water out of it without the proteins denaturing.

At higher heats it becomes easier for the milk to spoil, but there still generally needs to be an acid.

If you're interested in food science at all.

The Flavor Bible

This book helped me a lot, and I refer to it often when I want to change a recipe or just come up with something with what I have on hand. The first chapter has a very abbreviated discussion on flavors, but the majority book is just a cross-referenced index of ingredients, what their flavor is, and what things complement it well.

These are what I use, I've got the 400, 1000, 5000

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/superstones.html

If those are too expensive Amazon has a pretty decent 1000/6000 stone for beginners

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001DT1X9O/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418823082&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Can someone tell me if I'm doing something wrong? Bought this Lodge Cast Iron about 7 months ago. Cook in it almost every day. Lots of bacon. Generally my method of seasoning is after I finish cooking I wash the skillet in hot water and use my scrubber, dry with a paper towel, put back on the stove until it heats up a bit, and then rub in a thin layer of some standard vegetable (soybean) oil. A few days I spent oiling the skillet and heating it in the oven at 525 degrees about 3 times a day for a few days. It is definitely a little bit seasoned but just not the way I want it. After I wash and dry it it seems a bit dry. From what I've read I am not getting the same results and I would think after all this time it would be better. Any advice?

I've just purchased Culinary Artistry by Dornenburg & Page, which is supposed to be very good on this. Currently at Amazon UK it is reduced by over 70%.

It's a lot cheaper than the next best one, but it does the job just fine: https://www.amazon.com/Lavatools-PT12-Javelin-Thermometer-Chipotle/dp/B00GRFHXVQ

What about Professional Chef by CIA or On Cooking by Sarah R. Labensky? I've never tried them but I've heard of them and would like to hear confirmation before spending a lot of dough on these expensive textbooks.

While I do not own it myself, I have heard lot's and lot's of praise of
The Flavor Bible

Fixed your link

I hope I didn't jump the gun, but you got your link syntax backward! Don't worry bro, I fixed it, have an upvote!

• This Knife
  
  
  
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I highly recommend this non-stick pan. It was featured in Cook's Illustrated magazine as their top pick for inexpensive non-stick pans.

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-8-Inch-Fibrox-Straight/dp/B008M5U1C2 Good starter knife, cheap, solid, not too flashy.

Would you recommend this? http://www.amazon.com/King-Sided-Sharpening-Stone-Base/dp/B001DT1X9O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451504141

Paired with this? http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-8-Ceramic-Sharp-Stick/dp/B000B8FW0O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1451504260

you might enjoy investing in this book

Sodium Citrate is your friend.

> I kind of disagree on this point. What is a "good" knife? One that has Wustof, Henckels, or Shun somewhere on the blade? Does a beginner really need full tang? Can most people distinguish between a stamped vs a forged blade? What about cheap black plastic handles vs intricate wooden ones?

Popular opinion has it that this is a good chef knife, and it's under $30.

Asian markets here in the Bay Area also often have Chinese-made knives that are decent and cheap.

This gets recommended a lot: https://www.amazon.com/King-Sided-Sharpening-Stone-Base/dp/B001DT1X9O

It will wear quickly and King is budget brand but it should work well as a first stone/set.

> *On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of Cooking http://www.amazon.com/On-Food-Cooking-Science-Kitchen/dp/0684800012[1]

I use this one and its full of good info. You could basically call it cooking-for-engineers.

Check out most books by Michael Ruhlman. Twenty is a good one especially.

There's a cookbook called ratio that talks about ratios of inredients to get good flavors.

In English, that book is called The Flavor Thesauraus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook.

It's easy to buy: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BLPNMYY

T-Fal has a few different lines of pans. I got this one a couple years ago and it has a nice heavy bottom.

On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
http://www.amazon.com/On-Food-Cooking-Science-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331916049&sr=1-1

It doesn't matter what kind of food she likes, this will apply. If she is wondering how mayonnaise binds together, this will explain why down to the molecular level. This is an indispensable resource.

Are you looking for the book?

I'm guessing the info you're seeking is in this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0764578650

EDIT: He's got another one called Kitchen Express that actually sounds more like what you might be looking for.

EDIT2: Formatting.

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-8-Inch-Fibrox-Straight/dp/B008M5U1C2


If you don't have one already. =]

Oh dude. Get a thermometer. I like this one.

Without a decent instaread thermometer in your kitchen your hands are tied. You will find a million uses for this. You can get your oil hot enough (I don't think you're frying hot enough. 325-350f for chicken, depending on cut and what kind of crust you're going for. I go more towards 325 on the oil temp and cook my chicken towards 160-165 at the bone), you can test all your meats for correct doneness. It's an essential tool. I can make do without a decent chef's knife or a good spatula, but the thermometer? I carry that one with me when I go visiting.

Also get a kitchen scale. They cost about the same 20-25 bucks.

Maybe you're looking for something like this?

Some home chefs like the Flavor Bible

A mandoline with the right blade would probably do the job. Maybe something like this.

Lifehacker talking about Victorinox, if you like that sort of thing.

Here is it on Amazon

unless i'm mistaken, this knife is often recommended as a good first knife by cooking schools to new students. it's cheap and sturdy, apparently everything a newish cook could want in a chef's knife.

Personally, I'd buy a cheaper knife.
Like: http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-8-Inch-Fibrox-Straight/dp/B008M5U1C2/

Then I'd buy a real 12" skillet:
http://www.amazon.com/All-Clad-Stainless-Tri-Ply-Dishwasher-Cookware/dp/B00FUF5K8W/

If thats not enough, buy a real thermometer.
http://www.amazon.com/ThermoWorks-Splash-Proof-Super-Fast-Thermapen-Thermometer/dp/B002GIZZWM/

Not sure if this meets your needs but I find this gadget quite handy when prepping veggies for certain dishes.

Stopped by to say exactly this. Honestly, I just enjoy browsing the thing for things I hadn't thought about.

Here's a link to Amazon.

You'll see these knifes recommended around here quite a bit:

Victorinox 10 inch

Victorinox 8 inch

Also got the recommendation from America's Test Kitchen, scroll to the bottom to check the video: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/1433-chefs-knives

Something like this?: http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-12-Inch-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1342133282&sr=1-1

They won't smooth out but I have to reseason mine ever so often - not a big deal.

Also known as cooking by ratios. Ruhlman's ratios comes highly recommended.

[This Knife] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008M5U1C2/ref=redir_mdp_mobile) came highly recommended in a different thread. I have not used it personally though.

Just a some that likes cooking alot here. Maybe pick one of these bad boys up and start playing.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-America/dp/0470421355

http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Hoc-Home-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579653774/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373677797&sr=1-1&keywords=thomas+keller+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/Bouchon-Bakery-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579654355/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373677797&sr=1-2&keywords=thomas+keller+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/French-Laundry-Cookbook-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579651267/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373677797&sr=1-3&keywords=thomas+keller+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/Bouchon-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579652395/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373677797&sr=1-4&keywords=thomas+keller+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Pressure-Cooking-Sous-Vide/dp/1579653510/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373677797&sr=1-6&keywords=thomas+keller+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/Momofuku-David-Chang/dp/030745195X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373677797&sr=1-9&keywords=thomas+keller+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373678139&sr=8-1&keywords=ratio

If this is the sort of thing that interests you, you need a copy of Harold MeGee's On Food and Cooking.

So far as I know, anodizing is a process that doesn't work on stainless steel pans - anodizing is basically induced oxidization ('rust') of aluminum. The anodized surface is kind of non-stick, though many anodized pans are also coated with additional non-stick materials. Anodizes surfaces can scratch pretty easily, too.

Both pans are 'safe' to use over high heat, though thermal shock can warp or crack them - one of the reasons that cast iron is preferred for intense heat. Slow to heat, slow to cool (never from the range to a sink, for instance) will help prevent damage. That's pretty much the same advice for any pan, however.

There are concerns (read: arguments about) how some of the pans with additional non-stick coating handle high heat, the material may degrade and (here comes the controversial part) offgas some material that you don't want to be inhaling.

If cast iron pans cost $100 in Oz, I'm going to start exporting them. They're relatively cheap in the States - you can buy a decent quality 12" Lodge pan for less than US$20, including shipping...

You won't really be able to learn from a reddit post. If you are serious about wanting to know what pairs well, I'd suggest picking up a copy of The Flavor Bible

Cooks Illustrated recommended this Victorinox 8" chefs knife over several forged carbon knives. Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000638D32/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_D.eevb1MSXYVF

Benriner is my personal favorite. OXO has too many parts and I don't like dragging it out of the cupboard. Don't love the Borner either- it feels flimsy, even if it might not be. Serious Eats did this review, though: Best Inexpensive Mandoline

I'm seconding /u/might_be_a_troll here. Get some sodium citrate on amazon and then follow this recipe. All you need for a sauce is cheese, liquid, and the sodium citrate. For liquid try stock, wine, or beer instead of water.

I second Keller's Ad Hoc At Home. Probably #1 on my list.

Also huge props to Andy Ricker's Pok Pok cookbook. I've only dipped my toes into this world but it has already changed the way I look at cooking.

As a reference book, Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is invaluable.

I use this thing it's awesome and cheap as shit
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004VWKQ/ref=asc_df_B00004VWKQ1954178?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B00004VWKQ&hvpos=none&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1056637480284102623&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=]
couple swipes and you're all done

On Food And Cooking is a MUST in any kitchen, maybe the only non-recipe-dedicated cookbook you'll ever need. The culinary school I took a few classes at recently, the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, highly recommends this; even Per Se, the #1 restaurant in the US, #6 in the world, keeps a tattered copy in their restaurant. With 800 pages, it explains so much of the science, history, and tips behind practically everything culinary related that you need to know. The book is really a staple.

Cooking for Geeks is similar, but I feel OFaC is more all-encompassing.

You wont be able to afford decent copper with that money. Cast iron is always cheap. I would just go with a Lodge and cook the more acidic things in her nonreactive crap pots and pans until she can afford better cookware.

I've got one of these that I love-- quick and easy and sharpens well.


With decent knives, you should be honing more often than sharpening to make them last longer-- but if you just use cheap kitchen aid knives and dont care as much about longevity, a periodic quick sharpening should do the trick.

How does it compare to The Flavor Bible?

Flavor Bible

The Flavor Bible

Seconding. This book is indispensable when it comes to learning the basics of how taste and flavor go together, and how to work with them. For the record, it is by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.

Link

The only comment this thread needs, except for this one with the link.

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400