{"id":45376,"date":"2014-12-18T17:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-12-19T01:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/?p=45376"},"modified":"2015-01-10T18:17:16","modified_gmt":"2015-01-11T02:17:16","slug":"food-matters-christmas-gifts-for-the-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/food-matters-christmas-gifts-for-the-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Matters – Christmas Gifts for the Kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s getting down to the crunch.<\/strong><\/em> One week left until Christmas and you still don\u2019t have the perfect gift for the cook on your list. I visited Jo-Ann Roberts on her next-to-last day as host of All Points West<\/a> on CBC Victoria with a pretty good-sized basket full of stuff.<\/p>\n

I took a bit of a different approach this year.<\/strong><\/em> Instead of bringing you all the latest gadgets, I\u2019m taking a \u2018you must have one of these\u2019 in the kitchen of whomever you\u2019re gifting. I took this angle for a number of reasons:\u00a0Parents of next year\u2019s high school graduates who are already thinking about their kids starting moving into their own apartment. Going to a friend\u2019s place and helping out in a kitchen that is hopelessly ill-equipped. And, having just come back from renting a holiday place that had the worst set of kitchen knives, EVER! So here are a few essentials I think everyone should have. If the person you want to buy for is deficient in even one of these pieces of gear, you have a perfect gift. You might have to do a bit of snooping, but worth it in the long run!<\/p>\n

\"Messermeister

Messermeister peeler<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Microplane

Microplane grater<\/p><\/div>\n

Starting with stocking stuffers.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Everyone should have one really good peeler and one really good utility knife. I really like the ones from Messermeister<\/a>. The peeler<\/a> has a serrated knife which is great for rough-skinned things like ginger root or a fuzzy kiwi fruit. The utility knife<\/a> is serrated as well and cuts through tomatoes in an instant and makes the slices as thin as a sheet of paper. \u00a0And a microplane grater,<\/a> don’t forget that, your giftee won’t want to use any other grate after trying this one.<\/p>\n

Along with the utility knife<\/strong> <\/em>you need one good general purpose chef\u2019s knife. And here you need to spend a bit of money. But don\u2019t forget that a good knife will last a lifetime. Right now I think Japanese knives really are the best deal for sharpness and durability. I really like the line from Global. They are all metal, so you never have to worry about the handles breaking, they\u2019re light, and even the small 6-inch chef\u2019s knife<\/a> I brought in to show Jo-Ann can be used for almost anything. You might also want to consider the Mac or Shun line, but they are a little more pricey.<\/p>\n

\"Global

Global Knife<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Larchwood

Larchwood End Grain Cutting Board<\/p><\/div>\n

With knives you need a cutting board<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0and I\u2019ve become a real fan of wooden, end-grain cutting boards. They cost a lot but again, they last forever. I have one from Larch Wood Enterprises<\/a> in Cape Breton, but you don\u2019t have to go that far, in Brentwood Bay you will find Acres Away Woodworks<\/a>, beautiful cutting boards, made by artisan Neil Bosdet, but also knife blocks, rolling pins, and pizza peels.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"T-Fal

T-Fal non-stick pan<\/p><\/div>\n

\"All

All Clad pan with lid<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m going to say 2 good fry pans.<\/strong><\/em> One that is non-stick that you don\u2019t have to spend a ton of money on, like the one I have from T-Fal<\/a>. \u00a0One that ONLY gets used to cook eggs in on relatively low heat. It will last a long time. Then, another frypan, anything with high sides and a heavy bottom, with a lid. Could be cast-iron, which will last forever, or stainless steel with a layer of copper in it. All-Clad,<\/a> Lagostina, Cuisinart all make good ones. You can use that fry pan for almost everything else, simmered dishes, stews, with a metal or ovenproof handle so you can put it in the oven, even under the broiler. And then one good stockpot<\/a> or Dutch Oven style pot. Again, a heavy bottom so you can use it to brown foods, but at least 6 to 8 litres in size so you can put your whole turkey carcass in there so you can get more food value out of that turkey!<\/p>\n

\"Instant-read

Instant-read digital thermometer<\/p><\/div>\n

ONE basic suggestion when it comes to food safety\u2026<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0a good instant-read thermometer<\/a> to help you determine degree of doneness and proper cooking temps for ground beef and chicken. If you think that\u2019s too plain a gift, how about a remote thermometer probe? I also have one from iDevices<\/a> that will talk to my iPhone via Bluetooth, you could use it for your turkey or for your steak or salmon you\u2019ve got going outside on your barbecue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"Abeego

Abeego wraps<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s not a must-have<\/strong> <\/em>but it caught my attention this year.\u00a0Abeego<\/a> wraps, which are made from hemp and cotton cloth and blended with beeswax and jojoba oil, are made right here in Victoria and are a great reusable alternative to wax paper and plastic wraps. They warm up in your hands and become really flexible, then you just wrap them around a piece of cheese, for example and they stiffen in the fridge. You just wash them in cold water after you use them and come in a variety of sizes.<\/p>\n

\"Salton

Salton induction burner<\/p><\/div>\n

And for about $100,<\/strong><\/em> you might consider one of those portable induction burners<\/a>, especially if the person you’re buying for entertains a lot and need a spare burner. They\u2019re much safer and easier to use than traditional electric hot plates or those finicky butane heaters, as long as you have access to an electrical outlet.<\/p>\n

This is my last column for 2014<\/strong><\/em>. I’ll be back next year with new Island Artisans and features on sustainable eating. Happy Holidays, everyone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s getting down to the crunch. One week left until Christmas and you still don\u2019t have the perfect gift for the cook on your list. I visited Jo-Ann Roberts on her next-to-last day as host of All Points West on … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[33,51,34,201,35,524,367],"class_list":["post-45376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-matters","tag-all-points-west","tag-blogging","tag-cbc-radio","tag-christmas-gifts","tag-don-genova","tag-food-matters","tag-holiday-gift-suggestions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45376"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45391,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45376\/revisions\/45391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dongenova.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}