Customer Reviews

Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whether or not you agree with Alton Brown on every point he makes, you have to admit that he is not shy about giving his opinion, often in the face of generations of contrary tradition. Alton believes in multi-tasking, and he has a point; in my kitchen, most likely in yours, 20 percent of the implements do 80 percent of the work. Even in the most capacious kitchens, space comes at a premium. Ever injure yourself clattering through a drawer-full of this and that? You get my point. Kitchen tools and implements need to earn their stripes in terms of both quality and utility. For this reason, Alton's great taxonomy in "Gear" lays out an extremely useful framework, if anything, to avoid buying something expensive and needless. The serious cook cannot help but disagree with something Alton propounds, and yet still benefit from the depth of his viewpoint. This is an important culinary work, and a good read as well.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

Apparently I'm going to be the first person to give this book a less than glowing review. First let's take a look at the (list) price. For almost $28 you get a book that is actually fairly small. I was surprised when I opened it up.

But the basic disappointment is that Brown just doesn't do a very good job of convincing me which types of devices I do and don't need and then what brands/designs I should look for in those devices.

The coverage of topics is somewhat spotty. At times his description leaves you to believe that pretty much everything you can buy in a category is equivalent, at other times he goes into excruciating detail about what to look for. Apparently all cake pans are equivalent so long as they are heavy-duty aluminum and not non-stick; no brand names are mentioned, no pros and cons listed. When it comes to ice cream machines, however, we are treated to a 2 1/2 page dissertation surveying a complete range from the $600 Musso Lussino to the $55 Krups. Sometimes he gives detailed explanations of why he prefers one brand over another, other times not. Sometimes he'll compare several brands, other times only compare his favorite against one other. This inconsistency is a little annoying.

There were some instances where I was confused at his advice because it seems to contradict what I've heard him say elsewhere. He says that a Y-shaped peeler is the best there is yet I could swear on his TV show he said the two different designs are for somewhat different tasks and you really need one of each. On his website he recommends getting a mini-food processor because that's the size that is useful for 75% of the kitchen jobs you do; yet in this book he says that size is useless ("I can do [that much] with a knife in less time than it takes to wash the work bowl.") Flip flops like that make you start to question other parts of his advice.

In the end, you're probably better off just paying $3.95 for one-month subscriptions to the Cook's Illustrated website and searching their archives for product reviews and recommendations. While they aren't quite as comprehensive as Brown's book (although they cover about 90% of the useful material in Brown's book) the reviews and recommendations you'll find are far more useful as they compare more products and give more detail about why certain products were liked and disliked as well as giving a range of products to try.

I'm a hobby cook and also a gadget-junkie, so I was delighted to discover this book by one of my favorite people on the Food Network. Brown covers much more than simply can-openers and veggie-peelers, though. His topical chapters cover pots and pans, storage containers, small miscellaneous utensils, safety items, "sharp things," and "small things with plugs," and perhaps the best way to read the book is to browse from the beginning and then read his descriptions, comments, and opinions on certain items as they come to mind. I'm a regular reader of the consumer tests in COOK'S ILLUSTRATED, too, and I think Brown and Christopher Kimball would agree in many ways on what makes a particular tool useful and what features to look for among the products available. Brown's judgments are admittedly personal but he explains them very clearly. Not everything must be specially purchased, either; he recommends a length of dental floss for cutting slices of soft cheese, and he boils eggs in an electric kettle that automatically turns itself off when it reaches a boil. (Great idea!) The book's page design is also quite nice, with good photos and drawings of the tools he discusses, side discussions and tips highlighted in color, and lots of open space. All his sources appear at the back of the book. I certainly hope he does a revised and updated edition in about five years.

Nominated this year for another James Beard Award (for Tools and Techniques), Alton Brown has yet another gem for all to enjoy, "Gear For Your Kitchen". In this wonderful gem, Alton Brown explains how you can declutter your kitchen within 60 days and stock your kitchen with useful tools that you will actually use!

As any "Good Eats" fan will tell you, Alton Brown believes in "multi-taskers." His logic is: Why have a yogurt maker when you only use it once a year? Instead, he shows us, on one of his shows, how he utilizes a heating pad and a couple of canisters to achieve the same results.

Not only does he suggest unusual items for your kitchen (a cigar cutter to chop chives), but he also recommends traditional items. He explains the process with which one should consider before purchasing any item. He does explain how he chose that certain coffee maker, but he explains how we need to figure out which one is best for us.

Being as he is forever in search of a great utensil or appliance, he is quick to point out which items are more difficult to clean, and not worth buying, and which ones are worth buying. In the section devoted purely to pots and pans, he explains each metal used for cooking, the best uses for that metal, how to care for it and the good and bad points with each metal.

Instead of purchasing that expensive imported terra-cotta cookware, he suggests (with diagrams) on how to create your own cookware from flowerpots...I mean, they are both made from the same material. Why pay more because one says "cookware"?

And he doesn't stop there. He also helps his readers by helping them select safety and sanitation supplies for their kitchens!

And if you thought that was not enough, he has a large resource section, in the back of the book, where he recommends some excellent places to purchase your items, either through mail, telephone or Internet!

This book is complete with Alton Brown's sense of humor, wit and enthusiasm. He is one of the only people out there creating books for people who never went to culinary school. I appreciate his thoroughness, and recommend this book to all new cooks, and for the more seasoned chefs as well.

If you like the show, you'll like the books. Both my spouse and I love to cook, but we're no Julia Childses. When I met my husband, he could cook standard meals, but never really took the plunge to try something new. Alton Brown's books are entertaining, colorful, and (ugg...) educational. After every episode, my husband has the courage to try something new, (lucky me!) and it has resulted in eating a more varied and exciting diet. We can't help but feel that we are reliving our childhoods, because AB reminds us a bit of Mr. Wizard, but way cooler and way better looking! After the wedding, we were left to our own devices to figure out what half the gadgets we rec'd did. We have an autographed copy of this book, and use it constantly to figure out what our next kitchen purchase should be, and how to use it properly. His books are all great supplements to his show. Cooking has become one of our favorite things to do together. However, we'd better learn a sport soon...

Alton has done it again! This is a fantastic reference book that every "home-chef" or even an occaisional cook should have in their library. Finally someone has put out an entertianing and education "cook book" that's not really about cooking, but the tools (or as Alton says, "hardware")you need to accomplish your tasks.
Mr. Brown's "Good Eats" shows remain as one of my all-time favorite cooking shows, and this book falls right in line with his informative, educational, and witty ways in the kitchen!
And if you ever get the chance, you've got to catch this guy in person as I did last summer at the Orange County Fair in California. Hysterical!

You're going to wish you had this book years ago, before you spent all that money on gadgets that got tossed into the junk drawer only to get used once a year. You'll wish you'd had it before you selected all the wrong things on your wedding registry. But when you look back ten years from now and add up all the money, time and aggravation you've saved after following the advice in Gear For Your Kitchen, you'll get that little smile that only comes with the special joy of smugness. And after all, you will have one kick-a** (and uncluttered) kitchen!

Author, director and chef Alton Brown brings his trademark bottom-line style to GFYK. To make it easier to use as a spot reference, it is divided into sections: Pots and Pans, Sharp Things, Small Things with Plugs, Kitchen tools Unplugged, Storage and Containment, and Safety and Sanitation. The short introduction at the beginning orients the reader to some guidelines about organizing, how to decide an item's keep-or-toss value, and rules that will keep you grounded in reality as you shop (and less likely to fall for sales ploys). A good sample quote on knife salesjargon: "If I'm getting ready to go into battle, I'd almost certainly want my sword to be full tang, but if the most violent task I'm to encounter is cutting through a chicken, I can think of about six characteristics of a knife that are more important." This section alone redeems the book's cover price very quickly.

What really makes GFYK -- and AB - stand out from others however is the effortless teacherly approach the author takes. Just as with his tv series Good Eats, AB explains the logic, physics and application of tools, techniques and gadgets, but get this: it's all in simple, no-nonsense language so that you can really learn what you are doing, instead of following directions obediently. Applying your knowledge becomes easy at that point on. Really, no straining or note-taking required here to suddenly realize which pots you'll need for your favorite recipes for instance. He just slips it on in unnoticed, and dang it, you're an educated consumer that can make intelligent choices. How does he do it?

As an added bonus, there are recipes spliced into areas relevant to the tools being discussed, little sidebar blurbs and comments on trivia, and often, photos of his personal items. AB includes tips on where to obtain some of the obscure ones. But my hands-down favorite thing about GFYK are the little gems on improvising and trouble shooting. Need a shield for your immersion blender (so that everything doesn't splatter out the top of the container)? Cut a hole in a cheap frisbee and slide it on through. Want a roaster that's also good for casseroles and baking bread? Two shallow terra cotta flowerpots should do the trick. I ask you, how can one resist the charm of learning how to makeshift a smoker for under fifty bucks out of common household items? I might add, you will be able to disassemble it and store it offseason in the garden shed...or just reuse the parts when you're done!

I hope I've convinced you that you do need this book unless you are already a veritable expert on kitchen tools. Save yourself and your counter space, free up your closets and get cooking!
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

All-n-all a good book. I found it very useful on many fronts. He got an extra star from me because he uses a Macintosh Powerbook. But in his zeal to encourage multitasking I was confused by something interesting. Alton suggested using a cement trowel as a pie server. I'm not sure how that would go over with my guests. A few pages later he tells of how he spent $180 on a Star Wars type thermometer ray-gun. Buddy (I say this as a friend), no one needs a $180 thermometer. Spend $15 and get yourself a nice pie server. A nit-picky point not meant to diminish the fact that I did enjoy this book. It will give me ammo in my quest to gain more stuff. My wife is getting suspicious. Folks, if you are a beginning foodie, this book will be a great resource to get you started.

This book may not be quite as useful for the person who has a fully stocked kitchen and is not likely to spend more money, but for the person who is starting the process of stocking the kitchen it is a great buy. Alton does not always recommend the cheapest items, but in the end, you'll get better quality, only what you need, and things that will last. You also may not spend as much money as you otherwise would have. For example, why buy a set of knives when you can start out with a couple high quality ones (chefs, paring, bread) you will use and last a lifetime (and add more as you find you need them)? Same with pots/pans -- start with 2 or 3 very good ones, and add as you know you will need them (no big sets!!). Buy the best thing going cheap -- cast iron. What can you find in restaurant supply stores? What do you NOT need? What do you already have that you can toss to leave room for things you do use? This book is well worth the cost, and even if it doesn't prompt you to buy or throw out a thing, it is worth the price for the entertainment and educational value alone.

"Gear for your Kitchen" provides a fairly in-depth discussion on the whys and hows of choosing various sorts of kitchen implements, from cutlery to pans to small appliances. Alton Brown uses his sense of humor to help present this information in a book that is truly easy and pleasurable to read. There is another book of this nature, a very large and diverse treatise, which attempts to showcase all the various sorts of kitchen gear available to the home cook. But unlike "Gear" it doesn't provide the information that we really need to choose our cookware.

What is great about this book is that in addition to giving actual suggestions of specific products for various sorts of implements, it also goes into great detail to show you how to choose items that will work for you. Brown is careful to highlight areas where paying more money isn't likely in your best interest (e.g. the non-stick fry pans as mentioned in another review, for instance) and where it is (e.g. cutlery).

The goal of having the smallest set of kitchen wear to do all the cooking you need to do is a running theme in this book. In addition to a suggested exercise in minimizing your current kitchen implements, there are many suggestions on how you can use items for tasks other than they are intended, instead of buying specialty pieces (e.g. using the bottom of a heavy fry pan in the place of a meat pounder).

This book is a great resource for cooks of all sorts, from beginners to those with years of experience. It will make a great gift for those people who are just starting out on their own!