Desert-Island cooking tools
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purplefizzy
Posts: 594 Member
So you’re stuck on a desert island.
With an electrical outlet conveniently located. (This is my fantasy, I do what I want.)
What are the cooking tools that you bring with you?
Yeah, we all know you love your instant pot and air fryer.
I’m looking to go deeper. I’m hoping someone will surprise me.
The question:
What cooking tools do you consider essential that both elevate your culinary game AND fit in well with preparing food that helps you meet your fitness and health goals?
My ride-or-die list:
1. Mandolin. Texture is EVERYTHING when it comes to raw vegetables, and allows for killer presentation. (The hidden gem tip: ‘no cut gloves.’)
2. Spiralizer. Again, texture makes for variety which, for me, leads to finding new ways to enjoy produce.
3. Old-school (generic) George Foreman. 15 years old. Still awesomely convenient for protein & veg.
4. Wustoff chef knife. Because crap knives take all the joy outta everything.
5. Immersion/stick blender. This substantially changed my cooking game. No more batch blending. No more hot blender explosions.
Yours? Bonus points for listing the ‘why.’
With an electrical outlet conveniently located. (This is my fantasy, I do what I want.)
What are the cooking tools that you bring with you?
Yeah, we all know you love your instant pot and air fryer.
I’m looking to go deeper. I’m hoping someone will surprise me.
The question:
What cooking tools do you consider essential that both elevate your culinary game AND fit in well with preparing food that helps you meet your fitness and health goals?
My ride-or-die list:
1. Mandolin. Texture is EVERYTHING when it comes to raw vegetables, and allows for killer presentation. (The hidden gem tip: ‘no cut gloves.’)
2. Spiralizer. Again, texture makes for variety which, for me, leads to finding new ways to enjoy produce.
3. Old-school (generic) George Foreman. 15 years old. Still awesomely convenient for protein & veg.
4. Wustoff chef knife. Because crap knives take all the joy outta everything.
5. Immersion/stick blender. This substantially changed my cooking game. No more batch blending. No more hot blender explosions.
Yours? Bonus points for listing the ‘why.’
0
Replies
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1. Cast iron pan...because steak.
2. My Global Japanese knives...because I never knew what a real knife was like before these.
3. Lemon squeezer...because who wants seeds in their whiskey sour.
4. Pizza slicer...I assume the island has delivery.4 -
I have neither an air fryer nor an instant pot.
The most basic, indispensable kitchen tools I know of are a well seasoned cast iron skillet and a good knife.1 -
My itaki box, probably. I put raw foods in it and turn it on, then half an hour later I have a cooked meal. If not for that thing I'd still be stuck eating sandwiches for lunch all the time.
I also have an old school George Foreman grill. We use it every day.
My stoneware pans. I love them. Nothing sticks to them. They aren't heavy.0 -
iron skillet - can bake, fry, boil, and use as a weapon. ^_^
mortar and pestle
couple very good cooking knives and sharpening stone, plus one good outdoor knife that can be used for things
One large waterproof bowl
like opening coconuts, chopping banana leaves to wrap food in, etc...
japanese Oroshi-Gane (grater) and a little bamboo brush (or instructions on how to make one, if bamboo was on the island)
One big aspect of what I'd bring vs. not bring: cleaning. Washing anything on a deserted island could be a right pain, so anything that is too hard to clean would be something I know I'd stop using within weeks.3 -
I dont have an air fryer and I dont know what an instant pot is.
I have a slow cooker but dont use it much , just now and then. Likewise rice cooker and toaster. and hand held blender
Mos used item is electric kettle.
only electric thing absolutely essential would be a microwave - can manage without kettle if I had that.0 -
I totally agree on the stonewear frypan. I need my pressure cooker, electric or stove top one so I can make stock so got to have them and not having to boil for hours in a regular pot, my little Victorinox knives I cannot live without for everyday chopping and a steamer because who wants boiled veggies when steamed are tons better? I do like my slow cooker for once a month maybe having something slow cooking away making the house smell delicious.0
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1. Serrated knife and basic utility/paring knife. I'm also a big fan of Wustof.
2. Metal spatula
3. Cast iron pan
4. Cutting board
5. Convection oven
That probably covers about 90% of my meals, lol.0 -
We do a lot of camping so I already have my essentials list.
0. flint. I watch Survivor. I know you can't survived in a desert island without fire.
1. cast iron skillet This is probably what I'll use for most of the cooking.
2. cast iron dutch oven. You can make stews and soups in a dutch oven, but I've also made pizza and bread in one. It's so versatile. If I can't take my gas oven with me, this will suffice for 90% of what I need an actual oven.
3. chef's knife We have a cheap one in our box of camping gear, but if I'm going to be stuck in a desert island, I'll take a good knife - Japanese or German
4. whet stone to sharpen said knife, but I could probably just sharpen the knife on a rock or something.
5. chopping board unless someone can make me a chopping board from one of trees in the island, I'll need a chopping board.
6. oroshigane As mentioned above, it's a Japanese grater for finely grating ginger, daikon, garlic and the like. IMO, this is much better than a microplane.
7. spatula and ladle.
8. boning knife for all the fish that someone else is going to have to catch.0 -
I'm trying to think of the utensils I use most...
My PC knives.
Potato masher. Because potatoes. I also use it to break up steel cut oats when reheating.
Wire whisk. We keep chickens so we eat a lot of eggs. Also good for gravies and sauces.
Table top convection oven. The heating element in my actual oven has been broken for years, so this is it for baking/roasting/etc.0 -
I’m left handed.
My favourite vegetable peeler and kitchen knife go anywhere I might be cooking. (Eg when we visit family at Christmas and might offer to help with dinner prep).
Other lefties will understand.
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just_Tomek wrote: »Question. What are we cooking on this deserted island?
You make it I'll eat it. You've not steered me wrong so far.We do a lot of camping so I already have my essentials list.
5. chopping board unless someone can make me a chopping board from one of trees in the island, I'll need a chopping board.RelCanonical wrote: »4. Cutting board
Oh Snap. Dunno how I forgot to pack this... I have been known to travel with my bamboo block because the slidey-aroundy lightweight ones make me feel unsafe.mortar and pestle
japanese Oroshi-Gane (grater) and a little bamboo brush (or instructions on how to make one, if bamboo was on the island)
...and it looks like I need an Oroshi-gane now... M&P has been on my wish list for a bit, I grind a lotta spices (poorly) in my blender
AND CLEARLY, I need a better cast-iron pan. Mine is too small.My itaki box, probably. I put raw foods in it and turn it on, then half an hour later I have a cooked meal. If not for that thing I'd still be stuck eating sandwiches for lunch all the time.
That was a new one to me - nice! Spent a fun 15 minutes researching.. I WFH so not currently needed but like the idea..AngryViking1970 wrote: »Wire whisk. We keep chickens so we eat a lot of eggs.
Good call. Fork-as-whisk makes me crazy.SuzySunshine99 wrote: »3. Lemon squeezer...because who wants seeds in their whiskey sour.
I had a vintage lemon press that I lost in a breakup. The man I don't miss. The press... I pine for.
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Cutting board and knife
Cast iron dutch oven
Coffee pot1 -
just_Tomek wrote: »So this desert island has a plenty of produce and an abundance of meat? Sign me up hahaha
- fire starter to have a fire going
- instant pot to cook pretty much all the tough cuts of meat
- grill rack for the fire to finish off the meat and to cook the fish
- chef knife and a cleaver
- a goat and few chickens
I’ll milk the goat (childhood skill that has yet to come in handy) but somebody else has gotta pull the chickens out of the trees.
0 -
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Saute pan
Steamer0 -
Chef's knife
Is it cheating to say oven? The bottom coil of my oven is out, and I didn't realize it until it had been "preheating" for like 30 minutes, so I switched it over to broiling and I had my salmon done in 5 minutes. I use my oven probably more than any other tool.
Probably a can opener too. I'm assuming my cat's coming with me and she'll be needing cans of tuna because she's too lazy to find her own food.1 -
Give me a good 10" chef's knife, a pairing knife and a good cutting board.
I want a 10" carbon steel skillet.
My large Big Green Egg kamado grill/oven
A large stock pot.
I'm good to go...0 -
allieeveryday wrote: »Is it cheating to say oven?
I use my oven probably more than any other tool.
Not cheating. This is DIY-fantasy fantasy island.
And same... but if we could get someone to build a solar oven then I’ll take a NSF 1/2 sheet pan or three (rimmed cookie sheets in a pinch.)garystrickland357 wrote: »My large Big Green Egg kamado grill/oven
I'm good to go...
I’ve given lusty eyes to those Big Green Eggs... on the backyard bucket list...0 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »Cutting board
Sharp knife
Saute pan
Steamer
I’d banished my steamer to the garage and forgotten about it... whipped it back out and have done some fun steamed-leaf-wrapped meals. Maybe there will be banana leafs on the island, we can make steamed packets of fish...0 -
So confused about the rules... & kind of baffled that with 1 electrical outlet given, no one has mentioned refrigeration of any sort.
Gun for hunting game
Machete for cutting open coconuts
Skillet
Kitchen aid torch gun0 -
Keto_Vampire wrote: »So confused about the rules... & kind of baffled that with 1 electrical outlet given, no one has mentioned refrigeration of any sort.
Gun for hunting game
Machete for cutting open coconuts
Skillet
Kitchen aid torch gun
Are you saying there’s a better method to coconut-opening than putting them in a ziplock, rubber banding the bag shut, and throwing it repeatedly against the brick patio?
That’s the method I settled on. It seems waaaay more satisfying than watching a YouTube video.
Rules schmules,
My original intention was just hoping to learn about as-of-yet-undiscovered-by-me kitchen essentials, but we wound up on an actual island.
So I’m hoping to borrow your machete now.0
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