Cooking Gear

Here is a list of my cooking gear and a few hints for maintaining it.

Category	Gear	Used For	Rationale	Where to Buy
POTS & PANS	Amazon Basics Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven 7.5-Quart OR Cuisinart 7-Quart or 9-Quart Enameled Cast-Iron Pot	Everyday sauces, boiling pasta	I have two of these, one for daily sauces and another for boiling pasta.  They cook evenly and without burning. Heat conduction is very good, and they hold up just as well as the more expensive Le Creuset brand. Though I like the concept of pasta cookers with built-in colanders, the one we had did not conduct heat well. Pay attention to material: aluminum does not conduct heat well; stainless steel seems hit or miss.  In terms of affordable metals, copper conducts best and iron pretty well.	Amazon
POTS & PANS	Revere Ware 16-Quart Pot	Alda’s sauce, chicken soup	These have a thick copper bottom. Copper is an excellent heat conductor--much better than aluminum. (See Wikipedia for thermal conductivity.) These are no longer made, but you can find them used on eBay. The two I own are 40+ years old.  When I make my mother’s sauce, I normally use both to make two batches at the same time. We also own a 3-quart Revere Ware pot.	eBay
POTS & PANS	Revere Ware 12-Quart Pot	Ricotta	I use this smaller version for making ricotta.  If you buy just one Revere Ware pot, though, I recommend the 16-quart version.	eBay
POTS & PANS	12-Inch Non-Stick Copper Frying Pan	Crepes, meatballs and sausage	Over the years, we have gotten rid of our Teflon-coated pans (health concerns) in favor of these safer non-stick copper pans. It’s very hard to burn anything in these pans and the surface is even more non-stick than Teflon. Some of our photos still show our old cast-iron pans. We use those less and less, for example, in the pane artigianale.	Amazon
POTS & PANS	3/8-Inch Carbon-Steel Plate	Pizza Napoletana, ciabatta	A pizza steel retains more heat than a pizza stone does. For pizza made in home ovens, that translates to a better crust. Preheat this steel by broiling it on the uppermost rack for 1 hour. I had mine custom-made by a local metal shop, but you can buy them off-the-shelf for a reasonable price.	Amazon, local metal shop
POTS & PANS	Chicago Metallic Commercial 14-Inch Deep-Dish Pizza Pan	Chicago pizza	Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is always made in a deep pan. This one is well made.	Amazon
POTS & PANS	Bar Keepers Friend Cookware Cleanser	Cleaning pots, pans, and stovetop	This stuff is amazing. It’s strong, so consider wearing latex gloves while handling it. Make a thick paste in a small bowl using a little water.  Spread it all over the area to be cleaned and let it sit for 15 minutes.  Scrub it clean using an abrasive pad or toothbrush.	Amazon
POTS & PANS	Musso Lello 4080 1.5-Quart Gelato Maker	Gelato, Sorbetto	I worship this machine made in Italy. All stainless-steel, solid in its construction, and elegant in its design. 1.5 qt is plenty. Musso makes a larger machine (2 qt), but it’s too big for most kitchen counters. This one is already too big. Most gelati are done in 20 minutes and can be eaten right out of the built-in container. It’s just fantastic.	Amazon
POTS & PANS	Palmer Non-Stick Pizzelle Iron	Pizzelle	This non-stick pizzelle iron is manufactured in the USA by Palmer. It produces the shape that I remember from my mother's iron, but makes them a little thinner, which is fine.	cpalmermfg.com
POTS & PANS	1 kg Pandoro Mold (Stampo)	Pandoro	I bought mine from amazon.it, but these are available now in the USA and they look good. Be sure to get the 1kg size.	Amazon
POTS & PANS	1kg Panettone Corrugated Paper Mold 7.3" W	Panettone	When I first bought these molds, I didn't get one big enough to hold a 1kg dough. 6.7" W by 4.3" H should be enough. The one the left is by SHSH trade group. I've also seen a bigger one (bottom left) that is 7.3" W x 4.25" H by Pasty Chef's Boutique Store. That looks even better. I'd get that one. For such a big panettone, corrugated will help support it.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Pin or Skewer for Hanging Panettone	Panettone	When panettone finish cooking, you need to immediately hang them upside down (e.g. over large bowls) so that they don't lose their height. Ideally, you'd use one of these strong, double-pronged skewers. You can also use cheap bamboo skewers, if they are long enough.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Skimmer/Strainer Ladle	Serving pasta, pulling ravioli or ricotta out of water	We’ve accumulated three of these and use them mainly for serving shaped (not long) pasta.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Spaghetti Server	Stirring pasta, serving spaghetti and fettuccine	This requires no explanation.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Large Spatula	Stirring large pots of sauce, soup, milk (for ricotta), risotto	When you are dealing with a huge pot of sauce, it is better to stir using a large spatula with a wide, flat edge.  It ensures that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Otherwise, I normally stir with a wooden spoon, as most people do.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Cuisinart Pizza Spinners	Pizza Napoletana	These pizza spinners make it much easier to turn a pizza in the oven for even cooking.  Trying to do it with a pizza peel is more difficult.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Aluminum Pizza Peel	Pizza Napoletana	Metal peels are far easier than wooden ones to get under pizza. I would get two of these because folks might start eating off of one while you are trying to make another pizza.	Amazon
GRABBERS	Pasta Drying Rack	Egg pasta	This comes in handy for drying egg pasta with minimal sticking. I made a slight modification. The arms that come with the rack are 18 inches long - a little too short. I bought some 48-by-1/4-inch dowels and cut them in half to make 24-inch arms. Perfect.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Garlic Twister	Garlic	I used to prefer garlic choppers, but this mincer is so easy to use and to clean that there’s really no reason to use anything else. I have tried various choppers, and they always end up in the trash. This device is simple in its design and should last a long time. That said, I have mostly switched to cutting up garlic and onions in a food processor. You just have to be careful not to overdo it. But it goes much faster.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Herb Scissors	Parsley, basil, mint	These special scissors save time when cutting herbs off their stems and chopping them at the same time. I might still need to do a little more chopping with the big knife, but not nearly as much.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Box Cheese Grater	Cheese, nutmeg	I prefer to grate serving cheese by hand using this box grater. I also use it for grating nutmeg. In both cases, I use the small holes on the SIDE of the grater (farthest side shown in the photo). I use the large holes for grating mozzarella. We have two of these because one is always in the dishwasher.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Hand Cheese Grater	Cheese, nutmeg	This hand grater comes in handy when you just want to grate some cheese over your soup or pasta. We have a couple of these. This could be used for grating nutmeg, too.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Marcato Atlas Ampia Pasta Machine	Egg pasta	I grew up with Ampia pasta machines and am happy with them. I’ve always used the hand crank, but it’s very tempting to get the one with an electric-motor attachment. I hope I have a birthday coming up this year. Note that the thickness of each setting varies somewhat from one model and year to another. You will need to find the final setting that works for your machine. In the recipes, I have listed final measurements in millimeters so that you can calibrate.	Amazon
CUTTERS	1 3/4" x 48" Maple Dowel Rolling Pin	Pasta al Mattarello	I use this very long rolling pin to roll out large sheets (sfoglie) of pasta by hand. You want one that is very straight and uniform. These kinds of rolling pins are passed down through generations in Italy. They can be purchased on Amazon, but are a little expensive. I visited the dowel producer to the right and ordered this big dowel in maple, which is less likely to warp. I told them what it was for and asked them to pick me out a very straight one. Price was reasonable. I store it horizontally on a flat shelf in one of our pantries.	caldowel.com
CUTTERS	Chitarra Pasta Cutter	Egg pasta	A pasta chitarra (guitar) is a fun way to break up the pasta-making monotony and create a different texture. Rather than sending a rolled-out piece of dough through the spaghetti or fettuccine section of the pasta machine, place it on the chitarra and run the rolling pin over it. The cut pasta will fall through the guitar strings. My grandma used to do it this way.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Torchio Bigolaro Pasta Extruder	Bigoli for Cacio e Pepe	I currently use this pasta extruder to make thick spaghetti called bigoli. It goes best with the cacio e pepe recipe. It’s a somewhat expensive piece of equipment, but it has been worth it. It can also make rigatoni and other extruded shapes (with the proper insert), but I have not tried that yet. I re-drilled the bigoli holes to be very slightly wider, but I can’t remember the exact drill bit size. It was a tiny change in diameter.	Amazon bottene.net
CUTTERS	Potato Ricer with Coarse Holes	Passatelli	For passatelli, you're looking for a potato ricer with multiple inserts, one of which needs to have coarse holes. I got a Bellemain from Amazon. I wish it were a little longer for better leverage, but it works fine. I would look at reviews on Amazon as these likely change somewhat frequently.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Weston #32 Meat Grinder (Note: this model may have changed in appearance since I purchased it in 2015.)	Sausage	This uses a 1.5 HP motor and is probably overkill for making sausage.  Get this if you want to leave no doubt on power. You could probably get by just fine with a 1.0 HP model; however, I would be sure to get an all-steel model (except for the nozzle, where more slippery plastic is fine, even preferable). I love the fact that the meat tray can hold 10 lb, my typical batch size.  I sharpen the blades and plate by hand using a sharpening stone.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Cutco 9 1/4-Inch Chef’s Knife	Chopping	These are expensive, but we own a couple of them because they are excellent. We also have a Cutco paring knife, small serrated-edge knife, and bread knife. You can send them to Cutco for free sharpening, but I use a sharpening stone. They also have local representatives who will call you once/year to offer free sharpening, but they will naturally try to sell you a new knife (which is not a bad thing sometimes).	Cutco.com
CUTTERS	Cutco 7 1/2-Inch Vegetable Knife	Chopping	We actually like this knife more than the previous for chopping vegetables and should have just bought two of these and maybe one of the previous.	Cutco.com
CUTTERS	Whetstone Knife-Sharpening Stone Set	Sharpening knives, blades, plates	This is a fairly inexpensive sharpening stone that I use for knives and meat-grinder blades and plates.  It works pretty well, but you get what you pay for. I also have a Sharp Pebble Classic Leather Strop Kit, but it’s not clear that is needed. A much more expensive sharpening stone to consider is the DMT W250EF-WB 10-Inch DuoSharp Bench Stone - Extra-Fine/Fine with Base.	Amazon
CUTTERS	Meat Tenderizer Hammer	Crushing peppercorns for Cacio e Pepe	I use the flat side of this kind of hammer to crush peppercorns, which are placed in a plastic ziplock bag.	Amazon
MEASUREMENT	Amazon Basics Kitchen Scale	Flour, cheese, sausage meat, gelato, packages	This $10 kitchen scale is a must for measuring ingredients. We use it every day. We also have a more expensive scale that we use for weighing packages to ship.	Amazon
MEASUREMENT	Smart Weigh Premium High Precision Digital Milligram Scale	Spices for sausage	This is a very accurate scale for weighing small amounts, such as spices used for sausage. To tell you the truth, though, I usually just use the prior scale for weighing spices.	Amazon
MEASUREMENT	Digital Thermometer	Ricotta, gelato, Pandoro, Panettone, gelato, other baking	I use this mainly when making ricotta, gelato, pandoro, and panettone. It also works well with meats. It would be nice to own one of those blutooth thermometers for the oven, but it's hard to justify $100 just for that minor convenience.	Amazon
STORAGE	Vacuum Sealer	Flours, Egg Pasta, cheeses	I find a vacuum sealer to be an essential part of my kitchen. I use it for several things: · sealing hunks of cheese that I buy in bulk · sealing 1kg bags of flour for storage in the refrigerator or freezer · sealing 500g packages of egg pasta that I make in bulk This type of utensil gets improved all the time, so I would look for the latest recommendations on Amazon.	Amazon