Rating: 
Summary: Great Resource for Cooks of Any Caliber
Review: "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!
Rating: 
Summary: Where were you Alton?
Review: About a year or so ago I finally gave up. All my knives were dull. All my pans were warped and flaking. All my appliances were not working as I wanted. I decided that I enjoyed cooking, but avoided it because of my equipment. I decided I'd start buying only stuff that'd last a life time or until something better came out.
It started with picking up some Wusthof knives, one every couple months. Then I started getting some new small appliances, and now I'm on to pans. I've cleaned out my "junk" drawer of unitaskers and replaced them with quality instruments.
The bad news, if I had Alton's book, I would have saved a lot of time on research. The good news is, I did fairly well on my own.
I admire Alton and this book in particular for two reason: He's innovative with his tools so that the least number of items can do the most tasks. I used to have four different garlic tools. I now I have one -- a knife. Also, a cooking tool doesn't have to come from a cooking store. Second, I enjoy how Alton doesn't shy from naming names, both the good and bad. In most parts of the book, he explains exactly what he thinks you should have and why. It's up to you if that sounds good to you.
A nice little plus is he gives recipes demonstrating some of the gear he discusses. So when you go out and buy something new, you can try it out.
You'll see a lot of this book on his shows. This is probably what this book is best at, a reference for the TV show. The book is not an authoritative look at what pan is best for this or that, or whatever. Cook's Illustrated is probably a better source for this. This is more of an overview of information. Some parts are more in-depth than others. I get the impression that the book was written from Alton's memory. In other words, Alton relied on past research and experience to write this book without going the extra steps to be more in-depth or complete. Some items are better researched and more in-depth than others, which illustrates this point. If it's important to Alton, he knows it front and back and has tested various products. If not, you just get a rough guide of what to look for.
In short, this book is basically Alton's view on cooking tools, which certainly is impressive, but I would not recommend making this book a shopping list. I don't agree with everything in the book, but it does arm you with enough information to know what you're doing at the store. Case in point, I'm looking for a new roasting pan. Alton incorrectly states that the All-Clad has an aluminum core -- it's only stainless steel. While certainly a quality pan, I'm looking for a more affordable alternative since the big thing with All-Clad is the aluminum core. Alton comes into play on what I specifically want: A stainless steel (non-reactive) pan that is heavy enough to de-glaze on the stove. In this case, I'm looking past Alton's strong product recommendation, but I know exactly what I want and why.
Alton's books and shows made me aware of my neglect for food safety. Some great tips in there. The kitchen truly is the most danger room in the house.
If you enjoy Alton's show and his tips for gear, you'll like this book, even if you've seen every episode. At the very least you'll have something to reference. For everyone else, I'd say page through it at a book store and look up topic you're familiar with. If you agree with what he says, buy it. You'll probably agree with everything else.
Rating:
Summary: Cement Trowls and Ray Guns
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic reference tool and very entertaining too!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic reference tool and very entertaining too!
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the money
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, Entertaining and Ever So Useful
Review: Don't buy this book if you're looking for recommendations on which brands of applicances to buy -- even Alton Brown would admit that you're better off checking out "Cook's Illustrated" or "Consumer Reports" for that. What this book is brilliant for is the explanations of what the most commonly used kitchen tools do and don't (and can and can't) do and how they work, along with the practical tips for picking the items that suit your needs best. Alton Brown does, from time to time, make specific recommendations, but he tells you why he likes those items so that you can accept or reject them on the merits. Also it should be noted that some of his recommendations run contrary to what he recommends for baking in "I'm Just Here for More Food," so if you bake a lot, you might want to read that book as well before shopping for items such as scales and mixers that are used in both cooking and baking. "Gear For Your Kitchen" covers items used in both, but emphasizes cooking.
Alton covers each type of equipment thoroughly, explaining, for instance, what types of pans are good for different types of cooking applications, and what are the various properties of the different materials out of which they are made. So not only do you end up understanding the diffference between a sauce pan and a saucier, you can figure out whether clad metal or copper is your best bet. This same type of treatment is given for knives, small appliances, etc.
But my favorite part of the book has to do with sanitation and storage. The explanations of why certain sanitary measures need to be taken are coupled with easy ways to do it. I couldn't get a frozen enchilada smell out of my microwave oven until I mixed water and bleach in the proportions Alton recommends in a plastic spray bottle. So simple and obvious and yet...
While reading this (cover to cover in practically one sitting -- it's that readable) I found myself enjoying Alton's humorous descriptions, numerous photos and drawings. But I've found myself going back to the book as a handy reference for ingenious ways to use items I already have and ideas for shopping more intelligently.
Since buying this book I've cleared out and reorganized my kitchen and even though I bought a lot more stuff after reading this book, I have more space and am able to use it more efficiently.
Thanks Alton!
Rating:
Summary: The Honed Kitchen
Review: Excellent information on kitchen gear. I've purchased some of the poorer, useless gear in the past and Mr. Brown is correct about why it's useless. I've also purchased some of the gear that he's suggested and he's correct about why it works so well. I'm a nurse by profession and he's correct about germs, cleanliness, gloves and handwashing. The reference material is great, the humor is welcome and his reasoning is clear and concise. Mr. Brown thinks outside the box in the kitchen, something nurses have to do in their work, and he has a fine, agile mind. A very enjoyable informative book indeed; I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Underwhelming and disappointing AB -- better luck next time
Review: I loved AB's first book, "I'm Just Here for the Food" and think his "Good Eats" cable tv show is terrific, but his second book is pretty shoddy. I respect his opinions on kitchen items, and enjoy his comments, but they are generally brief and there is so little detail in most (not all) of the chapters that the book isn't of much use. It reads more like cocktail party conversation instead of a critique of cooking equipment. There are inconsistencies between the book and what he's said on his show, plus there are some sections of his book that are just plain wrong (see parts of the knife section.) All of this is made much worse by the poor editing. His throw-away comment about spelling being overrated doesn't excuse all the typos, missing photographs and illustrations and inaccurate descriptions. The first half of the book was pretty good, but these errors were much more prevalent in the later half than what you normally see published. I'll probably buy his future books too, but unless you're an AB junkie like me, I'ld say stay away from this and, as someone below said, get a subscription to Cook's Illustrated instead. I'm going to give AB the benefit of the doubt this time and say his publisher must have been pressuring him to finish the book which would explain the sloppiness, but regardless, James Beard Award Winner, this a'int.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous! Quality time spent with husband...
Review: 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...
|
