Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
by Alton Brown
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Book Reviews of Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
Book Review: Spend a little to save yourself alot
Summary: 5 Stars
I see this book as an essential item for anyone who;
A. Is sick and tired of a very cluttered kitchen
B. Is starting out fresh and wants to learn what to look for and avoid.
C. Is looking to upgrade their "culinary toolbox".
This book is a great read a very handy "guide" to making your kitchen a fun place to cook. We have a very small kitchen that was very cluttered with all kind of kitchen tools and by following alot of advice given in this book it has definitely made our cooking experience more enjoyable. We have about 1/2 the equipment in our kitchen now and can honestly say I haven't missed 1 piece we got rid of and we are having alot more fun. I can't imagine the hours AB has spent on research for this but I know I really thank him for it. By spending a little on this book it has saved us alot of $ and time searching for products that best suit our culinary needs. This is 1 book I will buy more copies of to give to friends and relatives.
Good luck to all in your culinary adventures.
Book Review: Intro alone worth the price
Summary: 5 Stars
Read the Introduction alone to help you trim down your kitchen gadgets to a useful number. After having accumulated WAY too many kitchen gadgets, it was with great delight that I read and applied Alton's procedure for paring down the clutter in my kitchen cabinets. I now have a pile of gadgets that I can give away, sell at the next garage sale or just throw away (which pains me to no end).
After that, he gives the best advice I have ever seen for every utensil in the kitchen. The best thing he does is look at things from angles that most people don't when recommending products. One of the best peices of advice that he gives is to buy quality products, which usually (not ALWAYS) means spending more than I would like. Sometimes, he even recommends products for your kitchen that may come from some unlikely places, like your garage or workshop.
The other great thing about this book is, like his TV show, he explains how things work, albeit without most of the details.
Finally, it's a fun book to read.
Book Review: A surprising introduction to Alton Brown and Good Eats
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me be clear, although I had heard mention of this guy from my friends for the last decade or so, I had never watched an episode before pickup up this book. I was in the market for getting some new pots and pans, because I had pans where the non-stick teflon was coming off in my food. My friend Mitt had this book in her living room, and I opened up the book, oddly enough, to the section on how to season a cast-iron pan. I had a skillet that I had tried this with before in the past, and it just ended up... well... messy. Alton's brief section actually did a good job of explaining how to do it. At that point, I was hooked. After borrowing the book (and realizing that I need to get rid of half of the useless single purpose crap in my kitchen), I finally bought my own copy. I've been watching some of the old show clips on You tube, and I definitely see some of the same humor that was in the book reflected in the show.
So label me a fan, but because of this book, not because of the show (which is good, too).
Book Review: Alton Hits It Again
Summary: 5 Stars
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
Book Review: This book has made me buy more cooking stuff!
Summary: 5 Stars
Jammed full of helpful advice and practical knowledge, this unique book on cooking (i.e., not a "cookbook", but rather a tome dedicated to understanding the accoutrements of food preparation) has encouraged me to buy more new kitchen equipment than any other epicurean guide. O prospective buyer of this book, be forewarned! Inspired by the excellent advice and counsel of Mr. Brown, I've spent over $300 on new and improved cooking equipment, and I must admit, all to excellent effect. Not only is the information in this book helpful to aspiring neophyte cooks, but the author's humorous yet informative style makes this book a pleasure to read. If you consider yourself a highly accomplished, expert chef, then much of the content of this guide may seem laughably obvious, but for those of us who only want to learn how to cook and eat better, this book is a godsend. Highly recommended to anyone who finds Williams & Sonoma a befuddling place, and who needs a helpful hand from a patient master of the kitchen.