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The Collecting Chef

post #1 of 13
9/19/04 at 3:56am
Thread Starter 
Went out rummaging with my housemate today and she thought I was a bit odd...

All cooks collect stuff...some collect gadgets, old and new, some collect cookbooks, some collect everything culinary (that would be me...)

I found some really cool plates today for pics and she thought I was whacked for buying more plates that no one is allowed to eat off of...

What do you collect or what was the latest coolest contraption you picked up? Am always looking for some good ideas...

Cheffy
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post #2 of 13
9/19/04 at 6:14am
Yes you're whacked out. I still have cupboards full of stuff from my collecting days. Among the things I've never used are an antique corn scraper, (for making creamed corn) barquette tins, six madeline pans, etc!

Heh, but I've been using aspic cutters to cut out little jello shapes for the kid. :)
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post #3 of 13
9/19/04 at 8:16am
On top of tool and cookbooks, I on the occasions collect posters related to food (this gets pricey sometimes). I'm also on the lookout for cooking shows in digital format like DVD or on .mpg for download off the net.
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post #4 of 13
9/19/04 at 8:42am
"she thought I was a bit odd..." just because you collect things that only a chef can appreciate doesn't mean you are not odd, but I digress. My oddness is mortar and pestles. My brillant justification is they come in all different styles, sizes, and materials. They are functional and used in cuisines from around the globe so as I collect them in my travels they are like a scrapbook. Yeah, right. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
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post #5 of 13
9/19/04 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
We won't even get into the cookbook thing...jeez...all I need is one more...LOL

Since my article bashing the Carb Craze, I have been reading anything I find that has anything to do with any diet known to man, yesterday I found a book on Nutrition and Dieting that is what I am guessing some type of school text book that I found interesting, but have yet to sit down with...Fifty Cents and another book on the shelf, how can a guy lose...

Is kinda funny the looks one gets when he purchases books on dieting when he weighs 150 wet at six foot tall...LOL

As far as the mortar and pestle, that is a great idea because if you really think about it all of the ancient cultures used the mortar and pestle from the beginning of time...never really gave it much thought, but that is pretty cool when you think about it...I wonder what the history of the mortar and pestle is? That would be interesting to find out...

Cheffy
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post #6 of 13
9/19/04 at 4:51pm

collecting

i myself collect old meat grinders, big and small ,im up to about twenty now, everyone thinks im nuts.
but i have used 1 or 2 on occasion. they just look neat in my kitcken.
one is a husquevarna another is german called a "fleishenhaker"
it s still in the original box from the 50's
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post #7 of 13
9/20/04 at 6:48am
HUSKUEVARNA???? isnt that a lawn mower???:confused:

In any case, start up that german bad boy (or was it swedish) and send me some sausages. Nobody makes a good frankfutter in Thailand. :lips:

Choi for now!
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post #8 of 13
9/20/04 at 7:18am
And also........... the pestle and mortar collection sounds great. i bet you have some really great pieces. I would imagine the history of this has to go back to our cave man realitives. since the beginning we were bashing one rock into the other with some sort of seed or nut in the middle. It just so happens someone managed to design it into an enclosed area so it doesn't go flying everywhere. I think with out a doubt, this is man kinds first kitchen gadget.

what a fantastic invention. I have just recently begun using it where ever i can. Back home in Canada and in London i can't remember even seeing one in any of the kitchens i worked in. But here in Thailand there has to be about ten. Smashing fresh tumerik and corriander root, roasted lemongrass, galangal, shallots and chilies for your soup bases has a certain rustic feel to it that just makes them taste better.

It will be a bit weird the next time i am making a spice rub while thinking about that cave man thing :D

Choi
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post #9 of 13
9/20/04 at 7:24am
I collect depression glass plates and cookie jars, and cook books from all over. Cake plates, I forgot about those. Great for presentation.

Maggie :bounce:
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post #10 of 13
9/20/04 at 9:00pm
yep me too, I especially like diner flowered plates....I pick up "bone dishes" that are crescent shaped as salad plates, ramekins or custard cups.....bakelight....I've got silver and china for my sons and nieces/nephews, it's an addiction....antique canning jars with lead lids, cut glass syrup containers, mixing bowls, old measuring cups/spoons, scales, floral antique table clothes...I'm a throw back to the mid-20th century.
Old cheese boards from France or glass place markers, the barquette and petit tart molds....yep got those too :D .....how about the antique french fry cutter or the refrigerator covered glass, or tea pots, jimney stop me from complusively picking up special glasses......thank goodness very few cookbooks interest me anymore.....french wire canning jars......etc....... :p
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post #11 of 13
9/21/04 at 5:49am
You know something, when was the last time you had a good cake at someone's house? Or when was the last time someone made a nice birthday cake? Not your house or some regular non "foodie" friend's house? Like your neihbor down the street?

Me? Haven't seen a homemade cake come out of anyone's kitchen except my own in 20+ years.
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post #12 of 13
9/21/04 at 10:38am
Awhile I think it was the last birthday cake my mom made me :)
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post #13 of 13
9/22/04 at 9:07am
I collect various type of carbon steel knives: Sabatier, Dexter, Henckels Twinworks, Wusthof, Village Blacksmith, Foster Bros., Lamson and Goodnow, Universal, etc.

I also collect cookbooks, and pink depression glass. :cool: I did not know there were so many kitchen collectors out there.
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