Ask a Chef

Question:

Hi Chef my name is Claire and I am looking to buy a new food processor and was hoping you had a few pointers on how to go about picking a good one that will last a long time. I have been looking at the Kitchenaid food processor models but I am not sure there are just so many different models that I can’t seem to make up my mind. Any insight would be helpful.

Thank You
Claire

Answer:

Hey Claire I more than happy to help you out. First Kitchenaid Food Processors are incredible machines and are some of the best one the market. So if this is the brand you are looking I would highly recommend them. Now for picking out the model that is right for you there are a couple of thing that you will want to look at.

[ad#ad-block-1]The first thing that you need to think is the cup size that you want to get. Kitchenaid Food Processor come in a couple of different sizes ranging from 7 to 16 cups in size. The really is no right or wrong answer to this just depends on how many people you cook for on a regular basis and always remember that things can always be done in batches.

Next you need to look at is power. This is one area that is very important the more power if better. If the machine does not have enough power it will struggle with the tougher task and you will end up unhappy with your appliance. The good news is the Kitchenaid Food Processors tend to be very powerful, most above the 500 watt mark which, is the minimum power outage that I would go with.

Well this helps you pick out the your Kitchenaid Food Processor.

Question:
Hello Chef Shawn,
I love your website and hope that you can help me out a little. I was thinking about buying an espresso machine and fiend recommend one but it was like 300 bucks! I just can see myself spending that kind of money. Is there a good espresso machine that cost less than a hundred?
Jar234

Answer:
Glad you like the site and I hope that I can help out. First off yes there a many espresso machine for under a hundred. I personally have a Mr Coffee Espresso Machine that is wonderful and can get it for about 60 dollars. It makes a great espressos and cappuccinos, is easy to use and come apart easy for clean up. In truth it is better in all around performance than a few of those super expensive high end models.

[ad#ad-block-1]Now to be fair a lot of the high end models do make a better quality espresso. You just have to think about what more important to you. For me I use the Mr Coffee Espresso Machine to make espressos that are either going into something I am cooking or some sort of cocktail. I find that it does an incredible job. But on the other hand I have had some espresso out those 300, 500, even thousand dollar machines and quality is different.

Would the average person how drinks espresso every once in a while be able to tell, no but some who drinks them all the time yes there is a difference. Personally I went with saving money by buying a Mr Coffee Espresso Machine over a tiny difference in taste in those high dollar machine.

Question:

What is the big deal with the Braun Hand Blender that my wife keeps going on and on about? I have had to hear about this thing for over a year now and I just don’t see what the big deal is. The worst part is I went out and got one for her and of course is was the wrong one! It has all the same things as the one but she insists that it is not the same. Please let my wife know the one Braun Hand Blender is the same as another and they are not really that useful in the kitchen.

Answer:

Well first off these hand blenders are some of the most useful tools in the kitchen especially the ones that have the quick chopper and whip attachments. In my house this one tool has replaced my blender, mixer and if not for the shredding the food processor would be shelved as well. These tools are very useful and the Braun Hand Blender is one of the best on the market.

[ad#ad-block-1]For the other part of your request all things are not created equal. Now I am guessing that your wife wants that top of the line super fancy Braun Hand Blender and you found another one that cost a whole lot less and your wife was not thrilled with that choice. Now I don’t believe that the model that cost the most is the best but the cheaper hand blenders do not hold up. Most of the motors can’t handle the work load.

This is not the case with the Braun Hand Blender it will tear though the toughest of challenges. So in this case I do recommend spending the extra money and buy her the Braun Hand Blender that she wants it will make her happy and you’ll get some great food out of the deal.

Question:
Hi Chef do you know anything about the Zojirushi bread machine? I have been burned so many times by junky bread machine that I am not sure I want to buy another one but I love fresh baked bread and would am hoping that the Zojirushi bread machine is a good product. Anyways if you know anything about the product please let me know. Thanks.

Answer:
I am guessing that the Zojirushi bread machine that you are asking about is the Zojirushi BBCCX20 Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine and if it is then yes this is a really good bread machine. Now my opinion nothing beats making fresh bread from starch without a machine but it is also very time consuming and tedious and bread machines can makes things much easier.

[ad#ad-block-1]But I am guessing from your email that you have not had that much success with other machines that you have bought. This should not be the case with the Zojirushi bread machine. It truly is a state-of-the-art bread maker, with 10 different cycles to make anything from wheat bread to cinnamon, setting that allow start from starch or with starter dough, programming for sourdough starter, it even has a memory storage for up to three of your most used recipes, it truly is a loaded model.

The Zojirushi home bakery supreme is built with a durable plastic body, twin kneading paddles and a tradition nonstick square baking pan. The twin paddles help the bread maker fully knead the bread and it helps out with the thicker heavy loaf that normally weight down and sometimes freeze up other machines. The only drawbacks are the one the viewing window is pointless, as soon as any heat is added it steams up and you can see anything. Two even with three different crust setting things tend to come out on the darker side (not burnt just a little dark). Other than that the Zojirushi bread machine is a great buy.

I really not sure if you can answer this is a question but I am tired of spending 5 bucks a day on coffee and really want a great coffee maker that is no fuss and makes a gourmet cup of coffee. I don’t like lattes or cappuccinos I just want a regular cup of coffee that taste like the ones you get at the coffee houses. If you have any insight please let me know.
Kevin

Well there are a lot of great makers on the market today and there are a lot of bad ones too. But from the sound of your email I would recommend the Senseo coffee machine. It is an incredible coffee maker. It is a single serve coffee machine that can be set to make a variety of cups sizes and they are just as good as the coffee house coffee that you are used to. As for easy of you it is a simple press of a button. The machine uses pre-portioned coffee pods so no messing around with measuring coffee grinds or filters, just pop in a coffee pod into the Senseo coffee machine, press the button and your good to go.

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Now the only downsides are the one the coffee pods themselves while great coffee and have a wide variety of flavors can limit your options if you have a preferred coffee brand. The only the drawback is that it can be difficult to get you hand on one of the machines. At the moment of writing this post they are sold out but there should be more hitting the market sometime this fall. I am not sure how many are going to hit the market when they come back out again so don’t wait too long once they do.

Hello Chef my name is Mary and I live outside of …. and was wondering if you have ever used a Breville citrus press? I love fresh squeezed and I even have an orange tree in my back yard and this thing looks amazing but it is a little expensive and I don’t want to waste my money. So it would be great if you share any info you had on this product. Thank you

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Hey Mary, Glad to get your question. Well I have while I do not own a Breville Citrus Press I have used one before and it was extremely powerful. It took less than two minutes to make two cups of fresh squeezed orange juice and there was absolutely no juice left in the oranges. I also have a few Breville products in my kitchen and they tend to be very durable and well made.

I did a little digging after getting your question and it seem like this is a very good product and has a very unique design that looks great on any counter top. The only draw backs are that it does not handle grapefruits the same as well as the smaller citrus fruit and the fact that with the handle it is a little large to fit in between the counter top and the cabinets. But other than that the Breville Citrus Press appears to be a good buy and many people that have the product rate the machine very high.

If you do decided to buy the product please let me know how it works outs.

Chef Shawn have you ever used a juicer before? My Girlfriend always talks about how she would like to have a juicer and her birthday is coming up so I was thinking of getting her one but I don’t know anything about them and I don’t want to get a piece of junk. So I hoping you know something about them.

Thank You
Jeremy

The first I ever had used a juicer was back in the late eighties/early nineties and it was a piece of junk you would put a pound of carrots in and get two ounces of juice and it took like twenty minutes to do. So needless to say my first experiences with juicers where not very good and it caused me a long time before I even gave one a chance again.

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It was an employee that finally got to break down and try one again a couple of years again and I had a much better experience with this one. Now I haven’t had a chance to check out a lot of different models because the one I now use rocks. The one that I have is that Breville Juice Fountain Elite. It has a super powerful 1000 watt motor that easily juices anything that I have thrown at it. Two speed setting, one for soft fruit and veggie, the other for hard fruit and veggie. It also has a large mouth opening and easily comes apart for cleaning.

If you are looking for a great juicer this is best one that I know of but it is a little costly compared to other that I have seen. So if it is out of your price range these are the features that you should be looking for:

-The most powerful motor
-Larger opening/feeder
-Easy removal of parts for cleaning
-If possible a die-cast steel housing will be great

Hope your girlfriend enjoys her new juicer.

Question:
Maybe this is a stupid question and if it is please do not make fun of me but I was a friend house and they were using a toaster oven to heat up some hot wings and since I have never had a toaster oven it got me wondering if you can cook in them like you would a regular oven.
Anonymous

Answer:
Well it is going to depend on the toaster oven that you buy but yes for the most part anyways. Now if you are looking at the 15-20$ one then no you are really only going to be making toast and heating a few items up. On the other hand if you invest a little bit into one then yes you can cook just about everything in your toaster oven.

Personally I think paid around 80 bucks for the toaster oven I have now which is an Oster Convection style (means that is has a small fan in the oven to more the air around for more even cooking highly recommended) and I cook just about everything I can in it. In truth the little toaster oven puts my regular to shame. It heats up faster, cooks more evenly and it cools down ten times faster. I cook everything from pizzas to roast chicken, use it a broiler and heck every once in a while I may even trough in a piece of toast.

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Now the only thinks that have given me and my toaster oven fits is when I try and do some sort of baking (bread, pastries, cookies) the toaster oven works but I have cook the items at lower temps then that recipes call for in a regular oven. Not really a big deal once played around with your toaster oven a few times.

Anyway good luck if you decide to add a toaster oven to your kitchen.

Hey Chef I am hoping that you can help me out with a little problem. Over the years I have bought many blenders and they never seem to hold up. Is there some secret to pick out a good blender?

Thank
Krt9033

That’s a really good question that I have had to deal with myself in the restaurant before. Blenders are a very useful tool in a kitchen. Most people think of blenders as just a great bar tool for making frozen drinks and shakes but in the kitchen blenders are used to make sauces and to puree many items and I tend to abuse them. So I have had to search out and find blenders that could stand up to the wear and tear.

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What I found in my searches is there are two main things to focus on when you are buying a blender. First is power a weak blender is going to be just that weak. If the blender does not have enough power it will not able to properly mix things and larger items will cause the motor to jam which will a lot of times cause the whole thing break down. The lowest that I will go when buying a blender is 500 watts any lower then that you are asking for problems. Personal I prefer 1000 watts or more but these can be a little on the costly side but they also tend to last a lot longer.

Now if you are buying a good powerful blender (750 watts or more) this next issue will not be an issue. But if you don’t want to spend the extra money then you also need to take a good long look at the base of the blender and the shape of the blending jar. Lower power motor tend to do better when they have a larger base, this keeps thing from getting stuck in the blades and edge of the jar and the large base also allows for better circulation.

Over the years I have have fallen in love with one kind of blender for both at home and in my restaurants and that is the Breville Die-Cast Hemisphere Blender.

Well I hope this helps you out when you pick out your next blender, thanks for the question.