Kitchen equipment
The right kitchenware, tools, and equipment can significantly ease a home cook’s workload. This includes utensils for preparing vegetables, meat, and fish.
Potatoes are best peeled with a short-bladed knife that has a sharp tip. A specialized vegetable peeler with a curved blade is even better, because it removes a thin layer of skin from potatoes and beets. Cabbage is shredded on a board designed for that purpose. Vegetables can be grated into different shapes and sizes using various graters. For handling meat and fish, have kitchen knives with wooden handles and long blades. A cleaver and a specialized fish-cleaning knife can speed up the work; use the upper blade to cut the fish and the lower one for cleaning it.
Meat is tenderized with a wooden mallet or a meat pounder. For grinding meat and fish, a combination meat grinder is useful; it can also be used for grinding breadcrumbs or coffee and may include a set of different chopper attachments. Keep separate cutting boards for meat, herring, and dough products. When making purees, use special whisks and various strainers.
For baking, you need a fine sieve, a board, a rolling pin, and wooden spatulas of various sizes. Combination machines make whipping eggs, creams, and mousses easier. Keep a variety of cookie cutters to shape dough, and use a noodle cutter for slicing noodles. A mortar and pestle for grinding spices is also essential.
Cookware and Utensils for Boiling, Stewing, and Cooking
For boiling, have pots of various sizes made of aluminum, enamel, or stainless steel, with capacities of 1, 2, 4, and 6 liters. To steam vegetables (which enhances their flavor), use special racks that fit into a pot above the water. In this case, vegetables are steamed with the lid closed. When making broths and soups, skim off foam with a slotted spoon. Soups and broths are served with a ladle. Drain water with a colander and strain liquids through a sieve.
For stewing, use shallow pots (sauté pans) and roasting pans. Sauté pans are good for stewing because they create steam more quickly between the ingredients and the lid. For frying, keep several frying pans of various sizes—cast iron, iron, and aluminum (3–4 pieces)—and baking sheets. For baking, use metal sheets with high and low edges, various molds for cakes and puddings, and a “miracle pot” for dough products, which consists of three parts: a stand, a pot, and a lid.
Care for Kitchen Equipment and Cookware
Immediately after use, clean meat grinders, graters, cutting boards, knives, colanders, slotted spoons, and other utensils of food residues, wash them thoroughly in hot water, and dry them. Scrub kitchenware with a brush or sponge in hot water with soap or soda, rinse in hot water, and dry well by placing items upright on drying racks. Using specialized dish cleaners can make the cleaning process faster.
Knives and forks can be cleaned with sandpaper, fine sand, or crushed brick; then rinse them in clean hot water and dry with a towel. Replace the sand every 2–3 weeks. To remove onion odors from knives, wipe the blades with dry salt. Remove rust from knives and forks using wax and salt: wrap a piece of wax in cloth and rub it on the heated knife or fork until a thin wax layer appears. Sprinkle fine salt on a second cloth and wipe off the wax with it—this will take the rust with it.
To prevent rust on cast iron and iron frying pans, grease them with fat and store them in a dry place. Before use, sprinkle a layer of salt about 1 cm thick in the pan, heat it well over the fire, and wipe it with paper. Wash plates and dishes in warm water (95–104°F) with soda or soap, rinse in hot water, dry with a clean towel, and air-dry by placing them upright on drying racks. Wash glasses in warm water with soda or soap.
Glassware that has been in contact with untreated water for an extended period can develop mineral deposits. To clean these deposits, use weak acid solutions (10%) or remove them mechanically. Place a handful of cherry pits in the glass container, add half a glass of water and several teaspoons of vinegar, and shake the mixture until sediment disappears from the bottom and walls. If cherry pits are unavailable, finely chopped potato peels can be used.
Sharpen knives frequently. Soak them in a weak salt solution (half a teaspoon of salt per large cup of water) for 30 minutes, then run the blade several times over a sharpening stone. Knives can also be quickly sharpened using a knife sharpener.
Care for Stoves and Heating Appliances
When preparing dishes, grease can splatter onto the stove, milk can boil over, and borscht or soup can spill. Those residues can burn when the stove heats up, producing acrid smoke. Keep the stove clean. Cast iron stoves can be cleaned with a water solution of hydrochloric acid (1 teaspoon of acid per 5 liters of water).
Rinse the stove while it is still warm, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wash it with water mixed with soda, soap, and sand. Periodically rinse the burner and lid of a gas stove with a weak solution of soda or warm soapy water. Clean the nozzle with a toothpick.
Wash the drip tray under the burners with warm soapy water and dry it thoroughly. Periodically wash all parts of the oven in warm soapy water.
Pay special attention to the primus stove, since careless handling can cause accidents. Do not fill the primus tank with kerosene more than three-quarters full. Clean the nozzle before igniting the primus. To prevent the primus tank from overheating, place a damp cloth on top.
Keep the primus clean. Clean it with newspaper and ash, then wipe it dry with paper. Use a round brush for cleaning.
Care for kerosene stoves is similar to primus care.
Clean a samovar of scale using potato peels: place the peels in the samovar with water and boil. If that does not remove the scale, add a water solution of hydrochloric acid (1 teaspoon of acid per 8 liters of water) and bring it to a boil. Afterward, rinse the samovar thoroughly.
