Subsistence cooking equipment

ceridwen

reet.....

as there is discussion going on re stick blenders v. food processors - I am taking the view from this that stick blenders may or may not be "powerful" enough to cope with what is required of them. It does seem to be rather debatable - so I think we should stick with it and leave it as just "food processor" on the list - rather than alter that to "food processor OR stick blender".

I wouldnt want Shirley/Bob to spend good money on buying a stick blender - only to find that they had bought one similar to the ones Weezl and myself both bought - and then threw in the bin as not "up to the job".

So - I reckon that means = food processor it is then.:)

lynzpower

ariarnia wrote: »

To be honest I doubt there's anything me and my generation can do to shift SLC debt other than wait until it's paid off at 65...

I managed to pay mine off - every penny although I didnt have to pay fees, I did have loans, CCs, overdraft, Student loans.

It is possible.

hex2

ceridwen, I had a £5 stick blender which did a great job with baby food and small portions of soup. It wasn't up to anything 'meatier' or big amounts. I hate washing the food processor, and would have much preferred to use the stick blender but the 'lazy' vote goes for a food processer if Bob n Sue can manage it. Wjhat are the options if they can not? The old sieve and wooden spoon method? I melted the sieve ages ago and haven't bought a new one.....

ETA I don't think we should make assumptions about the equipment they may or may not have. What are the options if they dont have a food processor? Sieve and a wooden spoon? Fine chopping with a knife? £5 value stick blender for a short term option rather than a mortar and pestle for £3. Surely we should be identifiying alternative ways of doing things like the milk bottle rolling pin (which is ok at a push) and making suggestions for a reasonably priced alternative. If you need to live this way for a year then it is worth investing in a food processor and asking on freegle for a bread maker. If it is a short term crisis then making by hand and mashing stuff is a more realistic option.

I personally fail to see what class has to do with any of this. We can all face a crisis at any point.

SusanC_2

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Do you need a toaster if you have a grill

How much does a toaster cost to run vs an electric grill to cook toast though? Unless you have a gas cooker, I would have thought a toaster would pay for itself quite quickly n terms of money saved on electricity? (Isn't that why people have electric kettles?)

ceridwen wrote: »

...shoulda thought of that one....as the thought had crossed my mind to wonder whether those silicon baking goods that have now become very fashionable would produce toxic fumes or no (being plastic).

So is glass.

ceridwen wrote: »

Oh well - this IS a Subsistence list. Confession time personally - I have a slowcooker - but very rarely use it (must try harder....)

I have two slow cookers because I use them so much.

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm...another thought that hadnt occurred to me. I must say I assumed there was a basic cutlery size and that was it. I hadnt realised that cutlery used to be in imperial measurements and is now in metric measurements.

EDIT: that had me heading for my tablespoons to see what they were - conclusion: duh! my teeny little measuring jug I have seemed to indicate they are metric size (couldnt be exact). Whew - makes things a bit more difficult for someone of my generation (ie Baby Boomer) upwards - as we have cookery books from years back and more modern ones and I'm now thinking that I've got more of a problem on my hands than I thought I had translating measurements through from one era to another. It must be easier for people who have only ever known metric measurements - and all their equipment is in metric sizes.....

I was born in 1980 and I hate metric recipes.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I really think this is a really posh thing to have. They're only recently used ... my parents don't have one, my siblings don't have them. I don't have one. I've seen them on the telly.

I have one and I'm definitely not posh.

lynzpower wrote: »

I managed to pay mine off - every penny although I didnt have to pay fees, I did have loans, CCs, overdraft, Student loans.

It is possible.

But it isn't worth doing if you're not earning enough to have to since it will be written off eventually.

Penelope_Penguin

ceridwen wrote: »

<cough>...and its at this point that I have to interject (before my fathers' voice in my ears deafens me wanting me to say this....:))....."We're working class - as we have to work for our money".....so theres many different ways of looking at this.

I dont think we can make generalisations like this.

....and I think we need to drop the "C" word at this point - PLEASE - as I dont think its proving particularly helpful....

Thank you.

Excuse me I wasn't the first to mention class, I'm not making generalisations and if you read this post, you'll see that I've already agreed to withdraw from thr discussion

SusanC wrote: »

But it isn't worth doing if you're not earning enough to have to since it will be written off eventually.

Not necessarily. I make many requests for debt to be written off, insevere cases of hardship, or in the face of long-term, severe illness, for instance and it rarely is.

To have significant levels of debt written off usually needs you to have a significant sum to file for bankruptcy, or have income or assets sufficient to apply for an IVA.

In the meantime, the debtor will have the added stress of creditors chasing them by letter, phone, text and personal visits, and there are likely to be charges and interest added to the debts.

ETA, looking back to what Lynzpower was saying the above quote applies to student debt; my comments are about crecit debt.

MrsE_2

ceridwen wrote: »

(before my fathers' voice in my ears deafens me wanting me to say this....:))....."We're working class - as we have to work for our money".

I like your dads way of thinking:)

ceridwen

hex2 wrote: »

I personally fail to see what class has to do with any of this. We can all face a crisis at any point.

Which is very true - even yummy mummies who are paid-up members of the "Ladies Wot Lunch" Club can find hubbie has run off with a younger version........

So - whether its a case of an hourly-paid job that comes to an abrupt end and maybe without so much as a sniff at any redundancy money - through to a Chief Executive's "trophy wife"....as you say....crunch time could happen to any of us ....

:DReet....can I now decree an official "Red Sticker Alert" if that "C" word (ie "class") comes up again.....
....as in I'll chase after it and put a virtual "Red sticker" on it if I spot it again:D
(ceridwen puts foot down firmly.....:))

ariarnia

In what catagory, of essential and none essential do you class basic consumables such as silver foil, grease proof paper and cling film?

I'm only asking as the suet pudding needs something for the top *wishes we had an angelic emote*

ceridwen

ariarnia wrote: »

In what catagory, of essential and none essential do you class basic consumables such as silver foil, grease proof paper and cling film?

I'm only asking as the suet pudding needs something for the top *wishes we had an angelic emote*

Hmmm...there you have me...personally - I dont possess any silverfoil or clingfilm. I DO have greaseproof paper - though rarely (very rarely) use it.

So - my own personal viewpoint would be - totally non-essential.

I reckon cooks have been managing without these things for QUITE some time - so I personally simply dont regard them as in the slightest bit necessary.

Do you think it would be a majority decision to regard these things as essential?

ariarnia

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm...there you have me...personally - I dont possess any silverfoil or clingfilm. I DO have greaseproof paper - though rarely (very rarely) use it.

So - my own personal viewpoint would be - totally non-essential.

I reckon cooks have been managing without these things for QUITE some time - so I personally simply dont regard them as in the slightest bit necessary.

Do you think it would be a majority decision to regard these things as essential?

Well B&S are streaming a pudding (Suet I think) so if you can think of an alternative then it's not essential. But I wasn't sure if it counted as 'cookware' and if it didn't, when they would be buying it instead.