How KitchenAid and Le Creuset Took over Kitchens(theatlantic.com)
theatlantic.com
How KitchenAid and Le Creuset Took over Kitchens
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/01/kitchenaid-le-creuset-peak-domesticity/605716/
62 comments
We put a kitchen Aid blender on our wedding list almost 4 years ago. It's costly but rock solid, near if not industrial grade. I only wish I'd bought one years ago instead of buying and disposing of cheaper brands that don't last. (Penny-wise pound foolish I was.)
When the buy-it-for-life premium is nontrivial, I try to first buy something basic and use it until it falls apart, simply to confirm that this is something I will use
After all, sometimes you'll buy a guitar then realise although you like the idea of knowing how to play, you don't much like the idea of practising. Better to figure that out with a $300 guitar than a $3000 guitar.
And hell, often cheap devices last years anyway under home use, if you know how to look after them; my $7 electric whisk and $45 electric hammer drill are still working just fine after 10 years!
(Of course, you don't want to go so cheap it becomes dangerous/difficult/underpowered and artificially makes you not use it - I've mostly had the judgement or luck to avoid that)
After all, sometimes you'll buy a guitar then realise although you like the idea of knowing how to play, you don't much like the idea of practising. Better to figure that out with a $300 guitar than a $3000 guitar.
And hell, often cheap devices last years anyway under home use, if you know how to look after them; my $7 electric whisk and $45 electric hammer drill are still working just fine after 10 years!
(Of course, you don't want to go so cheap it becomes dangerous/difficult/underpowered and artificially makes you not use it - I've mostly had the judgement or luck to avoid that)
> When the buy-it-for-life premium is nontrivial, I try to first buy something basic and use it until it falls apart, simply to confirm that this is something I will use
Believe it was popularized by Adam Savage, re: tool purchases.
Essentially, current price segmentation means the optimal approach is buying cheapest (e.g. Harbor Freight), seeing how much you actually use it, then if you use it (or use it hard enough it breaks) buy something premium for your second purchase.
You'll save enough on all the things you don't really use to more than make up for replacement costs.
Believe it was popularized by Adam Savage, re: tool purchases.
Essentially, current price segmentation means the optimal approach is buying cheapest (e.g. Harbor Freight), seeing how much you actually use it, then if you use it (or use it hard enough it breaks) buy something premium for your second purchase.
You'll save enough on all the things you don't really use to more than make up for replacement costs.
It's not just whether you use it, it's also what features you value. I gave this advice to some friends taking up skiing - it turned out the most valuable feature of a skiing jacket for me was a large number of pockets (so I didn't have to take a bag). I would never have known that if I hadn't first had a cheap jacket for a couple of seasons.
Seconded. If you're a pro or plan on using a tool a lot it makes great sense, but if you're just getting your feet wet or a dilettante then go with something cheaper until you KNOW you need something more.
Source: my collection of high end crap I never use.
Source: my collection of high end crap I never use.
Except tools may not themselves break but cheap tools can break other things. Cheap wrenches will strip hex bolts on bikes, for instance. Buy Wera hex-plus at a premium but do the job right right.
This feels like a relatively rare scenario masquerading as a common occurrence, which is part of the point.
Of people with wrenches, how many use them on engines or high-end bicycles?
And so it's relatively easy for tool companies to convince people "You know what? You may only have thought about working on an engine a few times, and have no idea where the valve cover is, but by god you're a mechanic. Not like those weekend warrior types. You deserve the good stuff. A full set of Snap-On!"
Of people with wrenches, how many use them on engines or high-end bicycles?
And so it's relatively easy for tool companies to convince people "You know what? You may only have thought about working on an engine a few times, and have no idea where the valve cover is, but by god you're a mechanic. Not like those weekend warrior types. You deserve the good stuff. A full set of Snap-On!"
Where you get into trouble with the guitar example is going under $300 (used). A lot of the beginner instruments (think: First Act) are so poorly made they’re hard to play without having work done on them by someone who really knows what they’re doing, and sound terrible regardless. Going from $150 (new) to $550 (new) is a huge difference in quality, and even a beginner will notice.
That seems to hold for a lot of instruments—there’s a price under which the quality’s so bad it could turn off someone who might have kept playing.
That seems to hold for a lot of instruments—there’s a price under which the quality’s so bad it could turn off someone who might have kept playing.
Some high-end products keep their price better though. You can probably sell that $3000 guitar or guitar amp for close to what you paid for it. Extreme example is a house; luckily you can move away and get most of your money (or more!) back. What I'm basically trying to say is that for some things it makes sense to also keep the resale value in mind.
People say this, but do the economics support it in most categories?
My gut says the depreciation between new and used + your time spent finding a buyer and selling torpedo the actual benefits.
My gut says the depreciation between new and used + your time spent finding a buyer and selling torpedo the actual benefits.
Yeah, this is the same selling point for Le Creuset. $200 for a pot is a non-trivial expense, except when you consider:
* Has lifetime warranty * Should easily survive your use and be capable of being passed down to kids, etc.
Basically the selling point is: "buy this pot one time, for life".
* Has lifetime warranty * Should easily survive your use and be capable of being passed down to kids, etc.
Basically the selling point is: "buy this pot one time, for life".
> capable of being passed down to kids
Thank god 60s avocado green is coming back into fashion...
Thank god 60s avocado green is coming back into fashion...
I like my KitchenAid but I think they took the simplicity to far, you can very easily turn it on accidentally when there is no bowl or when the "head" is in the up position (because of a lack of safety switches but also because the "change head position" switch is almost exactly the same as the start switch). This can easily break your fingers. I feel that that could improve. Also, the default white bread dough kneader is not so good, the more expensive one works better. Moreover the default "stirrer", without the rubber flap, is near useless. Still, it looks and feels premium.
"What I didn’t expect, though, is how much having a few high-quality tools would improve my experience of cooking overall—so much so that any aesthetic payoff now feels incidental."
I certainly agree with that, I can just trow in some bananas, some oats, almond flour (optionally), let it mix, add some walnuts, pour into a cake shape and bake a nice breakfast cake. Also, pancakes, just start with the milk and you will have no lumps. Self made fresh whipped cream, also hard to beat. I like using it, perhaps it's a nerd thing, I read more since my fancy kindle, I bake more since my fancy kitchenaid.
"What I didn’t expect, though, is how much having a few high-quality tools would improve my experience of cooking overall—so much so that any aesthetic payoff now feels incidental."
I certainly agree with that, I can just trow in some bananas, some oats, almond flour (optionally), let it mix, add some walnuts, pour into a cake shape and bake a nice breakfast cake. Also, pancakes, just start with the milk and you will have no lumps. Self made fresh whipped cream, also hard to beat. I like using it, perhaps it's a nerd thing, I read more since my fancy kindle, I bake more since my fancy kitchenaid.
Same here, im very disappointed those features are not there. Mixer running, move the mixer part up, no problem.
Yeah, and it would be very easy to make a mechanical (or electrical) switch that detects whether the bowl is present and switches that stop the machine when it is tilted backwards. Not doing it is borderline negligence imho.
That's interesting. I guess KitchenAid have different products for different markets. In Russia they are considered an expensive but crappy product. Great number of colors, but underpowered, not well designed (engineering wise) and easily broken.
I was thinking of buying Le Creuset after my Woll Diamond left me unsatisfied after two years of use.
I was thinking of buying Le Creuset after my Woll Diamond left me unsatisfied after two years of use.
The old US KitchenAid mixers where of better quality than the newer ones. It seems to be one of the last products Whirlpool Corporation touched after their acquisition of KitchenAid in the 80's but by the mid 90's the mixers where just not as good as the originals.
It's sad because KitchenAid (everything they made) had a reputation for lasting a lifetime at a reasonable price tag. Maytag was the same way for larger appliances. Nowadays you have to step up to the semi-pro or even commercial items to get lifetime quality such as Viking or Wolf and the prices are anything but reasonable. I tend to buy used for appliances due to this fact as I would rather have the quality rebuild-able items than the low quality items mostly being sold today. I just bought and rebuilt a Viking stove it was easy, the components are fairly robust and it will last me a lifetime.
It's sad because KitchenAid (everything they made) had a reputation for lasting a lifetime at a reasonable price tag. Maytag was the same way for larger appliances. Nowadays you have to step up to the semi-pro or even commercial items to get lifetime quality such as Viking or Wolf and the prices are anything but reasonable. I tend to buy used for appliances due to this fact as I would rather have the quality rebuild-able items than the low quality items mostly being sold today. I just bought and rebuilt a Viking stove it was easy, the components are fairly robust and it will last me a lifetime.
I thought the BOLTR teardown of one was entertaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKp-0h9P18
Sadly, it's only one model. I'd love to see a lot more consumer products be subjected to this kind of treatment.
Sadly, it's only one model. I'd love to see a lot more consumer products be subjected to this kind of treatment.
KitchenAid is also confusing on their line of mixers. Some are heavier-duty than others, but without doing the research it's very hard to tell as they all look similar on the outside.
I eventually upgraded to a used Hobart would not trade it for the world. I make a lot of bread so it was worth it for my household, it was only about $100 more than a top of the line KitchenAid.
While I don’t have Instagram or Twitter, another area you see this phenomenon is YouTube. Channels like Bon Appetit have quietly become huge.
Also, while the author is correct on the status symbol nature of these two brands, they only very quickly note that both KitchenAid and Le Creuset are historically “buy it for life” tools in a world of planned obsolescence.
That being said, I use a $40 Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven, and it works just as well. I’m curious about cheaper KitchenAid alternatives.
Also, while the author is correct on the status symbol nature of these two brands, they only very quickly note that both KitchenAid and Le Creuset are historically “buy it for life” tools in a world of planned obsolescence.
That being said, I use a $40 Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven, and it works just as well. I’m curious about cheaper KitchenAid alternatives.
That being said, I use a $40 Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven, and it works just as well.
What you're paying for with Le Creuset is the enamel. Lodge makes all of their enameled stuff in China and the it's pretty well documented that their enamel doesn't hold up as well.
Cast iron is cast iron is cast iron but with the KitchenAid mixers you're also paying for design. America's Test Kitchen has some decent stand mixer videos on youtube. Some of the other brands (like Bosch) have their loyalists but overall there are reasons beyond longevity to go for the expensive mixers.
What you're paying for with Le Creuset is the enamel. Lodge makes all of their enameled stuff in China and the it's pretty well documented that their enamel doesn't hold up as well.
Cast iron is cast iron is cast iron but with the KitchenAid mixers you're also paying for design. America's Test Kitchen has some decent stand mixer videos on youtube. Some of the other brands (like Bosch) have their loyalists but overall there are reasons beyond longevity to go for the expensive mixers.
That’s interesting, regarding Lodge, but I could replace this 6 times and still spend less than the cost of one Le Creuset. (I appreciate irony of this point in contrast with my “buy it for life” point above.)
America’s Test Kitchen is another service that’s interesting in the context of the article. They aren’t a sexy Instagram brand, but are a service that should thrive in this space. I’m wondering if they’re getting the adjacent bump from all of this.
America’s Test Kitchen is another service that’s interesting in the context of the article. They aren’t a sexy Instagram brand, but are a service that should thrive in this space. I’m wondering if they’re getting the adjacent bump from all of this.
America’s Test Kitchen is another service that’s interesting in the context of the article. They aren’t a sexy Instagram brand, but are a service that should thrive in this space. I’m wondering if they’re getting the adjacent bump from all of this.
ATK is a pretty well established brand, it's been around for twenty years more or less as an offshoot of the Cook's Illustrated magazine.
ATK is a pretty well established brand, it's been around for twenty years more or less as an offshoot of the Cook's Illustrated magazine.
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The enamel in my mother's Le Creuset pot is over 40 years old at this point and still a daily use. That's n=1, but I think it still applies over their product line.
I bought a pot thinking it was similar (it wasn't), the difference in food-stuff adhesion is … palatable.
I bought a pot thinking it was similar (it wasn't), the difference in food-stuff adhesion is … palatable.
I use an enameled Dutch oven and two enameled frying pans from Ikea's "Senior" line. The enamel seems to hold up extremely well, and the only issue I've had is that the wooden handles tend to get a bit burned on my gas stove. Replacement is easy with a piece of hollow wood dowel cut to the correct length.
To me I just don't get spending the premium for enameled iron. A well seasoned black iron piece of cookware will do everything these pots will do and to me at least they are simpler no worrying about enamel fractures and chipping and they are easy to re-season if they need to be. I personally use all cast iron and stainless in my kitchen.
There are reasons for enameled cast iron. It's not advisable to cook acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes, in raw cast iron, for example.
But if you're not doing a tomato sauce or tomatoey braise, then I can understand shooting for a less expensive but otherwise just-as-useful plain cast iron.
But if you're not doing a tomato sauce or tomatoey braise, then I can understand shooting for a less expensive but otherwise just-as-useful plain cast iron.
Well seasoned cast iron will hold up to tomato based recipes. I cook them quite a bit with no issue. I think the issue is with everything else that one needs to learn if they are just starting to cook, seasoning iron can seem like another complicated step but it's pretty easy, just oil them and thrown them in the oven, on the highest heat, until they oil is a dry veneer. Repeat about 5 times and then you only need to season your iron about every 6 months.
> Repeat about 5 times and then you only need to season your iron about every 6 months.
And therein is the problem with seasoned iron, that regime of care. Some folks can be bothered doing this, others just want to cook.
And therein is the problem with seasoned iron, that regime of care. Some folks can be bothered doing this, others just want to cook.
Point taken, I don't find it to be that much trouble, but I have had my iron for years and received it from my grandmother most of which has been in use since at least the 1950's so it's about at seasoned as it can get. I just personally don't find the maintenance onerous.
It's not just the seasoning but the food itself. Depending on what you're cooking and for how long bare cast iron can definitely impart a bit of a flavor. Probably the biggest thing for me is that an enameled dutch oven is smooth on the bottom where my bare one is not. On a ceramic topped smooth electric range this matters since you don't really want to scratch the ceramic.
The other thing, especially with Le Creuset, is that you're paying for appearance. Sure, all of the enameled stuff is pretty, but Le Creuset has a ton of different colors (including some limited edition ones) designed to appeal to that group.
I split the difference and went with one of Staub's house brand ones. It's more expensive than a bare cast iron one, but at $150 for a 7 quart dutch oven was significantly cheaper than any first run Le Creuset or Staub branded dutch ovens.
The other thing, especially with Le Creuset, is that you're paying for appearance. Sure, all of the enameled stuff is pretty, but Le Creuset has a ton of different colors (including some limited edition ones) designed to appeal to that group.
I split the difference and went with one of Staub's house brand ones. It's more expensive than a bare cast iron one, but at $150 for a 7 quart dutch oven was significantly cheaper than any first run Le Creuset or Staub branded dutch ovens.
Back in late 2013 I picked up my Berndes 2 quart (4L) enamelled dutch oven for around GBP35 from Tesco. Tesco (UK) at the time had a whole range of their stuff for sale, and if you collected six tokens (you got a token for spending 50 quid on shopping) they knocked 50% off the retail price (GBP75). Regardless, I ended up with mine, discounted after the tokens, and it's been one of the best items of cookware I've ever purchased, I use it all the time. In fact having looked at their prices now I kinda feel a got a proper bargain. Sure it's not huge, but it's big enough to cook around 6-7 meals worth of stuff I can freeze. I'm not actually sure I'd know what to do with a 7 quart oven, and the weight and size of that thing must be quite something!
But anyway, another thing I came here to say was that one of the things I like about my enamelled pot is that I can easily see when a "fond" starts to build up, and then when I throw in some stock or wine, the fond releasing.
All in all they're fantastic general purpose cooking pots for less skilled cooks like myself. Finally, I worked as a pot washer at Gleneagles Hotel back in the 80's when I was a student, and saw some horrific and almost wilful destruction of expensive copper pots and pans by maniacal and psychopathic chefs, if only they were enamelled, my job might have been easier :).
But anyway, another thing I came here to say was that one of the things I like about my enamelled pot is that I can easily see when a "fond" starts to build up, and then when I throw in some stock or wine, the fond releasing.
All in all they're fantastic general purpose cooking pots for less skilled cooks like myself. Finally, I worked as a pot washer at Gleneagles Hotel back in the 80's when I was a student, and saw some horrific and almost wilful destruction of expensive copper pots and pans by maniacal and psychopathic chefs, if only they were enamelled, my job might have been easier :).
> personally don't find the maintenance onerous.
I don't deny that, and I dream one day of having a well stocked larder and fridge, better skills, and the better ability to look after and cook with and look after seasoned iron. For now my cheapo 4L enamelled dutch oven works for me.
I dunno if you follow "Glen and Friends" on YouTube, but he's done the odd video on getting started with and looking after seasoned iron, the process of which I know you're well aware of, but I'll leave it here for other readers, but would be interested in what your take is?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFXTecR4-Hg
I don't deny that, and I dream one day of having a well stocked larder and fridge, better skills, and the better ability to look after and cook with and look after seasoned iron. For now my cheapo 4L enamelled dutch oven works for me.
I dunno if you follow "Glen and Friends" on YouTube, but he's done the odd video on getting started with and looking after seasoned iron, the process of which I know you're well aware of, but I'll leave it here for other readers, but would be interested in what your take is?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFXTecR4-Hg
The thing with enamelled iron cookware is that you can just cook with them without worrying you're going to ruin the seasoning. Also you don't need to worry about seasoning them when new, or mucking up the first time seasoning process.
Don't get me wrong, I think there are some things a lump of well seasoned iron do really well. But my cheapo 60 quid enamelled iron pot is my daily driver for soups, stews, curries, bolognese etc, and is immensely easier to look after than a lump of seasoned black iron. Also in the seven years I've owned it, it's never chipped or scratched. Sure there's a wee bit of discolouration in the enamel, but given the abuse[0] it's had it's a real no-brainer tool.
[0]: https://imgur.com/a/fzDtpnC
I really thought it was a goner that time ^^^ :)
Don't get me wrong, I think there are some things a lump of well seasoned iron do really well. But my cheapo 60 quid enamelled iron pot is my daily driver for soups, stews, curries, bolognese etc, and is immensely easier to look after than a lump of seasoned black iron. Also in the seven years I've owned it, it's never chipped or scratched. Sure there's a wee bit of discolouration in the enamel, but given the abuse[0] it's had it's a real no-brainer tool.
[0]: https://imgur.com/a/fzDtpnC
I really thought it was a goner that time ^^^ :)
As others have mentioned, simmering acidic dishes in a cast iron or carbon steel pan will eat away the seasoning, leaving them very much non-nonstick.
I use enameled cast iron, carbon steel and stainless steel, each have their place. I've found a good carbon steel pan to be superior to cast iron for just about everything I cook.
I use enameled cast iron, carbon steel and stainless steel, each have their place. I've found a good carbon steel pan to be superior to cast iron for just about everything I cook.
You can't make a slow cooked tomato based sauce on unenameled cast. The acid in the sauce will eat away the seasoning.
You can, I do it all the time:
https://www.thekitchn.com/5-myths-of-cast-iron-cookware-2068...
https://www.thekitchn.com/5-myths-of-cast-iron-cookware-2068...
One time, using a fairly new pre-seasoned pan that I’d then further seasoned a couple times following all those directions you see online, to make a marinara-based dish was enough to turn my wife off cast iron forever. Tasted like blood, couldn’t taste a thing but that, it was so strong. She hates it now and won’t use it for anything.
I don't know if one unsourced article claiming it's a myth is enough to demonstrate that it is the case. It's true that briefly cooking tomatoes or tomato-based sauces is fine. Slow cooking them for three or four hours is a different question.
I know it anecdotal, but I have a dutch oven that I have had for years it is seasoned black iron. I cook spaghetti and chili from scratch in it quite a bit, most of the time leaving it to simmer overnight, it has never left an iron taste in the sauce. It is well seasoned and if I pour out the sauce it runs out as if the metal is oiled with no residue from the sauce. I provided the article to highlight that it is possible, people do it and it has no ill effect on the taste of the produced food. The trick is to make sure your cookware is completely seasoned before you start using it for acidic based stews and sauces. The seasoning will last, and you will only have to re-season about every 6 months if that. If you braise a lot of fatty meat in it, you really never have to re-season.
> I’m curious about cheaper KitchenAid alternatives.
I've got my eye on some Kenwood mixers, lots of reviews seem to talk of people who have had them in the family for a long time and they seem to be price/feature wise a better deal than KitchenAid if they last well.
I've got my eye on some Kenwood mixers, lots of reviews seem to talk of people who have had them in the family for a long time and they seem to be price/feature wise a better deal than KitchenAid if they last well.
I have a Kenwood Chef Classic, and while it does work for now, at least one tooth on an internal gear has broken off, which happened when I was mixing some pie dough. So it runs, but will sometimes skip a little. I have not been able to find the appropriate spare part.
It is also significantly less solid-feeling than a KitchenAid mixer. When/if it finally breaks, I will replace with a mixer from a professional kitchen supply store, which will be expensive, but will also hopefully last basically forever with ordinary home use.
It is also significantly less solid-feeling than a KitchenAid mixer. When/if it finally breaks, I will replace with a mixer from a professional kitchen supply store, which will be expensive, but will also hopefully last basically forever with ordinary home use.
Modern KitchenAide appliances (fridges, stoves, microwaves)are garbage. Cheap exteriors that dent easily, poor engineering of critical parts and lousy ability to repair broken parts in a cost-efficient manner.
Simply more evidence of decontented America.
Simply more evidence of decontented America.
I really don't understand the appeal of dutch ovens for most home cooks. How is it better than a cheap roasting pan?
ie. https://www.amazon.com/Granite-Ware-18-Inch-Covered-Roaster/...
I understand that you can bury a dutch oven in a pile of coals, but I figure hardly nobody is doing that.
ie. https://www.amazon.com/Granite-Ware-18-Inch-Covered-Roaster/...
I understand that you can bury a dutch oven in a pile of coals, but I figure hardly nobody is doing that.
Dutch ovens can go both in the oven and on the range, so they're a fair bit more versatile than a cheap roasting pan and allow you to get by with fewer pieces of cookware cluttering up your kitchen.
They also tend to be more durable. Our Granite Ware stuff inevitably has the enamel chipping off after a few years. By contrast, my mother in law's dutch oven is at least 50 years old and still going strong. You don't have to go full Le Creuset, either - there are plenty of quality cast iron dutch ovens that only have to last twice as long in order to be cheaper than the cheap roasting pan.
They also tend to be more durable. Our Granite Ware stuff inevitably has the enamel chipping off after a few years. By contrast, my mother in law's dutch oven is at least 50 years old and still going strong. You don't have to go full Le Creuset, either - there are plenty of quality cast iron dutch ovens that only have to last twice as long in order to be cheaper than the cheap roasting pan.
This article has me scratching my head honestly. "I decided I wanted to become a person who makes soup" - isn't soup one of the easiest things to cook? I'm not really into cooking myself, but even I could throw together one given a recipe and some time. I'm not sure what kind of soup she was thinking about though, if you first need to buy articles worth hundreds of dollars to cook one...
There are two things going on here. For people who actually make soup - making soup can be a very lengthy process. For example, chicken soup is generally made by boiling down a chicken carcass for many hours and then adding veg and seasoning for flavour. On a practical level, you can then freeze the soup and it'll last for months. It's a great way of having a healthy, easy meal waiting for you any time. You can also really change and play with the recipe to come up with something great.
Cast iron is great because its really heavy and stores heat so it's great for slow cooking, and you want enamel because it reduces maintenance (uncoated cast-iron absorbs what it's cooking which is why you never cook tomatoes in a cast iron skillet). Le Creuset are great quality, last forever, and are well designed which is why they command a premium.
The point of the article is that actually she doesn't want to make soup, she wants to be like the people in the videos she watches and the concrete immediate step to get there is by buying the tools they have. It's like buying a gym membership in January. You want to get fit, buying a gym membership is easy. Actually going to the gym is hard.
Cast iron is great because its really heavy and stores heat so it's great for slow cooking, and you want enamel because it reduces maintenance (uncoated cast-iron absorbs what it's cooking which is why you never cook tomatoes in a cast iron skillet). Le Creuset are great quality, last forever, and are well designed which is why they command a premium.
The point of the article is that actually she doesn't want to make soup, she wants to be like the people in the videos she watches and the concrete immediate step to get there is by buying the tools they have. It's like buying a gym membership in January. You want to get fit, buying a gym membership is easy. Actually going to the gym is hard.
To answer your question, yes soup is easy to make, but good soup can be as complex as a full meal. A good soup comes from a good stock and a good stock only comes from building it yourself. So you need chicken or beef bones, vegetable pealing, correct spicing, a crock pot and several hours of a low simmer just to build the base. After that you have to build the soup, lets say you are making french onion, one of the simpler classics. You need a good beef stock, you need to select your onions, braise them. Then you need the beef stock you built, you need to select a Sherry or Madeira, you have to select a Gruyere cheese, you then have to simmer this, transfer it to crocks and then broil in the oven.
Love answers where something is 'easy', then a complex series of step fraught with opportunities for error is given. I remember my brother telling me than Linux was easy to customize (for something; don't remember) then followed 4 pages of line-item build instructions.
Anyway, I buy my stock in boxes from the big-box store and its fine. For me.
Anyway, I buy my stock in boxes from the big-box store and its fine. For me.
My point was to highlight that it can be as complicated as you want to make it. It depends on your goals, some people are OK with stock from bullion so people want the flavor of a stock from scratch but most would agree that the latter is going to be far more flavorful and thus considered better. It depends on your goals but soup can be complicated, if your goal is better flavor than run of the mill.
There are tons of things that are easy to do well enough from a practical standpoint but can be made as elaborate as you want to for showmanship purposes. Cooking is one of those things.
Look at the "rules" that people who live in 500k houses and drive 50k cars have for using and maintaining cast iron. Some 1930s housewife who was all out of fucks to give most certainly did not go through all those motions when she used an identical pan and it worked out just fine.
When GP says "good soup" he/she means soup you can show off (or bring the leftovers in to work as your lunch to show off there) as a status symbol. It may also be good in the practical sense (good tasting, filling, healthy, etc.) but that's secondary to the showmanship aspect of making it.
Look at the "rules" that people who live in 500k houses and drive 50k cars have for using and maintaining cast iron. Some 1930s housewife who was all out of fucks to give most certainly did not go through all those motions when she used an identical pan and it worked out just fine.
When GP says "good soup" he/she means soup you can show off (or bring the leftovers in to work as your lunch to show off there) as a status symbol. It may also be good in the practical sense (good tasting, filling, healthy, etc.) but that's secondary to the showmanship aspect of making it.
For me it is not about the showmanship, I am not the type to even take a picture of my food. What I did do though was grow up in a family of good southern cooks on both sides of the family, so I had a foundation in cooking from a young age and developed a taste for quality. I can tell how something is made by tasting it, flavor is all I really care about in food, as such I became interested in developing flavor from a young age. I attended culinary school because of that and though I wanted to be a chef until I got a real job in a commercial kitchen and quickly revised my dreams away from the culinary arts all together. About the only thing I engage in showmanship on when it comes to cooking is BBQ Brisket, I am pretty damn proud of mine as it is a hard art to master.
I've been looking around for something to occupy my time when I retire and had been considering woodworking. Looking through YouTube for possible projects and tools I might need you can see this line of thinking has gone off the scale. Taken at face value it seems you need a workshop full of power tools and/or antique planes and chisels to make something as simple as a small box.
That’s the point of the article. You don’t need it. The soup is an excuse to buy the status symbol.
I’ve noticed amongst my peers in their 30’s that the action of trying new things is intrinsically linked with buying new things. Maybe it’s a product of being raised in 1980s USA, but it isn’t enough to just try to put new soup ingredients in the pot you have. You must buy something that ‘sparks joy’ or ‘inspires’ the action. Value isn’t derived from the practice of something new unless accompanied by the dopamine bump of status symbol acquisition (and perhaps peer reaction to display of such symbol).
Want to start exercising? Gotta buy new $140 Lululemon tights to help inspire the action, because willpower isn’t enough.
Want to start exercising? Gotta buy new $140 Lululemon tights to help inspire the action, because willpower isn’t enough.
Or sometimes, the status symbol is to guilt you into making soup regularly, so your purchase seems like it was not a waste. (Weaponizing the sunk-cost fallacy, as it were.)
Milliennials relish in not being able to do simple things that they took for granted because their parents did it for them. It's where bizarre neologisms like "adulting" come from. It drives clicks, that's for sure.
> isn't soup one of the easiest things to cook?
Depends on how good the soup you want to make is. Look up “how to make tonkotsu from scratch” on YouTube and you’ll find videos of people prepping their soup 2-3 days in advance.
Depends on how good the soup you want to make is. Look up “how to make tonkotsu from scratch” on YouTube and you’ll find videos of people prepping their soup 2-3 days in advance.
When a brand becomes a target is ceases to be a good brand.
Kitchen-aid has been slapping their name on all sorts of value engineered hand mixers, blenders and other kitchen appliances for a few years not. It's only a matter of time until they succumb to the urge to cheap out on their core product line and rake in the profits for a decade or so while perception catches up with reality.
Kitchen-aid has been slapping their name on all sorts of value engineered hand mixers, blenders and other kitchen appliances for a few years not. It's only a matter of time until they succumb to the urge to cheap out on their core product line and rake in the profits for a decade or so while perception catches up with reality.
It is the business model of Whirlpool corp. KitchenAid's destiny was fixed when Whirlpool bought them, they buy brands with stellar reputations and cheapen the products over time, miking them into the ground. They did this to Maytag as well. Sadly as of lately Electrolux seems to be following the model of Whirlpool and GE of acquiring and ruining brands.