The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 68

Here, the Cuisinart’s all-metal Large Meat Grinder
Attachment ($128.95) has an advantage over KitchenAid’s
plastic-and-metal Food Grinder Attachment ($49.95). But
for the price of the Cuisinart attachment, you could buy a
full-ondedicatedmeatgrinder.TheKitchenAidgrinderhas
servedmefineforyears.
While either brand will do you well, the KitchenAid Pro
500 ($299.95) gets my vote for wedding-registry priority
numero uno. It’s ideal for both heavy-duty bakers who
make bread at least a couple times a week and want a real
powerhouse and for those who will be mostly mixing
batters,whippingcream,orevengrindingmeat.
7.PowerfulBlender
Thereareatonofdecentblendersonthemarket—farmore
than good stand mixers or food processors. Then again,
there are also a ton of poor blenders out there.You want a
blender that’s powerful enough to puree soup to a
completely smooth, velvety texture, with enough vortex
action to thoroughly mix a thick blue cheese dressing or
crushapitcherfuloficeforfrozendrinks.Youalsowanta
blenderwithsimple,easy-to-understandcontrols;theability
to pulse; and the capacity to slowly and evenly build up
from a slow speed to a fast one, in order to prevent the lid
fromblowingoffwhenyoublendhotfoodstoofast.(Raise
yourhandifyou’vedonethis.Yep,thoughtso.)
Thecreamofthecropwhenitcomestoblenders,theone
that’llturnyourshoesintosouporscarethepantsoffthefat
kid inThe Goonies, the one that’ll turn all your cheffy
foodie friends spinach-green with envy, is one from the

Vitamix Pro Series.This is what every professional kitchen
I’ve ever worked in has used, and with good reason. It’s
crazypowerful,hasaverylargecapacity,andisbuiltlikea
rock.They clock in at around $450 and up, placing them
firmlyoutofthereachofmosthomecooks.Nearlyasgood
andwaycoolerlookingistheBlendTec,which,foraround
$400, will turn everything from a carrot to a full-sized
Alpine ski into dust. (Don’t believe me? Just Google it.
Seriously,it’sagreatvideo.)
For a blender that won’t break the bank, I’d go with the
KitchenAid Vortex 5-Speed Blender (around $150). It has
aneasytocleanwidepolycarbonatepitcherandabladethat
createsabigenoughvortexthatIcanblendafullbatchof
cheesesauceforCheesyBroccoliCasserole(here)inonego
withoutitgummingup.
8.RiceCooker
There’s no easier, more foolproof way to cook rice and
othergrainsthaninaricecooker.Sure,youcancookricein
a pot, carefully monitoring the flame, hoping that you’ve
added the right amount of water and that your rice isn’t
burningonthebottom,andtakingitofftheheatatjustthe
rightmoment,butifyou’reanythinglikeme,you’veburnt
one too many batches to fuss with that method any more.
With a rice cooker, you just add your rice and water, shut
the lid, flip the switch, and go, with the added advantage
thatit’llkeepthecookedrice(orothergrain)hotforhours.
Eventhecheapestricecookerwilldo—Ihada$25model
IpickedupinChinatownthatlastedmeallthroughcollege
and a good five years afterward. When I got married, I