How KitchenAid and Le Creuset Took over Kitchens
theatlantic.com
theatlantic.com
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)
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.
Source: my collection of high end crap I never use.
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!"
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.
My gut says the depreciation between new and used + your time spent finding a buyer and selling torpedo the actual benefits.
* 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".
Thank god 60s avocado green is coming back into fashion...
"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.
I was thinking of buying Le Creuset after my Woll Diamond left me unsatisfied after two years of use.
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.
Sadly, it's only one model. I'd love to see a lot more consumer products be subjected to this kind of treatment.
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.
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.
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.
I bought a pot thinking it was similar (it wasn't), the difference in food-stuff adhesion is … palatable.
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.
And therein is the problem with seasoned iron, that regime of care. Some folks can be bothered doing this, others just want to cook.
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.
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 :).
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?:
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 ^^^ :)
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.
https://www.thekitchn.com/5-myths-of-cast-iron-cookware-2068...
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.
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.
Simply more evidence of decontented America.
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.
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.
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.
Anyway, I buy my stock in boxes from the big-box store and its fine. For me.
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.
Want to start exercising? Gotta buy new $140 Lululemon tights to help inspire the action, because willpower isn’t enough.
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.
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.