10/31   #518

It Made a Difference II

Last week we started talking about things that made a difference in defining how Americans cook and eat in the early 21^st century.  We discussed foods that weren’t found in our parents’ kitchens but now are absolutely essential.  The same can be said for equipment in the kitchen and some of the stores we shop in.  Here’s a list of ten items that made a difference.

Caphalon/ All-clad cookware

            Some time in the late 1960’s cooking became a form of entertaining and a form of conspicuous consumption.  Recently converted gourmets eagerly stocked their kitchens with high quality “professional grade” cookware like Caphalon and All-Clad.  What it really signified was a willingness to do-it-yourself when it came to fancy cooking; and that was a big step for Americans.

Henkle/Wustoff knives

            The same could be said for high quality cutlery.  The acceptance of lines like Henkle and Wustoff marked an awareness of having the right tools and growing sophistication if cooking technique.  Of course keeping them sharp was another thing.

The Cuisinart food processor

            MIT grad Carl Sontheimer re-engineered a French prototype and created an incredibly useful food processor.  What sealed its success was the early endorsement of  French-American chef Pierre Franey who rightly foresaw the machine’s potential for reducing tedium in the kitchen.  Today, some kind of high performance processor is a musts-have.

Non-stick pans

            Cleaning up after cooking a big meal has always been a drawback to home cooking.  Scorched pans with oven-seared scars were a dreadful challenge to the unlucky dish washer.  Then came DuPont and Teflon and everything changed.  Although early versions had significant drawbacks the concept was here to stay.  TV chefs readily made the switch for some recipes, which again insured acceptance at home.  Meanwhile, chemists continue to improve on the idea, and move closer to the ideal of the classic iron skillet with all its virtues, but not its drawbacks.

The submersible blender

            This may not spring to mind as a revolutionary tool, but Jerry and Al love theirs.

If you can’t bring your food to the blender, this lets you bring the blender to the food.  Great for pureeing the ingredients of a soup, in the pan.  Eliminates having to do your blending by batches.  Not a must-have but a nice-to-have.

The wok

            Some untensils carry an entire cuisine with them, and this was never more true than with the wok.  Chinese cooking is impossible without it.  Americans learned about the low-fat, fresh ingredient approach to cooking and adapted it to our own weight-conscious needs.  The accent was now on pure flavors, flash cooking, and just a little oil.

Williams-Sonoma

            Californian Chuck Williams was so impressed with all the shiny, wonderful gadgets the well-equipped European kitchen could have, that he opened his own store just to make them available in the States.  This coincided with the “cooking as entertainment” movement, and suddenly one’s collection of high-end kitchen hardware became a personal statement.  Williams-Sonoma was glad to feed the frenzy.

Whole Foods

            California chefs like Jeremiah Tower launched the “natural food/gourmet food” synergy and Texan John McKay took advantage of the concept to launch what became a national chain of high quality grocery stores with organic, non-brand name ingredients for the most ambitious of home cooks.  Whole Foods has single-handedly upped the ante on the quality of fresh produce, a trend many local grocers now try to emulate.

Dean and Delucca

The first Dean and Delucca opened in New York’s Soho district as high-end super quality deli, a sort of fantasy land for deprived foodies.  The concept of tubs of, say, eight different kinds of olives was mind-bending.  The store underscored our strong ties to Europe and its master-craftsman approach to using just the right ingredients for evermore creative recipes.  And it was just so much fun!

Starbucks

Yes, the ubiquitous Starbucks can stand a little derision for its manifest-destiny approach to uber-expansion…but this is really the story of the discovery of really good coffee beans and how to get them into the mugs of Americans everywhere.  Like so much, Starbucks was a spiritual spin-off of Chez Panisse and the quest for natural ingredients with non-industrialized character.  If wine can boast of “terroir” why not coffee?

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