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Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen | 
 enlarge | Author: Alton Brown
List Price: $27.50
Buy Used: $12.72
You Save: $14.78 (54%)
Rating:  53 reviews
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.2
ASIN: B000B5RXK4
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
"I think cooking is a lot of fun and I hate to see people not having fun doing it just because they don't have the right tools--which is not to say they need the prettiest, best, most expensive tools. They just need the tools that are right for them." Such is the organizing principle of Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen by the selfsame Alton Brown, star of Food Network's Good Eats as well as award-winning author of I'm Just Here for the Food. It's an interesting, effective principle. It comes from a guy who serves pie with a four-dollar mortar trowel he picked up at the hardware store. Brown's opening challenge is a 60-day, four phase process of ridding your kitchen of all things unused and insignificant--easy on the surface, but tough in the doing. That leaves room for essential gear. And to help make those choices, Brown looks at pots and pans, sharp things (not just knives, but graters, mandolins, and cheese slicers, too), small things with plugs (as in small appliances--from food processors to coffee makers to deep fat fryers), kitchen tools unplugged (those items that fill drawers), storage and containment, and safety and sanitation. If this were just an encyclopedia, what an unwholesome bore it would be. But Brown turns this relevant information into a romp. He's talking about the tools he uses, after all, and has no fear of naming likes and dislikes--based on his own experience. He also includes unending side chatter about cutting corners, saving money, and actually putting good tools to work. You'll find recipes throughout, and techniques, too. Like, how to bake a chicken in a flower pot. If you wonder why you would even want to attempt it in the first place, Brown clues you in. Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen is about as guilt free as pleasure will ever get. --Schuyler Ingle
Book Description
Dedicated viewers of Alton Brown's acclaimed Food Network show Good Eats know of his penchant for using unusual equipment. He has smoked a salmon in a cardboard box, roasted prime rib in a flowerpot, and used a C-clamp as a nutcracker. Brown isn't interested in novelty, he's just devoted to using the best-and simplest-tool for the job. Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen offers honest, practical advice on what's needed and what isn't, what works and what doesn't. His advice: You only need three knives, but they are a lifetime investment. And don't bother with that famous countertop grill-it doesn't get hot enough to properly sear. In his signature science-guy style, Brown begins with advice on kitchen layout and organization, then gets to the lowdown on these cooking elements: Big Things with Plugs; Pots and Pans; Sharp Things; The Tool Box; Small Things with Plugs; Storage and Containment; and Safety and Sanitation. Along the way he delves deep into kitchen science and appliance history and legend. Included are 25 brand-new recipes that employ featured gear. Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen is essential for all of his fans-and anyone who wants a good guide to great kitchen gear.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Easy Reading With Excellent Information!! July 4, 2008
Mrs. Austin
This is a must have for any Alton Brown fan!! The book is full of great information on kitchen must haves and items to pass up. Highly recommended!
GREAT June 29, 2008
Paula S. (Seattle Washington)
GREAT BOOK ON KITCHEN INFORMATION. WHAT YOU NEED IN YOUR KITCHEN ETC. I LIKED READING IT. WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT WHEN I FIRST GOT MARRIED TO HAVE A BOOK LIKE THIS. TELLS YOU WHAT IS NEEDED TO START YOUR KITCHEN. HELPFUL INFO.
 Hardcover Infomercial April 19, 2008
G. Hartmann
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this book in the hope of obtaining straight forward technical information regarding kitchen tools. There is quite a bit of technical information, but I do question the intent behind it. For example, he writes about how good Shun knives are. When I searched these, I found they pay him to advertise for them. They even have a line of knives named after him and he does a video advertising them. (He also recommends in that video storing them in a knife block, conveniently sold by the manufacturer, despite advising against it in this book!) The point is, I am unsure if the information he gives in the book is primarily in order to instruct or simply to sell that which is he paid to endorse. I didn't see anywhere in the book that he discloses these relationships with manufacturers, either. The closest I could find was his recommendation to research 'Consumer Reports' and 'Cook's Illustrated' because they "don't accept advertising." He then says "don't fall for marketing ploys." Good advice! I think that's essentially what this book is. Very disappointing.
 Great book, but bad packaging job by Amazon.... March 25, 2008
stormysweetie
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am really enjoying reading this book. I first checked it out of the library, but it's a little dense to read cover to cover. Plus, I find it a great reference as I fill out my kitchen gear collection.
What I would like to recommend is that you only purchase this book either by itself or with other books, to enjoy the shrink-wrap protection. The soft cover dirties easily. While Amazon normally shrink-wraps all books, this book was packed in with the crepe-maker I bought, without any overwrap or other sort of protection. When it arrived, the cover was noticeably dirty. I would not have felt comfortable giving it as a gift, and would have returned it if the item were not for myself. Shame on you, Amazon!
 Great for Spring Cleaning and Beyond! January 7, 2008
Andrea S. (Miami, FL - USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you're like me, and you walk through Bed Bath & Beyond or similar stores and just get overwhelmed with stuff that looks neat or that you really THINK you need - you're going to love this book.
Personally, I'm a mega neat freak - so this really helped me know what stuff in my kitchen I could really do without. It forces you to be really honest with yourself about what a good home cook really needs and how much is overkill. If you're a packrat - this book is definitely not for you!!!
Inside, Alton Brown not only gives you a run down on what a particular kitchen apparatus does - but what makes one kind or style better than another. He's also got some recommendations on his favorite brands - although it never seems like he's pushing a product as a sales pitch. Any recommendation is backed up with a why and a reason. This is not a book for recipes - you just won't find that here. It's value lies strictly in giving you the ability to say NO to that really neat salad shooter slice-o-matic - even if you do have the 20% off coupon!
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