NWR Kitchen Thread

Anna has mentioned a new food processor for Christmas to replace our current one which is falling apart after 25 years of service. Any recommendations from the forum hive mind?
I'd go for the Magimix 5200XL. I have the 5100 (the previous top of the line product) and it's been going for 30+ years with only the bowl needing to be replaced. It gets used once or twice a week (at least) so has real staying power. The quality is there.
 
I have a 5200X. It mostly gets used for bread since my Kenwood died, it's all done in about 30 seconds. Cleaning is a bit of a bore but I hate mixing dough by hand. Otherwise it's useful rather than irreplaceable unless one is cooking for large numbers, it does an amazing job of chopping a pound of garlic, for example. I don't like the results at all when chopping an onion or a soffrito and as a blender it doesn't really work, like all food processors. The slicing and grating discs are very good though only save time when preparing in quantity. It's superb for grinding nuts-always freeze them first.
Things that are traditionally pounded, like Genoese pesto(add a pinch of ascorbic acid at the beginning to keep a brilliant green), Thai curry pastes and Indian chutneys seem to me quite remarkably better in a large pestle and mortar, well worth the investment.
What I would really like to know is how to sharpen the blade.
 
It would be remiss of me not to mark the passing of 2024 by thanking those whose thought-provoking contributions were absolutely invaluable during the construction of our new kitchen, which we finished as part of a wider extension earlier in the year.

The Bora/induction question was inevitably resolved by compromise (the purist's axiom in any domestic building project), and we ended up with the tremendously unadventurous acquisition of our second Lacanche, this one an induction. It's bloody brilliant (when it, ahem, works)! I am a total convert and do not miss gas one bit, although having to replace most of our pans seemed a bit ridiculous at the time. We opted for a set of stainless steel pans by Samuel Groves and are very happy with them to the extent that, following a brief period of acclimatisation, we don't even miss our beloved SKK non-sticks.

Other agonising decisions were the switch to a Fisher & Paykel fridge/freezer and under-counter wine fridge, and a frankly disastrous experiment with a filtered tap system by Noa (the thing never worked properly and the company, a startup, has now gone under). We were persuaded by the kitchen supplier to go for an 'appliance garage' and a standalone larder, both of which have been excellent additions, not least because it has freed up enough cupboard space to accommodate 152 wine glasses, a useful number, but clearly not enough for sets of 6 to cover all bases. I lie awake in angst at the thought of not being able to offer my guests a Zalto Burgundy per head- it was the only glass in which last week's 2019 Jouan Chambolle showed well; mercifully it was just the two of us. Indeed, I am coming round to the idea that the extension may need extending at some point.

Thanks again for such well-informed suggestions - I really don't think we would have switched to induction without encouragement from the Forum, and are delighted to have done so.

A few photos attached to give the general idea. The kitchen came from Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch and, in case it's not clear from the photos, we decided to paint it green.

Screenshot_20241224_132732_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20241224_132753_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20241224_132837_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20241224_132816_Gallery.jpg
 
Starting the planning on replacing our 19 year old kitchen which we put in in 2006 and has generally served us well. I’ve read though this thread and found some useful ideas but still have some question.

We have a narrow galley style kitchen with a porch size utility space at the end leading to a back door. It is accessed by an internal door that just opens into the kitchen. It has standard size cupboards on one side and narrower wall sized floor cupboards on the other with a worktop. There will be space for a double oven, hob, microwave, floor standing fridge freezer, dishwasher and washing machine.

I’m sold on the idea of an induction hob having used them on holiday lets and from reading about people’s experiences here.
Our current cooker is a Smeg gas hob with electric double oven and while ok we want to upgrade but not as much as a gaggenau or equivalent. What would be a good in-between option?

Worktops, we currently have solid oak which is very sturdy but has marked a bit, got a bit of damp around the sink and has areas that are sun bleached. I know about Dekton but worry about fragility. Any thoughts/experiences with acrylic (eg Minerva)?

Considering replacing the internal opening door between the utility room and kitchen with a sliding door. Any experiences with that? Dos and dont’s etc.

Larder cupboards with internal shelves that pull out when opening the doors. Pros and cons?

Thanks in advance.
 
We endured a nightmare, incomplete renovation of our kitchen (together with a still incomplete shower room and cloakroom) in the summer. The builder walked off the job after we had paid 98% of his fixed quote, without of course his having done 98% of the contracted work. If anyone has any advice about getting money back from a builder, I would be extremely grateful to know!

Kevin, we switched from gas to a Gaggenau 200 series flex induction cooktop because it is one of the few models with knobs, but I am not entirely convinced by it. I find that while the cooktop generally works better than gas at low temperatures, if you are looking to brown anything the elements on ours heat even very heavy pans designed for induction somewhat unevenly and you get patchy browning.

The main inspiration for the switch was that cooking on induction is healthier in terms of air quality, and the kitchen's layout didn't make an extractor easy to install.

When we designed our kitchen, a very experienced kitchen designer told us that she felt drawers were the most useful feature in a kitchen because they are just so much more quickly and easily accessible. A cupboard with internal shelves that pull out requires the additional step of pulling out a shelf, after opening the cupboard door. I have previously renovated a small galley kitchen in a Brooklyn apartment and we used all drawers there for the floor cupboards and found it very practical.

We have only one wall cupboard in our larger kitchen now and it has made our kitchen much more airy, which is good as we eat in it, but I imagine this might not be feasible for you.

I thought this was a good-looking galley kitchen renovation using Caesarstone countertops:
Shaker Galley Kitchen: a Stylish Small Design by deVol for the Founders of Cereal Magazine
 
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For those who kindly gave me advice previously, a couple of photos of the kitchen are above. We changed the kitchen configuration from its former "U"-shape to an "L"-shape, allowing us to have a full height fridge-freezer instead of awkward below-counter fridge and freezer units.

The ceilings are relatively low, plus there's a beam, and we received the sage advice to paint ceiling, walls, and window and door woodwork all in the same colour, which worked well.

My wife wanted marble countertops, which do require us to be careful. For anyone getting natural stone countertops, it was essential, I felt, to choose the slab in person and there is surprisingly little supply, meaning I had to travel to one of the wholesalers to get a good, affordable slab. The work table has an oak countertop with a Rubio Monocoat finish that I really like.
 
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My wife wanted marble countertops, which do require us to be careful. For anyone getting natural stone countertops, it was essential, I felt, to choose the slab in person and there is surprisingly little supply, meaning I had to travel to one of the wholesalers to get a good, affordable slab.
They look great. We've just started a project to build an extension, with a new kitchen etc. I've been waiting for the right moment to push the carrara marble agenda - and it turns out I needn't have worried as Mrs DV is keen too. In our previous house we had a quartz worktop which looked like marble, but while practical it didn't quite have the right sheen. Now we're of a mind to live with the consequences of marble as 'adding character' etc. Though we may have to be a little careful with e.g. turmeric.

Have you had the countertops treated with anything?
 
Think carefully about marble ----unless you are very fastidious and super clean EVERYTHING marks it. Red wine, oils, hot pans (especially cast iron), coffee, tea, white wine left on for too long creates a shadow, even hard cheese with a high fat content will leave a shadow. Saffron, turmeric, ginger, beetroot (OMG beetroot) will all leave their calling card.

Even quartz is not bomb proof as it will heat colour and also can stain.

Commercial sealants help, but marble is super porous and if you have it then it will look fabulous at first but then....

I've hand made two kitchens from scratch and although marble looks fantastic in showrooms I would only use it in a baking area or larder. But I cook a lot.
 
There are natural stones other than marble that might be worth looking at….

We have natural quartzite. It’s not heavily polished as it sits under a large roof lantern and the glare in the summer would have been too much but it still stands up pretty well to abuse. A highly polished one would be even better I suspect. Our neighbours have marble and theirs seems more porous.

We live in a 2* listed arts and crafts house and too much artifiicial material just tends to jar with the building. Hence the natural stone. If I was doing it again I would think carefully about it…as you do need to be fairly rigorous about wiping up spills no matter how good the sealant. A splodge of olive oil left overnight will likely mark the worktop. We put some plain-ish grey engineered quartz in the two runs that contain sinks to reduce the risk and provide a space for the kids to throw curry and beetroot around.

I do though love the aesthetic of the natural stone and nothing engineered comes close on that front.
 
Forgot to add - even when marble is professionally sealed with a commercial sealer (should renew annually) it will not protect it from acid etching. Vinegar, lemon juice, any acidic juice, ketchups and some cleaning products will all damage the surface and stain if not wiped up straight away.
 
Probably mentioned earlier in this thread but I went with sintered stone for my worktop (porcelanosa xtone) - I’ve been very impressed so far, it’s very easy to maintain and v resistant to damage. I’m still wary of putting hot pans down sometimes because it is possible to basically burn stuff in if the surface isn’t clean
 
Forgot to add - even when marble is professionally sealed with a commercial sealer (should renew annually) it will not protect it from acid etching. Vinegar, lemon juice, any acidic juice, ketchups and some cleaning products will all damage the surface and stain if not wiped up straight away.
AJ, we cook almost every night (for our children and then ourselves) but we’re also very careful. Our marble is honed and I think the etching is less apparent that way:

https://www.thekitchn.com/what-a-marble-etch-actually-looks-like-205544

I was interested in using Pietra del Cardoso, which performs more like granite, but it is obviously a much darker look.
 
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