KITCHEN FAVOURITES, TOO
While magazines, television shows, advertisement and the internet will give you lists of things you absolutely must own in order to even get started cooking, the truth is: We all need different things. Food and the tools to cook and eat it are of course very personal. Eating off your favourite spoon can make a soup taste that much better; a pot passed down by a family member can give a stew the authenticity it needs; a handy dandy gimmicky gadget can lend ease and relief on a busy day. Our favourite objects tell a story, about our lifestyle, culture, a past vacation, our sense of beauty or our family history. This here isn’t a list of the thirteen kitchen essentials, but rather a list of thirteen people’s kitchen essentials.
This invention, called a Kuru Kuru ‘spinning curry box’, takes prime spot on many Japanese dining tables. Living in Germany, Rie missed it a great deal, so she took this one from her parents’ place and carried it half-way across the globe. It now proudly graces her own table, filled with her favourite spices and condiments.
This indestructible Dutch pot has been in Symone’s family, who are of Jamaican descent, since just about forever. Much like Leo from our last series, Symone couldn’t live without it. While it is mainly useful for large quantities, smaller amounts can also be cooked in it — like her mother’s Jamaican oxtail. When Symone moves out, the first thing she’ll need is her very own Dutch pot.
When Lexi cooks with her partner, she most often assists her with the little tasks: She peels garlic, chops onions and washes vegetables. None of that gets her as excited as when she gets to pull out the heavier gear though, her favourite being this electrical citrus juicer. So easy, so quick, so fun.
Jane, who lives in Hawaii, technically doesn’t use her machete in the kitchen, but a lot of her cooking takes place outside. Jane, her husband JC and their baby Otto particularly enjoy fresh wild coconuts, cracked open with the help of the machete — which is equally fun to do as they are delicious to eat.
Photographer Andreas is a keen cook. This mandoline was last year’s Christmas present from his boyfriend Christopher, but due to problems with the shipping from Japan, it arrived in Berlin four weeks after the holidays. That didn’t matter though: Since it’s in use almost every day, it’s still one of his favourite gifts.
Jing is a busy jewelry designer with little time to cook and little equipment to cook with. What she does own, however, is this electric hot pot that’s come in handy so many times. Whether you’re eating alone or with friends, it just makes for a special and fun meal.
The amount of dirty dishes two people can accumulate astonished Mo when she first began living with her now husband. A dishwasher became imperative — but not one of those bulky, noisy, slow ones. Enter Mrs. Fang: She’s quick, quiet, can also be used to wash vegetables, and best of all, she’s the size of a sink, which doubles as counter space when the lid is closed. Mo credits Mrs. Fang for her successful marriage.
Fei moved to the United States from China eleven years ago and works at a tech company in Silicon Valley. While she enjoys the Californian sunshine, she does miss Chinese tea culture. Every time she visits her family, she brings back some tea and equipment to add to her collection, which now consists of nine drawers of tea and two shelves of gadgets.
Musician Shenggy, based in London, enjoys all things English, from chips to afternoon tea, and it’s always chopsticks she eats with. They are extremely versatile, as they are both tableware and useful for many tasks in the kitchen. And by the way, who said you can’t enjoy a full English with chopsticks?
Artist Silvia B uses this cutting board in her studio on a daily basis. It’s a prized possession for reasons both practical and emotional: Made in the nineteen-sixties, Silvia’s mother used it for decades before it passed on to her. It is made of formica, a type of laminate made with melamine resin, which was very popular in the mid-twentieth century. While wood feels nicer, this cutting board is easy to clean, lightweight and basically indestructible.
Maja is a beginning coder who moved to Germany from Poland a few years ago. When she didn’t have much to spend during her first period in a new country, she found this vase in the sale section of a porcelain museum’s shop. It depicts typical views from different German cities she hopes to visit one day — and always graces her kitchen table.
Jessie is a baker, so naturally her oven is of great importance. While ovens are not a part of the standard equipment in Chinese kitchens, Jessie bought her first one when she was in college. Peeking through its little window and watching a chiffon cake or toast bread rise before her eyes gave her such satisfaction that she decided to move to Paris and study baking. She now owns her own bakery in Wuhan.
Helen is in many ways the stereotypical architect, meaning she works and works and works and hardly ever has time for a break. This ‘all work and no play’ mentality can only be sustained with the help of quick, black instant coffee, melatonin pills and ready-made meals — coming from that most divisive of kitchen tools, the microwave.
Photos:
Silvia B., Jane Fränzel, Maja Gach, Shenggy Shen, Andreas Lisander Strauch, Lexi Sun, Symone Trout, Fei Wang, Helen Wang, Jessie Wu, Rie Yamada, Jing Zhang, Mo Zhang
