/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.12351195]

Studentfag that's going to be getting out of an abusive family situation and living alone soon, hopefully. Someone suggested I check out the ck-essentials archive, however, all of the dropbox links are dead. Can anyone help an anon out and post the hi-res versions of what's on this page if they have them?

Unfortunately many of the guides are not as popular as the famous ramen guide (pic related)

http://ck-essentials.blogspot.com/2012/06/shopping-guides.html

[Anonymous No.12351211]

Eat healthy don't eat /ck/ trash

[Anonymous No.12351214]

>>12351211
I'm on 4chan and interested in cooking. You're going to need to explain "healthy" to me.

[Anonymous No.12351259]

Stop making this thread. Use fucking google. Your parents probably beat you because of how utterly useless you are.

[Anonymous No.12351312]

[Anonymous No.12351331]

>>12351259
I've never made this thread before, but I hope your night gets better. You clearly need it.

>>12351312
Cheers! The version of this on the site had shit resolution.

[Anonymous No.12351376]

http://ck-essentials.blogspot.com/2012/06/spices-collaboration.html

Does anyone have the ebook this mentions? I'd love to see that book!

[Anonymous No.12351425]

ramen is trash """food""" and not even cost effective
how it ever got memed as a "cheap student food" is beyond me

[Anonymous No.12351436]

>>12351425
It's cheap as hell, is why. You can get the maruchan shit for ten cents a packet. Even if you eat two at a time, it's still way under the cost of a typical home-cooked meal.

[Anonymous No.12351445]

>>12351425
$0.25/pack and can be treated like any other noodle, but with a broth. That's pretty versatile.

[Anonymous No.12351455]

>>12351195
When you first start just do basics.
Potato
Onion
Butter/Margarine
Bread
Eggs
Lettuce
Minced Beef
Cheddar Block Cheese
Tomato
Carrot
Peas
Corn
Peanut Butter
Jam
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Smoked Paprika
Chicken
Minced Beef

Breakfast & Lunch are peanut butter or jam sandwiches/toast, or eggs cooked whatever way you like.

Dinner you want about 3/4ths of a pound of meat, fill out with the bread, eggs, potato, onion etc.

[Anonymous No.12351461]

>>12351455
If you have an oven you can use that to roast the chicken, the mince meat just make burgers/rissoles. If you want you can get pasta & tinned tomato and make that.

[Anonymous No.12351463]

>>12351455
Thank you! I know this probably gets asked often, but is there a writeup of tools I'll need in my kitchen? I'll see if I can swipe my late father's Japanese knife set and get them professionally sharpened, and I have a cast iron pan, but that's it.

[Anonymous No.12351466]

>>12351425
weebzies probably

>>12351195
I dunno about America, but here these are most cost effective proteins: pork livers, chicken hearts, pork shoulder, chicken wings (for soup), chicken legs, cottage cheese. Afaik you've got cheap beef in US, so I'd exploit that too.
For carbs I'd go for potatoes and barley, but again, they are cheap af here, I don't know how much they are cost effective in US (but both potatoes and barley are very nutritious for a carbs, that's for sure).

[Anonymous No.12351469]

>>12351466
I've forgot about eggs, stable cheap protein food

[Anonymous No.12351473]

>>12351466
>>12351469
I can't stand organ meat, so the liver and heart are out for me. For some reason people are obsessed with wings in America, but drums can be used in anything wings can and they're dirt cheap, so that's nice. Potatoes and barely are cheap as expected.

Thank you for your help.

[Anonymous No.12351475]

>>12351469
I m-mean staple

[Anonymous No.12351479]

>>12351195

[Anonymous No.12351488]

>>12351463
Off the top of my head you'll want at least:
1 small saucepan
1 medium saucepan
2 frypans
2 oven ceramic rectangular trays/casserole dish
a couple aluminum sheet pans
knives ~4 serrated steak, 4 butter, 4 sharp edged non-serrated, 1 large non-serrated/carving knife, 1 serrated large bread knife, a couple of short bladed knives for finer work, honing/sharpeing rod & knife sharpner
strong scissors/kitchen shears (especially if you're going to be breaking down chicken)
a couple wooden cutting boards
several metal or glass mixing bowls
measuring cups & spoons
can opener
bottle opener
draining colander
a few vegetable peelers
tongs
whisks
spatulas
tea towles/pot holders, oven mits
rubber heat safe placemats
spoons, fork, bowl, plates
potato masher
grater
stirring spoons
wooden & slotted spoons
ladel
splatter guard

[Anonymous No.12351494]

>>12351195
Every time I cook some meat and throw it in my ramen it gets really tough and flavorless
What can I do to fix this?

[Anonymous No.12351496]

>>12351479
>gif
Is this a screamer?

[Anonymous No.12351501]

>>12351496
no

[Anonymous No.12351502]

>>12351488
That looks like a pretty good list, I'll get to hunting down stuff on this list for reasonable prices.

I get why I should have multiple mixing bowls, but why should I have 4 of the same kind of knife?

>>12351494
I'm going to take a guess and say that you're not slightly undercooking the meat before you toss it in the ramen; the broth will continue to cook it!

[Anonymous No.12351505]

>>12351494
You have to rest the meat. If you put it in the ramen straight away, it’s just going to keep expelling its own juices into the hot broth. Rest it, then cut it, let it rest some more, and put it in to warm ramen after its had time to relax. If you put it in striaght away it just keeps cooking in the hot broth anyway, meaning overdone meat

[Anonymous No.12351510]

>>12351494
Basically:
>>12351502
>>12351505

[Anonymous No.12351514]

>>12351505
>>12351502
>>12351510
Thanks dudes

[Anonymous No.12351517]

>>12351502
>knives & bowls
In case you want to prepare something, say a yogurt marinade that you put raw chicken with to stay in the fridge for a couple hours before cooking, while also preparing something else with another bowl like a salad.
Also, if you make dinner for other people you don't want to say "err I only have one knife". Also helps if you get lazy and don't wash up every night.

[Anonymous No.12351520]

>>12351517
Good points, thanks. Are there any knives you recommend for a beginner? I know that knives are a minefield.

[Anonymous No.12351541]

>>12351520
I'd probably just start with whatever cheap knives your local grocery store have especially when you cash strapped. My favourite knife is a 6" serrated from a chain grocery store and my favourite frypan is one from Aldi.

[Anonymous No.12351549]

>>12351541
Alright then. Thank you anon!

[Anonymous No.12351569]

>>12351549
np. some other advice would be that hot dogs, sausages & frozen pizza is the cheapest things that are super easy to cook (hot dogs just stick water, frozen pizza just stick in oven, sausages frypan or oven), and that when you purchase meat items, break them up into per meal portions and freeze them in basic plastic freeze bags & tie the ends up.
to defrost, put the bag in a bowl of cold tap water and cover the meat. replace every 15 minutes. most things will be defrosted in 30 to 45 minutes.

[Anonymous No.12351595]

>>12351549
>>12351569
>Frozen pizza
This can be spiced up by rubbing olive oil on the crust. It helps to have a cheap silicone basting brush but isn't necessary. Put some garlic powder and parmesan on the onlive oil soaked crust... if you use your head living cheap is much easier.
I consider a sous vide to be an essential kitchen tool because it helps bulk defrost quickly. Consider investing in a sous vide cooker.

[Anonymous No.12351607]

>>12351488
If you're still in college, a lot of that stuff can be acquired over time to spread out the costs. Multiples of other things you already have, and tools that you won't use daily; they can wait until you feel ready with your budget. Of course, lacking tools will constrain what you can do, but you can get a lot done with just a frying pan, knife, and a spatula.

[Anonymous No.12351612]

>>12351463
>>12351488
this list is way too long for an essentials list. if you have the money and space, go for it - but i know i use some of those items 99% of the time i cook and other things on that list i almost never use and have no desire to use.

go watch videos of foods you want to eat like steak and see what tools they use. i only own 1 chef knife that i keep relatively sharp with a cheap 1000 grit whetstone. i only use one large cutting board, place a damp paper cloth under it to make it stable. 2 pans at most, one for the main dish and the other maybe to get some sauce or vegetables going. sometimes only 1 pan if you're going to cook the side directly on the pan that was cooking the meat.

[Anonymous No.12351724]

>>12351569
I never would have thought to portion my meat like that. Everyone's been so helpful tonight; thank you all!

>>12351595
Good ideas!

>>12351612
Which ones do you never use?

[Anonymous No.12351753]

>>12351195
Here's one.

[Anonymous No.12351754]

And another one.

[Anonymous No.12351769]

Redpill me on adding seasoning to water while the ramen is boiling. Why does the package say to add it last?

[Anonymous No.12351829]

>>12351769
I guess it's because they're powdered. If cooked too long, they would lose their aroma. And "too long" it's pretty short time (up to couple of minutes). This comes from cooklet, tho, so you may want more reliable anon to answer.

[Anonymous No.12351837]

>>12351724
i wouldn't have things that are redundant like multiple knives. i have steak knives and butter knives, but i never use them - a chef knife is better and i don't notice any loss of taste just because i cut my steak into bite sized pieces on my cutting board. multiple pans that serve almost the same purpose are unnecessary and just cause this clutter that i'm used to seeing in large households. i only need 1 vegetable peeler (although most times a chef knife is good enough to skin most things), a fork is good enough for whisking/mixing for me - plus cleanup is the worst part of cooking and i'd rather clean a fork than a whisk, i don't have rubber heat safe placemats (just let my pan cool on the stove), don't eat potatoes so I don't need a potato masher (rice and salad is better for my carbs). I prefer to not use the stove so I don't have any rectangular trays/casserole dishes, or sheet pans. dont have metal or glass mixing bowls, a regular bowl is good enough. strong scissors/shears are redundant to a sharp chef knife, you can break down a whole chicken with a knife (although i have them and they are useful for cutting herbs and scallions if i forget while prepping vegetables). i don't have measuring cups, although i do have measuring spoons. 1/2 a cup is 8 tbsp for example, so that's an easy measurement of dry materials if i need it. for larger measurements i have a food scale and know that a cup is 8 oz/240 grams etc. i'd measure half a cup of apple cider vinegar in a regular glass and with my food scale for example, instead of with a measuring cup. I use a slotted wooden spatula for most things on the nonstick pan, so the spatula/stirring spoons/other utensils are redundant. splatter guard might be useful, but unnecessary and I don't have one.

I have a grater but I only used it once so far, a peeler can shave my parmesan just fine. i use a can opener and bottle opener like once a year, but i guess those are good to have on hand.

[Anonymous No.12351877]

>>12351837
>man who doesn't cook like regular people doesn't use regular people equipment

[Anonymous No.12351917]

>>12351877
i was raised in a household of hoarders in the kitchen, they had cabinets full of stuff they never used or got rid of. meat older than i am is probably still in the freezer, which is probably 90% full at all times. this is probably why i prefer having less crap and just planning out my cooking more instead of just going with the flow.

also, forgot to mention i'd add ziploc bags to your list. especially for marinades, mixing, storage, etc. very flexible item.

[Anonymous No.12353396]

Lazy motherfucker here, it's possible to just eat salad every day and be good right? After some thinking, it seems like the ultimate lazy food.

>just throw vegetables in a bowl and eat
>little no cooking
>fast and easy
>healthy

Throw in some nuts and maybe even chicken or fish for protein?

[Anonymous No.12353423]

>>12353396
Yeah, it's just not very satiating, but I guess you would have to eat a ton of salad every day to reach your caloric needs anyway so that wouldn't really matter.

[Anonymous No.12353424]

maruchan mushroom ramen is gone and im still mad

[Anonymous No.12353426]

>>12353396
I'd add some hardboiled eggs or diced feta cheese, too. That'd be at least some excuse for variety with proteins (with that chicken and fish in rotation)

[Anonymous No.12353500]

>>12353396
I probably eat 1 lb of salad every day. You have to wash and chop them too, so it's not hassle free. However, prepping 3 days worth of salad does not take a lot of extra effort over 1 meal, so that's what I do.

But you need to balance it out with fats and protein anyway, so still have to cook other stuff sometimes.

[Anonymous No.12353560]

>>12353500
>>12353396
>>12353423
"Salad" is a diverse term; many have plenty of meat in them, others have fruit, so I'm sure they can be filling.

[Anonymous No.12354665]

>>12353560
We need to set up a /ck/ initiative to inform the *chan autists about the power of salad. I'm sure many could use healthier eating habits than garbage-food while still adhering to super-simple to purchase and prepare principles.

[Anonymous No.12354950]

>>12354665
DESU we need to make an ebook with a collection of /ck/s best recipes and answers to beginner questions so that we don't see this thread every other day

[Anonymous No.12355521]

>>12351455
can't get enough minced beef

[Anonymous No.12355583]

>>12351195
Do you have a freezer? If so, buy bulks of staple stuff when on sale and freeze it for later. Might wanna pick up a few large containers to freeze leftovers - If you are living alone, its generally cost-effective timewise if you make a large batch of stuff and rotate your meals around this; I generally cook around 1-4 times a week doing this and then live off the leftovers. Just make sure to keep a varied supply of stuff so you don't get too sick of eating meatballs or whatever you've got.

Meat can be tough on a budget, so excersice moderation. A little bit goes a long way in a stew mixed with cheaper ingredients like vegetables. This is where a freezer comes in real handy since a lot of stores will generally put the most common meats on sale or try to sell off stuff that's about to expire, so just be a little patient, look around for the cheapest place, and you can generally get away pretty cheap. Chicken is a really cost effective meat, especially if you buy it whole and cut it up on your own, so I'd recommend looking up some videos on how to cut it.

[Anonymous No.12356394]

>>12355583
I'll buy a chest feezer and rotate between your suggestion and >>12351569, that way I can't get too bored of leftovers.

>Look up the difference in price/pound of whole chickens and parts

I'll be sure to buy a couple of chickens to practice cutting up as soon as possible.

[Anonymous No.12356403]

Can i get a quick rundown on that abuse story

[Anonymous No.12356442]

>>12351195
check out bon appetit magazine, find a recipe you wanna make, buy ingredients for it; their 'basically 10x10' series contains some pretty good beginner recipes that teach legit cooking skills

i'd also say check out saveur but they tend to use a lot of really unusual/expensive ingredients which can be pretty intimidating for someone new to cooking

[Anonymous No.12356460]

>>12351463
grater/microplane
cast iron
heavy pot such as a dutch oven
a good amount of mixing bowls in different sizes
cutting board
wooden spoon
metal fish spatula
sheet pans

anything else you can obtain over time or whenever you find out you need it; having some reusable containers to hold leftovers is important if you're mostly cooking for yourself

[Anonymous No.12356519]

>>12356460
I also forgot -- make sure the large pot is oven safe and get a smaller saucepan as well as a large one (I only use the large one for cooking spaghetti but that alone makes it essential for me)

[Anonymous No.12356602]

>>12354665
In my country, fresh vegetables that i want to see in my salad cost more than meat, if not in season.
I probably can`t afford all-salad menu.

[Anonymous No.12356638]

>>12356460
>cast iron
OP should get skillets and a dutch oven. Dutch ovens are great.

[Anonymous No.12357013]

>>12351312
Here's the thing about this picture, $2 for a meal is a lot. (calculated) I have lived off meals that probably cost $1.25 at least because some of those things you can definitely buy in bulk.

[Anonymous No.12358001]

bump

[Anonymous No.12359195]

You really don't need to eat ramen, just buy some bulk packages of meat and cook them alongside some rice or potatoes. If you're so broke that you can't afford that then any minor unexpected expense will ruin your life and you should seriously reevaluate your decisions.

[Anonymous No.12360541]

bump

[Anonymous No.12360810]

>>12351195
Just eat beans dude

[Anonymous No.12360835]

>>12351195
Do yourself a favor and plant green onions from the grocery store in a pot, place in a sunny window or outside. They take root 9 times out of 10 and grow back if you cut the tops off

[Anonymous No.12360847]

fyi 90% of recipes found in 4chan infographics are absolutely garbage.
its better to experiment randomly than to try to follow them

>>12351463
bare bones, absolute minimum:
>knife
>cutting board
>cast iron
>pot
>tongs
>mixing bowl
>optional: measuring cup

[g can thread No.12360859]

>>12351195
Just eat eggs and beans. Ramen is terrible for you

[Anonymous No.12361067]

>>12360847
i want to learn how to cook but i can only do things like scrambling some eggs right now
do you have any recommendations? ive grown tired of eating frozen and canned food for the most part

[Anonymous No.12361088]

was mi-goreng always in OPs image?

[Anonymous No.12361157]

>>12351195
Take one from each category, throw it all in a pan, and you've got a meal.

carbs:
>rice
>pasta
>potatoes

protein:
>dried beans
>eggs
>lentils
>chicken thighs
>ground beef/turkey

vegetables:
>staples like carrots, onions, and celery
>frozen spinach
>whatever fresh produce is on sale

sauces:
>tomato
>alfredo
>soy/teriyaki
>bbq
>salsa

misc items to use at your leisure:
>cheese
>olive oil
>salt
>pepper
>butter
>sesame oil
>canola oil
>corn starch
>hot sauce
>sugar

I have a shit ton of different spices, which really helps.

[Anonymous No.12361195]

>>12351475
neigh

[Anonymous No.12361214]

>>12351753
this reminds me of that fucking chili recipe that keeps getting reposted.

[Anonymous No.12361214,1]

i hate this thread