Tools of the Trade

10.24.06

I don’t normally recommend that home cooks spend the exorbitant amounts required to purchase professional-grade kitchen gear. A lot of what you’re paying for when you buy tools designed for commercial kitchens is the sturdiness that allows them to be beat up, day in and day out, for years at a time. Around the house, you simply don’t need that. Even if you did, most of the items found in professional kitchens just aren’t sexy enough for the home. One commercial appliance is worth the money. Vita-Prep is a blender in name only. Once you use one, once you crank up that dial and feel the full 37,000 RPM at your disposal, once you make a carrot soup that is a silken masterpiece, you will understand. Let me be clear. This machine is not attractive. It is not affordable. But when you realize that you could probably puree a doorknob if you wanted to, you will not go back to an ordinary blender.

Subscribe to Gourmet