4 ms·

I have been recently optimizing some of my wardrobe: Darn Tough socks! Seriously life is too short to have clammy feet. Yes they are expensive but they last fo

by agentgt 10y ago

I have been recently optimizing some of my wardrobe: Darn Tough socks! Seriously life is too short to have clammy feet. Yes they are expensive but they last forever. Carhartt USA made therma lined hoodies are also awesome. I have had one for 17 years and wore it all the time before hoodies became fashionable. To be honest all of their stuff is great for the price if you can get over looking like a construction worker. Icebreakers shifter pants. The best sweat pants. Speaking of wool.. Duckworth wool has some good properly treated USA sheep. Icebreakers is better but Duckworth is USA made. Music: Cambridge Audio DAC magic plus. Expensive but seems to work great. Cooking: Lodge Cast Iron Skillets. Once you learn how to cook on cast iron skillets you will replace many pans in your kitchen with them. Char‑Griller Akorn Kamado Kooker. The best charcoal grill for the money. You can cook everything on it. Pizza, sear steak at 800 degrees and slow cook pulled pork for 18 hours+ on a single load of charcoal. Thermoworks Thermapen thermometer. The best cooking thermometer you absolutely should buy.

Tcepsa 10y ago
I'd like to put in a plug for Finex cast iron. They're milled smooth on the bottom which I prefer to the finish on the Lodge pan that I have. Regardless, +1 for cast iron!
- agentgt 10y ago
  Finex is for sure superior but they just don't make a lot of sizes (and of course the price). For example I use a 15" cast iron skillet to cooked spatchcocked chicken. With 15" I have even cooked spatchcocked turkey and duck.
- s0rce 10y ago
  Cool! I haven't seen a modern cast iron pan that I've liked as much as my ancient Wagner Ware pan, the smooth interior surface is so much better than the bumpy as cast surface on the sand cast models that aren't finished. Not sure I would pay the asking price for these Finex ones, you can still get old ones at flea markets, thrift stores and ebay if you look around.
  - agentgt 10y ago
    The bumpy to polished surface is more of an aesthetic and ergonomic thing than a stick thing. That is the bumpiness of a lodge eventually goes away and the initial bumps really have little correlation on the stickiness. Think of it this way... Sticky tires for race cars are actually extremely smooth. What people don't like is the sound a spatula makes on the new lodge pan compared to polish pans but in my experience the lodge pans are in most ways less prone to stick than older pans because the heat is more even (this is perhaps because they are heavier). In some ways the bumpiness might actually improve slip because it creates pockets of fat but again the bumpiness goes away pretty quick regardless. Some even say the additional bumpiness also aids in adding additional seasoning. You absolutely have to cook with fat on cast iron pan (either the food has the fat or you add it). Cast iron pans are not even remotely comparable to teflon nonstick when it comes to sticking (and by the way most teflon pans are bumpy as well so.. again bumpiness has little correlation to stick). There is an incredibly amount of bullshit and false information about cast iron pans on the internet (like comparing it to teflon and how older pans distribute heat better) with very little actual experiments done. If people really want smooth milled surfaces than a carbon steel pan is far superior as well as distributes heat more evenly (albeit I prefer cast iron for baking).
tjr225 10y ago
I prefer carbon steel skillets (Lodge makes them too) to cast iron. They have the same cooking and seasoning properties of a cast iron but are significantly lighter.
- agentgt 10y ago
  I have De Buyer and a very large Matfer. I can't speak for the Lodge carbon steel but I do not think that carbon steel is as versatile. I usually use carbon steel pans for searing meat or quick sauteing. I also use them basically as a griddle. Carbon steel pans usually can't be easily placed in the oven. I mean you can do it but the handles are generally really long and get in the way. They also don't have the same characteristics that cast iron has for baking or stewing... e.g. I'm not going to make corn bread in a carbon steel pan. Finally carbon steel pans seem to loose their seasoning quickly. I have never seen flaking of seasoning on cast iron but I routinely see it on my carbon steel pans regardless of how I season them.
lobster_johnson 10y ago
On the subject of socks: Smartwool [1]. Thick, incredibly warm and durable. I say incredible because I've owned a lot of wool socks, and these are even warmer than the fluffy, handwoven mohair socks I also own. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EZYMUA https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EZYMUA
derrickdirge 10y ago
I'd like to second the Thermapen. It's been engineered exactly as much as necessary. Long probe, nearly instant reading, no buttons, no extra features or complicated display. Compact, splash-resistant, long battery life, accurate up to 300°C. Just stick the probe into a thing, and a large seven-segment display tells you the temperature in under a second.

by agentgt 10y ago

Tcepsa 10y ago

I'd like to put in a plug for Finex cast iron. They're milled smooth on the bottom which I prefer to the finish on the Lodge pan that I have. Regardless, +1 for cast iron!

agentgt 10y ago
Finex is for sure superior but they just don't make a lot of sizes (and of course the price). For example I use a 15" cast iron skillet to cooked spatchcocked chicken. With 15" I have even cooked spatchcocked turkey and duck.
s0rce 10y ago
Cool! I haven't seen a modern cast iron pan that I've liked as much as my ancient Wagner Ware pan, the smooth interior surface is so much better than the bumpy as cast surface on the sand cast models that aren't finished. Not sure I would pay the asking price for these Finex ones, you can still get old ones at flea markets, thrift stores and ebay if you look around.
- agentgt 10y ago
  The bumpy to polished surface is more of an aesthetic and ergonomic thing than a stick thing. That is the bumpiness of a lodge eventually goes away and the initial bumps really have little correlation on the stickiness. Think of it this way... Sticky tires for race cars are actually extremely smooth. What people don't like is the sound a spatula makes on the new lodge pan compared to polish pans but in my experience the lodge pans are in most ways less prone to stick than older pans because the heat is more even (this is perhaps because they are heavier). In some ways the bumpiness might actually improve slip because it creates pockets of fat but again the bumpiness goes away pretty quick regardless. Some even say the additional bumpiness also aids in adding additional seasoning. You absolutely have to cook with fat on cast iron pan (either the food has the fat or you add it). Cast iron pans are not even remotely comparable to teflon nonstick when it comes to sticking (and by the way most teflon pans are bumpy as well so.. again bumpiness has little correlation to stick). There is an incredibly amount of bullshit and false information about cast iron pans on the internet (like comparing it to teflon and how older pans distribute heat better) with very little actual experiments done. If people really want smooth milled surfaces than a carbon steel pan is far superior as well as distributes heat more evenly (albeit I prefer cast iron for baking).

tjr225 10y ago

I prefer carbon steel skillets (Lodge makes them too) to cast iron. They have the same cooking and seasoning properties of a cast iron but are significantly lighter.

agentgt 10y ago
I have De Buyer and a very large Matfer. I can't speak for the Lodge carbon steel but I do not think that carbon steel is as versatile. I usually use carbon steel pans for searing meat or quick sauteing. I also use them basically as a griddle. Carbon steel pans usually can't be easily placed in the oven. I mean you can do it but the handles are generally really long and get in the way. They also don't have the same characteristics that cast iron has for baking or stewing... e.g. I'm not going to make corn bread in a carbon steel pan. Finally carbon steel pans seem to loose their seasoning quickly. I have never seen flaking of seasoning on cast iron but I routinely see it on my carbon steel pans regardless of how I season them.

lobster_johnson 10y ago

On the subject of socks: Smartwool [1]. Thick, incredibly warm and durable. I say incredible because I've owned a lot of wool socks, and these are even warmer than the fluffy, handwoven mohair socks I also own. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EZYMUA https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EZYMUA

derrickdirge 10y ago

I'd like to second the Thermapen. It's been engineered exactly as much as necessary. Long probe, nearly instant reading, no buttons, no extra features or complicated display. Compact, splash-resistant, long battery life, accurate up to 300°C. Just stick the probe into a thing, and a large seven-segment display tells you the temperature in under a second.