In his fun food-nerd style, Alton gives a good overview of what's handy to have on hand, and why, as well as approachable recipes that highlight the tools under discussion. An example of what I enjoyed about this book: When discussing knives and cookware, he defines the various metal choices (anodized aluminum, high-carbon steel, etc.) and explains the pros and cons of each and for which applications they are best suited. Alton gives the info you need to make your own purchasing decisions, not a hollow sales pitch for specific brands. Plus, he's funny. ( )

Surprisingly enough, there is such a thing as an entertaining and funny book about kitchen supplies. In Gear for Your Kitchen Alton Brown breaks down all of the necessary (and sometimes not quite necessary) items that home cooks need for their kitchens. While he rarely recommends specific brands of products he does make a point of going through specific advantages and disadvantages of the equipment and to look for when buying. Unitaskers are shunned (with the exception of his bean frencher) in favor of utensils that can perform several functions. For example, why own a melon baller and an ice cream scoop when a spring-loaded disher will do both, as well as scoop mashed potatoes and muffin batter and make perfectly sculpted meatballs?

The best part of Brown’s book is the culinary uses he finds for non-kitchen items. His bench scraper is a sheetrock knife. His pie server is a mortar trowel. Instead of spending 30 dollars on a pizza stone, he bought a piece of unglazed quarry tile for 99 cents at a hardware store. The tips and tricks Brown offers for manipulating everyday kitchen tools are clever and inventive.

The recipes in Gear for Your Kitchen are few and far between. But this is not a cookbook. Think of it as music theory for chefs. Music theory won’t show anyone how to play a specific instrument, but it will give you the foundation for music making. Likewise this book doesn’t teach anyone how to cook. Instead, it gives the basic knowledge you need to create a kitchen that will help you become a better cook. ( )

Excellent book with practical advice for the home cook regarding kitchen tools. Alton preaches a discipline of a kitchen stripped down to its bare essentials, forsaking single use gadgets (in most cases) for more utilitarian fares. You'll be surprised at some of the practices he preaches - in addition to shopping at a real kitchen supply store, he also seems to spend about equal time shopping at Home Depot and the local Walmart garden center for tools, and saving a bundle while he does it.

This book works best as a shelf reference book, and would work great as a gift for a young person new to cooking. The more experienced home cook might want to get it from the local library to get some new ideas on kitchen tools. ( )

If you ever needed to know what you need and don't need in your kitchen, this is the book. Alton Brown reviews almost every piece of kitchen equipment known and tells what's the best for the job and why along with why some things are not that great. This is a must for anyone that cares about pots and pans and knives and everything else and wants function over looks. ( )

http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts... ( )