Culinary Touchstones

What Makes Us Us in The Kitchen?

By Lou Ann Woerner

Wordsmith, Home Chef, Obsessive Organizer

 

I recently heard a colleague use the term “cultural touchstones” to characterize things (music, movies, world events) that transcend time, space, and demographics yet tie us to a collective. Things that define us in some intangible way.

This, of course, sent me down the path of culinary touchstones. What is it that we hold most dear in our kitchens? What makes us feel most like our cooking selves? What makes us feel the most “right?” Conversely, what makes us feel unprepared, off kilter if it is missing? Then my thoughts drifted to vacation homes, surely none of us can pack up our entire kitchen, so how do we choose our musts when cooking in a kitchen that is ours only temporarily?

What, I pondered, would that be and how would it vary from cook to cook? Would it be an ingredient? A piece of equipment? Perhaps a well-worn recipe that can’t be found on the internet? So, I started asking some of my favorite cooks and was intrigued as much by the reasoning as the things themselves.

For me in my normal routine, it is homemade chicken stock. I know…storebought is fine, so sayeth Ina. And, who am I to disagree with the Barefoot Contessa, she is correct. It is fine. BUT, homemade chicken stock. That is sublime. Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than having a fresh batch of chicken stock simmering on the stove. Bonus, your house smells amazing all day long. Then you cool your stock, strain it, package it up, affix the labels, and stash that liquid gold in your freezer…just seeing those containers lined up and poised for service reminds me there are great meals and good times to come.

Homemade chicken stock is so much a part of my kitchen identity when I am out of inventory, I am, indeed, out of sorts. It matters not at all whether I need it on any given day, just knowing that it is there soothes my soul. I feel restless, untethered without it. Crazy? Maybe, but do not we all have our own brand of crazy? Mine just happens to be delicious.

For a vacation kitchen I always pack my knife wrap containing, at a minimum, my chef’s knife, paring knife, and serrated knife with an instant read thermometer tucked into the side pocket. I also include a flexible cutting mat to be certain I will have a cutting surface readily available that won’t dull my knives. As for pantry items, I bring along a small Mason jar filled with kosher salt and a small pepper grinder.

For a dear friend and gifted cook who was raised near Gilroy (the undisputed “Garlic Capital of the World”), California there is but one obvious answer at home or on the road: garlic, always. She went on to say “Cloves or powder, it is the one thing I will not go without. I grew up around it, I know its health benefits, as well as the flavorful taste it brings to all dishes.”

 

Another talented friend who has been known to play Iron Chef is his own kitchen says “at home I can do anything with a medium enamel Dutch oven and a chef’s knife. Worcestershire, paprika, and a lemon can get me out of most jams. Gloves and a small silicone spoon are underrated.” When vacationing: ‘I always bring at least a chef’s knife and a meat thermometer.”

 

Readers who are long time Tallahassee residents will likely remember Looper’s Super Subs. Never before and not since has a finer sub been served. One of my favorite friends to share the kitchen with happily worked at Looper’s for a decade or so before we met. She has but one simple need at home in the kitchen “I have a knife from Loopers. It was the knife I used almost every day for 10 years…and that was almost 30 years ago. It is a large bread knife (with a notch burnt in the blade from where my boss cut a live wire with it). I use it for everything from meat to fruit to cardboard boxes. It’s the best knife in the world. It’s MY knife.” As for vacation, this bona fide homebody advises “I don’t go anywhere I’d need anything for the kitchen. I’d much rather just stay home.”

 

One of my go-to pals for sourdough insight and one of the most incredible cooks I know says “Right now, I feel lost without my sourdough starter! It’s the beginning of almost every good meal.” Away from home “If I’m going to be in a house with a full kitchen, I want what we call Mojo, a spice combo of fine sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. We use it on sooo many things, meats and veggies. I make it myself and keep it in a Mason jar. I think the original idea came from Paula Deen, but we’ve used it for years: 1 cup salt, ¼ cup each of black pepper and garlic powder. You can do the same with any blend of spices you use a lot.”

 

Another culinarily gifted friend, a Kentucky girl with a heart the size of the Bluegrass State shares, “at home two things essential to my kitchen besides me are salt and loose-leaf tea. Salt: nothings beats a quality kosher salt or good sea salt. It is the quintessential essential in any good kitchen. When whipping up a sweet or savory dish, salt makes the most delectable dish sing. And when it’s missing, you know. Everyone knows.” On the subject of travel, bringing tea from home is a non-negotiable for this tea devotee. “I fully admit that I am a tea afficionado. My husband and I are a tad picky about our selections with a preference for loose tea over tea bags and a handful of favorite brands strongly preferred over a random brand. Too often the selections at hotels or restaurants are non-existent, herbals only (as opposed to classics such as Early Gray, English Breakfast, or Darjeeling) and/or the quality is subpar.” That said, my sweet friend adds “most importantly at home or away, I bring the love to every dish I make.”

 

An artist friend whose talent goes far beyond the canvas and sketch pad to enrich all areas of her life, including her kitchen, reflected deeply before answering and her insight was well-worth the wait. She responded “At home I think a spatula is a necessity, how else does one property empty a container? My spatula material preference is rubber or silicone, mini ones are my favorite for flexibility, larger ones are needed for batters, sauces, etc. Not a pancake flipper, though that is also useful for turning pancakes. I think what people value as kitchen staples can vary some, though and that is fine because what people cook varies. My priority might be more in the direction of logical placement. For example, the coffee/tea mugs should be in the cabinet above the coffee contraption of choice and/or tea kettle. There should be a logical foot path. Also, clean. You have to start with a clean space. That sounds silly to say but there are in fact savages out there who do not believe in such a standard.” (Let me just insert here, preach it sister!) Turning her thoughts to vacation homes, “Vacation: I put a premium on available counter top space. A full set of plates, glasses, cutlery, wine glasses is a nice touch. I don’t expect a vacation home to be exactly as I’d have it but organization is the key! If the kitchen doesn’t have something, they don’t have it. I’ll move on. But if they had it and I just couldn’t find it because it was in a dumb place, that’s frustrating.” (I inserted myself to bottom line it for her “So, you can deal with anything as you have an unobstructed work space?” The answer was a resounding yes.)

 

There you have it, the results of my informal poll with intriguing results.

 

In reading and re-reading the musing of these cooks, it seems culinary touchstones, like cultural touchstones, do transcend time, space, and demographics. They are as varied and unique as the cooks themselves, yet they connect us to something bigger and to one another in ways that show we are more alike than we are different. Blessed be the apron ties that bind.