Functional Kitchen for an Urban Homestead
Urban homesteading is sparked by a yearning to return to a simpler and more self-sufficient lifestyle. This is not only deeply satisfying to the soul, but it makes sound financial sense. While almost any kitchen can support a microwave and any microwave can handle frozen dinners, drying and preserving foods at home requires reliable equipment that can handle the increased workload of preserving foods in bulk. Whether you are growing and preserving your own produce or looking to support local growers while avoiding the chemicals and additives of commercially preserved foods, your first step is to make sure your kitchen is up to the task. This doesn`t mean you need to spend a fortune on commercial-grade equipment, though if you can do so it will pay for itself in the long run. Still, a tight budget needn`t stand in your way. With a little planning and a few smart purchases, you can have a functional urban homestead kitchen at a price any pioneer would love. The most important piece of equipment you will need is an excellent cooker. Get the largest one that you can afford and that will fit in your space. The more burners you have, the more you can have going on at once, which is crucial when preserving end of season produce. A large oven allows you to dry several trays of fruits or vegetables at one time and also ensures that you`ll have plenty of room for home cooked meals such as roast chicken. If it is possible to vent your cooker to the outdoors, invest in a large range hood. This helps to keep the kitchen from overheating when you`re sterilizing jars, boiling preserves, cooking down homemade stock or making your own beer. Look for hand-powered appliances that can do the work of electric ones to save on power bills. A food mill separates seeds and pulp from stewed fruits and vegetables as efficiently as an extractor does but uses a hand crank instead of an electrical cord. Use a mortar and pestle to grind the herbs you`ve dried before storing them in small glass jars. Counter space is usually at a premium in urban homes, so look for ways to increase it. Store pots and pans on hanging racks to save cupboard space for small appliances to get them off your counters. Store large mixing bowls on top of cabinets so they can be as decorative as they are functional. Choose sustainable, easy to clean surfaces for your cabinets, counters and floors. Cork is highly prized for floors because of its affordability and sustainability, but it can be difficult to keep clean if not properly sealed. No matter how self-sufficient and how far off the grid you might want to be, don`t skimp on professional services when it comes to safety. All electric and gas appliances need to be installed and hooked up by professionals to ensure that they will function safely.
Best Kitchen Equipment for Home Meat Processing and Preserving
Most people think of jellies, jams and pickles when they consider preserving at home, but it is not any more complicated to process and preserve your own meats. The main difference is the need for appliances that can handle heavy grinding and tasks like stuffing sausage casings that are far too difficult and time consuming for modern urban homesteaders to manage by hand. The first thing you will need is a safe supply of fresh meats. If you are raising animals for slaughter, take an extensive training course in proper butchering techniques. This is for safety as well as for efficient use of the meats, because improper butchering can lead to contamination. Invest in a good set of meat knives. Which brand is best is largely a matter of personal preference, but any knife you use should have a blade that is securely attached to the handle and which can be sharpened when needed. The smaller the animal, the smaller and thinner the knife should be. A good meat grinder is necessary if you are going to grind your own ground beef and especially if you intend to make homemade sausages. Look for a grinder that has a workhorse of a motor, because that is the most crucial part. If you are new to processing and preserving meats at home, consider investing in a good standing mixer, because they generally have meat-grinding attachments available. Another feature to look for is a reversible feeder to take care of tougher meats like game animals. Many meat grinders come with a funnel for stuffing sausage casings, but these are not efficient enough to stuff casings without letting the meat become too warm. Look for a piston-driven stuffing attachment to power the ground meat into the casing fast enough to ensure that it retains a safely chilled temperature.A hamburger press is a good idea if you`re making a large quantity of burgers, because it produces burgers that are all the same size and weight. This is important because when you make burgers by hand, they can be of such different weights and thickness that they won`t cook at the same rate. That means a few overcooked burgers in every batch along with a few that may be dangerously under-cooked. If you are roasting and smoking your own meats, making cold cuts is an excellent and versatile way to use them. A meat slicer with a rotating blade and adjustable feed system allows you to slice meats, cheeses and vegetables to uniform thickness. This is not only important in processing meats, as it can help with canning vegetables, making pickle slices and (best of all) home made potato, sweet potato, turnip and beet chips. Once your meat has been processed, one of the safest and most convenient ways to preserve it is with a vacuum sealer. Place single servings of meat, sausage or poultry into small plastic bags and use the vacuum sealer to suction out all of the air. This protects the meat while allowing you to see what it is. Label the plastic bags with the date to ensure that all of your meats are enjoyed while they are still fresh. If you intend to process and preserve the majority of the meat your family will consume, it might be wise to check out an array of both personal and commercial-grade equipment. The urban homesteading enthusiasts at The Backyard Chicken Farmer recommend consulting with the friendly experts at CS Catering Equipment to get an idea of where to start in stocking your kitchen to home process meats safely, efficiently and deliciously