Travel tools for cooks

[Bobonli]

Many months ago I read an article in a cooking magazine wherein the author listed essential items he always travels with. I didn't pay much attention at the time.

Here I am visiting family in AZ and there's not a sharp knife in the house ( or means to sharpen the 40 year old "As Seen On TV" cutlery) no micro plane or grater, shabby oven mits etc. I love to cook for them but other than old pots and pans there are no hand tools. So I'm considering assembling a small travel kit that can fit in a pouch in the checked luggage so I don't repeat this experience. I think it would also be useful for ordinary vacations and family food prep in lieu of going to restaurants.

What do you or would you carry as essential travel cooking grear?

[jitahs]

Ten inch chef's, blade guard, wrapped in newspaper, secured with rubber band, packed in the middle of checked luggage.

[zetroc]

My travel kit contains:

Chef's knife
Paring knife
Microplane
Kyocera peeler
Can opener
Favorite spatula
Favorite tongs
Favorite wooden spoon
Titanium spork

[steve garro]

We have an actual "Travel Kitchen" and I am just now packing for an overnight float.
Leatherman
Cutting board big enough to fillet a fish (16" at least)
14" fillet knife
Folding teflon pan
cheap wooden spat
Mountian Bistro
MSR stowaway pots
You can go a long way with that there.
- Garro.

[GWColo]

Whoa now. Top o' the list needs to be a good wine cork screw!

[maunahaole]

Check in a good cook supply place and get a roll up (think big soul run tool roll) for your kitchen tools.

[dang]

Ten inch chef's, blade guard, wrapped in newspaper, secured with rubber band, packed in the middle of checked luggage.

Zactly. One good chefs knife, sharp, in a knife guard -- can get wrapped in yesterday's newspaper or a small knife roll. Sometimes if I want to care less (for instance, about somebody grabbing my knife at a shared house), I'll take the old, and smaller, Wusthof 8" chef's knife -- a hundred times better than whatever is in the rental, even before the W gets sharpened and the rental toy gets ruined.

Of course, none of this works without checked luggage or a car trip.

Spring break we drove around doing some college tours and then landed in Nashville (for the old cliche, Pesach in Tennessee), and I had the chef's a utility knife, and a cutting board.

Oh yeah, and as somebody said, a bottle opener. Gonna stop at a spring hill sweats with 3 kids after 8 hours on the road? Might wanna open a bottle of wine.

[Too Tall]

I can go a long way with: 10" chefs, pepper grinder, evo, smoked paprika, chyenne

Really the only thing that would blow my game is lack of sharp knife.

When I lived in WY and spent weekends in the Wind Rivers or similar my kit was basically what Garro has + Panko and squeeze margarine...neanderthal that I am.

[maunahaole]

Are you saying that squeeze margarine is the secret ingredient in NFS loob?

[Dorman]

I've got 8" and 10" chef's knives, but I almost always now go for my 7" santoku. I actually find the lower amount of blade curvature works really well for me. Plus it would pack better than a 10" machette. Of course in all reality I just have a duplicate 26 piece set at the north ranch and refuse to go to anyone's house who isn't cooking for me. ;)

[Too Tall]

Are you saying that squeeze margarine is the secret ingredient in NFS loob?

Cheese Whiz actually.

[Bobonli]

I got myself a pair of inexpensive but sharp Kuhn Rikon knives, a paring knife and small chef's knife, to tide me over on this trip. They are sharper than some of my regular knives and I won't fret too much if I leave them somewhere. Also a silicone spatula and thermometer ( I was roasting a large bird) to get me through the current trip.

Next time, I'll add a roll with the grater, spatula and a couple other odds and ends.

This morning I realized why all the knives in my in-laws are in crappy condition. I watched my father in law use one to saw apart an orange juice container to compact it for the trash bin.

[jitahs]

Here's a quick and easy way to transport knives: Golden State Sharpening