- [Barry] Hey, welcome to Sorted.
We're a bunch of mates in London
looking for the exceptional things in food
that'll help make our
and you're lives that little bet better.
In amongst constantly ribbing each other.
Some of us are chefs.
The rest of us, well, we're normal
but every video we make always starts
with a suggestion from you guys.
(hip hop music)
Hello I'm Barry and this is Jamie.
- And today we're actually dishing out
real consumer advice.
- Useful.
- Or not.
- James and I have put together a selection
of basic kitchen equipment that we think
are useful in the home,
but you probably know by know we're chefs,
which means we don't think like normal people.
We've gathered a variety of stuff
in each case a cheap option
and a more expensive option
and James in gonna get the normals to test both
and see if spending the extra money is worth it.
- Its really odd doing this without
being nervous about what's underneath there.
Or should I be?
- [James] You should be nervous.
(bouncy music)
- They're graters.
- [Mike] They are graters. Well done mate.
- First up is the grater
and we've got two options here,
a box grater and a Microplane.
In the kitchen we grate quite a lot of stuff.
Might be grating potatoes or carrots
or cheese on the coarse grater
but then in the fine grate we'll use things like
citrus and chocolate and nutmeg and ginger and garlic.
Both are useful.
- This is a really interesting place to start.
I think these things are ugly.
They take up lots of space.
I've got this one at home.
Saying I've got one at home,
I just think I stole it from Sorted.
(Laughs)
You left it at my house when we filmed that video.
- That's still stealing, please return that.
- [Ben] The box grater is priced at £5.99
and has four different sides
each with a different grater.
- I hate this little grater.
It does work but it's so small.
Look at how much, ouch,
look at how much gets stuck in the little bits.
Look. That's my cheese.
I paid for that cheese. Slices.
Has anyone ever used one of these box graters
on that level.
- It feels like good value,
if you are gonna use a course grater.
Which I think a lot of people do, I just don't.
- The Microplane is nearly £20
and that has one measurement course
or fine if you want both, you need to buy two.
- In terms of usability, I could grate this one up here.
Over here, down here, grate upside down if I wanted to.
- He's so annoying.
- Flexibility wise it works.
Its got a lovely comfortable handle.
- If I was in the shop, I would go straight for this.
Even at a higher price cos it feels better quality.
I reckon last longer.
I think it'll was better in the washing machine
which is important for me
cos I'm very lazy.
- For me, once you've overcome the cumbersomeness
of the box grater, it's actually pretty good
for coarse grating, however,
I would prefer a Microplane everyday.
It's sharper, its more ergonomically designed,
it's easy to store, there's less wastage involved
and it lasts longer.
- You can still slice.
(electronic pop music)
- [James] This is a good one.
- Yeah.
- [Mike] Tea towels.
- Yay. Tea Towels.
- Yes tea towel, not exactly exciting
but crucial, every kitchen needs one
and there's a huge price range.
Today we've got two types.
One is a professional catering tea towel, £2.30
and the other is a highly designed,
off white waffle thing.
You get a pair for £27.
- These feel lovely
and it feels like I'd have a pair for show
and not use.
- The label is leather and it's stitched into it.
I already hate it.
- You hate it? How can you hate it?
- Cos this is a Barry tea towel.
- That's quite judgemental.
- Don't make me wash up.
- [James] You wash them up first and then you dry them.
There you go.
- I'm on the edge of my seat.
How about you Mike?
- This is already a boring subject matter
being made to look even more boring.
- In my opinion tea towel is all about function.
The professional catering one is my choice every time.
It doesn't start off as aesthetically pleasing
but it lasts a lot longer.
You can wash it a higher temperatures,
it doesn't change, it's more absorbent
and a hell of a lot cheaper.
- They're both doing the exact same job.
It doesn't really matter the washing up,
they're both doing the same job.
It's when you stick them in the dishwasher,
how they come back in.
Do those colors merge?
- You mean the washing machine?
Why would you need a tea towel that does anything else
other than dry?
I don't think those look that bad.
- These have been designed to look
nicer and that's it.
- Would you spend £27 on two of those?
- I have done in the past and I would never again.
- If my wife came home and said she'd spent £27
on two tea towels, we would be taking them back.
- He'd be texting us.
I'm so angry. No we can keep them if you want darling.
- Now I have a thing about vegetable peelers.
- It is impossible to get a good peeler.
- They're all rubbish.
- I couldn't tell you which one was the expensive one.
- Yeah. A peeler, pretty basic.
Two here to consider.
A stainless steel speed peeler at £1.19
and a branded Y peeler with easy grip handle at £5.99.
- I've got a solution for you.
- [James] What.
- Don't peel anything.
- What about if you want mashed potato?
- You just leave the skins on.
I hate it. Its the worst job in the world.
- Lets put this peeler to the test.
(guitar pop music)
The blade hasn't fallen off.
- It's quite uncomfortable to hold.
I can imagine--
I get blisters quite easily
and after doing a fair few of these since--
- My hands review.
- My hands are very sore hands.
- What if we just put Jamie in this video?
(Laughs)
- Obviously a whole bunch of different vegetables
that you could peel or if you haven't got a box grater,
you could always do Parmesan shavings with one.
- Give the other one a go
and now one nearly six times the price.
- It does glide. It glides a little bit easier.
- It does look smooth. - That's great.
- How quicker was that?
- It'll still break. It'll still go duff.
- How do you know? That's purely speculative.
- I've got through loads of peelers
and I now don't care which one's which
cos they're gonna break no matter what.
- I've had my peeler for 10 years.
It's fantastic.
- How much was your peeler?
The one that you had at home.
- £2.
- £2!
- Yeah. Really cheap.
- How'd you maintain it?
- I don't it's just still sharp.
I think the cheaper one is probably just as good.
- What did I tell you.
- Maybe it's (mumbles).
- I couldn't be fussed, if I'm deadly honest.
That is better to use and it's sharper.
- Look, this is the side I started with,
with the broken peeler and then that.
- So much shinier.
- Maybe that's just fool proof.
- This is a dream.
This will happily fulfill all of my peeling needs
for many years.
- Worth the £6.
- Six is that all?
I would pay £10 for that because
I've been hurt before by peelers.
Well what could be under here.
- I can see what it is already.
- Firstly, love the colors.
I think colors on knives
are an instant giveaway that they're cheap.
- Colored knives are the worst thing.
- Lets talk chef's knives.
Now this is something that's gonna be your best friend
in the kitchen and I reckon if you get a good one,
you should be able to do 90%
of all of your knife work with it.
We've gone all out.
Three options here.
A five piece colored stainless steel knife set,
£11.90 for all five.
This one is a Mercer eight inch,
stainless steel forged chefs knife, £32
and the top end is a six inch Wustoff classic
chefs knife. £90.
- I think it's worth spending a little bit of money,
you don't have to spend a lot of money
but it's worth spending a little bit of money on a knife.
- Even just by picking these two knives up,
I know these are the opposite ends of the spectrum.
That is so nicely weighted.
The handle versus the blade
gives you a really nice balance.
This is all blade.
- All nicer.
- That feels nice.
- [Mike] It's alright isn't it.
- It's got, that handle's really grippy.
- Chefs knives is something you've
got to be comfortable with.
For me, six inches is fine, maybe as much as eight.
I have got a 10 inch in the cupboard.
I barely use it, it's just too big.
(Laughs)
- [Mike] Here's some salad.
Hang on a second what you looking for?
- I'm looking for a chopping board.
- Hold that thought because let's pack a two in a one.
- And lastly, chopping boards.
Pretty key now that you've got your knives sorted.
The lower end of our three is a set of three,
bamboo chopping boards.
£7.99 for all three.
In the middle a large rectangular chopping board
of hard, durable and water resistant wood. £33.99,
and at the top end a solid teak,
large chopping board. £89.50.
- Looks wise this is a statement.
If you've got this on you're kitchen worktop,
somebody walks in, they know you are serious,
and then you go and put that on it
and you go hold up.
(Laughs)
I'm not putting much pressure on there.
- I like that, that feels good, that feels alright.
- The board, it feels cheap.
- [James] I'd like a Julien please.
- Please no.
- That is a world apart.
I can't explain to you.
I'm not even leaning.
That is such a nice cutting experience.
- [Mike] You like that?
- I do.
- I have got shocking Julien skills
and I don't think that's half bad.
The most expensive one felt easy to use,
it was a lot more satisfying.
- You could cut your whole finger off
and not even realize it, it's that smooth.
- You can get an amazing knife for £30.
- I wanna be controversial for a second
and I wanna say that having chopped
that other half an onion,
my favorite knife so far is the middle knife.
That is so easy to cut with.
- Surely a chopping board is a chopping board is it not?
- Its about size.
It's nice to cut on chopping board,
where you have a lot of space.
- When picking a board, I would always go for the biggest
and heaviest one that A, I can afford
and B it won't look too silly in my kitchen.
The reason being it gives you
plenty of space to work,
it doesn't slip around too much
and some would argue that makes it more difficult to clean
if you can't fit it into the sink
and that's why prefer one without
the little gully or drainage around the outside.
- Cos it's heavier, that stays on the table.
It doesn't move around.
- You're spreading out a lot more.
- Yeah. If the room's there, I'll use it
but you need a big kitchen if you're gonna have this.
- I'm the kind of person who chops
or dices and onion and some garlic and whatever
and then picks the board up
and puts into the pan.
- [Mike] Too big.
- I can only do that with that one.
I couldn't do that with this one
even though I have massive guns.
- Would you buy it?
- I would buy that.
- [Mike] And the knife?
- I would buy the middle one,
but what I would say is you would buy it
and never think about having to replace it again
in the next few years.
- I'd get the mid range knife myself
and I'd buy a nice board.
- When you use something as often
as a knife or a chopping board,
it's worth spending decent money
and getting something that's decent,
but you don't have to go extreme.
- Comment down below if you wanna hear our chefs
give some more advice for you guys.
- If you haven't already,
make sure you're subscribed.
Make sure you've clicked the bell to get notified
and we will see you every Wednesday,
every Sunday at 4 p.m.
- Goodbye.
- Lets go be useful somewhere else.
- No stop I don't like it.
- Lets do DIY.
- [Barry] As we mentioned,
sorted is just run by a group of friends,
so if you like what we're doing
then there are loads of ways that you can support us
and get more involved.
Everything you need to know is linked below.
Thanks and see you in a few days.
- I do have a bet of a soft spot
for the whole leather.
- I like a leather label.
- That's nice.