Samin Nosrat's Kitchen Favorites

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Wirecutter Show

Episode: Samin Nosrat’s Kitchen Favorites
Host: The New York Times
Date: October 1, 2025
Guests: Samin Nosrat, Christine Cyr Clissette, Kyra Blackwell, Rosie Guerin

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Overview

This lively episode of The Wirecutter Show features acclaimed chef, author, and culinary educator Samin Nosrat. Known for her trailblazing cookbook Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and its Netflix adaptation, Samin joins hosts Christine, Kyra, and Rosie to discuss her brand-new book (Good: Recipes and Rituals to Share With People You Love), her philosophy on kitchen gear, and her practical tips for joyful cooking and entertaining at home. The episode delivers a mix of hands-on advice, behind-the-scenes stories, and plenty of contagious enthusiasm for cooking—no matter your kitchen size or skill level.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Inspiration Behind Samin’s New Cookbook

• From Reluctance to Recipe Writing
  • Samin initially resisted writing a traditional cookbook after Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, preferring the philosophy of cooking without recipes.
  • She struggled to organize an ambitious "how chefs cook" book, feeling it would "take me decades to collect and distill and organize all of that" (05:23).
  • A turning point came when she realized recipes—once mastered—could serve as an accessible "safety net" for most cooks:

    “No matter how much I want you to feel free of cooking without a recipe, it’s kind of most people’s safety net. It’s a good starting point.” (06:35, Samin)

Samin’s Tiny Yet Mighty Kitchen Set-Up

• Maximalist in a Minimalist’s Space
  • Her small galley kitchen is organized vertically: pot racks, rails with hooks, and a custom built mini speed rack for baking sheets (07:33-08:57).
  • Magnetic walnut knife bar, inspired by restaurant kitchens, recommended for compact storage (09:08-09:25).

"Non-Negotiable" Kitchen Tools

• Essentials for Everyday Cooking:

  • Y-shaped peelers (Kuhn Rikon, Material Kitchen)
  • Microplane grater and box grater
  • Wooden spoons, silicone spatulas (notably the GIR or "spoonula"), and fish spatulas
  • Carbon steel pan (Made In) for daily use
  • Field Company chainmail scrubber for cast iron/cabon steel maintenance
  • On Knives:

    “Most people...can be fine with a chef’s knife, a bread/serrated knife, and a paring knife...what’s way more important than how much you spend on your knife is keeping them sharpened.” (12:00-12:41, Samin)

• Knife-Sharpening Revelation:

  • Tormek Swedish knife sharpener recommended—user-friendly and precise.

    "It is so awesome. True. And it's so easy...anyone can do it." (13:22, Samin)

  • Wirecutter’s own pick: Chef’s Choice 1520, as a more affordable option mentioned later (33:05).

When It’s Worth Investing in "Above and Beyond" Gear

• Don’t Start With Extras, But Build Thoughtfully

  • Buy specialized tools only if they fit your needs (e.g., Japanese mandolin for salad enthusiasts, food mill for perfect mashed potatoes).

    “If...you want to change your salad game, then please do invest in a Japanese mandolin, which costs $24...it will just bring you so much more delight.” (17:04-17:30, Samin)

• Immersion Blender: Must-Have for All

  • Samin’s favorite small appliance: Vitamix immersion blender (formerly Breville).

    “It’s life changing. Everyone should have an immersion blender.” (19:20-19:26, Samin)

  • Complements her love for the mini Cuisinart food processor (19:49-19:59).

Tools You Don’t Need (Necessarily)

• Garlic press: Not a fan, feels it produces uneven texture and abuses garlic, but not here to "shame anyone" (20:23-21:29).
• Air fryer: Not essential if you have a convection toaster oven, but understands its appeal for some (21:51-22:13).

Keeping Cooking Fresh & Interesting

• Condiment Culture for Simple Meals
  • Samin elevates basic staples (rice, veg, eggs) with homemade condiments: chili crisp, salsa macha, preserved lemon paste.

    “What makes my life more interesting is the plenitude of condiments that I always have around.” (22:53, Samin)

  • Homemade vinaigrettes, stored in the fridge, are a game changer for speedy meals and salads (24:50-26:48).

Spice & Oil Tips

• Buy whole spices and grind yourself for max aroma
• Favorite spices: Cumin (savory), Cardamom (sweet) (26:54).
• Store olive oil/spices away from heat.
• Favorite olive oil: Seca Hills (California) – sustainable and ethical, available in bulk (28:13-29:01).
• Always check for HARVEST DATE on oil for freshness (29:10).

Mindset for Home Entertaining

• Lower Your Standards, Raise the Joy
  • Realization: Focus on presence and connection, not perfection.

    “I think we all have to lower our standards. Another way of saying that is being kinder to ourselves and not expecting a home meal to ever be a restaurant meal." (30:03, Samin)

  • Let guests participate, simplify menu, and relax control (30:55-31:20).

Lightning Round: Samin’s Latest Favorite Purchase (non-kitchen)

• Purchased a “beautiful new coat from Rachel Comey...a rusty coral chore coat” (31:41-32:06).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the struggle of following up Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat:

  “Oh no, that’s where we’re starting. It can only go up from here. I did everything in my power to not write a book of recipes..." (05:01, Samin)

• On humble home cooking:

  “Adulting is really just feeding yourself.” (22:29, Kyra)

• On garlic presses:

  “One should never abuse their garlic in that way.” (20:32, Samin)

• On the true meaning of entertaining:

  “If I’m not able to be present emotionally, mentally at this dinner, then what’s the point, right?” (30:29, Samin)

• Joking about gear obsession:

  “There’s a lot of kitchen gear that I’m in desperate need of. But honestly, I think I’m just gonna go straight for her preserved lemon paste idea.” (33:18, Kyra)

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Key Timestamps

• 04:01 – Introduction to Samin & her new book
• 05:01 – Explaining inspiration and challenges with writing Good
• 07:33 – 09:42 – Samin describes her small but cleverly maximized home kitchen
• 10:50 – Must-have kitchen tools and unique favorites
• 12:00 – Knife essentials for home cooks; importance of sharpening
• 13:22 – Recommendation: Tormek Swedish knife sharpener
• 17:04 – When to invest in “above and beyond” tools
• 19:01 – 19:59 – Immersion blender and mini Cuisinart food processor endorsements
• 20:23 – Samin’s take on garlic presses and air fryers
• 22:29 – How Samin keeps home cooking fresh with condiments
• 24:50 – Homemade vinaigrettes and preserved lemon paste
• 26:48 – Favorite spices & fresh spice advice
• 28:13 – Olive oil guidance (brand, storage, freshness)
• 29:25 – Entertaining: Let go and enjoy
• 31:41 – Samin’s favorite recent purchase
• 33:18 – Hosts recap key takeaways and product picks

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Final Thoughts

This episode is packed with enthusiastic, practical wisdom from Samin Nosrat, perfect for anyone balancing passion with the realities of home cooking. Her advice distills years of restaurant and home kitchen experience into approachable, confidence-building tips: choose the tools that work for you, streamline where possible, and prioritize creating joy and togetherness over culinary perfection.

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Products, books, and tools mentioned are linked in show notes on the Wirecutter site.

Transcript

[Wayfair Announcer]

As the holidays approach, get prepped for all your hosting and decorating needs with Wayfair. From dining tables and chairs that bring the whole family together to extra sheets and towels that make guests feel comfortable, Wayfair is your one stop. Shop for everything home this season. Transform your space into an entertainer's dream. Get everything you need to host all in one place at Wayfair. Plus, Wayfair ships everything fast and easy right to your door. Shop all things home [e-mail] that's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair. Every style, every home.

[Samin Nosrat]

I was very excited to come here and I don't know what exactly you're gonna ask me, but I have many favorite tools.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Wow.

[Samin Nosrat]

That I'm very particular about.

[Kyra Blackwell]

That was what was coming up.

[Samin Nosrat]

And I have so many opinions.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I'm Christine Cyrclassette.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Rosie Guerin]

I'm Rosie Guerin. And you're listening to the Wirecutter Show. Our guest today, Samin Nosrat. I am so, so excited for people to hear this conversation.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Trying not to fangirl right now.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Oh, well, I think we should fangirl. She deserves it. She's so awesome. She's so cool.

[Rosie Guerin]

Y' all kept it together in the studio, so thank you. Props for that.

[Kyra Blackwell]

It was hard.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Samin is a cookbook author. She's an accomplished chef. You might know her from her wildly popular cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, which came out in 2017. And there was also a Netflix series based on the book. And it's a total delight. If you haven't watched it, you should go back and watch it. You can also find many of her recipes on New York Times Cooking, where she is a contributor.

[Kyra Blackwell]

And she just came out with a new cookbook. It's called Good recipes and rituals to share with people you love. And we, we thought it would be really fun to bring her on and talk about the book, talk about all of her favorite kitchen gear, and get her best tips on entertaining.

[Rosie Guerin]

Samin is an absolute dream and I'm so, so excited for you to hear this conversation. We'll be right back after a quick break.

[LinkedIn Jobs Announcer]

As a small business owner, you don't have the luxury of clocking out early. Your business is on your mind 24 7. So when you're hiring, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That hiring partner is LinkedInJohn. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job for free. Share it with your network and get qualified candidates that you can manage all in one place. Post your job LinkedIn's new feature can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. Either post your job for free or pay to promote promoted jobs. Get three times more qualified applicants at the end of the day, the most important thing to your small business is the quality of candidates. And with LinkedIn you can feel confident that you're getting the best. Find out why more than 2.5 million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring today. Find your next great hire on LinkedIn. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com Wirecutter that's LinkedIn.com Wirecutter to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.

[Wayfair Announcer]

As the holidays approach, get prepped for all your hosting and decorating needs with Wayfair. From dining tables and chairs that bring the whole family together to extra sheets and towels that make guests feel comfortable, Wayfair is your one stop Shop for everything home this season. Transform your space into an entertainer's dream. Get everything you need to host all in one place at Wayfair. Plus, Wayfair ships everything fast and easy right to your door. Shop all things home [e-mail] that's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every Home.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Welcome back with us now is Samin Nosrat. You may know her as the author of the James Beard Award winning cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat and the Netflix show with the same name. She also contributes to New York Times Cooking and the New York Times Magazine. And she just came out with a new cookbook, good recipes and rituals to share with people you love.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Samin, welcome to the show.

[Samin Nosrat]

Oh, thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. I feel I'm like, I'm verklempt.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

We are so excited to have you here. We're all fans and it's been about eight years since your last cookbook came out and it was a huge success. And so is the Netflix series, which my husband and I just devoured. So the old book, Salt, Fat, Acid Heat, it really delves into these four elements of cooking and it's less of a cookbook with recipes and more of an exploration of technique. But this new cookbook, Good Things, it's really different. It's much more of a traditional cookbook. So can you tell us a little bit about what the inspiration was for this new book?

[Samin Nosrat]

Pain and Suffering. Oh no, that's where we're starting. It can only go up from here. I will say I did everything in my power to not write a book of recipes, including throwing many tantrums privately and semi publicly in front of my publisher and agent. And I just. It felt disingenuous to me to follow a book that says essentially, like, here's how to cook without recipes. To follow that with a book of recipes. And also, I really struggled to condense and organize the idea that I originally had, which was another salt fat, acid heat type of idea. This was gonna teach you how professional cooks decide what to cook in any given scenario with the constraints of time, resources, ingredients, or, like, preferences. But then as I set out to do that, I realized it would take me decades to, like, collect and distill and organize all of that. And that felt so overwhelming. So my agent was like, why don't you just write a book of recipes? I was like, have you ever met me? I would never do that. And then about a week later, I was standing in my kitchen making a salad, and I was like, man, if only there was a way to share this with people. And so a big part of the switch inside of myself to feel like I could do it and still stay true to myself was the fact that when I published Salt Fat Acid Heat, I. I had maybe published a dozen recipes in magazines and on blogs and things, but I was not a skilled recipe writer, partly because I am so sort of fundamentally anti recipe.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, you don't ever follow recipes.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah, exactly. And then I worked here. I worked at the New York Times, and I had a column for four years. I contributed a ton to New York Times cooking. And in a way, that was like a real boot camp for me of recipe testing, like, how to write a recipe and the value of a recipe and what's a recipe for. So I became a lot more comfortable with that. And I also really lear. And no matter how much I want you to feel free of cooking without a recipe, it's kind of most people's safety net. It's a good starting point. It's a very efficient way to convey a lot of important information, and so that's often good enough to get you going. And, like, if I just get you going, your curiosity can take you the rest of the way.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So, Samin, I would just love for you to paint us a picture of what your kitchen looks like at home. Are you a minimalist? Are you a maximalist when it comes to that?

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah, I'm unfortunately a maximalist living in A minimalist amount of space.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I felt that.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah, me too. And so. But also I have my home kitchen and then I have a workspace kitchen that's slightly bigger. It's also quite small. So I do have to be pretty like cutthroat about what I keep. I love my house, but it's a tiny little house. It's like built on a footprint of smaller than a two car garage. And the kitchen is. I don't even know. It's like basically the size of a galley kitchen. So when I moved in, I was like, well, there's only one way to go and that's up the walls. So. So I put in a pot rack up above. That's where I hang all the pots and pans. And then, yeah, I have like a lot of rails with hooks on them and anything I can hang is hung. So the microplanes, the peelers, the meas cups and measuring spoons. And then I had also what we call in restaurants a speed rack built, which is sort of like. Imagine it's a shelf for baking pans. So it's a multi shelf shelf for baking sheets. Except because my kitchen is so small I had to have it custom built. And it's for half sheet baking pans. So I basically now if I need to pull out a hot pan out of the oven, I have somewhere to put it. And then this is also borrowed from restaurants. The top shelf I have a baking sheet that's stacked with parchment paper. So anytime I need to pull parchment, I just pull from my top one.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

So you basically created your own a tiny mini restaurant.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really cool. But I would say there was only one way to go, which was up.

[Rosie Guerin]

What are you doing with your knives?

[Samin Nosrat]

I have a little magnetic bar.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I just imagine them hanging from the ceiling.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah, I put those on hooks and I was really worried about the magnetic bars because some of them are not that strong. And the one I got it was. It might have been an old wire cutter.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Love to hear.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

We have some good recommendations for those.

[Samin Nosrat]

You know, it's like a small family business and it's a walnut one and has super strong, super strong walnut magnets.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

And it doesn't. You can't see the magnets.

[Samin Nosrat]

You can't see the magnets.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

That one for a while too is.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, that one scares me. I use it and like my knife.

[Samin Nosrat]

So it's like fly out of your hand. Yeah, yeah. So terrible. It is really. Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

So then in this kitchen that you've so thoughtfully and economically designed, what Are the non negotiable kitchen tools.

[Samin Nosrat]

Ooh. For over, you know, close to 25 years I've been cooking. So I have a lot of sort of things that my body wants to use. For example, I never want to use a peeler, like a classic style vegetable peeler because of how I have to hold it. I always want to use the Y shape. Because you like the Kuhn, like the coon raccoon ones. Yes. And also material Kitchen makes one that has a replaceable blade that I really like. I like them because the way I can hold them is ergonomic. My wrist doesn't bend, whereas if I hold the classic style, I generally will bend my wrist. And in cooking is so much about, like, physical efficiency. And especially with your wrist, with your shoulder, you want to create as few sort of. I think of them as like energy blocks as possible. So you want to always hold your knife, your spoon, your whisk, your peeler with a straight wrist. Let's see. Oh my gosh. A microplane grater. A regular box grater. I need both of those. I have a big crock filled with like many wooden spoons and spatulas and things. I'm really, in the last few years have become fully bought in on the gir g I r. You know, they're like silicone spatulas.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

They're great.

[Samin Nosrat]

They also have a spoonula or a spoon thing. That's really awesome. I love my fish spatula. Just like a classic fish splash, Fish.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Spatula plays a starring role in every episode we do about food.

[Samin Nosrat]

Because everybody mentions that to the point where once a week I have dinner at my friend's house. It's like a central part of my life now. And there are certain things they didn't have where I was like, guess I gotta buy you a fish bachelor. Yes, I gotta. Guess I gotta buy you the good pepper mill. Like, I was like, I'm not sick of schlepping this back and forth. I need to make sure this exists. Here. I. Oh, I have a great carbon steel pan that for the last, which I think is from Made in, is a. Is a really good one. And that one has sort of just become my everyday pan that I heat everything in. Oh. And what I clean that and my cast irons with is the chainmail scrubber, but specifically the one from Field company because it's a. A much finer mesh. I have two. I have one for my work kitchen, one for my house kitchen.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

What's your take on what normal people should have for knives?

[Samin Nosrat]

I Think normal people, most people, even abnormal people, can be fine with a chef's knife, a bread, a serrated knife, which is. I usually just call it a bread knife, but it's also good for tomatoes and other delicate things. Oh, and a paring knife, I think. And I personally love a bird's beak shape. It's the curved shape blade of the paring knife. I feel like they're really useful and like you can be really agile with it and get into places. So if I only had three, I would have those three. And that's enough for anyone. But ultimately, I think what's way more important than how much you spend on your knife is keeping them sharpened.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Yes.

[Samin Nosrat]

And I will say I discovered something. Oh, my God, you guys, I think I might just teach you something.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Yes, please do.

[Samin Nosrat]

It is a nerd. It's a nerd thing.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yes.

[Samin Nosrat]

And it's expensive. So this is not for everyone.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

This is for the wire cutter listener, I think there.

[Samin Nosrat]

I love this company called Tormek. They're in Sweden and they just introduced a new knife sharpener for home cooks. And it's so awesome. I have been a shamefully unskilled self sharpener of knives using the, like a whetstone. So hence I just don't sharpen them. And then I have to sort of save them up and take them to my local knife shop and have them sharpened, which is a whole thing. And then you have to drop them.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Off and then it's not guaranteed they'll do a good job.

[Samin Nosrat]

And then also sometimes they're like, well, we're behind, so see you in six weeks. And you're like, what am I supposed to do in the meantime? And so having this at home has changed everything. It has the stone on a wheel, it has a guide for you for the angle, and it teaches you. It like tells you. Put this kind of knife at this angle, put this kind of knife at this angle, you cannot get it wrong. It has a little magnet to which all of the little metal shavings that come off of your knife stick. So it's like not messy. And it is so awesome. Like I. True. And it's so easy that people like anyone. I'm like, my girlfriend needed to sharpen knives. I was like, you come over and she's like, you do it for me. I was like, no, no, you can do it. And I showed her how to do it and she did all her own knives.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Is it powered by like, you.

[Samin Nosrat]

It's electric. You plug it in and it goes. And it's so fast and it's, it's life changing. I never need to go to another knife sharpener again.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Well, that in itself would save you.

[Samin Nosrat]

Money, I think in the long term for sure. Yeah.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I love that. This is a hot tip and I'm going to go look for it immediately after this.

[Samin Nosrat]

Check it out. Oh, I can't wait for it to appear on wire.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I can't either.

[Kyra Blackwell]

All right, we're going to take a quick break and when we come back, we'll hear when Sunim thinks it's worth investing in a single use kitchen item. What condiments she's always got stocked in her fridge and her ideas for making entertaining simpler and more fun for everyone. We'll be right back.

[LinkedIn Jobs Announcer]

As a small business owner, you don't have the luxury of clocking out early. Your business is on your mind 24 7. So when you're hiring, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That hiring partner is LinkedIn Jobs. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post. Post your job for free. Share it with your network and get qualified candidates that you can manage all in one place. Post your job LinkedIn's new feature can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. Either post your job for free or pay to promote Promoted jobs. Get three times more qualified applicants. At the end of the day, the most important thing to your small business is the quality of candidates. And with LinkedIn you can feel confident that you're getting the best. Find out why more than 2.5 million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring today. Find your next great hire on LinkedIn. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com Wirecutter that's LinkedIn.com Wirecutter to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.

[Wayfair Announcer]

As the holidays approach, get prepped for all your hosting and decorating needs with Wayfair. From dining tables and chairs that bring the whole family together to extra sheets and towels that make guests feel comfortable, Wayfair is your one stop shop for everything home this season. Transform your space into an entertainer's dream. Get everything you need to host all in one place at Wayfair. Plus Wayfair ships everything fast and easy right to your door. Shop all things home [e-mail] that's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every home.

[Kyra Blackwell]

And we're back with Samin Nosrat recipe developer for New York Times Cooking and author of the new cookbook Good Things.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

In your book, you have this great section that kind of goes over kitchen equipment, and you've got it broken into sort of like the basics. And then you have a section that is on above and beyond stuff. So it's stuff like, you know, a Japanese mandolin or a food mill or like, a mortar and pestle. And I think some home cooks might look at that stuff and say, that seems kind of fussy. That's. Do I really need that? When do you think it's worth going into these more exciting, interesting tools?

[Samin Nosrat]

Okay. I'm of two minds with gear when it comes to cooking. My general philosophy is you don't need a lot to cook well. I think you just need to know how to use it and take care of it. The gear's not gonna change whether or not you cook. You still have to do work. There's labor involved. You still have to wash the stuff. But also, sometimes having a slightly nicer thing or having a tool that can perform a function that saves you time is going to make the entire experience much nicer or allow you to get a result that you couldn't otherwise get. So, to me, I don't think everyone needs to start out with all the stuff at all. If, for example, you find yourself eating a lot of shaved salads, you want to eat a lot of salad, you're like, I'm going to change my salad game, then please do invest in a Japanese mandolin, which honestly costs $24. Like, it's not, because it will just bring you so much more delight and var and variability in your textures and your shapes and what you're able to do. Most of that stuff you could achieve with a knife, but it would take you a lot longer. Same thing with, like, a food mill. The main reason I use a food mill is to get the fluffiest, airiest mashed potatoes.

[Kyra Blackwell]

What is a food mill, you guys?

[Samin Nosrat]

Oh, a food mill. A food mill is kind of looks like a torture device. Yeah, it's sort of like a contraption that sits on top of a bowl or a pot and has a little crank, and then there's a plate with perforated holes in it, so you could put any food through it, and then you crank it and the food goes through the holes. I might sometimes mill a tomato sauce or, like, a gazpacho or something like that. But really, my favorite use for it, and I think the highest use is the mashed potatoes. It really makes the fluffiest lumpy, freest, best mashed potatoes. But it is like a whole tool for basically one to two dishes. Do you know, like.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

But if you like mashed potatoes, it might be worth it.

[Samin Nosrat]

Well, it's true. Oh, wait, you guys, I forgot my all time, number one, most important, very favorite tool of all time, share. The immersion blender.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Oh, yes, you do talk about that in the book.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Which one do you like?

[Samin Nosrat]

My favorite one, the one I have now is the Vitamix one. Oh, yeah. But before that, I had the Breville one, which I think you guys recommend.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

We recommended. That was my. One of my first guides at wirecut.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

And I had never used an immersion blender before, and I. It really.

[Samin Nosrat]

It's changed my life.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

It's life changing.

[Samin Nosrat]

It's changing.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Do you guys think that it's worth it for people who are not even like, like, quote unquote?

[Samin Nosrat]

Everyone should have a immersion blender. Okay. So it's for everybody.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Yes.

[Samin Nosrat]

It doesn't have to be the Vitamix one, which is expensive.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

And the nice thing is also if you have a small kitchen and you don't have room for a big blender.

[Samin Nosrat]

Exactly.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

And some of these immersion blenders also have attachments, so it's almost like a mini.

[Samin Nosrat]

It could be your whisk or your food processor.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Yeah, totally. They're really. They're pretty handy if you are limited on space or just you want something that's really easy.

[Samin Nosrat]

The other thing I think you guys are a fan of this too, that I've really come around to is I did buy one of the minis, the little mini Cuisinarts.

[Rosie Guerin]

I love the mini Cuisinart.

[Samin Nosrat]

Oh, my God. It's life changing. So between that and the immersion blender, like, pretty much my needs are met in the home kitchen.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I've heard the things that you think that everybody should have. Now talk about some things that you.

[Wayfair Announcer]

Think people think that they need, but.

[Kyra Blackwell]

They don't actually need.

[Samin Nosrat]

Oh, interesting. Okay. I just am very anti the garlic press.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Oh, this is where we're gonna have to split ways, talk about it.

[Samin Nosrat]

Why? I feel like part of it is it was drilled into me from being a young cook, that one should never abuse their garlic in that way. When you put garlic in a garlic press, what you get out is a whole bunch of unevenly sized chunks, basically. So what are you gonna do with that? If you're gonna put that in your vinaigrette, you're gonna have a whole bunch of chunky raw garlic. If you're Gonna put that in your pan. Some of it's gonna burn and some of it's gon. But I have grown. I used to be like, under no circumstances must one smush a garlic clove. And now I smush with the side of the knife and usually that pops off the skin too. But the garlic press, I don't know. I even tried to buy like some newfangled top of the line one recently. I was like, I'm going to be a convert. I'm going to be a garlic press person. And I kept it for like two months and I put it on the street.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I totally respect that you are not into the garlic press. I have found it as like, so makes it so fast. You're just like, all right.

[Samin Nosrat]

No, it's. I totally believe that's. The other thing is I'm not here to shame anyone. If that's part of your thing and it helps you get cooking, then by all means. But I'm trying to think of, like, what do people have that. This is a hard question for me because I don't ever want to shame people. So do I think everyone needs an air fryer? No. Because also, what is that? It's just a convection oven. If you have a toaster oven that has convection, that's already an air fryer. It's just called something else.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Just having bought one.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah. But also I know that, like, for example, I had this wonderful assistant, Gary, who came to me from a totally different non food background. And he was a very tentative cook. And the air fryer was revolutionary for him because it was this amazing bridge where all of a sudden he felt. I saw him actually try to do stuff that he would have never done without the air fryer. So do I have room for one? Do I need one? No. Do I love convection as a tool? Yes. So I think knowing how to use it is great. Rape.

[Kyra Blackwell]

We want to talk to you about how you approach cooking for yourself and for other people. And something that I think a lot of people struggle with, which is just how cooking can get so monotonous. Totally night over, night overnight. I'm just like, oh, man. Adulting is really just feeding yourself.

[Samin Nosrat]

It really takes time.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So how do you keep cooking interesting for yourself? And do you have any tips and tricks to doctoring up meals that you cook all the time?

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah, I mean, I eat a lot of really simple plain food. I eat a lot of like rice from the rice cooker with vegetable and. Or tofu and or egg. Like, that's a very simple, very common Meal for me, Quesadillas, all that kind of stuff. What makes my life more interesting is the plenitude of condiments that I always have around. Really. And so, like, a very common meal that I've been having, there's a frozen scallion pancake, like Taiwanese style, which sometimes I buy at Trader Joe's, other times I buy at my local Asian grocery. And I always have them in the fridge. And then I make scrambled eggs with a little soy sauce in them and, like, sesame oil. Like, I make a little egg taco. And this is a great breakfast or dinner. And then the key is, like, all the garnishing. So I always have herbs around. And then comes the chili crisps, you know, well, what's your favorite chili crisp? I now make one that I love, and I'll make a big batch like once a year, and sort of that'll get me through the year. That's how big is the batch it is in the book. It's a couple jars, like, couple big quart jars. And I also, for that reason, love some salsa matchas. I keep some which are sort of a.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

What's that?

[Samin Nosrat]

It's a Mexican sort of, if you will, chili crisp. And it often has peanuts in it. And chili. Yeah, it's a chili oil. So the one in the book that I wrote is sitting right here. I kind of was trying to make something that existed in a middle place and could go any direction. So I used Calabrian chilies, which are an Italian chili that has sort of a really nice, like, medium spice. And I did put a little hint of Szechuan for the tingle, but it's not too spicy. And it's, like, mostly just crunchy. But I also added peanut. I wanted that a lot of the Asian ones don't have peanut. And so I. But I really love the peanut. And that comes from salsa matcha. 1.0 is learning the chili crisps. 2.0 is learning the salsa matcha. There's a company in Oakland called Kuali K U A L I and I really love their salsa matcha.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

You've got chili crisp. Are there any other condiments that you're just like, Always gotta have this in my fridge or on the counter.

[Samin Nosrat]

One that I have sort of. It's become a really important ingredient for me. That. That is funny because for 20 years I didn't use it very much is preserved lemon paste. And it tastes so delicious. And a little bit of funk and is like a little umami. It's just. It's kind of this amazing way to have lemon and salt around and add it to stuff with a little extra something. One time I was like, it's really hot. I wish I had, like, a salty or, like, a lemon soda, but I didn't have lemon, so I, like, put some in my fizzy water, and I had all of a sudden, this, like, salty lemon drink. I wanted to make frozen yogurt. I was too lazy. So I some of the lemon paste, agave syrup into a thing of yogurt, and I froze that. That was so good. So there's just kind of like, it keeps revealing its uses. And you. If you don't feel so moved to make your own, you can absolutely buy preserved lemons and puree them. Beyond that, I think a thing that is maybe a little bit more accessible in every day is my cooking has changed so much from the simple act of making sure I always have homemade salad dressing in the fridge. I used to be very much of the like. Like, I'm just gonna make it for tonight, and partly. Cause I just didn't understand it's still good tomorrow. Like. Like, I. I was so restaurant brainwashed of, we make everything fresh every day. And a vinaigrette will keep fine for a week, two weeks. But as long as I have a dressing or two, I can always make salad. But also I can dress a side of roasted vegetables. I can use it as a marinade for vegetables or chicken or fish that I'm gonna roast or grill. There's kind of this way where you start looking at and you're like, what is in that? Oh, those are the things I would use in this other circumstance as well. So the same rice and cabbage and tofu that I was gonna eat, you know, all of a sudden comes to vibrant life with an addition of some of this sesame dressing, cilantro, and, you know, toasted, salted pe.

[Rosie Guerin]

What about spices? Is there a spice that people tend to be intimidated by, but you're like, you got this.

[Samin Nosrat]

Well, I mean, my favorite two spices. Savory is cumin. Sweet is cardamom. And I think cardamom is a little bit. Maybe not intimidating, but outside of that sort of normal, sort of sweet shelf for people. And I have to say, anything that you grind yourself will have so much more flavor, so much more aroma. Everything about spice is aroma. And once it's ground, it makes. It starts losing and seeping all of that aroma. So it's one thing if you have your local spice shop and you go there and they grind it before your Very eyes. And then you use it up in the next six months. It's another thing. If you buy it from a grocery store shelf in a glass jar. It was ground, who knows when, and then it sits in your spice drawer for who knows how long. I will also say, please do me and yourself a favor and don't keep your spices near your stove. Also, please don't keep your olive oil near your stove.

[Rosie Guerin]

Yeah, I want to talk about olive oil for a second. Yeah, we just did an episode all about olive oil.

[Samin Nosrat]

Oh, you did?

[Rosie Guerin]

Yes, we sure did.

[Samin Nosrat]

I gotta go listen to it.

[Rosie Guerin]

We all learned a ton, including how to identify rancidity, which was foul.

[Samin Nosrat]

How was this described?

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

We tasted rancid oil, but it was the old way.

[Samin Nosrat]

I think of it like crayon or diaper.

[Rosie Guerin]

What do you use at home? What do you reach for?

[Samin Nosrat]

My go to olive oil comes from a California producer called Seca Hills, which I love for many reasons, including the quality and taste of the olive oil, the fact you can buy it in bulk in a, like, it comes in kind of a wine in a box, bag in a box situation. But also I love that it's a project on a native American reservation that is meant to sort of divert young people out of casinos and into this, like, other amazing skill. So I really, I love Seca Hills, but truly, that's been my go to oil for close to 10 years now. I also think that, you know, that California, California olive ranch that comes in the square bottle specifically, they have an oil that is 100% California. That one specifically I like. I also think basically for me, the one I don't. Do you like that I'm having my own mini olive oil episode inside of you?

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I love it.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah. Yeah. To me, the one piece of information to always look for on an olive oil label.

[Kyra Blackwell]

We know this one, you guys.

[Samin Nosrat]

Oh, you got it. It's a quiz.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Quizzing us.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay, we'll say it on three. One, two, three.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Harvest day. We studied up.

[Samin Nosrat]

Good job. Good job. Good job. Good job, Good job. Good job.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

In your book. I love this story you tell about you have this 10 year old in your life who asked you to make fish tacos for their birthday and you just went full bore and you're like working on it and you're making this beautiful, perfect meal, and halfway through the party, the kid is sitting there eating their taco and looking around insane. Where's Samin? The thing I love about this is, like, it sounded like it was an epiphany moment for you. Of Thinking about rethinking how you entertain and how you approach entertaining. So how are you approaching that these days? And what's your best recommendation for making entertaining like an enjoyable thing for the host and for the people that are coming?

[Samin Nosrat]

I think we all have to lower our standards. Another way of saying that is being kinder to ourselves and not expecting a home meal to ever be a restaurant meal. And I think that's true when you're cooking for yourself or when you're cooking for other people. And for me, I always was like, I need to make sure everything's perfect. And, no, I don't want you to do anything. Let me take care of you by doing everything. But I would become like a Tasmanian devil in those situations where I'm never actually at the meal and it's out of coming from a good place because I want to take care of you. But ultimately, does anyone feel good? I don't feel good because I'm stressed. And they don't feel good because they are, like, picking up on my craziness. So it's been a real shift, sort of fundamentally in my life to understand what entertaining, if you will, or cooking with and for people is for. And it's about spending time together. And so if I'm not able to be present emotionally, mentally at this dinner, then what's the point, right? I have to sort of figure out how to let go of my control tendencies. And some of that is just making less stuff, dividing and letting people contribute, which also helps them feel included. I have really relaxed a lot about what it is that makes a good meal. And it's so much less about what's on the table and so much more about who's around it and how they feel.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Before we wrap, we always ask our guests one final question. What's the last thing you bought that you really loved?

[Samin Nosrat]

Ooh.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Doesn't have to be food related.

[Samin Nosrat]

I know. Now I'm just thinking. I'm like, ooh, this is the opposite. It's the opposite of everything we're talking about because it's not economical and it's not particularly practical. But I just bought myself a beautiful new coat from Rachel Comey. Yes, It's a coral color, like a rusty coral colored kind of Rachel Comey shape of a chore coat.

[Rosie Guerin]

I love it. Sumin Nasret, appreciate you.

[Samin Nosrat]

Thanks for coming on.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Great having this.

[Samin Nosrat]

Really fun. Really fun. Thank you.

[Wayfair Announcer]

Thank you, thank you.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Oh, man, that was so fun. Can we have her back soon, please? That was great.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I feel like we could have talked.

[Samin Nosrat]

To her for hours.

[Rosie Guerin]

Samin once a month.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

She's just a delight.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

What did you all take away from this?

[Rosie Guerin]

Besides for the fact that she's dreamy and so knowledgeable and such a fun person to talk food food with? My big takeaway is that I'm saving my money for the Tormek Swedish knife sharpener she mentioned. I really am. I'm like, I gotta get a piggy bank for this because it's about $400. But the way that she described it makes me so excited to sharpen your knives. To sharpen my knives.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Are you keeping your knives?

[Kyra Blackwell]

Do you have a nice knife set?

[Rosie Guerin]

No, they're dull.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Get new knives and then start sharpening them.

[Rosie Guerin]

To be honest, I also could. Could go for the wire cutter pick, which is the Chef's Choice 1520, which is about half the price. I think I would do very well with either, but I am coveting the torment, I think.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I mean, there's just so much information there. There's a lot of kitchen gear that I'm in desperate need of. But honestly, I think I'm just gonna go straight for her preserved lemon paste idea. I know that she has a recipe for it, and I really want to try it with yuzu and make her. It sounded like a delicious, refreshing, like yuzu sparkling drink or a lemon sparkling drink.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Yeah, she used the lemon paste to make a sparkling drink. But you could. I think you could do it with yuzu. That would be totally delicious and you.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Can use it for so many other things.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I love that. I'm also gonna make one of Samin's recipes for chili crisp, which is in the new book. That's the chili crisp that has the peanuts in it. The Mexican style one.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yeah.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I'm excited to try that.

[Rosie Guerin]

Innovative, Innovative. We love that. Samin Nosrad's new cookbook is called Good recipes and rituals to share with people you love. You can grab a copy at your local bookstore or wherever you like to buy books. We'll link the products we discussed today in our show notes. And as ever, if you want to find out more, check out our website.

[Wayfair Announcer]

See ya.

[Samin Nosrat]

Bye.

[Rosie Guerin]

The wire cutter shell is executive produced by me, Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddie Mazziello and Nick Pittman. Today's episode was mixed by Katherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marian Lozano, Alicia Ba Itupe, and Diane Wall. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter's deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Fruman is Wirecutter's editor in chief.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

I'm Christine Cyr Clissette.

[Rosie Guerin]

And I'm Rosie Guerin. Thank you for listening.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Okay, Samin, do you like that? I said that very abruptly.

[Samin Nosrat]

Yes. Very. Good job.

[Christine Cyr Clissette]

Sit up straight.

[Samin Nosrat]

You're just like my mom. Looks great.

[Wayfair Announcer]

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