Pans and Eternity

I love things that are very well made and last forever, or threaten to. It was a blow last week when one of my much-loved Le Vrai Gourmet stainless steel pans, bought more than 20 years ago, parted from its handle. It was worse when in late spring our ancient food processor packed in. As that was an engagement/shacking up present we'd had it 29 years.

As regards the food processor design, or quality, has gone backwards, its replacement is far less solid, harder to clean, more awkward to assemble, and generally a bit annoying. Same maker though. Looks like planned obsolescence has hit the kitchen appliance market since the 1980s.

It's a lesson. Buy expensive and well made and it is cheaper than buying cheap and crappy. My late father-in-law's toolbox was full of chisels and wrenches and saws that he'd probably had since the late 1940s when he came to England. He too bought the best, but he also maintained them, oiled steel surfaces, sharpened blades, polished wood. I try to follow suit with kitchen gear like my paella pan, lovingly re-seasoned after each use.

I'm due to go to the tip today or tomorrow to get rid of rubbish that has accumulated here, including a Kodak printer that died young and unloved. I really need to transfer my thinking about kitchen stuff to my other purchases.