Raw food kitchen

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Designing your raw kitchenLucky enough to be designing your raw kitchen? (By the way I do notbelieve in throwing away the stove and microwave unless you justknow you are not only going to die in that house but also that itnever ever, ever is going to be sold to a person who actually wouldlike to have a stove and a microwave which is almost everyone.)Here are some hints and guidelines if you are building or re-doingan existing kitchen. Raw food kitchen goals:1. Rule # 1: Concentrate on a design that has as much unbrokenlinear feet of counter space as possible. This could mean you maychoose to offset (not center) the less important (to you) items soyou aren't left with a few choppy areas. One four or five footexpanse is far superior to two 2 foot expanses. Think: unbrokenexpanse.2. Get a large, deep sink (minimum 10 inches, 11 or 12 is better),I prefer not divided, with

a high faucet and Reverse Osmosis systemor water distilling system nearby. I prefer a stainless steel sink-a $120-160 one from Home Depot works just fine. If you have themoney a nice thick- gauge deep one is lovely. I have had both typesand they are both great. To me, the kitchen sink is the hub of a raw kitchen. I think of itlike conventional cooks think of their pots and pans. Because rawfood isn't going to have any germs or contaminants cooked away, itis imperative that the kitchen sink be immaculately clean so thatall that washing of the produce results in actually cleaning yourfood. IF YOU HAPPEN TO PREPARE MEAT OR DAIRY IN YOUR KITCHEN ASWELL, THEN YOU REALLY NEED TO BE SCRUPULOUS WITH YOUR SINK. I amsure that I have insulted many (friends, family) when I spend timescrubbing out the sink they think of as clean. Clean to them insimply not clean to me. The very first thing I do in any newenvironment is scrub down

the sink and counters with lots of soapand hot water. I know that some raw fooders say that eating alittle dirt is good for you, but I prefer to control what enters mydigestive system thank you very much. I find stainless simple tokeep clean and I love the look of it.3. Refrigerators come in different sizes. Measure and buy one withthe largest refrigerator (not freezer) capacity that you can affordthat will fit. Side by Side isn't always the best choice unless youcan get a really large capacity one or a really shallow and wideone (very expensive). The good old freezer on the top design servesa raw kitchen well. The narrow dimensions of an average side byside make it difficult to store those bags of nuts, peeled bananasand frozen fruit. If your refrigerator is ten years old or older,it is probably using a lot of electricity, it might be a good ideato replace it when you are purchasing other appliances

seeparagraph #5.4. All stainless steel does not look alike. Learned by painfulfirst hand experience of taking delivery of a huge expensiverefrigerator and seeing it did not match the other appliances. Stainless steel that is made to be "finger printproof" has a blue cast to it and does not match regular stainlesssteel. Beware. Stores are NOT happy to take back big, new,expensive refrigerators.5. If you are building a house, or updating, it is a good idea tobuy all your appliances at one place. I always have the best luckat Sears. Recently I purchased a (big expensive) refrigerator,washer and dryer and received a huge rebate for buying three itemsat once that amounted to more than the value of the washingmachine. Really, it's like getting one free appliance! Ask beforeyou go, stores like to sell multiple appliances and often throw infree delivery as well. Multiple appliance purchasing gives youbuying

power. Also check out Costco and Sams Club for theirappliances, you could luck out there as well.6. If there is room to make at least one counter in the kitchen 3feet deep, do it! This can be an island, or in the newer trendykitchens, where the counter that the sink is on faces out into thefamily room or the dining room. Don't let a builder give you astandard 22 or 24 inch counter top when you can put in a 36 inchone!! The amount of prep space you gain is incredibly useful andit is fun to pull up a stool to the overhang for casual meals orcompany while the chef is cutting, chopping, blending etc. The 3foot counter I am enjoying now extends into the dining room. Thetiny kitchen where I wrote The Raw Gourmet had a 3 foot deepcounter (by about 7 feet) and that was its saving grace. Manytraditional homes have the conventional U shaped counter. Well, ifyou have the space in the eating area on the other side of

thecounter, increase the usage and the style of your kitchen with anew 36 inch counter. 7. On a similar note if you are lucky enough to have the room foran island (they are lovely and wonderful try to work one in) do notmess it up with a stove, or a sink. Just a nice, as- large- as-possible island with good storage underneath, maybe that is whereyou could put a few slide out drawers for the heavy equipment.Counters that hang over 6-10 inches are always an asset. 8. For asthetics and to increase/maintain the value of your house,install a slip in stove. These do not have the big back with theclock etc, they stop short of the back counter, so you can have acontinuous backsplash of whatever material you are using. 4 yearsago I found a perfectly acceptable, all black, GE gas stovetop/oven, slip in, it did not have self cleaning- for a veryreasonable $400.00. Appliance sales people are not used to

peopleasking for fewer features, but they are out there if you look hardenough. Why spend money on something you barely use? (Please seeparagraph above on logic of buying a stove for your new kitcheneven if you never plan to use it.) All the new stoves are reallyquite fabulous. (Well, so are the new refrigerators.) It is hardernow to get stripped down models but go for looks in this case notfeatures. Above this pretty but cheap stove should be a matchingsimilarly pretty but cheap microwave. Just ask the appliance salesperson for the cheapest one they can find that matches. Thiscombination stove top/oven with matching microwave comes withventing beneath the microwave. Note: you will never find floormodels of the cheaper, stripped down appliances but there arecatalogs and internet inventory listings where you can see how itlooks with the help of your appliance salesman. How to use yourmicrowave: this is a peachy place

to store your herbs and orspices. How to use your stove: the oven and the drawer that isoften beneath it make excellent additional storage. (Added bonus tobuyer of your house, the house may be 10 years old but theappliances are literally like new.)9. Where to put your money. Invest in a really good roomyrefrigerator. I also like to have a good dishwasher. The Europeantype with low water usage and all stainless inside are super. Theydon't have a fan to blow heat to dry the dishes, the hot waterheats up the stainless steel and the dishes dry from the reflectiveheat. I really like the Bosch, but Asko is good too. There areprobably others. Shop around. If you don't want a dishwasher thenrevert to the stove formula: cheap but pretty. 10. Back to the kitchen design. A closet/pantry is highlydesirable. Build sturdy shelving, not those wire things thebuilders all use. This will be a great place for heavy equipment.If

you are lucky enough to have the space for a roomy walk inpantry then I envy you and want to know when I can come over. Agood walk in pantry can make up for poor storage elsewhere. If youhave the type of panty that is part of the cabinetry, not a walk-incloset type, a very deep one leads to wasting space. It is betterto have 12-18 inch deep shelves, rather than the typical 24 inchesor more. You may be able to use that space elsewhere, in anabutting room.11. There is laminate (Formica is one brand of laminate) thatreally looks like granite, or bamboo or slate. Invest in yourappliances (sink, refrigerator, dishwasher) and space, you canalways upgrade to granite, stone, concrete etc at a later date.12. Good lighting. Probably the best are the type that are placedin the ceiling. The kind that hang down over the counter are funand decorative, but whatever you wind up doing, plan on a lot ofgood lighting that you can

control in several different ways. Planmultiple switches for full lighting, to being able to use just one or twoof the lights. Use of a dimmer switch will give you even more control. If you are using fluorescent lighting use the warm not the cool bulbs.Under counter lighting is also very helpful andinexpensive, and is a good do it yourself project. Researchingand investing in really good lighting/bulbs will be worth it.13. Footsteps. Conventional kitchen planners use an imaginarytriangle between refrigerator, counter and stove for efficiency.For your raw kitchen, use this concept between refrigerator,counter and sink-the least amount of footsteps between these threekitchen cornerstones makes for the most efficient usage. Then, allthat linear counter space will allow you a place to drop all thosebags of groceries, room for prep, and probably most important, roomfor more than one cook to work at the same time.

14. Second prep sink. I think that unless you truly have a hugekitchen that these are superfluous.15. Dehydrator. I find them quite noisy and prefer to have them notbe in my kitchen. In my current home, they are in an unusedbathroom. Some people keep them in the laundry room. If you wantyour dehydrator nearby, perhaps it would work if you put it on apantry shelf, behind a closed door to avoid hearing that fan soundfor days on end.Ronald A. Fells

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