Setting Up Your Macrobiotic Kitchen

Methods of Cooking and Food Preparation

It is preferred that you cook with a gas stove at home (in the event that a person has significant chemical sensitivities, a standard electric or enamel-top electric stove can be used). The electric stoves are not preferred because their burners take longer to come up to temperature, and will retain their heat for a significant amount of time after the burner is turned off. Therefore, delicate cooking is very difficult on an electric stove. Also, when an electric stove is in operation, excessive electromagnetic charges are being generated. For similar reasons, food processors and blenders are seldom used in macrobiotics. Instead, graters and the suribachi provide a more calm energy to the food prepared. Microwaves are to be completely avoided (especially in your home) due to the issues surrounding potential microwave radiation effects, particularly for children, and those with pacemakers. Microwaves have also been known, in some cases, to cause harmful structural modification of the food.

NOTE: In some cases, the above cooking methods may not be recommended for a short period of time.

Setting Up Your Macrobiotic Kitchen

The following section contains a list of suggested cookware you will need in order to have a fully equiped macrobiotic kitchen so that you can easily create delicious, healthy meals. In stocking your kitchen, it is best to have the finest quality cookware such as stainless steel, ceramic, untreated wood, and glass. Often people will have a variety of plastics, including cooking or serving spoons, and storage containers. Macrobiotics suggests a move away from plastics to stainless steel (for cooking and serving spoons) and glass containers (instead of plastic storage containers).

Good quality stainless steel knives will provide the best utility and duarbility. If you do not already have an excellent knife for preparing vegetables, the preferred is the MAC Vegetable knife. Recently, ceramic utiliy and paring knives have come onto the market. While they perform well, please consider that if they are dropped on the floor or used by an unsuspecting person to pry open a lid, they will break.

Good quality stainless steel knives will provide the best utility and durability. If you do not already have an excellent knife for preparing vegetables, the preferred is the MAC Vegetable knife. Recently, ceramic utility and paring knives have come onto the market. While they perform well, please consider that if they are dropped on the floor or used by an unsuspecting person to pry open a lid, they will break.