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Necessary kitchen gadgets
I was watching a show last night about all of the stuff people (women, in particular) purchase for kitchens, like juicers, blenders, fluted tart pans, etc., that never end up getting any use.
Now, I'm probably as guilty as anyone of that particular sin. I have a blender that's been plugged in all of twice in the last two years, and my gigantic KitchenAid mixer (which I had to have because all of the really cool chefs on TV have one) frequently gets left on the sidelines in favor of my crappy (but light) hand mixer. On the other hand, I love my Calphalon cookware and think it would have been a bargain at twice the price. And I'd sooner face the day without shoes than face it without my coffeemaker. How about you? What's the best kitchen gadget you've got? Or the biggest waste of money? 9 comments from 9 users
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posted by
sunshine
on Jul 31, 2007 at 04:23 PM
The best thing I have is a $0.75 citrus peeler from Pampered Chef. It peels an orange without making your fingernails all nasty... plus gets all the white stuff off.Biggest Waste: My Mom bought me the Magic Bullet one year as a gift. It works NOTHING like the commercial. It couldn't blend ice cream into a milkshake, but they show it turning whole peanuts into peanutbutter in ONLY 8 seconds! posted by
wayranch
on Jul 31, 2007 at 04:41 PM
WASTE: Can anyone say VITAMIX? The great blender that can make anything from margaritas to Milk shakes from slushies to Soup! Over glorified blender would have been a better name. At least for me it is just a big heavy blender. BEST: I love my silicon spatulas use them all the time and my pampered chef mixing bowl/measuring cup thingy. posted by
countygirl
on Jul 31, 2007 at 04:45 PM
I love my apple slicer from Pampered Chef. It saves me so much time with the kids. Slices and cores the apple all in one motion! I love my blender too! It's just your regular ol' blender but it gets the job done! posted by
GregL
on Jul 31, 2007 at 05:03 PM
Magic Bullet, hmmm, that sounds like... oh nevermind. Anywho, I love my mom's old cookie press. It's from the 1950's, it's all aluminum with a twist knob, and has a whole bunch of different patterns that you put in the end to make different shapes. I like to use it every Christmas to make cookies and it reminds me of being a kid when my mom used it. posted by
kidswi
on Jul 31, 2007 at 07:44 PM
If I had a higher quality espresso maker, I might actually use it. But, my $100 Kitchenaide espresso maker has, maybe, made 5 shots in the past year. It takes too long to heat up and the steaming function works horribly. Sharp knives on the other hand, are PRICELESS.
posted by
LuvMyKatz
on Jul 31, 2007 at 07:51 PM
I have one of the big kitchen aide blenders too and it the only blender I have right now but I don't use it to often. I have to say it makes great cake frosting which use to make quite often when I was decorating cakes. I have the apple peeler from Pampered Chef which is rarely used but its fun when I want to peel apples for pies. The best gadget I have is a 20.00 chopper which I got at one of those display booths at the fair, it is just a little thing you place over food and hit with your hand its quick and easy its great for small chopping jobs. If I have a big chopping job then I pull out the food processor. GregL I remember the metal cookie press from my childhood too ;-) posted by
farrinna
on Aug 1, 2007 at 12:54 PM
Well, for me and I take most of the blame for it being a waste of money, is a juicer. I actually own two, one was a gift. But, I just can't get into cutting up all that fruit or veggies for one glass of juice and then the worst part...cleaning the darn thing, trying to get all that stuff out of the screen/filter. Just seems so much work for a single maybe two glasses of juice. At the moment my best and most used and underrated gadget would have to be my hand held can opener, Swing Away brand I believe. I have a cheap electric one but I only use that if I'm opening more than 3 cans at a time. posted by
weebles
on Aug 1, 2007 at 03:36 PM
I feel that way about a lot of gadgets. They make stuff quick and everything, but then you have to clean the machine, which can be a bigger job than doing what I wanted by hand.Oh, and i completely forgot about the espresso maker that has been living, unused, in my cabinet for the past four-plus years :o) I love Pampered Chef stuff, though, and am always wanting more. posted by
mimi
on Aug 2, 2007 at 07:40 AM
I love my little hand chopper. Just a few presses with your hand and you have veggies or nuts chopped up easily. It's a little easier than busting out the food processor, which every time I look at it, I cringe. It is totally a pain in the butt to clean and doesn't quite fit in the dishwasher. But the hand chopper is smaller, breaks down easily and can fit in the dishwasher. And of course, the one thing I can't live without, though I don't know if it quite qualifies as a food gadget - my flavia fusion!
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