So...'fess up guys - how many kitchen gadgets do you have?

[lisa_spyder]

The rice steamer thread got me thinking...and now Randy's slow cooker thread...

I don't have either. A rice steamer is totally unnecessary for me; another damned thing to have on the bench that I just don't need.

A slow cooker could be really handy; but I have managed all these years without one and again, I don't need more stuff to clutter my workspace.

I am over gadgets and fail to see why I would need any more in my kitchen. I need more space, not more gadgets..plus the older I get the more I am enjoying doing things the 'old' way...food just seems to taste better (or it could be I am getting nostalgic).

I will confess to the following being kitchen gadgets I simply cannot live without...

1. Magimix - I inherited Mum's big one and I use it a lot. Simply sensational tool.

2. Kenwood Chef - shouted myself a new one a couple of years ago (cost a bomb) and I use it to mix dough for old fashioned homemade bread every second day. It does a lot more of course; mixes cake batter to perfection etc. Need to buy the mincer attachment for it so I can start making real kibbe again from scratch ...plus the kids are at me to make sausages...

3. I used to have a breadmaker...POS things; went through 3 expensive ones in a few years and said 'enough'...I make much better everyday bread without one. Read 2 again.

4. Big mother blender - I don't do small quantity cooking so for purees, soups etc I need a big blender...and the kids make smoothies a lot.

5. Electric frypan - it's handy as our current stovetop is too small (kitchen needs to be blown up and redone to replace it though)

6. Deep fryer - never thought I would use one; until I got one. I use it primarily for home done fish and chips...market fresh fish, homemade beer batter, potatoes thick cut for chips...big salad and there's a meal. Particular favorite for when the kids have friends over...homemade fish and chips just taste soooo good . Again, handy as our stovetop is little.

I will confess to a stack of Le Creuset and Sillet pans and pots and to being anal about the right pan or pot for the job...same with frypans. But I don't really class good pots and pans as gadgets .

I do not have silly things like a yoghurt maker...I make yoghurt every week the way my mother, her mother etc back through the generations made it. It is SO easy and the yoghurt is beautiful...and from that I can make labne...

Offhand, I can't think of any other gadget type things in my kitchen...what about you guys?

[cgarr]

Let me ask my Wife.....

[lisa_spyder]

Craig,

If I asked Mike to count and name our kitchen gadgets he wouldn't have a clue I'm sure...even though most of them are out on display ...you are not alone

[Zeke]

There are lots of gadgets in our kitchen but I prefer to not use them due to the added clean up.
There is no substitute for the juicer but what a royal pain it is to clean and put away.

I can get by with a 10" cooking knife and a couple of pots and a couple of pans. I like wooden cooking utensils, but my wife does not, so we have chipped cookware everywhere. Ten times what is needed.

The new silicone stuff is starting to appeal to me.

[UconnTim97]

Just a Keurig coffee maker, everything else is stored in the basement until it is needed. I do admit I would have to ask the wife for a full inventory. I do know where the items that I use are stored.

Does a knife rack count?

[URY914]

Blender

[lisa_spyder]

Knife rack does not count - not to me anyway . I have a massive knife block and lots of knives (would like more though)...comes from having a foodie Mum and now a son-chef. Another anal thing for me - don't screw with my knives....

Should I count a coffee grinder? Have coffee makers stuck up top in our walk-in pantry - hardly use them though.

[red-beard]

Super Automatic Espresso machine.

blender

kettle

food processor

2 pressure cookers

2 slow cookers

[lisa_spyder]

One concession would be an espresso machine - but nowhere to put one

What's with 2 slow cookers and 2 pressure cookers Red?

[imcarthur]

Toaster, 4 cup Melita coffee maker & a small nuker. That's it. This way I preserve two work station areas.

I have a full size blender for Margaritas & a hand version for same squirrelled away in a cupboard. I have permanently stored (same thing as thrown out): a waffle maker, a slow cooker, a 12 cup coffee maker, an electric frypan, a deep fryer & a coffee grinder & a cheap expresso maker..

Ian

Edit: Oh yeah, a cheap workhouse hand mixer resides in a handy drawer.

[jyl]

Used pretty regularly:
Food processor (old Cuisinart)
Mini food processor
Blender, countertop (Osterizer)
Blender, immersion (Braun)
Dough mixer (Magic Mill)
Ice cream machine (lately don't use it that much, for waistline reasons)
Rice cooker (think I've had the same one since college)
Toaster oven (really useful!)
Microwave oven
Electric griddle (son uses for pancakes)
Citrus juicer (Black & Decker $15)
Do pressure cookers count?
Outside there's a gas grill.

And, living in the basement, seldom/never used:
Dehydrator (use for jerky)
Electric roaster (used at Thanksgiving as I've only the one oven)
Deep fryer (pot on burner works better)
Crockpot (used to be there)
Fancy juicer (these things are worthless - a $15 juicer does citrus fine, and who wants to drink carrot juice anyway?)

In the making:
Homebrew sous vide cooker

I'd like to have:
Wok burner

[Schumi]

Zero.

No microwave. No toaster. No coffee maker.

I have a gas stove and oven, but I don't consider them gadgets.

[MRM]

I'm not sure my house has a kitchen. I'll have to ask.

[juanbenae]

im single and cook nearly every night so i have all the basics... nothing fancy but good pots pans ladles wood spoons n such. i buy my marinade brushes from the paint section at the hardware store for 88 cents... use a slow cooker, burnt the bearing out of a set it n forget it chicken spinner after like 1000 birds. the best purchase i can recall that was not car oriented was the stove n hood i bought/installed a few years back. my silverware and plates are old ace correll handed down stuff. here the preparation tools are good, the silver n plates are utilitarian at best... the bbq is old skool coals, kingsford ignited with a chimney newspaper start... the current MIAF in my life loves when i cook for here

[masraum]

Hmm, I'm not sure that I'll get everything, but here goes.

How's #1 for odd

Zojirushi 4L hot water maker. It makes hot water for tea, coffee, ramen, hot cocoa, it's got 3 different temps and a timer

Cuisinart food processor

Magic Bullet personal blender

Magic Chef knife sharpener

microwave

Krup Panini maker

Champion Heavy Duty Juicer

hand mixer

digital thermometer

Black & Decker steamer (rice, veggies, whatever)

I think that's it. The only items that sit on a counter are the hot water maker and the microwave. I paid a ton for the hot water maker about 3-4 years ago, but we've definitely gotten our money's worth back out of it.

We used to have a citrus juicer, toaster, bread maker and regular blender, but we don't have those right now. I think the only one that we'll replace will be the blender. We also plan to get a mixer eventually, I think. We actually did use the bread maker for a while, but stopped. It was a pain in the rear, and not nearly as easy as just buying bread.

My mother gave me the Panini maker when my dad passed away. She said she didn't need it. I've used it sporadically. The digital thermometer was a gift from my mom. The knife sharpener was a gift from my mom. I love the knife sharpener. The steamer was also a gift from my mom. We use it to make rice. I think we've used it to make veggies a couple of times. My wife usually forgets that we have it.

My wife has had the food processor and the Champion juicer forever.

I think that's it.

[944Larry]

Originally Posted by lisa_spyder

The rice steamer thread got me thinking...and now Randy's slow cooker thread...

I don't have either. A rice steamer is totally unnecessary for me; another damned thing to have on the bench that I just don't need.

A slow cooker could be really handy; but I have managed all these years without one and again, I don't need more stuff to clutter my workspace.

I am over gadgets and fail to see why I would need any more in my kitchen. I need more space, not more gadgets..plus the older I get the more I am enjoying doing things the 'old' way...food just seems to taste better (or it could be I am getting nostalgic).

I will confess to the following being kitchen gadgets I simply cannot live without...

1. Magimix - I inherited Mum's big one and I use it a lot. Simply sensational tool.

2. Kenwood Chef - shouted myself a new one a couple of years ago (cost a bomb) and I use it to mix dough for old fashioned homemade bread every second day. It does a lot more of course; mixes cake batter to perfection etc. Need to buy the mincer attachment for it so I can start making real kibbe again from scratch ...plus the kids are at me to make sausages...

3. I used to have a breadmaker...POS things; went through 3 expensive ones in a few years and said 'enough'...I make much better everyday bread without one. Read 2 again.

4. Big mother blender - I don't do small quantity cooking so for purees, soups etc I need a big blender...and the kids make smoothies a lot.

5. Electric frypan - it's handy as our current stovetop is too small (kitchen needs to be blown up and redone to replace it though)

6. Deep fryer - never thought I would use one; until I got one. I use it primarily for home done fish and chips...market fresh fish, homemade beer batter, potatoes thick cut for chips...big salad and there's a meal. Particular favorite for when the kids have friends over...homemade fish and chips just taste soooo good . Again, handy as our stovetop is little.

I will confess to a stack of Le Creuset and Sillet pans and pots and to being anal about the right pan or pot for the job...same with frypans. But I don't really class good pots and pans as gadgets .

I do not have silly things like a yoghurt maker...I make yoghurt every week the way my mother, her mother etc back through the generations made it. It is SO easy and the yoghurt is beautiful...and from that I can make labne...

Offhand, I can't think of any other gadget type things in my kitchen...what about you guys?

Kibbe? Now I am REALLY impressed with you guys "down under".

[lowyder993s]

corkscrew and a bic lighter to open beer bottles.

[GH85Carrera]

Kitchen?

Is that the room with the refrigerator and microwave?

I do have a cast iron dutch oven and some wooden spoons.

[944Larry]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Super Automatic Espresso machine.

blender

kettle

food processor

2 pressure cookers

2 slow cookers

Pressure cooker? Didn't know those were still around. Was always fascinated by them when I was a kid. I used to hang around the kitchen when they used one because the whistle going off and the steam coming out was so cool. Then one day they screwed up or the cooker malfunctioned because it blew food all over the ceiling scaring the hell out of me. That was the last time I ever saw one!

[johnco]

only the most ultra modern kitchen utensils..