Must Have Kitchen Tools!

[bridgeofsighs]

Hey everybody!

I thought it would be fun to discuss the appliances, devices, gadgets and utensils in our kitchens that help improve the quality of our lives in one way or another. Whether it assists you in healthier eating, saves you time and money, or just makes a specific task easier, share your personal thoughts and experiences with the rest of us!

[bridgeofsighs]

Shoot, ran outta gas! i'll hafta come back to play some other time!

[ravenwoodglass]

I find a rice cooker with a steamer basket to be a big help as well as a little slow cooker. Makes like easier for me.

[kareng]

A slow cooker. I like the biggest one I can get as I have 2 teen boys.

[Jungle]

I second the crockpot and rice cooker with steaming basket. It means I can walk in the door and serve dinner.

[love2travel]

Microplanes are amazing to grate nutmeg, citrus zest, Parmesan, chocolate, etc. I own a few.

My huge granite mortar and pestle are irreplaceable for making pestos, sauces, grinding spices. Not only that, it is just plain fun to use!

My spice grinder is awesome for grinding small batches of flax seed, almonds and, of course, whole spices.

[aeraen]

Dh is a kitchen gadget junkie who really needs a 12 step program.

I'm right on board w/ the rice maker. Mine is 30 years old and still can cook up a mean pot of rice. Its used several times a week.

I believe there isn't a day that goes by that I don't use my food processor. I'm very sensitive to onions (sniff, sniff) and can't imagine having to chop one by hand anymore. Not to mention anything else that needs chopping, slicing or shredding.

I would never have thought I would say this back when DH bought a smoothie maker, but I use it just about every day. Aside from smoothies made from my own home made yoghurt, its also where I make my batter for Brazilian cheese bread. The little spout is perfect for placing it in the mini muffin cups w/o dribbling it all over.

Food saver (called "the sucker-upper" in our house). DH and I are big on buying food fresh and on sale, then storing what we can in our freezer. I've been enjoying delicious mango, papaya and strawberry smoothies all winter with the fruit we put in the freezer last summer and fall.

[love2travel]

I forgot to mention flexible silicone tools - spatulas, spoons, etc. Love 'em.

[mushroom]

My little Braun miniprocessor, with the blending wand attachment for the soup pot and the whip attachment (so I don't have to clean out my mixer bowl to beat the egg whites). Great for chopping onions, garlic, herbs, nuts, all the little things you use in cooking all the time, goes in the dishwasher, luv it.

[wildwood]

I have 3 appliances/gadgets that I enjoy. (yes I did say enjoy, lol!) 1. crockpot, 2. salad spinner, 3. food saver. I use the food saver quite a bit now. I make jambalaya, chili, etc. put leftovers in the bag and freeze before vacuum sealing. We bring these camping. We then boil water over the fire and use them as boiling bags. Yummy, nothing like my own homemade chili after an all day hike. You can freeze cooked rice in the bag also. It will look smooshed, but when you open it up the rice fluffs right back up.

[sb2178]

1. rice cooker saves money

2. food processor saves time

3. waffle iron makes me happy

4. coffee grinder (for grinding grains, nuts, and seeds) makes me eat healthier

[msmini14]

I love my bread machine, rice cooker and my cooking pans lol. I love to cook. I need to invest in the food saver just so expensive.

[bbuster]

My new favorites are

1) a baking stone that I use to make cookies and breadsticks (already have one for pizza)

2) a Pampered Chef 1 tsp round stainless scoop that I use for cookie dough (I have 2 teenagers and make a LOT of cookies).

[Juliebove]

My daughter got me a Slap Chop. I don't use it a lot. If I am chopping a small amount of things I just use a knife. For a large amount of things I use the food processor. But for a medium amount of things I use that. Works very well.

I also use my kitchen scissors a lot. I learned the trick of cutting food into bite sized pieces with the scissors from one of my MIL's caregivers.

[Juliebove]

I thought of another one. It clips onto a pan so you can put your stirring spoon in it.

[kiwibird75]

I'm a fiend for kitchen gadgets. If it plugs in or fills a drawer then there's every chance I have it! Thank goodness the kitchen is ALL MINE! Bwahahahahaha!

My favorites are my little Braun Multiprocessor - two different size food processor/blender jugs, stick for pulverising soups, whisk and even an ice-crushing attachment. Love it! Also my bamboo spoons with holes in the middle. They have flat bottoms and a rounded and a squared off corner so they get every last bit off any shaped pan. Oooh... and my digital kitchen scales - weigh everything cumulatively into the one bowl and save many, many dishes in the course of a good baking session.

But I'm firmly of the belief that if it makes my kitchen life easier (and I love to cook) then it's all good!

[kareng]

I'm a fiend for kitchen gadgets. If it plugs in or fills a drawer then there's every chance I have it! Thank goodness the kitchen is ALL MINE! Bwahahahahaha!

My favorites are my little Braun Multiprocessor - two different size food processor/blender jugs, stick for pulverising soups, whisk and even an ice-crushing attachment. Love it! Also my bamboo spoons with holes in the middle. They have flat bottoms and a rounded and a squared off corner so they get every last bit off any shaped pan. Oooh... and my digital kitchen scales - weigh everything cumulatively into the one bowl and save many, many dishes in the course of a good baking session.

But I'm firmly of the belief that if it makes my kitchen life easier (and I love to cook) then it's all good!

Those bamboo spoon thingys sound great. I assume by your name Kiwibird, you didn't get them near me in Kansas?

[mushroom]

I'm a fiend for kitchen gadgets. If it plugs in or fills a drawer then there's every chance I have it! Thank goodness the kitchen is ALL MINE! Bwahahahahaha!

My favorites are my little Braun Multiprocessor - two different size food processor/blender jugs, stick for pulverising soups, whisk and even an ice-crushing attachment. Love it! Also my bamboo spoons with holes in the middle. They have flat bottoms and a rounded and a squared off corner so they get every last bit off any shaped pan. Oooh... and my digital kitchen scales - weigh everything cumulatively into the one bowl and save many, many dishes in the course of a good baking session.

But I'm firmly of the belief that if it makes my kitchen life easier (and I love to cook) then it's all good!

HaHa, you and me both. Are you sure we aren't twins? Oh no, can't be, you're a JAFA

But those scales - switch between kilos and oz with just one button, put on a bowl and put in 8 ox flour, 4 oz sugar, 4 oz butter and away you go

[kiwibird75]

HaHa, you and me both. Are you sure we aren't twins? Oh no, can't be, you're a JAFA

But Jaffas are delicious Mushroom...

I got the spoons from a place in Auckland but figure they must be available the world over... hang on a tick... Found them on Amazon... the company name is Think Bamboo and the spoon you are looking for is the B20, but the B19 is the same thing without the hole.

[Harpgirl]

I love my Ninja blenders! Excellent for making and storing hummus, salsa, peanut butter, etc. Not to mention smoothies! I got mine for mother's day last year.

For my birthday, this year, I got a new measuring cup, the kind that you don't have to stoop over to see if you got the right amount.

My other favorite gadget is this little garlic chopper. It looks like a little two wheeled toy car. You put the garlic in where the removable blades are, close it up, then run the wheels on the counter. The wheels move the blades and chop it up. Hmm... I'll have to try it as safer way to let my 3 year old help me chop in the kitchen. Getting the "car" back from him may be a more difficult matter.

[Poppi]

I really want a deep fryer. So bad!

I've got my eye on a 4l Bravetti, just waiting for it to go on sale.

I miss going out for tempura and wings and fries and onion rings ....etc etc.. I need a deep fryer.

Other than that I love my rice cooker (12 years old, still going strong), my crock pots and my toaster oven.

[sa1937]

Besides some of the things already mentioned, I bought a yeast meauring spoon, which holds 2-1/4 tsp., from King Arthur Flour. Since I like to buy jars of yeast, it is so handy and at a cost of $3.95, very affordable.

I should also mention the 9x4x4" loaf pan I bought from them...not cheap at $17.95 but it's heavy and a nice addition for baking gluten-free breads.

[zentex]

I love my Silpat--nothing sticks to it.

Rice cooker and slow cooker are well used.

Burr coffee grinder and French press equal morning yumminess.

I like my Magic Bullet...it's a handy lil' thing.