I would like to know what are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets. I have always liked baking but don't have very many gadgets. What are some that are worth spending the money on? One of my favorites for regular cooking is a little electric chopper.
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I love the Pampered Chef food chopper. It is small, dishwasher safe, and chops just about anything from onions, to nuts, to chocolate. It is so convenient and saves time on almost any cooking project. I have two and use them both daily.
I bought a used Vita-Mixer on eBay and I really love the blender. I use it a lot for making yogurt smoothies and because it has such a powerful motor I make my own home-made peanut butter. Home made peanut butter has to be kept in the refrigerator because it will spoil since it doesn't have any preservatives.
I also own a yogurt maker because I prefer making my own yogurt. I have a medium-sized food processor, and a hot-air popcorn popper. We don't buy a lot snacks because they are too high in calories and fat. So we enjoy eating hot-air popcorn, sprayed with (0-cholesterol, 0-fat) buttery spray and some salt.
I would be lost without my Kitchen Aid stand mixer!
It's not so much a gadget, but I love the Pampered Chef glass bowl with lid. It has demarcations onthe side to show volume, a handle to carry it, you can mix in it, and pop a lid on to store things in it. I use it for everything. As far a gadgets, I would be lost without my garlic press, which I got at the 99 cent store.
I love my apple peeler, slicer corer. It makes easy, fun work of getting apples ready for pie, crisp or drying. My grandson loves to use it, too.
A Krups hand held electric can opener. It is easily stored in cabinet. I don't like lots of items sitting on counter tops.
I bake a lot of cookies & my favorite gadget to use is a cookie dough scooper. It is not as messy as a spoon.
If you love to bake, I would recommend you get a lemon zester. It's a little hand tool that will cost a couple of dollars, but you can't use a knife for zesting. A zester removes the outer layer of any citrus fruit without getting to the bitter part. Before you squeeze the fruit for juice, zest it. You can add a teaspoon or so of zest to anything that needs extra flavor - the zest contains the oils so it's stronger than the juice. You can also dry the remaining zest and save for later (I freeze it).
I love my Tupperware egg seperator. It's wonderful, cos' some eggs just don't crack perfectly so you can do the Mom back and forth to seperate the yolk. Good little sifters and measuring spoons are a must. I love my Presto Salad Shooter and Cookie Shooter.
Black and Decker make a wonderful small food chopper that gives you convenience in a smaller amount.
The Silicone bake ware is amazing, and now the Dollar Tree's have smaller animal shaped ones you can get and try out.
There is nothing as good as a good paring knife, even if it's the little cheap ones. They are great and easy to find.
I love my plastic rolling pin that you fill with ice water. It's not a TW, but it's perfect for making pie crusts. The cold water keeps the dough from sticking, and makes clean up a breeze.
I would suggest visiting your local dollar store, if you have them, and finding things you would like to try. Then, if you like them, you can either keep them or get more expensive versions of the ones you like. Happy Baking!
I love my Cucina Pro combination steamer/crock pot/deep fryer :-) Fits nicely in the corner on my kitchen counter :-)
My favorite kitchen gadget is my 11-cup Cuisinart Food Processor. I use it every week and sometimes every day.
As I've grown older, I've accumulated joint damage from sewing, quilting, piano playing, baking, gardening, etc. With this device, I can make homemade yeast breads in a snap, mixing and kneading accomplished by the machine in seconds, shape the bread and bake. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than to bite into real homemade bread baked in my own oven.
I have lots of Pampered Chef items that I LOVE and use just about every day. These items are wonderful and worth the price. KEEP your receipt just in case something were to break so they will replace it. The parties are FUN and if you host a party and there are lots of sales made, then you gets lots of items for free.
Pampered Chef items: Apple Wedger, Crinkle Cutter, Cut 'n Seal, Food Chopper, Pizza Cutter, Adjustable Measuring Spoons, Can Strainer, Citrus Peeler, Classic Batter Bowl, Easy Opener, Egg Separator, Garlic Press, Ice Cream Dipper, Kitchen Spritzer, Measure-All Cup, Smooth-Edge Can Opener, Creative Cutters Set.
I love pretty much everything that Pampered Chef and Tupperware sells. I have grandchildren here a lot and they love to help me cook. Having a well-stocked kitchen is wonderful.
I also have the VITA-MIX machine, one item on the counter and it does hundreds of jobs for you. Expensive to start, but it will last for 20 years. You will eat healthier and if you have infants you can EASILY make all of their babyfood and skip the high cost of purchasing that.
I'm really enjoying my plastic microwave popcorn popper. Can now pop without any oil and it comes out perfect every time.
A whisk. You will never have lumps in gravy or white sauce, cooked lemon or vanilla pie filling, pancake batter, or cooked icings.
Growing up, my family baked a LOT, and we always used our classic Kitchen Aid mixer. They're expensive, which is why I don't currently own one of my own, but they last forever. My stepmother has had the same one for almost 30 years!
My favorite right now is the ice maker. I remember filling about 10 trays every day. LOL
My favorite is the mini grater. I got at dollar store. Great for grating cheese, chocolate and easier on the fingers than the box grater.
I do agree with checking out the dollar store. My local had measuring cups shaped like tea cups so had to get them, practical and cute :0)
I'm known as the gadget queen among my friends, I must have used and own so many. The little chopper is great, I would add high quality silicone bake ware-look up demarle they are pricey but have lifetime warranties on most of their items and nonstick to boot. You may find a dealer who will do a home/cooking show. Nothing beats a good mixer that can handle most any job from egg whites to whole wheat bread dough. A slow cooker, yes you can bake in one! A pressure cooker, stainless steel preferred. What ever gadgets you purchase don't waste your money on cheap stuff go quality. Also a good set of knives.
The fellow poster's ideas are also on my same gadget list. In addition, I have a few Pampered Chef items that are well used. A two-piece push cup for measuring liquids such as honey and molasses and when inverted to the opposite direction measures solids such as peanut butter and shortening. I also use their mini pizza dough roller and pizza cutter when making home made pizza. I use all my PC rubber spatulas frequently and the baker's mini-spatula is perfect for lifting cookies, and cutting brownies and sheet cake slices.For easy pie slice removal, try the triangle shaped pie server.
Funny thing is that I must give my husband full credit for purchasing our most used products- our Kitchen Aid stand mixer and the Black and Decker mini-chopper. I was very upset that he spent that much on the mixer, but it has lasted and multi-tasked in my kitchen for a good 20 years and is still running! The electric mini-chopper has been a godsend especially for chopping onions with no tears, plus all the vegetables for homemade stuffing or salsa. It is super for chopping sticky dried apricots, bouncing fresh cranberries and nuts.
SIlicone muffin pans. Muffins don't stick if you pre-grease the pan.
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Beware of buying via Ebay. Ask first how they are going to pack the item if it's breakable and don't forget to insure the package. I had one vendor send me a damaged stoneware brownie pan shoved in a box with no extra bump protection- she said that's how they sent it to her so she didn't bother to pack it better. This is more of a reflection on the person than the product. And a complete and total waste of my money.
I think my best purchase was a big kitchen-aid mixer. I use it a lot when I bake or cook for big meals. I put it on a stand that pops up from inside a cabinet door so it is easy to use, clean, and put away. I gave away my bread maker and use this to knead my dough, make noodles, besides the other things you use a mixer for.
I rarely use my fancy kitchen gadgets, but can't live without the basics in my kitchen, which are: a good chopping knife, a plastic cutting board, wooden spoons, a wire whisk, a rubber spatula, a small metal spatula with a sharp edge, a manual can opener, and a kitchen scissors.
Mine are a microplane grater/zester (with a cushioned handle about $12.00) and a bowl scraper (plastic, from a restaurant or kitchen supply store, about $1.00). After that would be my KitchenAid stand mixer, a cheapo food processor (Black & Decker, plastic, about $20.00...but it works for cole slaw and grated cheese so long as you're not forceful). Whisks are wonderful too. If I had the room and money I'd probably have at least one of fifty others. I love kitchen stuff.
A few days late posting this but my favorite gadget is a melon baller. I use it to remove seeds from cantaloupe and seeds and membranes from peppers. So much easier than using a spoon.
Yes I am late and I to love my mini chopper put away big one only use when making pie dough. However I am always on the the look out for a certain peeler. I guess I love my peeler the best. I threw one away a long time ago (accidently) and it was really good just miss it and can never find one that is just right.
My favorite gadgets are my silicone spatula, my spiral (not the usual metal loops) shaped whisk, my mini wooden handled metal spatula, and my slow cooker.
My kitchen tools need to multi-task because I don't have enough room for things that only do one job! However, a garlic press is a must. It's one of the only things I have that does nothing else.
My favorite gadget is my Calphalon Slow Cooker with an aluminum insert instead of a ceramic one. You can sear and brown meats and veggies in the insert on top of any stove and then put it directly into the slow cooker base. This gives all of the dishes a homemade flavor like it had cooked in the oven or on the stove all day. Since I have purchased it, I have seldom had to turn on my oven in the Texas heat and my home stays noticeably cooler and I have saved on energy usage. The slow cooker is expensive but in my opinion is the best kitchen purchase I have made in years. Also, I love my non aerosol olive oil misters. I have one for each type of olive oil I use. No more buying Pam and similar products! You put in the oil and pump the sprayer to build up pressure and it sprays just like the aersol cans. The misters are washable so no more expensive aerosols!
I absolutely love my Pampered Chef "mandoline" - it slices and dices vegetables quickly and efficently. It comes with four different blades and a protective veggie holder when you slice so that you don't slice your fingers too. Great for various soups and hoagie sandwiches, salads, and more. Pricey, but another item that is worth the expense.
A nice metal whisk is a must, and at least one super expensive high quality knife for slicing. (I've had several dime store knives - no comparison!) I've had my waterless cookware for 40 years and it is still going strong. If you bake bread, a bread knife - no squishing the bread when you cut it. I love gadgets - and I recently bought an acrylic measurer that has a tube that pushes the measured contents out - great for shortening and peanut butter. Wish I had it a long time ago. OH - and a shaker for mixing liquids and flour for gravies and such.
My suggestion is to buy one item at a time as your finances allow, but buy the best that you can afford and not several cheap items or you will probably be disappointed with the items. I've been collecting forever and still find things that are new and handy...the ones that aren't I get rid of or they take up valuable space in your drawers.
I have 2 favorite kitchen gadgets. One is my Ziploc vacuum storage system. The other is my Magic Bullet. I use it almost daily. Several times a day for that matter. Other than the fridge, stove, microwave and toaster oven, I use these 2 products more than anything else in the kitchen. Oh I almost forgot my 3rd favorite! My Shark Steam Mop! That's another one I use daily and love it!
My banana slicer, my tomato slicer, my tea bag squeezing tongs, my soymilk maker, good Calphalon pans, good German knife set.
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