Gadgets....
 

I stopped by Linens and Things the other night and was amazed at the plethora of kitchen gadgets available. Got me to thinking, what's my favorite kitchen gadget?

Well, I know for me, I could not live without my George Foreman Grill. I use it at least 2 times a week...and it does every thing I want but make food taste like it's been grilled outdoors.

What's your favorite gadget?

Dagney

I'm not really a gadgety gal in the kitchen. I want good tools that I can multitask with. I'm too poor to have anything in the kitchen that only does one thing, ya know? (Except the food, of course. It's only purpose is to be eaten!) I guess, though, that my favorite kitchen tool is my 8 inch, razor-sharp chef's knife along with honing stick. A close second is a board scraper. Is there nothing they can't do?

Okay, I'll admit, I like cooking just a bit too much.

my favourite kitchen device is this whisk my wife got me. its hard to explain, but it looks like a spring looped at the end of the handle. its not the most useful utensil, but i have a soft spot for it, expecially because it makes the finest scrambled eggs you could ever ask for.

most useful gadget? my crock pot.

~james

Microwave - hands down. Now if you're going to quibble and call it an appliance then the old time apple peeler. I'm addicted to cute machines.

Do the coffee grinder and pot count as gadgets?

I'm also fond of my egg slicer. I know it's simple, but it does SUCH a great job of it.

Anything in the gadget line made by OXO rules. Can opener, veggie peeler, wine opener.

I have a lot of the as seen on TV type products, too. My mom buys them.

Many of them do NOT work as seen on tv.

(even if you see it in the dollar store, you do not need an eggwave, for example)

I still don't know how the amazing dumpling maker will work out. haven't had the opportunity to make any dumplings yet. But it looks cool ...

the latest gadet acquisition is a kitchen magician (or something like that). It's from QVC. It's one of those spatula/whisk/tongs thing.

That DOES work as seen on TV. great for manipulating large slippery things (like putting marinated skinless boneless chicken breasts onto the george forman. they don't end up on the floor anymore.)

I'm in search of the perfect ice crusher. I'm 0 for 3 so far.

Heavy duty plastic ziplock bag.

Mallet.

Floor.

*Whap*

Repeat as necessary.

personaly i prefer the wood chipper !!! it makes a big ole' pile of chipped ice :rolleyes:

mmmm kitchen gadgets appeal to the geek in me... and I used to cook a lot more than I do now, but I restrain myself in purchasing the gadgets.

The one I really like is the traditional hand-cranked pasta maker. Makes really good stuff and, with practice, in less time than you'd think.

Bruce called it.
 

     The best for me is the microwave.
     As far as the gadget vs. appliance thing goes I clearly remember when my grandparents got their first one. They were the first people I knew that owned one. My grandmother said that it was a "neat gadget."
     The grandmother has spoken. No more need be said. :mad:

I'm about equally fond of our Black & Decker toaster oven and our slowly dying nameless cheese grater. Consuming as much pasta as I do, it's sublime to just pop a 1" cube of parm freshly chopped off the half-round into it and crank away. Sure beats struggling with a flat grater, at least. Though...Our freezer is also a central part of my life. Without the fridge/freezer ensemble, wherever would I keep icecream?

And, as far as microwaves go... Maybe I'm too young to be awed by the "cool" factor of popping things into a box and having them hot in a few minutes, but I really, really prefer the taste/texture of things cooked via more conventional means. Bread products in the microwave never turn out good, for example. Rarely do I whip out the mircowave, and when I do, it's typically only for glorified, and slightly faster, water heating. Oatmeal and the like. Even tea water is boiled on the stove, typically.

The pizza stone, mostly because you don't have to make just pizza on it. It's quite versatile if you get creative, though it makes great pizza as well.

My fasvorite gadgets
 

in the power tool category: The Kitchenaid mixer

in the hand tool category: TIED between the veggie peeler and the egg slicer (I don't know what I'd do without either)

Honorable Mention: the Cuisinart Food Processor

I'm all about temperature forks that light up to the doneness when you stick them in the meat(damn this was hard to describe still havn't done a good job :(). It's especially great when cooking burgers on the grill and it's too dark to tell if their red in the middle or not. Of course it's hard to convince people that stuff actually cooks when it gets off the grill so you sometimes get overcooked burgers/steaks when they use one of them.

One of my ex's claimed that just being able to soften butter so she could bake things on the spur of the moment (munchies) was worth the price of the microwave.Ice cream and love, are not for keeping.:D

I'm with you Cam. Instant read meat thermometer, gets roasts just right. Mine is one prong, digital read.

I'm gonna hafta go with the Little Smokey Joe Tiny Weber charcoal grill thing with instant Matchlite charcoal. I've given up on propane grills that have to be replaced every few years and I think the food tastes much better cooked over charcoal. Plus the kids can roast marshmallows after dinner :)

We'll have to look into getting one of those meat checking forks. Checking for doneness with a flashlight can often lead to filling up on salad and french fries while Dad puts the meat back on the grill.

Man, oh man! You should never use a pronged fork when grilling! Test for doneness by touching the meat. Use your face for comparison - your chin feels just about how the meat will when it's rare, your nose is about the same "sponginess" as medium, and your forehead is along the same temperature as well-done.

And use tongs, dammit!

Oh that reminds me to rave about the charcoal starter can- That cylinder thing with the handle. It is magical. You crunch up 1 sheet of newspaper underneath, add your coals, and light. Go drink a beer and when you return, youre good to go. NO starter fluid needed. No strange starter tastes/smells/mess. If you can get a bag of real hardwood charcoal, not the briquets, youre happening.

The pronged fork is great when it's dark and when cooking inside as stuff browns much faster, but when grilling just squeeze the meat your cooking, the juice that runs out is an excelent indicator of how done the meat is. The clearer the more done it is. Takes some practice to figure out but it's the only way I'll do it now.

I'm not squeezing my meat.

That's a great way to dry out your meat, and lose the flavorful juices. Go to any quality steakhouse and ask if they use pronged forks at anytime during the prepping/cooking process.

vis the microwave train:
I have an old RadiationKing type microwave (it was my folks from when they got married, circa 1972 or so). The neat thing about it is that it's also a convevtion oven. Not many people use them any more b/c they are just as incovenient as a regular over. But, when your regular oven sucks donkey-nut, the micro/oven is a livesaver.
As far as gadgety things are concerned, I'm going to have to have a three way tie between the waffler, the SandwichBuddy (mmm....minute grilled-cheese), and the toaster oven (also good when the reg. oven craps out on you).

That Guy, I'm not advocating piercing steak, I said it's useful when cooking outside in the dark, usually after you already have a good idea of how done it is by it's time on the grill. But if you squeeze it with the tongs the juice you see is an indicator of the doneness you don't need to pierce the meat at all. Just gently press it to the grill.

I bought a Sharp carrousel in 1973 for $500. It lasted 25 years and a month. Replaced it with a Sharp carrousel that cooks in half the time for $160. Whata country!
How do the tongs compare the meat to your chin/nose/forehead? :D

Undertoad: Have you tried a Waring Bar Blender? I have one and it kicks butt as far as crushing ice goes. My parents used to have a hand-cranked ice crusher in the garage that worked pretty well too, but it only made a cupful at a time.

I have lots of kitchen stuff I really like: my George Foreman grill, my crockpot and my toaster oven/breadmaker combo are among my faves.

Rho is the gadgeteer in our house...I have to stop her from buying a new gadget at least once a week.

She initially bought a Cuisinart SmartStick (a hand mixer), but it isn't what she really wanted...and it isn't that great unless the amount you are trying to mix is small. So, she bought a ThunderStick, which is much better.

My in-laws gave us a Krups 4-cup coffee maker (which I still consider a gadget), which is perfect...that's about all we'll ever drink in a day.

We have a small carousel microwave, which tends to work as well as a larger one.

But by far, the best gadget we have is this small electric can opener from Hamilton Beach. All you do is stick it on the can, and it goes around the can all by itself. And it runs on batteries or AC...and it was only like $10.

I picked up an Oster breadmaker at Kohl's the other day for 30$. It's capable of making 1 and 1.5lb loaves. The first batch wasn't too bad. I guess I'll have to refine my own recipe. My main reason for purchase is for winter-time pizza. You can't really get the dough to rise much in the cold, and this thing makes dough as well as cook it.

i love having a breadmaker, but you owe it to yourself to make bread from scratch once in a while. try making a potato or german rye bread. its very rewarding, and enjoyable.

it does do a good job raising pizza dough. try adding 1/4 cup of asiago or parmesan cheese (or both) to your dough when mixing the ingredients. mmm...

~james

ice cream makers are good too, especially for frozen drinks like pina coladas. i havent found a *really* good recipe for ice cream yet, it all tends to come out with a waxy texture.

~james

I've manged several extremely good batches of ice cream ... no waxiness.

Ben & Jerry have an ice cream recipe book that's REALLY good, but do use raw eggs. A friend of mine makes icecream from their book exclusively, and hasn't killed or sickened anyone yet.

I tend to avoid the raw egg based recipes personally, even if it does enhance the texture and richness.

The base recipes that came with my Krups ice cream maker do pretty well, and I made a batch of banana rum up ... I'll have to look for that recipe. I forget what book it was in but it was kickin' ... I took it into work, forgot that the ETOH was NOT cooked out of the mix. We got detectable blows on the alco-sensor from it. :) oopsie!

That Guy ... $30 for a breadmaker? Damn!!! I might actually have to go over to Kohl's and check that out ... I'd been avoiding them because I like the process of making bread from scratch, but WOW ... cheaper than my last coffee maker! Can't pass that up!

April 30th One-Day Sale. Major appliances 30-60% off! Houseware, linens, bathroom gadgetry, luggage, men's and women's fashion all up to 60% off! I waited all week for it.
You have to catch the good prices in the circulars they send out. The everyday prices are still good, but a deal's a steal. I don't buy if it isn't on sale. kohls.com - you can get sale prices online, too.

Kohl's has got to be the better reincarnation of Monty Ward's. I had never been in one before I moved to Philadelphia, and they have some great stuff at great prices. I should go there more often.

(At least I finally started doing my clothes shopping at Marshall's.)

Kohl's is nice, but it isn't the Clover. :(

Check out this NY Times story (reg required) for six cool new kitchen gadgets. Best is the ice cream scoop.

http://cellar.org/2003/scoop.jpg

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/ma...rtner=USERLAND

Yea that scoop is cool! I also liked the toaster.

But i don't think i'd ever bring my self to having a transparent composter in my kitchen.uggh:turd:

I shop for kitchen gadgets like most women shop for shoes. (With enthusiasm, high frequency, and a mild degree of fetishism.)

Can't say that I have a favorite -- depends on the situation. I get a lot of mileage out of my Foreman Grill, and I'm liking my Foreman Roaster more and more as I keep using it for different things. Crank-driven potato slicers (nice for quick homemade potato chips or scalloped potatoes), ice shavers, rice/vegetable steamers, an old bread machine, an older food processor that I haven't tried out yet, the ubiquitous digital prong thermometer...

Actually, the more I think about it, there is one gadget that I use frequently, saves a TON of time and effort, produces uniform results quickly, and is extremely simple to operate: my garlic press.

i keep putting off buying one, but i imagine when i finally get around to purchasing a mandoline, it will quickly become my favourite.

hmmm... maybe i should hit bed bath and beyond tonight.

~james

WTF! I go there and register and then they want $2.95 to read the article??:(

It's been archived and it costs money to look at the archives.

I need one of these.

Any progress? I've not had any luck finding one that seems good & isn't horribly overpriced. But I've also gone through a meat tenderizer and 2 wooden spoons using the "put ice in plastic bag and bash" method. (The things I do for martinis....)

Any way we could customize the face?

I went through another round of looking for good ice crushers and it would appear that everyone who wants one has one built in to their fridge.

Like, duh, welcome to 2005. :3_eyes:

did somebody say ice crusher?
 

Not so.

I have the grandfather of this unit, and its cousins and it works just fine.

http://www.google.com/search?q=hand+...en-US:official

http://shop.qvc.com/product/cookingd...75/K117441.htm

http://www.happycookers.com/wc.dll/p...e/1-14698.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...53523?v=glance

i LOVE mine, great for lots of things, but watch out for your fingernails/fingertips! :dead: Got it last christmas from BBandB, and is on the top of my gadget pile. TIP: spend the $$ on the more expensive one, it's really worth it.

my #1 favorite gadget is my pampered chef food chopper, known as The Chopper. Better than the tupperware version, because it comes apart a little more for easier cleaning. I've used it for the obvious, celery, onions, black olives, eggs (when i want hunks, not slices), But also great for cutting up cooked chicken/pork chops for adding to soup or casseroles. I found that my daugther will eat more meat if it's chopped up and hidden in something than if you just plop a few hunks on her plate.

My crock pot and Foreman grill are also favorites, but I go thru phases with them. Use them a bunch, then put them away for awhile.

I LOVE my foreman grill! And, of course, the microwave. I also use my bread machine at least every week (for Arsen- I can't eat bread), and in the summer, I can't live without my blender- bacardi rum and frozen crushed fruit is so good!
I have a million other gadgets, I just don't use them...I have a coffee grinder, crappy yardsale food processor, big syringe that injects meat with flavor that I've had for a year and haven't used yet, Oh, I don't feel look looking through my kitchen right now, but there are at least 10 other gadgets I forgot to mention....

:blush: I actually just spent $55 at bed bath and beyond...I "needed" a board to go with my pizza stone, and a silicone matt for my counter top to roll dough on. :smack:


WTF? this post and my last post BOTH say I've posted 531 times... :confused:

If you check them out, you will see that every one of your posts currently says that you've posted that many times.

that was a very restrained reply glatt. some cellarites would have been very sarcastic in their delivery of that information. you are a better man.

I'll work on that.

Glatt, you have nothing to work on! I think your explanation was an admirable example for everyone :)
I just can't believe it took me 531 posts to figure that out...

and i was just teasing stacey.

Several threads here could use one of these.

Oh? Gonna get Jacquelita to do it for you, eh? ;)

A visit to Sams today, almost 100 bucks. Just had to have a cutting board, hi-temp spatulas. Of course some shrimp, catfish and egg rolls. :biggrin:

I'm reviving this old thread (instead of starting a new one); since I am in the process of decluttering my kitchen (for de-meecing purposes).

so--what is your favorite kitchen gadget?

Mine's the electric garlic roaster. Yummy!

After basic high-quality knives, I would say the immersion blender.

funny--I have an immersion blender I've used only once.