Best 2 bits of kitchen gear you obtained in the last 2 years?

[Jon Savage]

Apologies if this has been covered before - if so I'm sure it will get merged somewhere appropriate.

 

Here's the question - what are the best, most beloved, pieces of kit you have added to your kitchen/cooking arsenal in the last 2 years? It could be anything from a pot or pan, appliance small or large even a knife or better garlic press... the possibilities abound.

 

In my case, it would be the tCuisinart countertop combi oven thing & the Darto No 27 pan - each of which I was turned onto from this forum and both see use daily. There's actually a number of things I've been turned on to here that have worked out very well indeed but I thought I'd limit it to the last 2 years so as to keep quantities to a modest roar.

 

 

 

Jon

[Chris Hennes]

An interesting exercise, limiting to things bought in the last two years. I actually had to go and look at my Amazon.com order list to see if I had actually bought anything meaningful for my kitchen within that window. Actually, until last week, the only thing I'd bought for the kitchen was a new scale, replacing one I destroyed. And the stuff I bought last week (some bread-making supplies) can't really be judged yet! But I'm looking forward to hearing what others have picked up within those limits.

[lindag]

For me it's the CSO and my Ipot (the six qt. and the mini).

[blue_dolphin]

I also checked Amazon and see that I've had my CSO and Instant Pot for almost exactly 2 years so they meet the cut off and would be my picks.  

For something more recent, I must say that I love  love theiSi silicone bowl scraper that I bought last year.  So handy for scraping bowls or as an extra bench scraper. I think @btbyrd recommended it in a thread about kitchen gift items.  I use it, and the iSi slim spatulas every day. 

[IowaDee]

That would be two Breville Smart Ovens!  I love mine  so much that I bought another for our daughter.  Still within the two year time frame, we also gave her an I.P.  She's smiled a lot in the last couple of years and that's what makes them the best things I purchased.

[btbyrd]

I'm an early adopter and I spent most of my kitchen-stuff money more than two years ago, so my buying has slowed a lot. But of what's come in recently...

 

1) Dartos - Carbon steel pans are a joy to cook with. I happen to like the aesthetic and performance of the Dartos. The sear you can get is pretty baller. I wish they had one bigger than the No. 27, though you can sear some BIG bits with the No. 27. Anyway, if you can only get one - get the 27. If you can only get 2, get the 27 and the 23.     ... although the #20 is the *perfect* size to fry two eggs in...

 

2) Vollrath Mirage Pro Induction HOB - I got a stupid-fresh eBay deal of $125 on a used model (that had seen some use, but was so cheap I couldn't complain). In my past two houses, the crappy gas ranges have really only had three settings: high, low, and off. The 100 levels of power on the Mirage Pro gave me the control I needed when the ranges failed. It can maintain pressure on my pressure cooker without venting -- something that I couldn't do on the stovetop or with the cheap induction hob I had been using before. I bring it with me when traveling during Thanksgiving and Christmas so I can sear stuff hard outside and not smoke out the house.

 

Honorable mention) Joule - My second circulator, after the Polyscience Pro. The Joule is so much smaller and quieter, and is able to operate in so little water. I can keep it in a drawer and bust it out in no time.

 

Things that didn't quite make the 2-year cut:

VP-112 chamber vacuum; Waring X-Treme commercial blender; Mafter exoglass chinois; Bernzomatic TS8000 + Searzall.

 

I'd say my Polyscience, but that's been around for a lot longer :-)

[ElsieD]

15 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I also checked Amazon and see that I've had my CSO and Instant Pot for almost exactly 2 years so they meet the cut off and would be my picks.  

For something more recent, I must say that I love  love theiSi silicone bowl scraper that I bought last year.  So handy for scraping bowls or as an extra bench scraper. I think @btbyrd recommended it in a thread about kitchen gift items.  I use it, and the iSi slim spatulas every day. 

 

This is going to be an expensive topic.  I just added those two items to my Amazon wish list.

[btbyrd]

15 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I must say that I love  love theiSi silicone bowl scraper that I bought last year.  So handy for scraping bowls or as an extra bench scraper. I think @btbyrd recommended it in a thread about kitchen gift items.  I use it, and the iSi slim spatulas every day. 

 

Yep! These are great and so cheap. I use the scraper all the time for random tasks; it's the perfect shape for a lot of tasks you might not even know you needed to do. I love the slim spatula for scraping out the blender pitcher. I use the iSi wide spatula more often in everyday cooking... it's flexible enough to scrape down the bottom of a pot or pan, but still rigid enough at its core that it won't flop around on you. That's true of all these iSi things, actually.

 

2 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

This is going to be an expensive topic.  I just added those two items to my Amazon wish list.

 

Add a wide spatula while you're at it. The good news is that, as far as kitchen stuff goes, these things are pretty inexpensive. A perfect gift for yourself or others! 

[gfweb]

CSO and Darto

[Martin Fisher]

Within the past 2 years I bought another Hawkins stainless steel pressure cooker.

I'm not a fan of electric pressure cookers as many others are.

The new one is the 3 liter size.

I now have 3 liter, 6 liter and 10 liter Hawkins SSers in addition to the big All Americans.

 

I also bought a bunch of the Lodge cast iron serving ware.

4 of the tiny 3.5 inch skillets.

Several products featured on this page.

[Porthos]

I'm not sure if it's quite within two years but definitely my Thermopen, and a 1 1/2 quart saucier I picked up from a thrift store for when the task at hand doesn't call for my 3 qt saucier.

 

ETAI can't believe I didn't say my Anova  circulator. 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Porthos (log)

[rotuts]

well

 

ive been doing SV for years and years

 

the CuisiSteamOven is far older than two years

 

Sooo

 

IntaPot

 

and  

 

Watanabe Japanese knives

 

I use the knives every day, several times a day

 

3d place would be DARTO pans

 

but I don't use them every day.

[Cyberider]

 

The Oster oven is the most noteworthy kitchen acquisition of mine in the last two years.  Plenty of room and height inside, simple to use, and the double-doors that swing open are so easy to use with no chance of burning oneself on a hot, swing-down door while trying to remove something on a lower rack.  It was only $100 and I use it a lot more than the one to the left which is just too small for much of my baking.

 

 

[Captain]

My Pressure Cooker & Sous Vide.  These two definitely make my life easier and tastier.

[btbyrd]

I'd really like a CSO, but I want a 33% larger "pro" version.

[flippant]

This juicer: It's a legitimately great juicer and capable of extracting most of the juice from everything – I even use it to grind corn for masa. The only thing that has triggered an engine stop is a very thick, very fibrous bit of kale stem.

 

Instead of skipping breakfast, we now have a cup of coffee and a green juice every morning. While I have no love for the handwavy, cult-like treatment juicing gets elsewhere (God was it hard to do research!), it's hard to argue with the benefits of getting another pound of fruit and vegetables in you every day. We've seen a noticeable improvement in focus.

 

This thermal mixer: Very handy item to have in the kitchen. It frees me up to do other stuff – in the kitchen, naturally – while it stirs and cooks. It's a great blender as well, and it has been making soups weekly throughout winter.

 

Not on the list: the centrifuge, which arrived last week. No time to put it through its paces yet, but we've had some lovely cocktails/drinks and herb oils made with it.

[robirdstx]

32 minutes ago, Captain said:

My Pressure Cooker & Sous Vide.  These two definitely make my life easier and tastier.

 

Same here. I purchased the Instant Pot Duo 6 quart and the Anova Precision Cooker 900 watt. Love them both.

[weinoo]

I use this almost daily - from oatmeal, to grits, to polenta - it's a great pan. Falk Culinair - 20 cm - approx. 2 qts. I also have a smaller one, older than 2 years, that sees tons of use.

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

In the last two years we replaced our Le Creuset 5.5 qt dutch oven. This is the most hardworking object in the kitchen--I use it several times a week. My old one, which was at least 15 or 20 years old, is now routinely being used by my husband to bake round rustic loaves of bread and looks like it came out of Lascaux cave fire-pit. We also replaced our Cuisinart ice cream maker with a newer model that works faster and is way less funky. The old one was about 10 years old. Another purchase (not a replacement!) was a Nutri Ninja Pro, which I find way more effective for smoothies than my funky low-end blender and so simple to clean. 

 

Up next and probably soon is a replacement for our Cuisinart food processor. It still works, and it's hard to believe it is at least 30 years old. My husband claims he bought it for me for xmas in 1986-87. The awesomeness of his memory amazes me. Recently it developed an invisible breach and leaks a teeny bit. I can't see a crack, but if it gets stressed suddenly I can imagine I may have a mess to clean up.

[Okanagancook]

In the past two years , the IP for sure and then probably the air fryer I got a month ago.  Used it to show off to my visiting friend:  crispy potato chunks included in last night's dinner and to cook the sausage patties for breakfast leaving such an easy clean up both times.

[kayb]

I'm with @lindag and @blue_dolphin -- CSO and the Instant Pot (which gets in just under the two-year deadline). The Anova is a tad older than two years. 

 

All those came via recommendations from eGullet. I love my enabling, virtual friends and fellow cooks. Y'all cost me money, but damn, I have a lot of fun and learn a lot.

Edited October 4, 2017 by kayb
to close parentheses (I always do that...). (log)

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Up next and probably soon is a replacement for our Cuisinart food processor. It still works, and it's hard to believe it is at least 30 years old. My husband claims he bought it for me for xmas in 1986-87. The awesomeness of his memory amazes me. Recently it developed an invisible breach and leaks a teeny bit. I can't see a crack, but if it gets stressed suddenly I can imagine I may have a mess to clean up.

You certainly won't find a better motor/base in a new Cuisinart...perhaps you can just find a replacement bowl?

I replaced a 40-year old Cuisinart because the bowl became touchy (wouldn't close properly, leaked a little), and I can't believe the cheapo feel of the new one compared to the old one.

[liuzhou]

For me, two replacements.

 

First, my Thermapen, which replaced an anonymous Chinese clone which took forever to work out if my food was still frozen or overcooked.

 

Second, a new fish scaler to replace the almost identical one I had been using for almost twenty years until it died. The handle snapped off. I do eat a lot of fish and prefer to prepare it from scratch myself. I figure if the new one lasts another 20 years, it'll probably outlive me!

 

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Jon Savage]

There's a *ton* of useful stuff I or we as in myself & partner use every day as a direct or indirect result of egullet threads. So yeah; as someone noted this can become an expensive thread... Pretty funny though how much this forum has given us over the years. Equipment that is sublime recommended by trusted friends here. I won't even go into techniques that were learned here & serve us so very well; fodder for another thread maybe?  Anyway, I guess this counts as thank you & acknowledgment for how very valuable this place has been to us over the years. Hence my interest in how it has impacted others. 

 

Jon

[boilsover]

Interesting question.  I've been pretty well outfitted for more than 2 years, so other than a Proline skillet and a Genoise pan, my batterie hasn't grown much.

 

Right now, I'm enamored of my egg "clacker" for opening soft-boiled eggs, and an ideal (for me) set of steak knives.

 

Haven't used the Anova SV thing yet, so maybe that will make the grade.