Favorite Kitchen Gizmo

[Callipygos]

My favorite gadget is my stick blender. It is so handy, and I din't have to dirty my real blender if I ever need to puree some soup, make a small batch of salsa, etc. I love it!

Mine comes with two other attachments -- a whisk and a mini food processor.

I am sometimes alarmed at the quality of joy I experience when I use it...but, hell, the thing can beat egg whites and whip cream in under two minutes!

[Bicycle Lee]

in a restaurant kitchen, I always love the giant wand-mixer.... You can emulsify a gallon of dressing in 5 seconds and that is really cool. Also, the Hobart dishwashers....why can't they make home dishwashers that work as fast?

[Okbrewer]

Ditto, the vacuum sealer! I use that thing more than I ever thought I would. I can buy meat, fish, and cheese in bulk and seal 'em up and put 'em in the freezer or fridge and not worry about freezer burn or having them spoil in a couple of days. It's great when I make guacamole and have some left over! Instead of turning brown and nasty looking the very next day, when I vacuum seal it it is green and fresh days later! Also good for storing coffee beans or ground coffee. I also use it to marinate meat and chicken. Like I said, I use it more than I thought possible!

I also use my stick blender alot.

[Rachel Perlow]

Not sure it counts as a gizmo, but my newest fun kitchen toy is an asparaus peeler.  I have been making Paula Wolfert's Asparaus w/Asparaus Sauce recipe a lot recently and it is a huge help.

How is an asparagus peeler different from any other peeler? I just use my Good Grips peeler when I feel the need to peel asparagus.

[aidensnd2]

My personal favorite, and one I can't imagine doing without, is the simple

salad spinner. Saves so much labor (not to mention paper towels) and can

be used for much more than salad greens and herbs.

What else can it be used for? Just curious...

Drying french fries before frying... That's pretty much all mine gets used for except for salad.

[ms. victoria]

I too will sing the praises of the stick blender, but the thing in my kitchen that seems like it is always dirty from use are my tongs.

[Rhea_S]

My stand mixer gets a regular workout as does my stick blender with the mini food processor attachment. I use the mini fp more than the stick blender itself.

[Episure]

Miss Rathna, my maid

is a peeler, chopper, stirrer and cleaner of kitchen counters extraordinaire. I hope she doesnt log on here and find out what I've been saying about her.

[Mabelline]

My large size mesh teaball on a chain. I use it to hold spices for a stock that doesn't require them. Easy to fish out, easy to clean.

My wooden flat spatula everyone else has gone on about.

My 1950 Mirro Fry-Slicer. It takes an entire potato, zucchini, chunks of squash, whatever, and makes them a perfect 'little regiment' with a sort of sideways-guillotine lever action.Has the most lethal looking blades.

[phaelon56]

I too will sing the praises of the stick blender, but the thing in my kitchen that seems like it is always dirty from use are my tongs.

One of our local restaurant supply houses is liquidating their stock. The cheapo tongs are 25 cents per pair and the good ones are about 50 cents. Needless to say... I got a few extra pair!

[Smithy]

I've been wondering whether to get a stick blender/wand blender. Based on this thread I may do it.

My olive pitter and cherry pitter are wonderful, my salad spinner gets regular use, but my favorite - the thing I'd grab right after the cat if the kitchen were on fire - is my 1940-something Wear-Ever lemon juicer. It looks a bit like an oversized garlic press, with a removable screen and a squeezing chamber that will accommodate half of a large lemon or both halves of a Meyer lemon at once. It's a perfect design: small, easy to operate and clean, nearly indestructible (only 2 pieces, but don't lose the screen) and efficient. Squeeze those lemons, replace, keep squeezing until the cup is full, dump into a container, lather rinse repeat. In minutes there's enough for lemonade, lemon curd, sauce, what have you. (It works as well for limes, but oranges are better left to a reamer because the peel oils are too bitter.) Mine is a family heirloom, rescued from a departing Navy wife during WWII who was going to throw it away ! Someone really should revive the design. Fortunately these things can be found at the occasional garage sale, or on EBay.

[PopsicleToze]

My wooden lemon reamer

[snowangel]

I'm rethinking my earlier post. Having just moved from a huge kitchen to a very tiny kitchen, I'm adjusting to the lack of acres of counter space. However, what is really bugging me are power outlets. Old house, lots of outlets everywhere. New house, I have one 4-plex and one 2-plex, neither of which are located where a cook would put them.

Outlets. Lots of them. Everywhere. Very basic.

[chefseanbrock]

my silver spoon

[bottomlesspit]

Probe thermometer w/ temp alert

Tongs

Whisk

In that order. Great thread!

Edited April 30, 2004 by bottomlesspit (log)

[Matsu]

Stick Blender, Microplane Grater and Blowtorch.

Also ditto on the Lemon Juicer that looks like a giant

garlic press. There's also a slightly smaller size for limes.

[trinity63]

Hi:) Mine is a my Kitchen Aid Mixer. Can't live without the thing:)

[lorea]

My Kitchenaid branded silicone spatula that's shaped to curve with the mixer bowl. Wow! That thing is great! It's great for all types of bowls, not just the Kitchenaid mixer bowls.

And...I guess I use my stand mixer as often as my spatula, so that should be on the list too.

Tongs

I second the flat, angled, bamboo spatula.

[Anna N]

I'm rethinking my earlier post. Having just moved from a huge kitchen to a very tiny kitchen, I'm adjusting to the lack of acres of counter space. However, what is really bugging me are power outlets. Old house, lots of outlets everywhere. New house, I have one 4-plex and one 2-plex, neither of which are located where a cook would put them.

Outlets. Lots of them. Everywhere. Very basic.

You are absolutely right, Snowangel. We moved from an ancient apartment with 30-year old wiring, few outlets and fuses that blew on a regular basis, to a new house with lots more outlets but not where a cook needs them! We hope to address the situation very soon. When you have a small kitchen it seems even more important to have outlets near every inch of useable counter space.

[balmagowry]

My olive pitter and cherry pitter are wonderful, my salad spinner gets regular use, but my favorite - the thing I'd grab right after the cat if the kitchen were on fire - is my 1940-something Wear-Ever lemon juicer.  It looks a bit like an oversized garlic press, with a removable screen and a squeezing chamber that will accommodate half of a large lemon or both halves of a Meyer lemon at once.  It's a perfect design:  small, easy to operate and clean, nearly indestructible (only 2 pieces, but don't lose the screen) and efficient.  Squeeze those lemons, replace, keep squeezing until the cup is full, dump into a container, lather rinse repeat.  In minutes there's enough for lemonade, lemon curd, sauce, what have you.  (It works as well for limes, but oranges are better left to a reamer because the peel oils are too bitter.)  Mine is a family heirloom, rescued from a departing Navy wife during WWII who was going to throw it away !  Someone really should revive the design.  Fortunately these things can be found at the occasional garage sale, or on EBay.

Am I the only one who went straight from this post to eBay and immediately started monging these? I expected you'd all be there bidding them up, but in the event I was the sole bidder on the one I bought, for a very reasonable 6 bucks and change. It arrived today, just in time to squeeze the lemon for the saffron aioli I wanted to experiment with. No wonder you love it! Man, I thought I had some pretty good lemon juicing equipment, but this beats everything I've tried.

Besides, it looks like all the other gadgets I remember from my childhood. Instant nostalgia.

Thanks, Smithy!

[Smithy]

<snip>... my 1940-something Wear-Ever lemon juicer.  <megasnip> Fortunately these things can be found at the occasional garage sale, or on EBay.

Am I the only one who went straight from this post to eBay and immediately started monging these? I expected you'd all be there bidding them up, but in the event I was the sole bidder on the one I bought, for a very reasonable 6 bucks and change. It arrived today, just in time to squeeze the lemon for the saffron aioli I wanted to experiment with. No wonder you love it! Man, I thought I had some pretty good lemon juicing equipment, but this beats everything I've tried.

Besides, it looks like all the other gadgets I remember from my childhood. Instant nostalgia.

Thanks, Smithy!

Hey, I'm glad you like the juicer as much as I - and you beat the rush! I keep thinking other folks are going to realize what a gem this gizmo is and drive the price right out of sight...which is why I have two more hoarded in my closet, against the time I lose mine, or find a friend or niece who might cherish one also, or need a booster to my pension fund.

A cautionary note: do not permit yourself, ever, to be so distracted by long telephone conversations, no matter how hungry you get, no matter how celebratory the calls, so that you throw the screen away with the last of the lemon rinds. Or if you do, make sure you retrieve it before the garbage is collected....

Edited May 10, 2004 by Smithy (log)

[dccd]

For me,

I can't live without my flexible bench scraper. Picking up piles and piles of shallots and herbs and diced tomatoes and everything else without it just leaves my board a mess! And of course, if one were to not use it, and then wipe the board, how much of that hard work is now in that rag, or on the floor? Essential in my bag.

Also, blenders. All kinds: the Stick Blenders, the VitaPreps, the RobotCoupes, the whatevers - chop, puree, aerate, whatever...amazing, I love 'em!

[NulloModo]

My Mikasa electric salt/pepper/spice grinder.

Went to the mall with the intention of buying a pepper grinder at Williams Sonoma, willing to spend the (outrageous in my opinion) $20 they wanted for a small wooden one. On the way I saw Mikasa was going out of business, walked in, found an electric doohicky on super clearance down from $40 to $5. Picked it up.

Works really well, has two independant grinding chambers, so it can hold salt and pepper, or pepper and a spice of your choice, and runs on batteries. Worth every penny so far.

[S_AndPepper]

What is your favorite kitchen product (tools/serveware/etc) why do you love it?

Edited April 30, 2014 by S_AndPepper (log)

[gfweb]

Breville Smart Oven. Big enough to cook for 2-4 people. Heats up quick. Versatile.Most used appliance I have.