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Good gadgets you wished you had bought sooner.

(122 Posts)
ROMILO Tue 14-Oct-25 14:06:00

Have you bought any good gadgets recently? I have just replaced a garlic press that was always clogged with leftover bits for one of the rocker style stainless steel ones. Brilliant, needs a bit of pressure but produces minced garlic with no waste and is easy to wash by hand or in the dishwasher. Now I just need a pepper grinder that doesn't give up after acouple of months use.

Mollygo Sun 19-Oct-25 12:57:30

Franbern
I love my egg cooker too. It’s so useful for batch cooking hard boiled eggs for salads or soft ones for breakfast and no need to keep an eye on the pan. Only cost me £9.99, but they’ve gone up in price.

Franbern Sun 19-Oct-25 10:17:42

My electric egg boiler. I usually have a couple of soft boiled eggs for lunch, occasionally mayonaise and hard boiled eggs mashed for sandwiches.
These cheap little machines (I am now on my third - first bought mid-90's) does it all for me so quickly and accurately, and buzzes when finished. Used most days.
First one was bought as a pressie for me, as back then I had my office at home, would put on saucepan with eggs, for hard boiling and go into office whilst they were on the gas hobs. Cannot tell you how many saucepans I had to throw out as I forgot and it burned dry and then the eggs exploded, all over my kitchen with it very high ceiling which I had to clean each time.

silverlining48 Sat 18-Oct-25 16:04:19

If i remember…typo

silverlining48 Sat 18-Oct-25 16:03:58

I have extra large plastic pegs which are used to clip towels onto sun loungers. When I change quilt covers, and I’d I remember, I clip the pegs onto the quilt while I attend to the other end.
Is that the same as the clips mentioned do?

Gin Sat 18-Oct-25 15:07:05

I have just been given an electric knife sharpener. I have always used a steel. The knives are so sharp now, onion slicing done in seconds. What an improvement, I had not realised ow blunt my knives were.

Mollygo Sat 18-Oct-25 14:35:16

Airfryer, definitely!
Also those clips mentioned for changing duvet. Passed them on to DGS when he moved into Uni accommodation.
And my fleecy coverless duvet, which meant I could give away the clips.

silverlining48 Sat 18-Oct-25 14:05:15

Our 4.6 air fryer. £40 in Aldi. It doesn’t take up much room and is perfect for 2. Cooks most things really well. Havnt used the oven for ages.

Boadicea Sat 18-Oct-25 13:39:57

I agree with the air fryer. We use it for almost everything, but the most useful thing I have bought is a pair of clips from Dunelm which hold your duvet in place when changing the cover:
www.dunelm.com/product/quilt-clips-1000017856?defaultSkuId=30093281
I am only 5' tall and changing our superking duvet covers would be impossible on my own without them!

Doodledog Thu 16-Oct-25 13:15:49

I bought a hand blender with various attachments. I wanted it for soup, mainly, but it came with a whisk and a potato masher, which I thought would be a waste of time. How wrong I was. It fits on the end of the stick blender, and pushes the potato through holes in the top of the attachment. The potato is lump-free and smooth. It's a really useful gizmo.

Jaxjacky Thu 16-Oct-25 12:44:01

My Sabatier 25cm knife and steel, it’s well travelled on self catering holidays and when we lived abroad, plus a steel of course.

Kloppqueen Thu 16-Oct-25 12:16:59

Another vote for the air frier here. Use it most days. My second most used is my slow cooker.

I am tempted to get a soup maker - I currently use my slow cooker if I am making soup. Any recommendations for a soup maker?

sparkle1234 Thu 16-Oct-25 07:48:11

Without a doubt my Ninja dual zone airfryer . I use it daily . I haven't used the oven much since I bought it . It's quick , energy saving and healthy . It cooks everything beautifully
Also love my slow cooker smile

VerbenaGirl Thu 16-Oct-25 07:31:27

This little mini spatula spoon ‘Supoon’ - it gets into those places other things can’t and I’m always using it - www.ocado.com/products/dreamfarm-supoon-purple-scraping-spoon/589483011

kittylester Thu 16-Oct-25 06:07:06

I have one of those washing up bowls and very rarely use the plug

Another brilliant 'gadget' is my kitchen Alexa - it plays music, podcasts, I can talk to other people in the house on it and can set multiple timers.

Bestgrammaever Thu 16-Oct-25 03:28:38

My rice cooker! It also has settings for quinoa and oatmeal.

DotScot Thu 16-Oct-25 01:08:08

I like my washing-up bowl with integrated plug. Mine is a posh one from Joseph Joseph but I think you can get cheaper versions of the same thing now.

hollysteers Thu 16-Oct-25 00:05:15

A grabber for difficult to reach places plus jar opener.
Also now using the timer on my phone when cooking rather than the old type.

Redactrice Wed 15-Oct-25 23:56:20

It may sound silly, but my favourite purchase in recent years was a wooden spoon! The smaller (25 cm) Daylesford one from Ocado. Made of acacia wood, it’s just lovely to use and a doddle to clean under the tap. And it’s not just me who loves it – there are 19 reviews, all 5-star.

Sago Wed 15-Oct-25 20:19:42

I bought a Thermomix earlier this year.

We were moving house and I was giving up a Lacanche range for a single oven and hob so felt it was justifiable.

It is the best machine ever

Maz1960 Wed 15-Oct-25 18:06:59

Take a look at the ingredients on the jar. Full of baddie additives. And I don’t think the garlic tastes the same from the jar. If you buy frozen, or freeze your own chopped garlic, there are no bad additives.

Gin Wed 15-Oct-25 17:34:09

OXO vegetable peeler and a potato masher. Very sharp, robust with handles kind to my arthritic fingers. I had previously bought on line peelers that did not peel without the strength of Popeye and a masher that broke.

Applegran Wed 15-Oct-25 17:21:34

soup maker!!!

foxie48 Wed 15-Oct-25 16:56:17

Another air fryer fan, I've just got a small one that is used all the time for all sorts of things. It's cheap to run, easy to clean and encourages me to try new recipes. I also love my instapot, I make casseroles, stocks, soups and also yoghurt which is much better than the Greek yoghurt I buy and I always turn some of it into labneh for a quick, easy, healthy lunch.

LaTroisette Wed 15-Oct-25 16:53:59

Robot vacuum cleaner which also mops the floor. We have 2 dogs who both shed a lot and it makes the house so much more pleasant.

Brightphoebus Wed 15-Oct-25 16:51:34

My Cole and Mason pepper grinder is wonderful. It goes on for ever without letting me down.