Favourite kitchen gadgets

My cherry/olive stoner is a nifty gadget that also crushes garlic at the other end.

show-off

Did you know you can hull strawberries with a drinking straw? Just push the straw up through the strawberry from the pointy end and the green top will pop out on the end of the straw! Genius!

I have never even heard of most of these gadgets! What am I missing? Is this a secret society?

Anniegran - you have to be the luckiest lady in the world. Where did you find him?

I bought an Apple corer/slicer a few months ago and wish I'd had one years ago. It sounds daft but we and DGC eat so many more apples now. I think 'they' (not the DGC) have been breeding apples with extra thick skins to last longer and bruise less for the supermarkets.

Oh and my greengrocer told me to take the stones out of cherries with a beer bottle and a drinking straw.

Thanks for the straw tip Ruth, will try that.is that why they are called strawberries?groan.
I have 3 fave things, a small black handled veg knife, the already mentioned Dr Oetker spray for cake release, and the new little tongs I bought recently to get naughty stuck bits of toast/scone out of the toaster , which I think Ana recommended.

Not a gadget as such but I love all my scrappy bits of paper ripped out of magazines which, together with conventional cookery books, make me to enjoy being in the kitchen.

I'll have one of those gadget's that AnnieGran has please. Where can I get one and how much do they cost!

Oh my best bargain ever was a plastic cherry stoner bought from Lakeland for 50p. It is still going strong and I use it for olives as well. I used to worry about it breaking but I see Lakeland now do one in metal.

Oops, didn't check the next page, that was for jbf.

My wand type blender, perfect for blending soup in the pan.
I used to have to tip the soup into the liquidiser, blend it then tip it back into the pan. Too much kerfuffle by far!

I have a jar opener that my grandfather bought over 60 years ago. It's basically just a pair of curved, hinged handles but it works brilliantly. I have to be careful with it as the hinge is getting very fragile but I've never seen another one quite like it.

I also use the straw to hull strawberries. Gives a beautiful finish.

Has anyone bought any left handed gadgets which they have found useful?

My bread maker. I walk downstairs and there's the delicious smell of home cooked bread every morning. It also makes pizza bases.

I have many of the above, so it was quite hard to think of something else (except my version of anniegran's only works once a week) but it has to be either a herb chopper that you just roll over the herbs, it has lots of blades, or a meat funnel with a handle and a removable filter at the bottom. You can pour liquids through it into bottles and jars, and it filters out bits for you at the same time. I do a lot of bottling, so it's very useful.

I used to buy lefthanded things Ruby but most things seem to be ambidextrous nowadays or I've got less cack-handed. My potato peeler works both handed as do my scissors. Not sure what else there would be that is specific though, when I have pressed post, I will think of loads.

I value my set of plastic funnels. There really isn't any alternative, if you don't count rolling a piece of paper into a cone - not usually successful.

I love my hands free can opener, you just press the button and off it goes.
I also love my bread maker, it is currently busy baking a maple and oatmeal loaf for tomorrow.

I love my green bean shredder thingy - you push the runner bean through, it slices it and removes the side bits.
And my Kitchen Devils little knife I've had for 38 years, it's lost its tip but I use it every day.

My stick blender is my greatest standby. Ideal for smooth soups and for smoothies made with fruit and natural yoghurt. I also love my jar key. I have two in case I can't find one of them!

I wouldn't be without my electric steamer. It was bought as a present years ago and I thought it might be another gadget that cluttered up the cupboard. But I find it so useful, vegetables and rice cook perfectly. Makes a great steamed pudding too!

Kitty thank you for helping. It was for my DS but he's been a pain today so he can find them himself . And it's only the first proper day of the holidays!

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