Kitchen gadgets love/hate them

Now that I don't buy expensive lettuce in bags I love my salad spinner. However having replaced a charity shop purchase [a strange one; had holes in the bottom so I had to place it in a bowl to catch the water; whoever designed it obviously had never spun a salad in their lives]] I now find the Dunelm one I've bought off the internet is really big for the small amount of lettuce I use. Still, it's better than the other one. I've still got an unused spiralizer in my cupboard

What a lovely present, Franbern. I love the smell of fresh coffee.

I'm a sucker for a gadget. I've never had a sausage maker - in fact I don't think I've ever seen a domestic one - but I am an 'early adopter' of new inventions. I don't have a soup maker, and it's one of the few things that don't tempt me. I make soup in the Instant Pot, and can't think how a soup maker would be easier. I did have a spiraliser, but only used it once. It was a faff to use, worse to clean, and spiral courgettes are distinctly underwhelming.

I’m in the ‘hate’ category.

Only want the bare essentials, kettle, toaster, microwave…

No desire for boiling water taps, coffee makers, bread makers, air fryers, food processors etc etc.

Am I missing out? Probably. But not worried.

Would say that when it became the craze for Soup Makers I was most disdainful. After all, I used a saucepan and an electric hand held whizzer to make soup. On Gransnet saw reviews and finally decided to try one - and became a total convert immediately.

I do not want to spend hours in the kitchen these days, want things that are very easy to use (and clean). Before I go out to an afternoon meeting, I can put everything ready into soup maker, and when I walk through the door, turn it on whilst sorting myself out. 25 minutes later sitting down to glorious home-made soup, piping hot and just one pot to wash up.

Hot water tap gives me boiling water - well! on tap, not only for hot drinks but also for saucepans for such things as pasta, etc. I do have and have had for some thirty years an egg boiler. This came about when I lived in my large family house, would put eggs on to hard boil and go down corridor to my office whilst they cooking - and invariably forgot them. Cannot say how many times I had to throw away saucepans and scrape exploded eggs of walls and ceiling. My son who was staying with me, at the time bought me this little egg boiler and I have had one ever since. I love boiled eggs, soft and hard, and this little, cheap gadget gives them to me quickly and with no fuss.

Obviously I have a toaster, and an electric can opener, air fryer, milk frother, (also does gorgeous hot choc), Kenwood type mixer on work top. In cupboard are smoothie maker, hand held electric whisk, small electric chopper (such things as nuts and onions). In a drawer is a machine than can make things like toasted sandwiches, or paninis.

I have a recently purchased Thermomix and I am thrilled, it was worth every penny.

Other than that I love good pans, knives and Scoville ovenware, it was recommended on here, whoever the poster was a big thank you from me.

Not really a huge fan of 'gadgets', but I do love my Ninja. I have the Foodi 9-in-1 and use it all the time - I especially love the pressure cook function, which means I can make soups, stews, risottos and so on in a fraction of the time they would take to cook conventionally.

I have a small air frier which I use much more than I initially thought. My latest gadget is a rice cooker, which is done in the microwave. Means I don’t have to stand over the rice to make sure it does not stick. Again, have used it several times since purchase. But my favourite is still my green aga, the small one, with two small ovens. Had it for ages now and decorated the kitchen around the colour!

I have had 3 bread machines over my long cooking life - 3 of my children were grateful recipients of those.

Also had 2 air fryers - 1 child and my hairdresser were very grateful for those.

I love our hot tap and my stand mixer but I am, now, not keen on gadgets.

I don't have a microwave, air-fryer or any small gadgets apart from a hand blender- I'm presuming you mean gadgets you plug in?

I do have and use regularly; two slow cookers, one small, one large, a rice-maker and one small George Foreman grill.

I am considering a bread-maker though... sick of cheap rubbish bread full of additives or fancy bread that's over-priced.

I have a small kitchen with not much storage... a good way of making sure I don't waste money on gadgets I'll never use!

No gadgets here either. I don’t have the space or enough plug sockets. Family and friends all try to persuade me I need an air fryer, microwave, coffee machine etc but I mange just fine with my cooker and pans.
The only thing I do have is a kenwood mixer it’s 48 year old bought as a wedding present and still works perfectly.

My husband loves gadgets. We have an amazing bean to cup coffee machine but when he's not here I just use instant coffee. That machine is such a faff, he's forever having to clean it
We have a ninja and an air fryer, which i love, rarely use the oven now.
Also a combination microwave, which I should make more use of

Boiling water tap, great invention

Soup maker, used lots in the cooler months and freezer always has many yummy soups to keep us going .

I like my omelette maker but don't use it often

Gadgets gathering dust: very expensive food processor (think i made a victoria sponge 3 years ago), soda stream, electric knife, egg boiler, herb chopper (easier to use a knife), nutri bullet. There's probably more I've forgotten about lol

Hmm, I think of gadgets as smaller items, not electric.

I have to say my little citrus zester is a great little item, much better than using a grater. I also love the egg slicer, which I missed when I visited my daughter's house.

I also love the apple peeler; the grandkids love a peeled and sliced apple with a bit of cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.

As for small electric appliances, I use my Ninja 2 drawer air fryer almost daily now. For the two of us it is just perfect. I have limited cupboard space, so don't jump into new items without justification. When my stand blender bit the biscuit, I replaced it with a hand held immersion blender, and I love it.

The mention of the Ideal Home Show made me laugh. Many, many years ago my mother bought a waffle iron there. It was just a metal square full of holes, with a wire handle. You made up the batter, dipped the iron in it, and fried it in hot oil. We had wonderful waffles for breakfast, served with golden syrup I think. Then it was put in a cupboard and never touched again.

We have a microwave, don't use it very often, slow cooker, use it a lot. Kenwood chef, Magimix and pressure cooker, these all get used regularly. I had a soupmaker, wasn't impressed, the pressure cooker does soup! At one point, we had an espresso machine, it's in the cupboard, cafetiere and milk frother are better. Also have a breadmker, used two or three times a week

I’ve been “seduced” by the false promises of few gadgets over the years. Notably, when I was cooking daily for 7 of us, a potato peeling attachment for a Kenwood Chef… never did get it to work properly. As for spiralizers. the only thing I ever successfully managed to spiralize was my own fingers! 🤦‍♀️

Sago

I have a recently purchased Thermomix and I am thrilled, it was worth every penny.

Other than that I love good pans, knives and Scoville ovenware, it was recommended on here, whoever the poster was a big thank you from me.

I bought two small Scoville pans recently but was horrified to find DH had boiled eggs in one! Noooooo!! We have an old pan for boiling eggs!

I've always hankered after an icecream maker.

I had to throw away my 53 year old egg pan as it didn't work on my induction hob so now I don't have a dedicated one. It bugs me but why do we need a designated pan?

My favourite none electric gadget is my microphone.

kittylester

I had to throw away my 53 year old egg pan as it didn't work on my induction hob so now I don't have a dedicated one. It bugs me but why do we need a designated pan?

My favourite none electric gadget is my microphone.

It seems to leave lime scale around the pan for some reason.

*My favourite non electrical gadget is my microplane

Even after you wash it, Allira?

kittylester

*My favourite non electrical gadget is my microplane

Even after you wash it, Allira?

Well, no, but I don't use it for anything else.

Years ago I remember the advice was not to use an egg pan for cooking anything else.

Forgot to mention that I do have a slow cooker.

Used a lot, wouldn’t be without it.

I am completely cack-handed, so generally avoid having as few devices gadgets between my hands and what I want to do as possible.

However I have had a Kenwood mixer for the last 50 years and over the years added, microwave, slow cooker and air oven, plus, of course, toaster and electric kettle. I am still not convinced about the toaster, and for years had a hob kettle.

I usually start with a second hand or very cheap version of an appliance and upgrade. Items not upgraded include a soup maker - far too fiddly -. Thankfully it ceased to function after 6 weeks, so I returned it and got my money back, juicer, uncleanable second hand and lasted 3 weeks before I donated it to a charity shop, icecream maker, again too fiddly.

You see a lot of spiralisers in charity shops.

Gadgets I got rid of when we had the kitchen redone; a lollipop cake maker-unused since the DGC stopped wanting to bake when they come round.
A microwave “burger grill” thing that was too much faff.
Electric knife, and bread stick maker both went.
My DD has been borrowing our slow cooker for so long, and I don’t miss it.
I kept my food mixer-old but still working, and my soup maker. Soup is one of the few things I batch cook and freeze.
I love my air fryer- more sensible to call it an air-oven since I don’t fry things in it. I wonder why they called them fryers? We upgraded to a Ninja double stack because it takes up less room.
Toaster, kettle and microwave all have their place.
My spiralizer, donated unused by my sister-in-law is still cluttering up the shelves in the charity shop where I took it.