to wish I'd bought one of these years ago

[NutElla5x]

So I've just made myself poached eggs on toast for lunch using my new microwave egg poacher-which cost me the princely sum of 70p using a voucher-and it did the job perfectly,cleanly and soo quickly. If it hadn't been on special offer I probably wouldn't have bothered to try it out because I think mostly the old fashioned ways of cooking things is best,but I can see me and the kids getting a lot of use out of this thing. What cheap and cheerful gadget have you bought that's made your life that bit easier and made you wish you'd bought it years ago?

Zip taps have a safety button on them for the boiling water! You push the lever down whilst depressing a tiny safety button simultaneously.

My MIL buys us odd things but bought us a fantastic box grater about 6 yrs ago. It comes with a box and lid that fit in the bottom of it upside down when you are not using it - but the box attaches to the bottom so you grate straight into it then put the lid on and can pop it in the fridge. Stupidly basic but I love it. Bit like this but sturdier looking
www.millyskitchenstore.co.uk/OXOGoodGripsBoxGrater-Product-27055.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvebhBRD5ARIsAIQUmnlNe4rfkPllJVor1heq-8wqZ-jJuv4pQywbH7pNYwSNRKMVKjte8gIaAvBPEALw_wcB

Now I'm feeling sorry for the tiny depressed safety button

🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm not sure gadget is the right word but has anybody got anything good for sorting/organising kitchen drawers and cupboards? We don't have much storage space and everything is crammed in. If you need a tin you have to take everything else out first. Similar problem with crockery and general kitchen bits.

@SarahET I've got a few corner plate racks - £3 or so from Wilko - to stack plates in cupboards, and used sideways for baking tins/sheets.

Boiling taps - Oh I HATE these. My Brother has one and I just don't like it.

I can't even put my finger on why, it does feel really dangerous, I hate the kids using it, as I always think it is so easy to catch your arm on the hot water.

everyone I know who has one loves it, but there is no way I would be able to get one!

Ha! I bought one of those silicon spill lid things - thought it was putting over bowls to store in the fridge only it doesn’t work very well at all.

We bought these for a bit of a laugh 8 years ago, use them every day and they look the same as the day we bought them

Also this

No gadget required to poach an egg- small pan, water and egg. Easy.

Ikea cheese grater/container is the best gadget ever!!

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/cookware/kitchen-utensils/chosigt-grater-with-container-blue-art-50153180/

It has a non slip base so you can grate as forcefully as you like!

Thankyou for starting this thread. I've just spent the last few hours scrubbing my oven and vowing not to cook ever again. Why am I only just learning about oven liners?? I'm going to Poundland tomorrow to purchase oven liners and then to IKEA for the cheese grater, kitchen tweezers (I broke the last pair) and apple corer (I gave the last one away).

Thank god for gadgets.

I got oven liners but in a fan oven they blow around!

They silicone bowl/plate/pan covers, they are really great.

I've tried several gadgets to get lids off jars

No gadget required-you just need to pop the vacuum by tapping firmly the lid on the counter/ wooden chopping board, it pops then you open normally.

Those of you that make mash potato with skins, how do you clean your potatoes well enough? I always find peeling takes less time but maybe I am doing it wrong.

The peel stays in the ricer. I microwave my baking potatoes, halve them and rice. Fluffy every time.

For cleaning the oven door, DH recently used a bottle brush. Quite a small one- the type for a baby’s bottle. Attached it to a chopstick to reach all the way down.

This is My favourite purchase since Xmas (when ds2 got an immense amount of Lego and I chipped several nails trying to prise the damn things apart.

The Lego tool is amazing! We got one with our first big box of Lego. An absolute must have.

Use a hand mixer - if it's good enough for Delia, it's good enough for me.
Using a mixer or a food processor is the worst thing you can do to a potato, unless you fancy eating glue.

You don't have to peel a garlic clove to use any garlic crusher as far as I know! Just saying x

"The Man Who Ate Everything" by Jeffrey Steingarten has a whole chapter about his quest to make perfect mashed potato. IIRC he ended up with a ricer.

www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Ate-Everything-Wanted/dp/0747260974?tag=mumsnetforum-21

(A bit dated now but still a fab book for any foodie. It's not so much a recipe book as one man exploring food and sharing recipes as he goes)

Gadget-wise, I have a waiter's corkscrew with a sort of step in the lever arm which makes pulling corks so much easier. Was free with a wine order and it's the best corkscrew ever! Also silicone baking mats are fab - use mine for cookies but also roast veg, oven chips, and as a rolling mat for pastry.