AIBU to ask you about your best kitchen gadgets?

[OoFaithoO]

Hi all

Moving back home after a couple of years abroad and really want to hit the ground running with healthy homemade cooking as often as possible. Both HTB and I work fairly long full time hours and both like to have 2-3 evening activities per week. Can easily fall into bad habits and eat out of convenience / tiredness rather than health. I like cooking but would love some equipment to both help me save time and to improve my presentation if at all possible! Willing to pay for quality, hard wearing equipment that will last.

Aim to make things like juices, salads, hummus, pesto, sauces, soups. Lots of veggies that I’d love to save time on cutting. Happy to cook ahead when I have time at the weekend or evenings as well as batch cook.

Also TTC next year so equipment we can utilise for weaning / early meals would be great.

So, AIBU to nosily ask what gadgets you use to help you make tasty meals and help save time? I don’t know a blender from a processor, never used a mandolin and the only stick blender I’ve ever used left a burned smell/taste when I tried to make a pineapple smoothie as a student . Totally in the market for any little gadgets like poached egg holders, salad spinners, spiralisers etc that you love too.

Thank you for your time

I am a keen cook and have lots of gadgets here a few and how often I use them.

Thermomix - occasionally
Magimix food processor, regularly.
Slow cooker, never
Instant pot, regularly
Electric grill, rarely
Mandolin, regularly.
Kenwood stand mixer, occasionally
Kenwood hand mixer, regularly.
Spiralizer, never
Pasta machine, never.

Small bits and prices I use all the time, silicone spatula, tongs but only metal ones. Microplane graters, small one I use to grate garlic chillies.
Large one I use for small amounts of cheese and adding veg to things so might grate a courgette or carrot into bolognese.

The things I wouldn't be without are my le creusot cassarole pots. I have two of the black cast iron and I use them daily for everything. Also a shallow one like this.

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/oven-tableware/sainsburys-home-cast-iron-shallow-casserole-dish-cream-131410499-p
The one I have is from Aldi and I use it for things like risotto, paella, cottage pie, pasta bake. I can start on hob, finish in oven and straight to table.

For those who recommend the Instant Pot, do you have any good sources of vegetarian recipes that you use? I have one sat in the back of a cupboard that I want to start using again

I’ve got three ‘gadgets’ that I use regularity - a soup maker (soups in winter, smoothies in summer) an actifry and I was lucky enough to be gifted a Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker by my mum, which we use at least twice a week. All three are my go to gadgets through the week and get a lot of use. We’ve got a slow cooker too but I only use it in winter to make chilli, so it languishes in the cupboard mostly.

Agree with a mini chopper

I've just bought dishes which are Pyrex with a plastic lid. So you can use them in the oven minus the lid, freezer and microwave and they don't stain or smell

I last had a glass one that was soooo loud to chop on

When TV programmes need a blunt knife for a demonstration, they do some chopping with the knife on a glass chopping board!

A hand blender is brilliant for hummus, guacamole, soups etc - cheap takes up very little space. I also have a rice cooker, a basic one works great but mind has a brown rice setting too, I make bread so have a bread maker. I have a spice grinder which I think works better than premixed shop ones

I am more of a baker than cook so my favourite gadgets are my Panasonic breadmaker and a Kenwood Chef stand mixer. The Chef cost a small fortune but we've had it for 30 years+ - almost indestructible.
Smaller and cheaper but very useful - a mortar and pestle, a set of good knives and an ice-cream churn for special occasions!

Thank you so much for all of the replies! I’m 7 hours behind the U.K. so sorry for only now replying. I’m definitely going to check out the insta pot, casserole dishes, Magimix, a good hand blender and a mini chopper.

Ice cream maker, bread maker and KitchenAid mixers are also on the long term list which I may save up for. Now going back to the start of the thread with pen and paper ready to start some proper online browsing!

I have a little tip myself as I did have a few nice pieces of kitchenware before I moved - Amazon isn’t always cheapest place to purchase kitchen items. I got a set of 3 Le Cruset saucepans for £60 brand new on Gumtree and some lovely 3 for 2 ombré Le Cruset mugs on an independent shopping website that were already cheaper to begin with. Not strictly a gadget but their bright colours make me so happy when I have my morning cuppa. And any cuppa really!

Oooh bargain!

For me its my slow cooker. Not using it so much during the summer but if you google dump dinners you get lots of sc meals you can prep, freeze, then throw in the sc. You need good freezer storage for that. I havent bought any yet but am investigating silicon freezer bags which stand.

Also I buy mashed potato, and garlic paste which saves SO MUCH FAFFING. Occassionally I chop a load of onions in the food processor and put them in the freezer in single portions.

@strawberrie

Joseph Joseph microwave rice cooker. Perfect fluffy rice every time, and you know exactly how long until it's ready so you can concentrate on the main dish. I luffs mine.

Thank you for this. I looked at this online and ordered one, it arrived today and looks really good. Thanks so much for helping me find such a handy thing.

Moving back home after a couple of years abroad

Hmm....first question. Where is home? Directly relevant to my next comment.

So, AIBU to nosily ask what gadgets you use to help you make tasty meals and help save time?

A walled garden and an orchard. Most things are freshly picked twice a day. If home is Alaska it might not work hence my first question.

Now my third question;

Q3 : Are you a journalist. If so, you have hit the smorgasbord here because these gals are just going to spill.

@malaguena I have a Thermomix - it truly is

Honestly if I were to do it again I would spend money on a really good pan set, a casserole dish and knives. I have a million and one kitchen gadgets- soup maker, bread maker, ice cream maker, slow cooker... you name it . None are ever used! I cook most veg on the hob in a pan and pan fry the meat/ bung it in the oven!

I love my mandolin. It has a guard to protect my fingers, thank goodness, because they are a scary bit of kit. But so fast.
I love my lemon zester with a passion I use citrus zest a lot). SO much better than using a grater for this job.
Also my metal hand lemon reamer gets so much more juice from a lemon than the dish versions.
And my le Creuset* lidded casserole/Dutch oven is a wonder. I love that I can start the dish on the hob, transfer it to the oven, then serve it straight to the table. Love it.

*okay, not an actual le Creuset because they're out of my league budget-wise. But another enamelled cast iron brand.

I've just bought a Danish dough whisk. I'll report back on that once when I've used it.

Most used electrical gadget is the stick blender (which for reasons to do with past employment as a waitress is known as the lobster gun - head chef told another waitress the purpose of the industrial sized version was for target practice for when lobsters were on the menu).

Most used investments I totally agree good knives are great. Mine are Sabatier. Also suggest actually for ease, dead handy to have a magnet wall attachment for them so easy to grab, rather than the drawer.

Highest value most used investment I find my Le Creuset iron casserole, but I've not got a slow cooker so I may be missing a trick!

I use my magimix food processor for so many things, I'd be lost without it. I make things like veggie burgers, energy balls, sauces etc. Also love my nutribullet for smoothies!

If you are feeling flush , a Vitamix is fabulous for soups, sauces, mayonnaise, chopping veg, juices, smoothies, sorbets and loads more. Costco often do a deal. It is noisy but I love it.

Kitchen Aid has come into its own during lockdown for making bread.

This knife storage block is excellent and holds lots of knives, good if you don’t have a knife set

www.hartsofstur.com/bodum-bistro-universal-brush-knife-block-off-white-11089913.html

Also use my electric whisk loads

As a lockdown present I bought myself a small dehydrator. I run it nearly every day and my favourites are chicken stock, mushrooms, celery, carrots, spinach leaves, edible leaves from the garden (radish, pea and bean leaves) and the leftover bits of veg like broccoli stems and leaves, and fresh ginger, and fruit slices.
I've got more room in the freezer since I no longer need to freeze gallons of stock, its reduced down to a couple of pints.

Microplane! Also a small hand blender that has a small food processor. Great for quick soup them chopped nuts or pesto on top.

Vitamix
Spiraliser
Good food storage containers
Japanese Knives

The only electrical gadget I have is my slow cooker which gets used a lot in the cooler months for stews and soups but not so much at this time of the year .
My oxo gravy separator is fantastic

💯 my Thermomix. It’s amazing. Honestly brilliant.... loved it so much I started selling them and now have two🤣🤣🤣

Thermomix

Oxo goodgrips 24cm frying pan. 2 egg omelette sized. Gets really hot. Steak is amazing done in it. Love it.

Dd18 loves baking and her mini icing sugar shaker is her favourite gadget ever.