Kitchen gadgets that changed your life?

[Peoppy]

Love my rotary cheese grater - always hated grating cheese but this is a game changer.

Meat thermometer.

What kitchen gadgets do you actually rate?

Changed your life may be slightly ott*

Airfryer
Microwave rice cooker
Magnetic knife block that sits on the wall.

Potato ricer .
Airfryer

I got a nice food mixer in Ann Summers! Oh, hold on a minute… 😀

Sage/ breville risotto plus for perfect risotto without stirring. Tomato knife, magimix

Electric rice cooker! I was absolutely crap at doing rice on the hob. Changed my life. OXO tin opener and potato peeler. Cannot tell you the trauma I went through trying to find a peeler I liked. Stuff of nightmares. Lakeland garlic press.

Oh and the mini electric chopper from Lakeland. Also jolly useful.

Ninja 9in1 - I can pressure cook, slow cook, Air fry, bake (and make yoghurt??)

cheapo pancake pan from Aldi - never saw the need and the kids convinced me one pancake day. We make crepes all the time now. Never stick, always flip - no shit first pancake just fab. The low sides just make it a dream.

meat thermometer - wouldn’t be without one.

Yes to the aldi pancake maker. Cheap as chips, bought before Covid and used EVERY school day for pancakes for breakfast or french cinnamon toast. Served with a frothy cappuccino to my thoroughly spoiled children, it was what got them up for their online classes.
Still used very regularly. I keep my pancake mixture in a 2 litre milk carton in the fridge.

It's funny, I can spend £50 in toys and treats for my dog, or splurge on a nice blouse, but when it comes to kitchen stuff, I'm always reluctant to buy something.

Anyway, I recently caved in and bought a garlic crusher. Very very useful. Love it.
And after years of considering it, I finally bought a nice crêpe pan. It's life-changing, nothing less.

Now I want good knives and a new potato peeler.

The dishwasher, I love that thing!

Ninja ZeroStick bakeware
I bought two trays and a roasting tin before Christmas , brilliant . Bought another 2 flat trays and 2 square smaller tins .
Non stick , easy to clean.

Oxo Mandoline -managed to take the tip of my finger off because I'm a clumsy arse . I found it again, gave it another try but not worth the effort or risk .

Joseph&Joseph rice cooker - fabulous .

You must've read my mind-I was just thinking this week if there was something you could buy to grate cheese for you! I eat A LOT of cheese and always hate grating it, have nicked the top of my thumb many a time. I thought there must be something you can buy, thank you OP!

Ninja pans
Speed peeler

Rotary cheese grater - no more grated fingers

Santoku knife - wish I'd bought one years ago

Oxo food chopper - so much quicker when doing big batches of stuff

Le Creuset oven gloves

Flatbed microwave. Hate having to clean the turntable/plate etc on the ones that go around and end up with gunk everywhere. This is totally flat and just needs a wipe like a counter top

I like my Wonderbag.

We were going into winter now, so it's great that I just start off a stew, soup or anything that needs a slow cook. Then I just pop it in the bag and carry on with the day. No gas, no electricity use after the initial getting to boil point.

Instant Pot duo for me too, had it a month, it’s a game changer!
I think it’s because you don’t have to stand over any cooking, just set it away and leave.

last week I did pulled chicken for wraps using frozen chicken breasts…took 5 mins to pressure cook plus the cool down.

i guess a pressure cooker would do the same but I was always a bit nervous of one.

i also love my cordless hand whisk for cakes etc…if my stick blender ever dies (20 years plus) then I’ll get a cordless one!

Silicon stretchy lid cover things that you put over bowls . Great when I’ve poured the boiling water onto couscous, or for storing home made coleslaw etc in the fridge without making everything else smell of it. Bought from Lakeland I think, the pack contains different sizes.

On the pricier scale - I love my standing Kitchen Aid mixer. Had it years and use it every week.

Decent stainless steel pans. I love my saute pan.
Decent cutlery.
Sharp paring knife.
A tin opener that works.
Large pestle and mortar.

Pressure cooker
Remoska
Yoghurt maker
Microplane

Joseph Joseph microwave rice cooker
Joseph Joseph cutlery & knife inserts for cutlery drawer

Food blender, this one: https://www.braunhousehold.com/en-gb/multiquick-5-vario-hand-blender-mq-5235-wh/p/4191-MQ5235WH

I use it several times a week, much more often than the bigger mixer / chopper / blender since it is so much quicker to deal with.

Does it secure onto the worktop?
I have 2 of the flat plane graters - coarse and fine . The are hard work , but I don't like the box graters .

Goes off to search up graters .................

Panasonic bread maker - would still be happily rustling up fresh bread twice a week if I wasn't already the size of a house
Sage bean to cup espresso machine - absolutely worth it
Rice cooker from Yum Asia - makes rice so easy, DS asked for one to take to uni so he could maintain his considerable carb intake 'without needing to like use a pan or whatever'

I bought an Instant Pot during the last energy panic-buying spree but didn't really get to grips with it: I thought I'd be turning out flavoursome pressure cooked casseroles and curries but everything tasted a bit bland and undercooked and it was so big it was like having R2D2 sitting in the kitchen. And then DH dropped the air frier lid, and someone broke the pressure cooker lid and that was that.