Products that will save you huge amounts of hassle in the kitchen

[whendidyoulast]

Here:

www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=263352376

www.mydorot.com/?CategoryID=27

Especially the garlic. No more smelly fingers and mouldering garlic in the fridge.

Wish I'd known about these years ago.

Anyone else with hassle saving products?

Ooh, found one on Amazon for you: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001IWONL6

I buy onions in Aldi on special deal and spend an hour or so chopping as many as I can manage. They go into the freezer, one per bag so I know roughly how much 1 or half an onion is. Cheaper than buying them frozen. I do the same with peppers, carrots and mushrooms (sauté first).

Baking paper. Put it underneath everything that goes in the oven. Much better than foil, which the food always sticks to.

Chipotle paste from Waitrose. I think the brand is Discovery. They are with all the tacos, wraps etc.

They sell a couple of types of chipotle paste in Sainsburys too....

Oh and I have had a microwave rice cooker thingy for YEARS (since the mid nineties - melted the first one by plonking it down on a still-hot electric ring so am onto my second) - Lakeland sell them too.

Yes - my mum bought me mine in about 1995. :)

trice linky to the apple lathe please, my apple trees are groaning but the thought of the hours of peeling is putting me off starting my marathon of jarring, jeelying and freezing.

Asda sell an apple chopper for £1. Cuts an apple into 8 slices and leaves the core. Absolute genuis.

Delia says you don't have to peel apples for pie if you cut them thin enough. I concur.

Does it peel Frisky? It's the peeling which usually injures me... I batch cook crumble mix and freeze so I want the peel off for that.

No, you need a Pampered Chef or Lakeland one for that. Or just try not peeling. It's a revelation, gwan gwan gwan.

My Tefal steamer. I steam all our veg, potatoes, rice and fish in it. Just make sure there's enough water in the reservoir, set the timer and that's it.

I second the garlic ice cubes. I cut them into halves and freeze them in a take away box.
Also passata has changed my life. Since I realised Aldi does it for a couple of pence more then chopped toms I switched. It makes sauces taste richer I think.
Silcone paper to cook 'iceland' dinners on. No greasy baking sheets to scrub. I also cook roast pots on it as I keep then separate from the roast meat.
Clip and store boxes for almost anything.

I'll give it a go. I will!

Garlic puree in tube. Those 'very lazy' jars of grated ginger etc you can get in Waitrose - great for curries etc.
Roasted red peppers in jar, great for quick taboule.
Bread machine - great for quick bread, brioche, pizza base etc.
Puy lentils in a sachet that you microwave.
An egg poaching pan - I have tried all the different poaching gadgets in Lakeland, and the old fashioned pan actually produces the best, most consistent eggs, and is by FAR the easiest to clean, with no egg while clogging things.

I dream of the ready made pastry you can buy in the chilled cabinet in French supermarkets - it is made of only the normal pastry ingredients, and is circular and ready rolled, so you can just flip it into the quiche dish. Why can't UK supermarkets do this (the ready made stuff is full of crap and the wrong shape, so you have to roll it etc)?

Frozen mash potato. I use the waitrose one as theres nothing nasty in it. I usually perk it up with a bit of butter and a touch more seasoning. comes in small cubes and you use as many as you need. chuck the rest back in the freezer.

Waitrose do frozen chopped shallots, garlic, chilli and also herbs (parsley, mint, coriander) which are a real time saver.

Also frozen chargrilled vegetables which cook from frozen in 5 mins, and frozen chopped spinach

Sundried tomato paste which I put it anything with tomatoes in

Soft cheese with garlic and herbs in which I melt for a very quick pasta sauce, or I stick a dollop in cheese sauces, risottos etc

Frozen chopped spinach. Put it in with pasta and pesto (or indeed more or less any other dish too). Children don't realise they're eating veg. It's amazing.

I LOVE my Kenwood chef. Was a present for a significant birthday and it's amazing. Although I do also like my mini whizzer (Delia time-saving blender thing), for day-to-day use.

I bought a 1kg ready minced garlic in our asian food store for £1.99! they had ginger too.
Also 1litre rapeseed oil for £1.99. I paid £3.99 for 500ml in the regular supermarket previously.

thereistheball you can get chipotle paste from waitrose and sainburys do it in their speciality ingredeints.

A sharp knife! I am always amazed by how crap and blunt other people's knives are, buy a good one and keep it sharp!

Yes to Waitrose frozen herbs etc.
Also yes to passata
Waitrose caramelised onion chutney, a big dollop in sauces and stews for added richness.

Lakeland loaf tin liners and discs of baking parchment, also their silicone baking tray liners, no more washing trays after baking. Also the big silicone mat for rolling pastry, far better than doing it on the counter.

Slow cooker
Kenwood Prospero - small version of Chef

We're on the same wavelength Spider!
I was just about to say:

1. my Kenwood Chef Titanium - built like an ox!
2. Kenwood mini chopper

Got this a while ago and use it every day tefal 8 in 1 . Makes our porridge in the morning, slow cooks dinner then use it for rice to go with the main meal. Only cost me £30 something from costco.

Disposable shower caps (like the ones from hotels) are way better than clingfilm, plus you can wash and reuse them a good few times until they wear out completely. I hate clingfilm with a fiery passion, but if it's necessary, keep it in the freezer to make it less apt to stick to you/itself/everything except what it bloody should...

Lazy Garlic and ready made cake decorations but not together!!!!

www.cupcakedecoration.co.uk/edible-cake-decorations.html