Your must-have kitchen tools and appliances

[WilLiAmHerschel]

I've got about £100 worth of Amazon vouchers leftover from Christmas! I never know what to buy myself but I love cooking so have decided to go for some cooking tools. I'd love to hear some suggestions from mumsnetters.

Oh I don't cook with meat so no meat related things please. I have a good knife set but some ideas I've had so far are a pestle and mortar and an ice cream maker.

Meza Luna? ( Sp?)

Revel wet and dry grinder is amazing for making spice pastes and grinding dry spices. Nice and compact and only about £30 from amazon. I'd not be without a pestle and mortar too for rougher textures but I am a kitchen gadget addict - and have the canelé moulds and cherry pitter to prove it

Ooh I love a gadget or three... Agree on the spice grinder!

Also love my Kenwood Mini Chopper which is only £14.99 on Amazon at the moment:

Kenwood CH180 Mini Chopper, 300 Watt - White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000C6WPC/ref=cmswrcpapiqTdWxbWMAZB2D

Brilliant for finely chopping garlic, ginger, lemongrass & chilli for a stir fry. Or making mayo, or chimichurri. Or finely chopping onions for a curry base. Or chopping nuts!

Anything OXO - but in particular their potato masher, currently £7.99. It's just so ergonomic to use!

OXO Good Grips Smooth Potato Masher https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004OCL9/ref=cmswrcpapi1UdWxbKG24TTR

Finally, this is the best sparkling wine stopper I've come across. It actually works. £12.89

Le Creuset Wine Accessories SW-106 Sparkling Wine Stopper - Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005GUA7BG/ref=cmswwrcppapi_MWdWxbWTRD8F6

These are great ideas so far. Thank you very much. I'm feeling excited about this!

Kitchenaid peeler - a manual one, about £10 on Amazon, the best peeler I've ever had

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001CK1ZJC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472218414&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=kitchenaid+peeler&dpPl=1&dpID=41hyGc92oHL&ref=plSrch

Scales
Breadmaker
George Forman
Anything Le Creuset

There was a thread on here about toasties which led to my purchase of a deep fill toastie maker. It has been used thrice weekly at a minimum since. Cakes, snacks, quick suppers/lunches, pancakes, eggs!. It's great. Chilli avacado or Nutella and strawberry toasties are the number one requested food in case cooking!

I wouldn't be without my pressure cooker, my slow cooker, my fake le crueset casserole dish and 48 cm fry pan. The garlic press is essential too. And good griddle pan. I love the bread maker too but do go through phases of using it/not using it.

I never use my mezaluna. Always just use the knife I've chopped the rest with to save on walking up. Ice cream maker is unused too.

After another thread on here the instant pot is very high on my kitchen wish list.

Ooh lots and lots of good ideas.

Would a pressure cooker be useful for a non-meat eater?

I think so. Mine is used heavily for pulses ( eg- I buy dried chickpeas and cook in pressure cooker in 20 minutes. Freeze in portion sizes)

I make:

Dhal in (15 minutes!)
Mash potatoes (6 mins!)
Veg curry
Stuffed peppers
Leek and potato soup
Butternut Soup - I could go on and on about soups- all made in under ten minutes
Squash and chickpea tagine
Veg Bolognaise/chilli/cottage pie mx
Cheesecake
Treacle pudding
Christmas pudding

It's amazing- and on the veggie slow cooker threads there's always at least one vegetarian who recommends a pressure cooker instead!

Basically anything made by DreamFarm! They have a promo video on YouTube - have a look and see if you fancy anything.

We use our microplane constantly. We've also recently acquired this and it's AMAZING - risotto in ten minutes!

Argh! Sentia I was already lusting after an instant pot. Linking to one which says only 1 in stock is just cruel !

buy it, buy it! It's brilliant.

I really should wear my glasses when on mn, I read Happy's post as they have a porno video on YouTube . But the weirdest part is that I didn't really question why you would gave kitchen appliance porn.

sentia now I know what birthday present to ask for

Definately second microplane if you don't have one OP