Whats the most useless kitchen item you`ve bought?

building_with_lego

moo2moo wrote: »

• ice cream maker - produces flavoured solid lumps of ice whilst making it sound like the freezer is about to die

Sounds like my Dad's first batch of HM ice cream. While he checked the pot of cream for the BB date he noticed that he was using E1mlea and, as a 'cream substitute' it was never going to work!

building_with_lego

moo2moo wrote: »

• A raclette so you too can cook on your dining table rather than in the kitchen
• A cooking stone with naff gel filled heaters more normally used in indian restaurants which needs heating in oven prior to transferring to table to allow you to cook your dinner whilst you wait
• ice cream maker - produces flavoured solid lumps of ice whilst making it sound like the freezer is about to die
• mandolin - OH insists on using it every x-mas and every x-mas I end up attempting to reattach the tips of his fingers before throwing away a bowl of blood splattered vegetables
• deep fat frier - splats fat everywhere, makes the whole house smell and is too big to go in a cupboard
• one cup instant boil kettle - such a pain when you have a house full of thirsty people

I am so very sorry but :rotfl: :eek:!

anguk

Swan wrote: »

me too, everything I made reminded me of ready meals, & I can't stand them. but ready meals are very popular, so it might just be down to differing tastes & if you actually made up some of those dishes you possibly wouldn't find them very appealing

look at how the slow cooked chicken always polarises opinion, one person's delicious falling-off-the-bone is another's tasteless slimy mush



another kitchen gadget I charity-shopped was a set of pasty makers they looked like a good idea, but were far too fiddly & time consuming

Very true, I'm afraid my slow cooker chicken falls into the tasteless category, but it is very good for making chicken stock.

I find I'm okay stewing meat in it as long as I don't add vegetables (they end up bland and a carrot tastes the same as swede) so I do use the slow cooker for braising beef in gravy ready for pie making. Legs of lamb are okay too as long as I take them out to finish in the oven.

One thing the slow cooker is handy for is reheating leftover sliced beef that I've frozen, I just stick it in with fresh gravy for a few hours and it comes out lovely and tender. It saves putting the oven on.

Swan_2

anguk wrote: »

Very true, I'm afraid my slow cooker chicken falls into the tasteless category, but it is very good for making chicken stock.

I find I'm okay stewing meat in it as long as I don't add vegetables (they end up bland and a carrot tastes the same as swede) so I do use the slow cooker for braising beef in gravy ready for pie making. Legs of lamb are okay too as long as I take them out to finish in the oven.

One thing the slow cooker is handy for is reheating leftover sliced beef that I've frozen, I just stick it in with fresh gravy for a few hours and it comes out lovely and tender. It saves putting the oven on.

yes, the one consolation was the fantastic stock, but that was at the expense of my two lovely free-range chickens

agree about the veg too, couldn't tell one from the other & I do like my veg

you seem to have worked out some good ways to use yours I just got so annoyed after the chicken debacles it was no longer welcome in my kitchen, so off to my Ex's it went :rotfl:

Swan_2

HelenYorkshire wrote: »

Microwave (at the minute getting more use with the wheatbag!)

mine too, if I could find another way to heat my wheatbags it would be out of my kitchen in a flash!

jess1011

Hmmm, think I'm the only one who loves my milk frother lol. Its the only way I can get my hot chocolate smooth lol.

Jazee

Microwave egg poacher (what a mess) and omelette maker (slower than the real thing).. and when I originally bought these, I didn't even have a microwave. Still staring at me every time I open the cupboard.

phizzimum

easi yo yoghurt maker...

anniemf2508

culinaire one touch tin opener....absolute rubbish
my last slow cooker broke about 3 months ago and i will not replace it this time as we found the food all tasted a bit school dinner ish

anguk

anniemf2508 wrote: »

culinaire one touch tin opener....absolute rubbish
my last slow cooker broke about 3 months ago and i will not replace it this time as we found the food all tasted a bit school dinner ish

We love ours but OH only has one working hand (no fingers or thumb on the other one) and DD is left handed so all other tin openers were a nightmare for them. Since I bought the culinare they can open tins themselves now!