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OS Book - Buying Kitchen Equipment

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Comments

  • Queenie
    Queenie Posts: 8,793 Forumite
    MSE_Sue wrote:
    ... ie what bits/buttons do you need
    I know this is going to throw a spanner in the works for some, but you did ask ;) if you are serious about doing things the OS way - wouldn't you also factor in the environmental issues when it comes to gadgets/appliances which eat away at our valueable energy resources?

    Reading many of the items listed already - I can't help but have a chuckle and wonder how on earth everyone will cope if we have any power cuts!? ;)
    Second aspect which strikes me, is just how many of these items actually double up. ;)

    Yes, I agree, it is very much "horses for courses". Yet if you are promoting moneysaving ways using old style methods for a book and are looking for OS means then a whole host of electrical equipment listed when energy prices will continue to increase as demand from around the world escalates seems a bit strange to me. :confused:
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
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  • Lillibet_2
    Lillibet_2 Posts: 3,364 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    For me, my favs & most used are :
    Slow cooker (get the biggest one your kitchen can possible house)
    Bread maker (Russell hobbs, 6 years old & going strong, makes bread, dough for rolls & pizzas, bagles & jam. Must check on fruit cake??!!)
    Stick blender (Used to have expensive braun all singing all dancing model. Still broke when I dropped it on the floor, tesco £4.99 does the job)
    Salter yogurt maker. (Recommended if you have lots of packed lunches or with a small baby in the house, saves a fortune & much healthier than sugar laden supermarket options)
    Toaster : it just doesn't taste the same if it's done under the grill to me!

    I have a kenwood mixer & a microwave, could live without them if I had too but 'cos they are there I use them. I like my waffle maker but this is really a child-free home applicance, who gets time for lazy Sunday breakfasts with a baby??
    I use a 3 tier saucepan/steamer. It lives on my hob & gets used almost daily. Used to have an electric steamer but like this combi much better than just a steamer as it's more economical & cleans just like a saucepan.

    Biggest waste of space is the kenwood smoothie maker. nothing more than a blender with a tap which clogs up at every opportunity, wish I had bought a juicer now 'cos I am sure I would have used it but am living without.
    Dropped the food processor & haven't bothered to replace it, don't miss it one bit, even with cooking from scratch.

    And that's the sum total of my kitchen gadgets!
    Post Natal Depression is the worst part of giving birth:p

    In England we have Mothering Sunday & Father Christmas, Mothers day & Santa Clause are American merchandising tricks:mad: Demonstrate pride in your heirtage by getting it right please people!
  • Smiley_Mum
    Smiley_Mum Posts: 3,836 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    I did have one of those manual food processors with several attachments, and an egg separator lid thing on it and I gave it away. It had a good attachment on it that made cream out of skimmed milk etc. I wish I hadn't given it away now but I was having a real clearout at the time and was being ruthless.

    Just like this, I would imagine it's lying in the other persons cupboard now gathering dust.

    http://www.storeshop.com/manual-food-processor.html

    I also have a chipping machine which I use.
    “Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” - Oscar Wilde
  • Heth_2
    Heth_2 Posts: 472 Forumite
    The 'gadget' I use most is one of those collpasable metal things you put in your saucepan to steam veg in. Tend to use that every day.
    Also have a stick blender which is useful for soups. Would like to get a proper blender one day but obviously not essential as am coping without.
    Bread - I make it by hand if I feel like having fresh bread. Also pastry, chopping etc...
    If we fancy a casserole we'll do it at the weekend on the hob or in the oven in a casserole dish. I don't think a slow cooker is an essential, but many people find them useful. Depends what you like eating really. We don't tend to have the things people cook in their slow cookers that often.
    I have a juicer, love fresh juice at the weekend but wouldn't say it is essential, also have a great italian coffee machine (wedding present) which we don't use that much but wouldn't get rid of.
    Hand mixer essential for me for whipping cream. Don't really use it for cakes though, mix those by hand.
    Would love to get rid of: microwave, electric cheese grater, tiny sandwich toaster, electric knife (these were all passed on from husbands family and might need some discussion...)
  • astep70uk
    astep70uk Posts: 338 Forumite
    I bought a Magic Bullet on eBay after watching the shopping channel and it's fantastic :T

    I use it nearly everyday for one of the following:

    Smoothies
    Pasta and pizza sauce
    Slush
    Slush cocktails :p
    Soup
    Chopping onions and garlic
    Making frothy hot chocolate/cappuchino
    Lovely HM dips for crisps, chips and wedges
    and loads more . . .
    It is so small that it sits on my worktop, which is why I think I use it everyday
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  • kittiwoz
    kittiwoz Posts: 1,321 Forumite
    I have a kettle, stick blender, microwave, toaster and baby George. Although I do use them all I would definitely miss the microwave and George Foreman grill the least.
    wouldn't you also factor in the environmental issues when it comes to gadgets/appliances which eat away at our valueable energy resources?
    Totally agree with this. Energy costs are something that tend not to be given enough consideration. However some of these gadgets probably actually save energy compared to doing the same job using a conventional oven, hob or grill. For example a toaster is a lot more efficient than a grill and a kettle is much more efficient than boiling water on the hob. I suspect the same applies to the George Foreman grill and the microwave. The slow cookers that a lot of the people on here have are probably a great deal more efficient than using a casserole dish. A pressure cooker is one gadget I don't have and would love, more because it would save energy then because it would save time.
    Yet if you are promoting moneysaving ways using old style methods for a book and are looking for OS means then a whole host of electrical equipment listed when energy prices will continue to increase as demand from around the world escalates seems a bit strange to me.

    How about a list of kitchen equipment with their respective energy consumption for typical jobs also listed for comparison? Amount of energy to bake a 1lb loaf in a bread maker vs in the oven, energy to make a chicken stew in a slow cooker vs pressure cooker vs lided pan etc. I think that would be really useful

    No gadgets mentioned but I think the list of essential and useful kitchen equipment given by Katharine Whitehorn in "Cooking in a Bedsitter" is very good, as is her advice: "The right simple tools will stop you longing for the other, complicated ones.'' She gives very good advice about using things for more than one purpose too, such as suggesting you have one large and one small pan and that the lid for the large pan ought to fit your frying pan too, or that you can use a sieve or collander over a pan of water for steaming. In a similar vein she suggests, say, steaming the greens over the boiling potatoes to save energy.
  • apple_mint
    apple_mint Posts: 1,102 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    My electric bill has actually reduced though my use of a slow cooker, steamer, yogurt maker and food drier (which helps me take advantage of gluts and add some variety to my winter storecupboard). I can't change my cooker as it comes with the rented house. I'm hoping these appliances last me years and years :D
    Enjoying an MSE OS life :D
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