Must have kitchen gadgets

Butterfly_Brain

Computer, washing machine, running water, sewers, central heating (but I would go back to having a parkray with back boiler in a flash), freezer, dehydrator, car and mobility scooter

thriftwizard

Hmm - how far back are we going? Because I wouldn't want to be without a sewing machine, but as my most-frequently-used one was made in 1909 & is treadle-powered, it's OS in its own right!

Otherwise - computer. We are otherwise quite a low-tech household; I own a fair number of gadgets but could do without most of them quite happily. I didn't replace the dishwasher when it died 8 years ago (that's what teenagers are for!) as we needed the storage space more, wouldn't replace the breadmaker if it died tomorrow as I'm quite happy to make bread by hand, freecycled my food processor as cleaning it was more work than it saved (couldn't be dishwashed anyway) can do slow-cooking in my little oven if I needed to & should also be able to do so on the woodburner I'm about to have installed. Hand-whisks give me much better feedback as to when a mixture feels "right" & good knives are much easier to clean & maintain than most gadgets, but a good stick-blender is a very useful & low-maintenance little beastie, so that I would replace. And although I'm no great knitter, needles are very much easier to store, use & look after than a knitting machine!

I am rather fond of my steam-cleaner, though...

dronid

Physical household thingies.... obviously we could live without most things but it'd make life hard.
In order of importance.
Electric Lighting
Washing Machine - The time this saves is astonishing
Cooker
Fridge
Freezer
Hot Water on tap
Central Heating
PC
TV
Telephone
Vacuum Cleaner
Dishwasher

gailey_2

I have slow cooker and dont like it.

breadmaker not used much-pla to use more but love making bread by hand.

Blenders on last legs.

hubby gave away the juicer.

Wondering what gajets i really want this year,

space in kitchen limited.

really fancy the tefal jam maker have done for last few years.

Also wondered are food processers blenders too?

want to make more soups
mince my own meat

what do people recomend?

Dream would be coffee machine but thats bit extravagent.

icecream machine? might be winner with kids.

want to make much more from scratch this year,

currently have crap oven
crap microwave

RAS

Jam can be made quite well in a large saucepan; but I think it is a lot easier with a sugar thermometer which is a lot easier to house than a jam maker.

Personally could not be arsed with a bread-make but might do for a large household. Ditto the juicer.

I would look for a food processer on freecycle/freegle that also has a blender attachment.

Check out the threads on halogen ovens as it seems to me that one of those could replace the oven and microwave? Again, try freecycle?

joedenise

Wouldn't be without food processor. DH has recently treated me to a Kenwood which is brilliant. I've got the food processor attachment and a blender at the moment but hoping to get a mincer/sausage maker attachment and an icecream maker attachment later.

Definitely worthwhile if you can afford it or if you can find one on freecycle/freegle - apparently the older ones are stronger than the newer ones!

Denise

Pink.

I would find it difficult to cook without my stick blender. I use it for soups and smoothies most but for lots of other things too. For jam, you need a large pan (I use the pressure cooker without the lid on) sterilised jars and a thermometer can be handy but isn't neccessary.

These threaads should help you to decide what you need:

Must have kitchen gadgets

Unused kitchen gadgets

I'll add your thread to the first link later.

Pink

Hobsons_Choice

I make jam in the microwave, easy and not much sticky washing-up!
So .. maybe a new microwave would be better for you? Or asfolksay, check out Freecycle.

sharloid

I have a bread maker, food processer, slow cooker etc but I much prefer a mixing bowl and wooden spoon!

Instead of spending money on gadgets you might not use I'd buy things like decent knives and decent bakeware.

I just treated myself to some cake pans and a flan tin from Lakeland which I'm sure will get a lot more use over the years than a fancy electric gadget.

angeltreats

I splashed out on a new gadget with my Christmas money - a Tefal Actifry. I only got it yesterday and have used it several times already, it makes fantastic chips and sausages. Definitely the next best thing to going to the chippy and a million times better than oven chips A bit extravagant (mine was £99.99 from Amazon) but definitely worth it if you're a big chip fan.

Other than that, Kenwood Chef, food processor, stick blender (all used very often indeed) are my necessities. And my pressure cooker although I'm not sure you'd count that as a gadget.