Immaginative use of kitchen equipment

Primrose

I laughed to myself today when a Lakeland advert hit my email IN BOX trying to persuade me to pay £139 for a soup making mixer gadget. What's wrong with an old fashioned saucepan ??
There are obviously a lot of people who are persuaded to buy such devices though. I wonder how many of them spend most of their time hidden away at the back of kitchen cupboards.

So what's your most un-used kitchen device, and what do you use your everyday kitchen equipment for in an imaginative way?

FrugalinShropshire

I think soup makers have their place, especially if you live on your own or have limited space. My most underused item now is probably my KitchenAid blender. I've had it about 10 years and it is a b****** to wash as the blade does not fully come off to clean. I use a £6 stick blender for soups. My most used item is my Nutribullet, now this piece of gorgeouness is very easy to clean and I use it most days for smoothies and nice cream as it is only me that eats them. I have a pasta maker that I haven't used in years and a ravioli maker that I don't think I have ever used come to think of it.

kathrynha

I'm guessing the gadget cooks and blitzes it for you, therefore making it quicker and easier, and that is what appeals to most people.


I'm with you though, why would I pay out that much money when I already have stuff in my kitchen that will do the job just as well.


I do have a number of gadgets, but most are used reasonably often.


Slow cooker comes out weekly in winter.
Food processor comes out more in summer for making coleslaw.
Food dehydrator mainly only comes out in autumn for dealing with my mums apple harvest, but I still consider it worthwhile.


One that gathers dust most is my bread maker. Got it when my hubby was having issues with gluten, so used it loads at first. Definitely got our moneys worth out of it, but now he is back on regular bread I only get out the bread maker occasionally.

helcat26

Well here is a thread asking for dodgy replies!


My most underused item is an electric juicer that was a wedding present, used once and proved such a pain to clean, never again.
I do not really use kitchen equipment for anything else, but I have used other equipment in the kitchen- from the obvious blow torch to using a black and decker jigsaw to carve up a leg of ham

Out,_Vile_Jelly

My kitchen gadgets:

-hand held mixer for cakes (~£12 from Argos)
-blender stick for soups (free with a Crimbo John Lewis voucher)
-trusty toasted sandwich maker (still going strong from my student days 20 years ago...)

Saw a JL ad for a new mini KitchenAid; £449!!!

The next gadget I aim to buy is a mid-sized saucepan. I have two large pans, two small ones, and a medium sized lid but no actual medium sized pan. Always something more interesting to spend money on though.

VfM4meplse

My most-used electrical gadget by far is my microwave! I could live without a hob and oven, but it would be hard to get by without a microwave. Other than that its the stick blender, for smoothies and soup - think it cost around £15 from Lidl. Its easy to access, and easy to clean.

Used for a bit and then discarded: breadmaker due to poor results.

Never used: a variety of electrical mixers; pasta maker.

Nomoonatall

I absolutely really needed a coffee maker, more than life itself. I used it daily for a few weeks. It's been gathering dust for the last 3 years.

I've stopped myself from buying a popcorn maker, a bread maker and an icecream maker. It's been tough though! I'm sure they would all transform me into a Stepford Wife!

I could live without my microwave. x

suki1964

All my gadgets are used, if not daily at least weekly

However my most prized possession that gets used at least 6 days a week in my cast iron shallow casserole - I cook everything in it, even the Sunday roast

My next purchase will be a pasta machine. I keep eyeing them up but have resisted so far, that and a spiralizer

Nomoonatall

suki1964 wrote: »

All my gadgets are used, if not daily at least weekly

However my most prized possession that gets used at least 6 days a week in my cast iron shallow casserole - I cook everything in it, even the Sunday roast

My next purchase will be a pasta machine. I keep eyeing them up but have resisted so far, that and a spiralizer

I have a pasta machine...I bought it as a Christmas present for my Mother, 15 years ago. I received it as a Christmas present from my Mother, 14 years ago! I've still not used it!

Ooh, I have a Spiralizer...I love it! I use it quite a lot. Try using courgette instead of spaghetti, it's great!

suki1964

Nomoonatall wrote: »

I have a pasta machine...I bought it as a Christmas present for my Mother, 15 years ago. I received it as a Christmas present from my Mother, 14 years ago! I've still not used it!

Ooh, I have a Spiralizer...I love it! I use it quite a lot. Try using courgette instead of spaghetti, it's great!

That's my plan

Only thing is, I don't like veggies :rotfl: but I'm willing to try swapping spaghetti for courgette

I'm also plucking up the courage to try cauliflower rice

See I LOVE carbs. I could eat half a pack of pasta, all myself, in one sitting. Same as rice So I know my portion sizes are just too huge so looking to swap for the veg so I can eat the portion size I'm used to without eating so many carbs

And hence the pasta machine. I'm thinking if I have pasta, it's got to be posh pasta, home made, fiddly to make, posh fillings, a treat. Not just a big pile of carbs covered in butter and cheese used to fill a hole

kboss2010

*insert joke about banana guards here* ��

Seriously, probably our slow cooker and our hob-top coffee pot. We never use them anymore, too much faff and the slow cooker is big so takes up a whole shelf.

Most useful are probably the food processor, espresso machine, cafetiere and wok. You can cook anything in a wok with a lid!