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Produce => Recipes => Topic started by: prink13 on September 07, 2006, 18:05:06
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Not sure where was the best place to post this thread, but was wondering earlier today as I slaved away over a hot stove, what kitchen gadget can I no longer do without? ???
I see threads about Pasatta machines, pasta makers and various other technical gadgets and gizmos, but for me, the thing that I cannot live without is................................................................................my ice-cream scoop! ;D
Yes I know it sounds daft, but today scooping out the dentre of hot pears, scooping out the seeds of marrows etc. it is an absolute godsend! And of course, you can also use it for srving up ice-cream, Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yummy! ;D
What's your gadget?
What can you not do without in the kitchen?
Kathi
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My food processor,
I too have been busy in the kitchen today, whizzing up loads of soup for the freezer, the equivalent of 36 servings of courgette and spring onion soup. We have tried lots of recipes and this is the one my lot are happiest with.
I couldn't manage without my food processor to make it, and I have one other favourite that I wouldn't be without, my cook's measure:
http://www.cooknkitchen.co.uk/index.html?lang=en-uk&target=p24.html
I use this all the time when I am baking etc. and have just bought my daughter one to take to uni because she was threatening to take mine. It was given to us when we married 27 years ago and has probably been used most days.
I am interested to see what others will say is their favourite.
T.
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One of my favourite gadgets is my potato ricer for perfect lump free mash. I had one like a large garlic press which was ancient & then I replaced it with a stainless steel job from Lidls last year. I often make mustard mash or garlic mash etc it also works with sweet potatoes or parsnips.
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It would have to be my hand held bliltzer/chopper thingy. I use it almost daily. I do have a great big old fashioned Kenwood Chef type thingy, but I don't have the surface to use it! I have cupboards crammed packed full of gadgets and things. My Mandolin is another one I don't think I could live without, altho my knuckles would quite happily!! ;D
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I bought one of those blitzer things too, and find it brilliant for making soup etc. I still end up spraying my face occasionally though !
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A sharp knife, a colander and a wooden spoon - how boring am I!
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ooo,oooo, my jelly bag, invaluable for making jellies at this time of the year! ;D
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;D
Great thread! For me it's got to be my Prestige cooks knife. It has a plastic handle, I bought it in 1981, it's not smart but I sharpen it regularly and cannot cook without it!
I have a lovely set of Sabatier knives in a wood block and never use them!
;)
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Mine has to be my Silit pressure cooker, bought in Germany in 1975 and has been in constant use ever since. It's a heavy base 5 litre stainless steel model which is also used practically on a daily basis at this time of year for making jams, jellies, chutneys and pickles. Twice in its lifetime it has been badly burned, once with mussels mariniere ::) which were left too long at pressure and once with green tomato chutney when I got side-tracked and forgot it till I smelt the burning ???. Both times it cleaned up a treat and still looks like new. Second must be my two flexible spatulas which leave not a speck of anything in a pan or bowl ;D. I hate waste :).
Tricia
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Love this thread ;D
I'm with tricia - my s/s 6 litre pressure cooker tops the list, it's hardly ever in the cupboard.
Saving up for the 12 litre version :-[ :P
If we're allowed a runner up, it has to be knives, and a ceramic disc knife sharpener.
And the stick blender whizzer thingy :)
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If anything, my 3" wee knife. If I can't find it, I'm lost.
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Absolutely go with my small knife and stick blender whizzy thing - also love my digital scales (cheap from Ikea). Like being able to weigh things straight into bowls etc as well as loose.
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My small knife and my cake testing skewer (don't make cakes but test veggies with it). Take both with me when I go to stay anywhere when I know I'm going to be hauled into the kitchen. My copper-bottomed lidded sauce pan - never made a lumpy sauce yet. Pestle and mortar for hard stuff, half-moon for soft.
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Potato Ricer, for great smooth mash.
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Much as I like the potato ricer, I don't use it much and so I don't have it on my 'can't live without' list. If it's honestly what we use most, it's my Victorinox knives - one tiny paring knife, one 6" for everything else. Sir has his own set of knives, as he's a lefty and I'm a righty, so we cut differently.
For the gadget I use most - has to be the spud peeler. I've got a couple - one the old type with string round the handle (great for right-handers) and the other a GoodGrips catapult-style one, which peels marrows, carrots, squashes without any fuss or much effort. And the string one doubles up as a philips screwdriver too!
Hand blender too is well-used - we've a Bamix which isn't the cheapest but is solid and can whizz through most things easily.
moonbells
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I have started something here haven't I? :P
I have to admit that my "Runner-up" utensil is a wooden spoon, given to me by my G'ma, I've had it since I went to Uni in 1986! The handle is nearly burnt completely through now, but for sentimental reasons I will never be without it, have lots of other wooden spoons, and they are the only spoons I cook with - cannot stand plastic or metal againstthe bottoms of pans etc.
Kathi ;D
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Me too, I have a whole range of wooden spoons but my first spoon I had when I went off to Uni oh so many years ago is still my favourite, a batterd burnt old thing but well loved ... and I could not be without my hand blender/mixer thingy, great for making pesto, whizzing soup, blitzing onions etc, etc - get the picture :D
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Prink13, you certainly have opened up a 'can of worms'!
Whether it be the humble wooden spoon, or the more expensive equipment.
Personally, I would find it difficult to manage without the Magimix food processor, the Bamix stick blender, and the Kitchenaid food mixer.
valmarg
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1st prize goes to: plastic chopping board. It really gets hasmmered and is so good natured.
2nd prize goes to: Kenwood Major - best wedding gift ever.
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I have a really good knife I use, and recently bought a very large round, thick wooden chopping board, which is a pleasure to use and I can get quite a lot of stuff on it without things falling off the side as I chop. Couldn't do without my kitchenaid blender, though I am quite keen to get one of those whizzy things too, I have heard so much about them - sound really useful! my food processor is very old now - as I bought it in 1982, so I would like it updated, though it is still very robust..but limiting! busy_lizzie
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My invaluable tool is my ceramic hob scraper cleaner thingy which came with the hob. Gets all the burnt bits off from my culinary disasters and does grill pans and baking trays a treat ;D After that it's got to be my 30 yr old pressure cooker which was a wedding pressie (it's lasted twice as long as the marriage anyway ;))
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For the gadget I use most - has to be the spud peeler.... a GoodGrips catapult-style one, which peels marrows, carrots, squashes without any fuss or much effort.
moonbells
How did I forget to omit this from my can't-live-without list. Excellent gadget. 8)
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my favourite kitchen 'gadget' would have to be my husband - he fills and empties the dishwasher and loves the food I cook ;D
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My aga!!!
..... very middle class, i know but great for drying, roasting, preserving and just generally inspiring me to get cooking!
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Calendula -love your answer! :)
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Agree prink, she don't say where can we find one of those ;) ;D
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thank you :) I should rent him out - he cooks as well, did a fab barbie today on our new fancy gadget - we indulged in a cast iron chimenea and plan to use it even through the winter as it casts off enormous heat and is an extension to our beloved kitchen - the hub of the house (also with an aga :D)
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My le cruset (can't remember spelling!) casserole.....but now with teenagers could do with a bigger one. My 'sunshine' clothes pegs from NZ never found any bigger they've got the strongest pegs. They must have looked odd on the airport x-ray scanner last time I went to NZ. My mother thinks I'm odd asking for them for Christmas.
My wooden stirrer which is made of Kauri and was once part of the support for the bells in Christchurch cathedral, NZ.
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i got disturbed by a double glazing salesman and posted too soon.
My most important gadget would have to be the dishwasher it gives me more time to do more interesting things.
What i really want is a similar gadget that tidies and cleans the house for me and pegs socks on the line. I hate socks particulary teenage boy's socks! Something that collects those up and washes them would be fantastic!
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Try a teenage boy???(picking them up I mean) ;)
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Ha Ha that is so funny! To quote 'What socks?' actually i have that wrong it's 'Wot sock's'
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My easy clean spatter guard.
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Great gadget Tim ;D. Lidl have one on their 'specials' flier - starting 16th October. I shall invest £2.49 and get rid of the greasy, difficult to clean mesh type splatter guard that I am currently using.
Tricia
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£2.49?? Good going - Lakeland's are £8.99!!
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Absolutely agree on the dishwasher!
It at least halves the clearing up time for almost any job. 8)
Anything else there is almost always another way. Besides, I still reckon I can make a better pastry by hand than I can in the Magimix, and it only takes a couple of minutes more.
Mind you, I suppose you'd have a hard time doing without a tin opener for condensed milk... ;D
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Great thread, I live in the kitchen. My faves are: a gadget that steams, does rice, and is a slow cooker. Fantastic thing. Also, I have a pan that is sooo old, aluminium with a wooden handle, and I can't break it however hard I try. Surely everyone has one of those. Also, I love my big heavy cast iron casserole things, but the 3 in 1 gadget is the best. :D
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Yes Tim - and it looks identical 8), maybe by the 16th I'll have learned how to put a picture up here, so you can see for yourself ;D. - or get yourself one of their flyers (fliers??) if you have a Lidl nearby,
Tricia
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Bread maker plus OH who always bakes it! Gorgeous smell when I come home from work and the breads are just yummy! :D
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Nothing in the Cheltenham one, Tricia. But at least I have one!
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My collection of sweetly sharpened knives, and to go with them my dad's old sharpening steel and oilstone :)
I know it's already been said here, but our dishwasher -- I bless it every time we have friends round and NO ONE HAS TO WASH UP afterwards ;D
My two big Mason & Cash mixing bowls
The blender (though it's in sore need of replacement and I'm too dazzled by the choice available to make a decision on what to buy now) :-\
My pestle and mortar (spices, herbs, pesto, nut butters and more)
And (if a book can count as a gadget) the Ann Willan Reader's Digest cookery bible!
If I had to choose just one to rescue, it'd be the oilstone and steel cause all the others are replaceable ...
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ELASTOPLAST!! Just tried to chip a potato on the Mandolin, so big that I couldn't use the safety guard.
STUPID!!
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Corkscrew! ;)
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Oh, NO! - I only buy screw tops now.
Some of the plastic 'corks' would defeat a 30 year-old!!
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Wine in cartons even better!! like rocket fuel though ;D
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Triffid you just mentioned something I really miss and don't know how to get hold of again!
Oil/water stone for sharpening. Just can't seem to get on with a steel anymore - wrist problems.
Does anyone know where I can get hold of a stone? Unfortunately, lost the one I had and, typically, feel lost without it and absolutely detest blunt knives in the kitchen.
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Oil/water stone for sharpening.
Does anyone know where I can get hold of a stone?
Most decent tool stockists should stock sharpening stones. EG try B&Q possibly, although I have used Screwfix at work. The traditional oil stones are now being replaced by extremely effective diamond stones, just a couple of strokes is enough to restore a razor edge, and they use water, not oil.
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http://www.caseyspm.com/Knives.html
http://users.ameritech.net/knives/Juranitch1977Feb.htm
And so on.
But you knew all that, of course!!
With Global knives, I use their guides.
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Wow, Tim: never really thought about the science of knife-sharpening! Mine are plenty sharp enough really, but I'm fascinated to read about dry-honing being more effective than oil or water-honing.
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Same as you have a science for chisels.
Must say, I've always hankered after a ceramic stone.
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thanks for that folks. I must say, I used to use my stone dry and it worked a treat. Not heard of ceramic ones Tim, are they just as effective?
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At £30 a time, they damned well should be. And you'd need 2 grades!!
Sometimes wonder about paying 10s of pounds for a knife. And how the real ones hold their edge. Bought a block of 5 knives for under £10 the other day, just for the hell of it. Thought that was cheap just for decoration!
Funnily enough, rather liked the feel of one (below) & find myself using it every day. BUT - it needs honing at least once a day. Just goes to show?
(Not serrated - just a trick of the light).
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thanks for that folks. I must say, I used to use my stone dry and it worked a treat. Not heard of ceramic ones Tim, are they just as effective?
We use a ceramic sharpener with two little discs - one med. and one fine - about twice a week. And I've got the scars to prove it! ;)
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At least it's a clean cut!!
My meaning, of course, was a ceramic stone.
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I couldn't live without my knives, but they're not really gadgets are they.
So it would have to be my whizzy food processer, which at one point in the proceedings was state of the art (that would have been 10 years ago) ... but even so.
I also love those little toaster bags from Lakeland Plastics ... make your sandwich, whack it in the little bag, whack it in the toaster ... *ping* ... and toasted sandwich ... blummin' marvellous!