What Kitchen Utensils and Gadgets Are Essential?
Hello and welcome back toWhat’s Cooking? , an open thread where you can share your brilliant thoughts, tips, recipes and opinions on all food related matters. This week I would like to talk about your favorite kitchen tools, cookware and gadgets.
Between Instant Pot, sous-vide circulators, fancy blenders and deep fat fryers, there are plenty of super-hyped gadgets to play with. I’m clearly partial to the first two, but I’m also a lover of a good wooden spoon. I want to hear which kitchen utensils and tools make your life better, and which, in your opinion, are not worth the hype.
- What’s your favorite pot? I’m in love with my apple-shaped Dutch oven Lodge . Besides making soups and sauces, it is the ideal shape and size for making bread without kneading .
- What’s your favorite frying pan? I love my cast iron skillet, but my absolute favorite is the fully lined stainless steel skillet . He has an excellent sear, he quickly adapts to temperature changes and is much easier to care for than cast iron.
- What kitchen item scares you if it goes missing? I really rely on my giant pyrex measuring cup. This spout is very useful.
- What crockery do you use more often than you thought? I use a hand blender more than a food processor. I use it for making cream soups, emulsifying mayonnaise, shakes and smoothies, and whipping cream. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to clean, which is essential in a dishwasher-free home.
- What so-called “life-changing” gadgets or utensils do you not use as often? Unless I bake a lot , I rarely use the KitchenAid mixer. I usually knead the dough with a wooden spoon.
- What device that changed your life actually changed your life? Confession: My mother became addicted to Instant Pot a year before me because I was quick to dismiss it as a “whim”. I don’t actually use many of the preprogrammed features, but having an easy-to-use set-and-forget pressure cooker makes dinner much faster and tastier. ( Plus, I’m still obsessed with those cheesecakes .) I’m also a big fan of my Nespresso machine. I hate being one of these people, but I am.
- If you only had one blade or lathe, what would it be? I love my wood lathe more than any other trowel I have ever owned.
- Do any of you have a really fancy blender? Is it worth it? I honestly don’t see the point in this if you have a food processor and immersion blender.
- For those of you using Instant Pot, has it improved your life the way you thought it would? I’m a huge fan.
- What do you think of sous vide cooking? I mean, you know how I feel .
- What’s the most overpriced hot kitchen appliance? I think in the fashion blenders not necessary, but there was never anything more unnecessary than Juicero, production is discontinued. I also hate this salt shaker .