topic Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when... in Kitchen

Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

house_cat — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 03:29:21 GMT

.. you got your first _________________?

I remember when we got our first microwave oven in 1984, just after my son was born. It was HUGE - took up half our prep space, but we thought we were living the good life! I remember everyone saying, "You can cook a hot dog in a minute!" We don't eat hot dogs anymore and rarely use our microwave, but boy, in those days it was something special!

Do you have a similar memory about a kitchen appliance? My mom remembers when they got their first refridgerator - before that, they had an ice box - and I'm not talking about a small rural town - she lived in the middle of NYC!

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

lolakimono — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 17:54:40 GMT

@house_cat

RE the first microwave, we had just gotten one as you described when I was little. The babysitter wanted something to eat, and we had homemade waffles that had been frozen. She asked me how long to cook them for, and I shrugged and answered- 10 minutes?

She cooked them for the whole time, and that microwave never lost that "burnt waffle" smell. The plate was blackened.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

Snowpuppy — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 18:09:13 GMT

I dated a guy in the '80s who bought a new Amana Radar Range in the stunning bronze color with the rotary dial. Think it set him back like a thousand dollars.

Guess he thought it would be very fetching for any woman?! 😅

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

Scooby Doo — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 18:56:25 GMT

I had one of those microwaves too. Great big Panasonic that cost me about $450. The first day my friend and I experimented making stew while watching movies on the VCR. We cooked that stew for an hour and it was rubbery and awful.

I remember that my rich uncle had a microwave in his house as early as 1970/71. He told me he could cook a potato in 5 minutes and it was sooooo amazing. When I told my friends about it they didn't believe me.

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Mothertrucker — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 19:20:40 GMT

I had a neighbor who had an original Radarange back in 1970.. I won some money on a game show in 1980 right after my son was born, and first thing I bought was a big , huge Litton microwave!!!loved it! It wouldn't die, and about 10 or so years later I wanted a smaller one, with more features, and I actually gave it away..It still worked great!...It was about $500 then!

Sigh, they don't make things to last like that anymore..Microwaves today are practically disposable....

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Perkup — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 19:21:02 GMT

I definitely go back a little further. I remember getting our first Frigidaire. I missed the ice man coming by every day, but it was really great to get cold water out of a little jug in a refrigerator. Really something special - white with a round motor on top, and it was set up on legs. Wow!!

And after I got married I remember getting my first electric mixer. It was not a KitchenAid obviously, but it was like a miracle worker in my kitchen. Actually it's still working some 62 years later, but I like my new KitchenAid a little better.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

momtochloe — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 19:58:05 GMT

@Perkup wrote:
I definitely go back a little further. I remember getting our first Frigidaire. I missed the ice man coming by every day, but it was really great to get cold water out of a little jug in a refrigerator. Really something special - white with a round motor on top, and it was set up on legs. Wow!!

And after I got married I remember getting my first electric mixer. It was not a KitchenAid obviously, but it was like a miracle worker in my kitchen. Actually it's still working some 62 years later, but I like my new KitchenAid a little better.

Thank you for this happy memory. My mom would often talk about the ice man and his deliveries but the one that really stuck with me was when we moved into our house in the early 60's and my mom wanted a wringer washer . . . she and my dad had quite a discussion over it but finally she relented and agreed to an automatic washer . . .

And my mom had a Sunbeam mixer that I wish I had . . . what a workhorse that was!

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

Mothertrucker — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 20:29:44 GMT

We have this immaculately restored GE Monitor refrigerator here in my office..@perkup, you made me think of it with your fridge with the globe on top..Might have been one of these..The best selling refrigerator of all time, according to some...

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

house_cat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:07:58 GMT

I love the stories! Thank you for posting :-)

@lolakimono

When my boys were young I had a package of frozen chicken nuggets in the freezer. The label said they could be microwaved right in the package, so one day, I was a little late getting home from work and they decided to cook them. Well, the label had an aluminum backing and they set the whole thing on fire. Luckily for all of us, they had the sense not to open the door, but you know what? That microwave lived another 10 years after that in my dad's garage. I don't know why he needed a second microwave in the garage, but that's another story.

Follow up: I called the chicken nuggets company and told them what happened. They sent me enough coupons that we had free nuggets until they were too old to eat them anymore, lol.

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aubnwa01 — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:24:43 GMT

When my folks bought a brand new home in 1954, the kitchen was all gas, gas range, gas fridge & gas clothes dryer. I wish I still had that O'Keefe & Merritt gas range!

When I went to work for the phone co.in 1973, i'd never heard even of a microwave, much less used one. There were vending machines in the break room & for lunch I got a can of chili out of one of the machines & then, looked everywhere for a stove or hot plate, so i could heat it up. While I was searching, a lady walked thru the break room, so I asked her how I was supposed to heat up my lunch & she said you put it in the microwave & turn it on & pointed out the microwave for me & kept walking. So, I put the unopened can of chili in the microwave & turned it on. There were all sorts of sparks & pops coming off the metal can inside the microwave, but having never seen a microwave before, I thought that must be normal & just stood there like the stupid kid I was, watching the show! About that time, someone else walked thru the break room & started freaking out & quickly opened the door of the microwave to stop the entertainment. She pointed me towards the paper bowls in the cupboard that I needed to put the chili in before I nuked it. That was my 1st experience with a new fangled microwave. I didn't get one for home until 1984.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

jaxs mom — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 22:13:24 GMT

I think my immersion circulator/sous vide is my most cutting edge kitchen appliance. I find it much more impressive than the microwave we got when I was kid.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

house_cat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 22:13:13 GMT

@aubnwa01

You painted that picture so well! I feel like I was there with you! I would have done the same thing. You would think with microwaves so new at the time, there would have been some instructions posted. I'm glad you lived to tell about it, lol.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

house_cat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 22:21:11 GMT

@JAXS Mom wrote:
I think my immersion circulator/sous vide is my most cutting edge kitchen appliance. I find it much more impressive than the microwave we got when I was kid.

I'm ashamed to say that I don't know what this is.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

Mothertrucker — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 23:27:22 GMT

My dad was a great cook, and one night, in the late 1960's, he arrived home with a large box...I had never seen him so excited!!

"It's a Ronson Cook n' Stir!" He announced ........" TEN speeds!!!!"

A WHAT???? It was a blender ,that had a heating element so you could make hot soups and gravies and Lord knows what else....I remember him poring over the recipe booklet....Like he had discovered fire!

The only thing I actually remember him making in it, hot, were mashed potatoes, amazingly gluey, like blended mashed potatoes were bound to be...but by Gosh, they WERE HOT!!!!

Geeze how he loved that thing...whether he ever used it or not...I think he finally sold it at a yard sale when we sold the house...

What a character he was...

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

jaxs mom — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 23:07:12 GMT

@house_cat wrote:
@JAXS Mom wrote:
I think my immersion circulator/sous vide is my most cutting edge kitchen appliance. I find it much more impressive than the microwave we got when I was kid.
I'm ashamed to say that I don't know what this is.

Here is one http://anovaculinary.com

It's a device that heats and circulates warm water so that you can cook food at a low temperature and slowly so that it retains all it's juices and doesn't over cook. So for example, chicken breasts are put into a bag and that bag is put into a hot water bath that is about 139 degrees for 2 hours. Because the food is never exposed to heat higher than the goal finished temperature it can't overcook, it doesn't get dry or stringy. You can quickly sear the outside to develop caramelization for flavor either before or after cooking it sous vide. You can also use the immersion circulator device for maintaining food for long periods of time at the temperature you plan to serve it without degrading the texture or over cooking. You can pasteurize eggs in the shell in it also or perfectly cook soft eggs. Some people mistakenly think it's boil in the bag cooking, it's nothing like that.

I've done roast beef for 24 hours at 131 degrees and it's tender and perfectly rare. Just let is chill overnight in the fridge and then slice thinly for roast beef sandwiches and it's rare all the way from edge to edge. Not overcooked on the outside and then medium rare in the very middle. The low temperatures allow for very precise control of the finished product.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

house_cat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 23:35:04 GMT

@jaxs mom

Thank you for teaching me something. I can't say I've ever seen this.

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house_cat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 23:36:50 GMT

@Mothertrucker

Omg! You guys are cracking me up! Your post sounded like something from A Christmas Story movie!

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Desertdi — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 00:03:08 GMT

My grandmother had more appliances than I do.......(and she'd be 127 now).

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Kachina624 — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 00:41:10 GMT

I got my first microwave for Christmas about 1976 or 77. No one I knew had one. It was a whopping 450 watts and cost over $400. My BIL, visiting for the holidaysholidays, spent the entire morning cooking scrambled eggs in it. I've never been without one since and use it a lot.

Re: Cutting Edge Kitchen Appliances - remember when...

Perkup — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:46:30 GMT

@Mothertrucker wrote:
We have this immaculately restored GE Monitor refrigerator here in my office..@perkup, you made me think of it with your fridge with the globe on top..Might have been one of these..The best selling refrigerator of all time, according to some...

Cute fridge. Like ours, except the top wasn't a globe - it was round and flat on top, and held the motor. I think the top would have been about 30 inches in diameter and probably about 18 inches high. Just a guess from deep in the memory bank. They were always white.