topic Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em? in Kitchen

Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

novamc1 — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 10:23:08 GMT

https://www.myajc.com/lifestyles/food--cooking/all-those-kitchen-gadgets-but-sharp-knife-just-might/zyN8OxgmVnu1y8pQH0XiwM/

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

151949 — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 10:50:22 GMT

I agree about this. Get a good set of knives - keep them sharp. It's all you need.

My DH's father was a butcher so at our house we have very good knives and they are kept sharp, as he was taught to do.My DH is very skilled in the use of knives too.He was taught well from a young age, and he had worked in his family butcher shop from teen years until we finally closed it a few years ago.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

CinNC — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 11:43:29 GMT

Just cleaned out some of the kitchen cupboards....dontated the mandoline, lots of specialty pots/pans, and duplicates of pyrex. I think my most used "gadget" is my egg cooker since I hate boiling eggs. I'm even getting tired of the heavy, 6 qt crockpot.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

phoenixbrd — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 12:12:53 GMT

Yes, I agree. I'm on overload; however, it is all necessary because of the way I "cook". Vitamix, juicer, dehydrator, instant pot, mandolin, food processor, panini (shredded potatoes on the panini grill stuffed with mushrooms/spinach are a staple in my home)....these are just the tools of my trade and I use them frequently. There are a few outliers, like the soyabella but most of my kitchen tools are necessary unfortunately.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

okaywitheasypay — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 13:06:02 GMT

"Do we need 'em?" -- nope--- do I love them ? --yep , bring em on ! Until you pry them out of my cold dead hand !

actually many bring relief to my arthritic hands and enable me to make homemade items. interesting article though.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

faeriemoon — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 13:27:00 GMT

I'm not a gadget person.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

Yahooey — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:08:22 GMT

I don't have enough space for gadgets but if I did...

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

PinkyPetunia — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:13:44 GMT

I don't have lots of gadgets because I hate cleaning them. No need for a chopper/mixer to make tuna salad. A knife and a bowl work just fine.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

dex — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:14:34 GMT

@phoenixbrd@I hope that one day you can post that stuffed potato on the panini machine recipe.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

ALRATIBA — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:23:18 GMT

I don't know who all is the "we" ... but I do need all my gadgets.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

millieshops — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:26:44 GMT

I don't have space to store them, so for the most part I don't buy them. But I cook only for myself so it's no great sacrifice.

Unrelated to the kitchen - why doesn't not having space keep me from owning dozens and dozens of tops?

Pretty obvious that lots of what we buy has little to do with need!

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

Alison Wonderland — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 14:29:19 GMT

I don't have a lot of kitchen gadgets, but I do buy things that will be used often and make my life easier. Berry huller? No. Garlic mincer? Yes.

I think a lot of gadgets, not just kitchen, also make things much easier for people with medical or mobility issues. My mom has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 30 and holding a knife can be difficult some days. Any tool that makes a job easier or faster for her is a plus in my book.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

Free2be — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 19:26:57 GMT

The older I get, the more I rely on "gadgets" which I consider to be "essentials".

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

phoenixbrd — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 21:04:18 GMT

@dex Here you are! The panini potatoes are a favorite in my home....delicious, nutritious, and easy! I keep a bag of frozen shredded potatoes in the freezer for a fast meal.

Put the panini on high

Place the frozen shredded potatoes covering the grill plate

While the potatoes are cooking:

saute mushrooms, onions, and spinach (sometimes I add chopped tomatoes, be creative)

Remove the potatoes in a whole sheet from the grill

fold them over in the middle like an omelette

stuff your potato "omelette" with the mushroom mixture

My DH loves this easy sauce I make for him to serve with the potatoes: Mixture of vegenaise and Trade Joe's BBQ/Sriracha sauce

I have seen similar recipes on You Tube for this ....I'll check and see if I can find one for you. A visual will show you how easy this is to make.

take a look at Shredded Hash Brown Omelette Recipe Plant Strong on You Tube

Enjoy your potatotini!

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

chickenbutt — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 21:31:57 GMT

I think I'm probably pretty practical as to gadget type items. As much trouble I have with my hands, I believe I should continue using them so I will do 99.9% of cutting with knives. Sure, there's the occasional thing that goes into the food processor but that's not a gadget. It's a small appliance that is more of a necessity item.

Probably the most 'gadgety' type of thing I have is that awesome little plastic thing for removing that gross white thing from an egg before using it in a recipe.

Oh, and one more gadget that is super necessary for me, especially now, is my OXO Jar Opener. That thing is pure magic. I don't even put it away or hang it up anymore. I keep it on one of the counters all the time.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

novamc1 — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 12:58:14 GMT

I think the real point of the article about gadgets is that "inventors" of these little thingees have found "solutions" to tasks that aren't necessarily problems needing to be solved.

Those types of little gadgets can really clutter up a kitchen, some don't work as advertised, and I'll bet many of them get used once and then get forgotten. (Think I've had a few of those!).

Love my jar opener and can opener. Also my Wrap Master set for aluminum foil and plastic wrap.

I consider my salad spinner nice to have, but when I think about handwashing its three parts, I often take a quicker route to washing lettuce and store it with a paper towel in a Lock and Lock that has a little grate on the bottom for drainage. I can throw the L&L in the dishwasher.

Meanwhile, I do a lot of chopping and grating, and my knives and cutting boards are used much more than any chopper/dicer I've ever tried. In fact, I don't even own any of those anymore. Way too much trouble to clean.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

LyndaGee — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 21:41:27 GMT

Definitely guilty of buying a gadget I've seen on tv, and then only using it once or twice.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

LisaMofSLC — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 15:57:19 GMT

I bought a hand held, not motorized, spiralizer for $5 at Ross. I love it! I use it to make zucchini spirals which I make a salad with chopped chicken and Ranch dressing. Yummy. Best "cheap" kitchen purchase I have made.

Another great purchase, the Mark Charles hand pull chopper. Yes I can make egg salad but I just can't chop it as fine as this device does. I hate big egg chunks in my egg salad.

Re: Kitchen Gadget Overload !! Do we need 'em?

Financialgrl — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 18:46:59 GMT

@LisaMofSLC wrote:
I bought a hand held, not motorized, spiralizer for $5 at Ross. I love it! I use it to make zucchini spirals which I make a salad with chopped chicken and Ranch dressing. Yummy. Best "cheap" kitchen purchase I have made.

Another great purchase, the Mark Charles hand pull chopper. Yes I can make egg salad but I just can't chop it as fine as this device does. I hate big egg chunks in my egg salad.

I have a non-motorized food processor which I pull out a lot. I make a lot of salsa in the manual food processor - I like the salsa to be chunky. My last food processor died and I bought one that is tiny (maybe 1.5 cups) on sale for about $7 in an endcap at Target.