It must be graters because I have more than I really need. I especially like ribbon graters.
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Exactly, a good sense of humour is an indespensible tool in the kitchen.
A good set of tweezers are very useful to remove those salmon bones after skinning the salmon.
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I would consider Instant Pot, microwaves, rice cookers, toaster ovens, Crockpots, stand mixers etc. to be small kitchen appliances.
However, with everyone talking about them more than ever it has become a marketing tool now.
As for knives, I refer to them as a kitchen tool rather than gadget. Some do seep in such as a grapefruit knife or a bagel knife.
Let us leave the knife discussion to @drrayeye, @Claus, @VFish, @JustCharlie, @kaleokahu and gang.
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Microplane, whisk, knife.
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Thank you to all who have replied. So many interesting variations of what everyone enjoys using in the kitchen.
@shrinkrap do you have secret family spice recipes? I’m just starting to create all my own spice blends.
@Rainycatcooks, I love my cherry pitter cherries just taste better when they are pitted.
@retrospek that is a handy tool. I received one as a gift and absolutely love it.
@Phoenikia I use my vegetable peeler, rasp often yet have not tried a Danish Dough Whisk yet.
@jammy, A spurtle, I have seen those I always thought of them as a joke gift too. I’m now eager to try one.
@AJPeabody, Pliers will get the job done and great for pulling out those plastic seal tabs inside of glass bottles. I use it for removing the plastic ribbon safety seal from around plastic containers.
@ChimayoJoe, I do have a spiralizer it’s a fun way to add more vegetables to a salad and inplace of pasta in some dishes.
@Rooster, yes, thank you microplane, whisk use those a lot too. A knife is an absolute must as a kitchen tool.
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I agreee on my Thermopen thermometer. For some reason, I never made the leap from using it for savory items to using it for my baked goods. What the heck took me so long??? Now I use it on all of my baked goods. I’m looking for a temperature between 200-205 degrees. It has really made my baking more moist, tender but still completely baked!
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I rarely use an electric mixer anymore, when I make breads or cookies. https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/this-danish-dough-whisk-can-make-any-bread-cake-or-muffin-better-article/
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I agree re: the Thermapen. I use it for roasts, pizza crusts, any cakes.
Their blog is so handy. https://blog.thermoworks.com/bread/baked-good-doneness-temps/
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My smartphone.
Always helps me convert, and usually saves what would be a binned-dinner-and-a-call-for-pizza.
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That’s a very clever response and so true I’m always grabbing my smartphone to convert ingredients to measurements that I’m more familiar with.
@sowmowchow Welcome to HO!
I’m relatively new here too.
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I use a smart speaker to do this… plus I can set multiple named timers, and add items to my shopping list… all hands free.
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Thanks! Welcome to you too!
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The Thermopen is great, but if you use a Thermopen Dot, you can have continuous read without opening the oven. Mine lives on my baking oven.
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Something i probably reach for once a day is an old two tined fork from a carving set. Something like this but more disreputable, and guard/rest is missing on minel
From fluffing rice, mixing meatloaf, retrieving single items from a pot, actually anytime a spoon isn’t strong enough and a mixer will bog down.
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Not unless you include Lawry’s Seasoning Salt!
Most of my basic “recipes” start here, then get adapted to what I have.
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Bob, thank you for your response.
Welcome to HO, I hope that you enjoy your stay as much as I have thus far!
Have you put Lawry’s on fries? It’s pretty good. A somewhat famous burger place in Ontario (kind of overrated) adds a generous shake to their fries.
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Thank you for the wonderful suggestions Pilgrim.
I’ve only ever used my fork for carving.
What a great idea to use it to fluff rice and for retriving single items from a pot.
My fork will defenitely get dusted off and put to more use.
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Electrical things- my Keurig, my crockpot and big honking 7 quart Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
Non-electrical- OXO spatula for scraping out bowls and such. When I see them at TJ Maxx or Marshalls I buy them up.
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Kitchen adjacent:
I’ve been seriously into wine for years and always used a basic waiter’s friend corkscrew……. UNTIL we were gifted a rechargeable Ozeri Wine bottle opener with a foil cutter attached to its top. My first reaction was a snobbish “no way”, but now I use it all the time. Why not?
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