Interesting! I had never heard of one and now that I have seen one and what it does, I can see how some would consider that tool essestial. My oatmeal making is so simple, it requires a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup a spoon and a plate, plus oatmeal and water.
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Too many favorites for me and most of mine have been mentioned above. I have to say my two ended melon baller is a favorite. It creates balls in ripe fruits and butter and it speeds up cleaning out bell and other peppers. My pyrex glass measuring cups are favorites, too.
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I also have what your aunt used for icing petite fours; mine is used for pouring water out of pots of vegetables & lives on the end cap of my cabinets. It’s barely legible etching says in it’s original life it was an ”ACME Genuine Safety Grater.”
I
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Late to the party here, but it would have to be my Instant Pot. I use it mostly for rice, rice pudding, pasta, quinoa, steaming potatoes, beets and other vegetables, plus soft boiled and hard boiled eggs. Not sure how I ever lived without it.
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Nice! I wish I used mine more, and it just hasn’t happened. I limit carbs, but I’m curious about how it’s used with pasta. How long have you had it?
My hands.
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I go through a lot of mangoes, too. Waltzing one around on the cutting board with a chef’s knife can be scary! We love a fruit salad of mango, orange, banana, strawberry, and either blueberry or blackberry, tossed in a little Panera poppyseed (much lower calorie and less sweet than the others) served with some Good Culture cottage cheese. I am starting to look for a mango pitter!
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Yes! I had to really look closely at the worn inscription, but it’s the same.
Never considered it as a pot strainer, now I will.
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Also a toasting rack and cooling rack.
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Basically, you just cover the pasta to its top with water and set the timer to half the time listed on the pkg. Works for ziti, penne, egg noodles, macaroni and shapes like that, not so much for spaghetti. Saves time, water and energy. Laura Pazzaglia has a website and describes cooking pasta with the Instant Pot. I’ve had my IP for years and really depend on it. Great for soups too.
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I see manual crank apple corers at the thrift shop all the time and I’m always curious to buy one. What prevents me is their high prevalence at thrift shops indicating they’re commonly discarded, and also my inability to figure out which one to buy. If I take one in, I’d like to choose the Cadillac of apple corers.
Also, to which cherry stoner do you refer? Is it a one-off contraption, or commercially available? Thank you!
Many of the crank apple peelers/corers are junk. The one I have was a thrift shop purchase, too, but I recognized it as the Reading one that Lehmans sells.
I looked at Lehman’s, and I only see parts for the Reading listed. Maybe discontinued recently? IIRC, Lehman’s had had a guy who–for a fee–would completely set up and tune the unit. If you get one, I would highly recommend doing that.
With regard to the stoner, it’s this one:
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It’s true my apple crank peeler ended up at a thrift store because for it to function the apples had to be very round.
My cherry pitter is hand held and I’m very happy with it.
If I was making pies then I would consider the one that @kaleokahu suggests above.
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This weekend found me using the ‘credit card shredder scissors’, that I picked up at the thrift store for a quarter, snipping the chives over the the pommes Anna.
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Regarding apple peeler/corers, picked one up at a yard sale for $2, thinking I’d gotten the score of the decade, and envisioning all the applesauce I’d make in the fall. WELL, the thing was a POS, and although it was almost new, it failed to work, even reading the instructions (gasp 
) and trying in earnest. Looked it up on Amazon & many complaints of the same. I gather the ones from LL Bean are truly effective.
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When I make mashed potatoes, I chuck unpeeled potatoes in the pot. Then I toss them in the ricer. It is easy to fish the skins out with a pointed implement like a paring knife. I wonder if that technique would work for applesauce.
I’m sure it would work, but for me to do repeated amounts of pressing stuff through a ricer, would be hard on the hands. I’m talking about going into canning mode with maybe a bushel of apples? I’ve always wanted to do it since I live in a major apple producing state - Washington. I may look on eBay or elsewhere.
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Adding to my favorites upthread:
Spring loaded batter scoops in sizes ranging from cupcakes/muffins to mini cookies.
Handheld cherry pitter
Spiralizer
Crinkle cutter
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Sure, you can use a food mill or large ricer. You gotta cook first, of course, which is going to add color and tannins from the peels.
Definite and hard no for a whole bushel!
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