Kitchen Gadgets

[lagatta]

You could feed a village where bixa or hwinpp live for a good year for that, or more usefully still, help them start up a local business venture or co-op. Or improve their school or clinic...

A lot of the Duralex knockoffs aren't nearly as sturdy as the original. I had some tiny glasses like that, made in Turkey, and unfortunately they broke while I was doing the dishes, and I'm not rough on dishes. Yes, we do have Pier One Imports.

I also gave away a microwave. Hate them. I do like the toaster oven though, as I don't necessarily like turning on the real oven if I'm just baking something for myself. This cost $10 of course. I have an immersible Braun blender - oh I like to chop by hand too, but use the blender to make purées such as hummus.

[hwinpp]

I've got a Braun blender too. But now I need a liquidizer.

[Deleted]

I have to think to take my blender out of the box some day.

[hwinpp]

Blender, that's what I meant, not liquidizer. Or not? Not sure, one with fixed blades in a glass or plastic container.

[Deleted]

May 27, 2010 10:13:47 GMT hwinpp said:

Blender, that's what I meant, not liquidizer. Or not? Not sure, one with fixed blades in a glass or plastic container.

That would be a blender HW. Or could be a food processor.

[Deleted]

I use my food processor regularly, but never my blender.

[bixaorellana]

I think I use those two things equally. The blender works much better for liquidy stuff, and the food processor for chopping and shredding, or for pureeing foods without much liquid.

[Kimby]

All of my electrical kitchen gadgets just gather dust. Except two.
The "mixmaster" (a hand held electric egg/cake beater) similar to this except much older:


and in Florida, an electric juicer. Same idea, but again, much older and simpler than this one (I have to manually strain out excess pulp and seeds):


Every Sunday on Sanibel, we have "fresh-squozen" orange juice. Heaven. It takes 9 Florida oranges to make about a quart of OJ.

[Don Cuevas]

I squeezed naranjas dulces this morning, using a lever-action, standing hand-operated squeezer. The juice is indeed, sweet

The price of the naranjas has gone up. Where two years agom they were 5 kilos for 15 pesos, we now get 4 kilos for 20 pesos. But, the truck comes within 100 feet of our gate, so we don't have to schlep them around in the mercado.

[bixaorellana]

Is there anything messier and stickier in this world than squeezing oranges? Much as I love the fresh juice, I don't really like making it.

[Kimby]

Get one of these, bixa. All you do is press the halves down on the spinning hub. You only touch the skins, not the sticky.

[bixaorellana]

I have one of those. You still have to cut the juice filled orbs, smush them, and pile up the spent rinds. Sticky!

[Kimby]

And luscious, too. Totally worth it.

[bazfaz]

May 29, 2010 4:04:02 GMT bixaorellana said:

Is there anything messier and stickier in this world than squeezing oranges?

How abou eating corn on the cob, dripping butter over your hands and chin?

Or getting the meat out of a crab?

Or cleaning and preparing snails?

Good things are worth sticky fingers.

[bazfaz]

Over on TT GS there is a thread about favourite kitchen tool, not far from this thread. The OP says whisk and cups he can't do without. Someone else says he/she has about 15 chopping boards, and uses perhaps 5 for making a meal.
Interesting.
I cannot imagine a whisk is necessay for everyday cooking.
And the person with all those chopping boards...

[Kimby]

I have 3 cutting boards I use (plus one that I might arrange cheese on for a party, but too pretty to use a knife on). I have small and medium wooden cutting boards for vegetables, etc., plus a plastic one that I run through the dishwasher after cutting meats.

I often leave chopped items on a cutting board till it's time to put them in the pan (why dirty a plate or bowl?), which means I need another cutting board to make the salad.

[imec]

Jun 7, 2010 20:45:21 GMT bazfaz said:

Someone else says he/she has about 15 chopping boards, and uses perhaps 5 for making a meal.

Same here... all different sizes - and I sometimes do as kimby does, leaving the cut items on the board until ready to use. (most of the boards are plastic - some as small as 5 by 6 inches and all go in the dishwasher).

[Kimby]

I asked for one of these for Christmas - you can blend two margaritas or daquiris at a time and it's pretty portable.

My sister got me this instead
"As seen on TV"



It has 25 pieces/parts including a full size blender jar, and you can chop, mix, blend, whip, and grind....

I just want a margarita. But that other stuff might come in handy, too.

[lagatta]

I use my whisk a lot. Much more efficient for eggs and such than a fork - hardly high-tech or expensive. I don't have a mixmaster - just use the whisk, but I don't make cakes.

I have a few chopping boards - prefer the wooden ones. I have a big one, a couple of medium ones and a tiny one mostly for cheese or garlic. I have thin flexible plastic ones for travel.

[cristina]

I use my whisks and would consider them essential. I like having things one can use without electricity. I once went without electricity for almost 2 weeks after a hurricane (obviously not in Phoenix), and have a certain appreciation for a few manual items. I especially love my flat whisk, which is really nice when beating a sauce/gravy in a straight-sided pot.

Like this one:



As for cutting boards, I have 3 or 4 in a few sizes. No longer any wooden ones. All are dishwasher safe and rather inexpensive.

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

I read something recently in a food magazine that lent more credibility to the microwave then I had realized, and that was, using it to clarify butter with no effort at all,just putting it in the microwave basically.

[Deleted]

Yes, butter is a perfect item for the microwave.

[lagatta]

I note that I said I didn't have a mixmaster, but I do have one of those immersible Braun stick blenders; I also use that a lot.

I have limited storage space, so no room for 15 chopping boards, but I have at least 5, not counting the travel (flexible thin plastic) one which lives in my suitcase. I love chopping things!

[Deleted]

I have several chopping boards as well,for all the same reasons listed above. I have several small ones,one medium and a really large one. I lean toward the wooden ones.

[Deleted]

One of the many items I encountered at my mother's house was a electric knife sharpener,still in the box,never used. I dithered about whether or not to take it and finally I decided to take it. Anyway,it's a Chef's Choice 120 model and it's really quite amazing what it can do. I have always been a proponent of manual sharpening up until this thing.

[tod2]

Brilliant Casimira, you will will never be without a nice sharp knife now! I cannot (and will not) try and do food preparation without my knife being super sharp. Much to much agony!

[Deleted]

Whenever my father would come to my place, he would sharpen all of my big knives. That must be why they are getting all dull now.

[tod2]

I have a brilliant knife sharpener called 'a husband'! ;D

[Deleted]

Send him over.