What are your 'must have' kitchen gadgets?

[Seahorse]

I have a bit of a 'thing' for kitchen gadgets at the mo! I've got a Kenwood Chef (two, actually!) with lots of attatchments, a bread maker, a frothie maker, a dehydrator on it's way to me and am currently hovering over the 'buy' button for an EasiYo yogurt maker.

I'd really like a proper juicer, instead of just using the blender on the Kenwood but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choices available!

I think my most useful gadget is the bread maker - I haven't bought bread for ages now and I can slip so many things into mixes that are good for the kids but that they would turn their noses up at if served 'as is' on a plate!

What gadgets does everyone else have? Which are especially good? Any lying unloved at the back of cupboards after seeming like a good idea at the time!?

Claire

[terrier]

My must have in the kitchen is a teapot and kettle, I can manage without all the rest of the gadgets.

[shirlthegirl43]

OOh, what a question!!!

I have a Kenwood chef too (recent purchase but it is an old one) and I love it, makes shortbread so much easier than doing it by hand. I had nearly stopped making things that required 'rubbing in' as my hands are so sore these days. I love my coffee machine (brought back from the USA), bread machine (used to knead and prove, then I add bits, shape and bake in the oven), waffle iron, sandwich toaster, deep fryer!! ice cream maker, candyfloss maker, popcorn popper..... Looking forward to my dehydrator arriving from the States too. But I think my real favourite, with my family's love of pancakes, is my electric griddle - 19 inches by 11 inches - superb for drop scones, pancakes, full english - you name it (yup, another gadget from the States).

Madmax says his favourite kitchen gadget (not found in many kitchens methinks) is the wallbox for his '57 Wurlitzer jukebox!! His second fave item to be found in the kitchen is me (aw, isn't he sweet? Well I guess it is our 17th wedding anniversary today)

[kirsty b]

My OH got me a little food processor for christmas (to my mother's horror!) and I use it almost constantly.
Wouldn't get much done without my cooker!

[rustylady]

I am a total gadget freak, but on the cheap and cheerful side. I've had melon ballers, lemon zesters, cherry stoners, teabag squeezers, ice cream scoops - you name it I've probably bought it. Most of them have been thrown out in one of my periodic clearouts, but isn't it always the way that a week after you've thrown something out you really could do with it? My only essential gadget is a potato peeler (one of the ones with a Y-shaped handle and the blade across the top)

[bubblewrap]

A good quality non stick frying pan, pressure cooker & slow cooker with these I can cook most of what I need.

[shirlthegirl43]

A good quality non stick frying pan, pressure cooker & slow cooker with these I can cook most of what I need.

Oh yes, I forgot my slow cooker!!! Maybe coz it has to live in the dresser in the dining room as the kitchen is so full of gadgets

[Sue]

Another gadget freak here,
The magimix is probably the most used, closely followed by the bread maker. After that I love my Tefal 3 in one slow cooker which can also be used for rice and steaming. Then there's the dehydrator, the deep fat fryer, the EasyYo, the icecream machine and haven't used it so much this year, but with last years hot weather, used my soda stream constantly to make fizzy water and drinks.
And the microwave for defrosting things and cooking my porridge, and the usual kettle, toaster etc. And couldn't be without my freezers to store all my allotment produce for winter.
And what have I thrown out, the full size steamer bought for steaming whole chickens then I went vegetarian and the mandoline, too dangerous, could foresee trips to casualty. Trying not to buy foreign fruit means the pineapple corer doesn't get used anymore and I used to love playing with that!
But my most favourite thing and the things I use more than anything are the silicone rubber spoons that catch every last bit of sauce, puree or whatever. Got five of them.
And as for what I've got my eye on at the moment, a Remoska from Lakeland.
And that's without mentioning my other kitchen passion, blue and white cornish ware
Sue

[Hazel at the Hill]

You have started a really good thread here, Claire!

So - faves:
Kettle & freezer
breadmaker
hand held beater

Could live without, but nice to have:
microwave
juicer

Lets face it, a bit of a waste of money:
tiny deep fat fryer
magimix
steamer

Would love to have:
Sue's silicon spoons
pressure canner a la pigletwillie
oven with a bloody accurate temp knob!

[Alice]

Don't consider it a gadget as I use it all the time, but I love my breadmaker. And good knives - each for their own purpose. Must have for me.

[scarey55]

I'm with you Alice. Peeps moan about breadmakers but I use mine all the time. Also a very cheap hand whisk especially for making Hazel's now legendary Abbey Crunch biscuits.

[valmarg]

I look on kitchenware/gadget shops as my 'toy' shops.

I'm sure there are many of you, like me, have gadgets gathering dust in the back of the cupboard, items you use fairly often and the ones you use very often.

Gathering dust - slow cooker, pressure cooker, toastie machine.

Used fairly often: electric waffle iron, food slicer, spice/coffee grinder.

Used very often: Bamix stick blender, Kitchenaid food mixer, Magimix food processor, Braun hand mixer.

valmarg

[muckdiva]

A good quality non stick frying pan, pressure cooker & slow cooker with these I can cook most of what I need.

I'm with you on all those Bubblewrap, (gone off teflon so frying pan has to be le creuset type) with these additional most used:

Breadmaker
hand held stick blender
non stick lining fabric stuff for baking trays etc (from Lakeland, sorry can't remember what it's called)
Bean slicer thingy (Cost about £1 - you push a bean through and it comes out sliced into four long strips). Novelty wise, I credit it with converting my 7 year old into a bean eater
American Measuring Cup set
A really good potato peeler (makes a much better, quicker and less dangerous job of shredding cabbage for coleslaw)
Dehydrater (a la cheap and cheerful at Tchibo)


Gathering Dust:
Microwave
Ice Cream Maker
Waffle Iron
Mouli Food Mill
Silicone Baking Trays
Mandoline (scary)
Pastry lattice cutter
Decorative cake icing stencils....
Crikey, must have a clear out!

[Two_Sheds]

1) George Foreman grilling machine ... got to be cheaper than putting the oven on, but a git to clean bacon fat out of
2) microwave is used every day, for reheating homemade ready meals
3) hand blender (£5) - the big blender is a faff to clean
4) swizzle stick for frothing up coffee (why use electric ?)
5) cafetiere (£3) - the big espresso machine is gathering dust
6) silicone spatula, fab

there is a breadmaker, but I haven't worked it out yet
there's a juicer, but its a faff to clean

newest gadget is a German eggtimer that you drop in the cooking water and it changes colour when your egg is ready. Its total carp, don't bother

[heebiejeebie]

Essential:
heavy base non-stick MASSIVE frying pan with a lid and roasters
set of heavy pans
decent knives
coffee maker (cafetiere)

Very very useful, nearly essential but get a grip:
Magimix
lemon squeezer
scales
measuring spoons
dishwasher

used to have but didn't replace when broken because they took up more space than they were worth:
microwave
deep fat frier
sandwich toaster