What are your must have kitchen tools/gadgets?

[cscherler]

What about a pressure cooker? What brand do you like?

[AmyS]

This place is dangerous. In about fifteen minutes of perusing the forums just now, I've discovered that I want to make my own bacon and mayonnaise, hunt down coconut aminos in time to take them to the Japanese restaurant tonight (!!!), and now I clearly need a whole new set of knives - at least. Ha!

[Susan W]

This place is dangerous. In about fifteen minutes of perusing the forums just now, I've discovered that I want to make my own bacon and mayonnaise, hunt down coconut aminos in time to take them to the Japanese restaurant tonight (!!!), and now I clearly need a whole new set of knives - at least. Ha!

Amy so true! I have always thought of myself as an accomplished cook but I never thought I'd be making my own mayo, bacon, ghee and now Kombucha? So fun and satisfying.

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Arrived in the mail today, Thanks Ma!

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Today I bought a Soda Stream and a Zero water filtration system. Yay! I had a 20% off coupon so I used it for the Soda Stream, along with the $10 mail in rebate we saved $30. I am hoping this saves money in the long run as we will no longer being buying bottle water of any variety.

We saved a total of $38 with coupons for both items today. Woot Woot!

[MelliebuStacey]

A good French press for coffeeeeeeee

[CraftyCarnivore]

My personal faves:

Good knives. I have the Global knives (Giada uses those). I think they are made for smaller hands (i know some of the female celeb chefs use them) as both dh and my dad have said they have a hard time using them. I have a full set that includes a large knife, utility knife, paring knife, serrated knife and a vegetable knife (more weighted for chopping sturdy things like potatoes and whole carrots). I also love Santoku knives - blade is straight across with the little ridges. I have three of those.

Several sheet pans for roasting veggies.

Good pots and pans. I have a set of Le Creuset, but I have supplemented with Martha Stewart cast iron pieces as well. My other cookware is the Anondized stuff from Costco. It's about 1/4 the price of Calphalon and I've had it easily 10 years. Good stuff. But you definitely want a roaster that will go from the oven to the stove so you can reduce the pan juices.

I agree with a quality blender/food processor. I have a Ninja (about 1/3 thr price of a citamix but every bit the quality) and use it about 4x for a weekly cookup. Mayo, soups, salad dressings...

I'm sure I will think of more...kitchen gadgets are such a weakness of mine.

[Beets]

I'm not sure if you've maybe already gotten your stuff but here are mine in case anyone else has same Q:

-Good knives (mine are Wusthof and I always miss them if I try to cut with a not great knife

-Le Creuset skillets (in constant use--large and small--heavy but awesome; I also have a big All Clad skillet which has its uses but doesn't see nearly as much use)

-Le Creuset Dutch Oven(Except for a wedding gift set almost all of my LC comes from the outlet.)

-Immersion blender (mine is KitchenAid, I think the Breville is also good--mine's been abused almost daily for prob six years)

-Pressure Cooker (mine is Kuhn Rikon but I hear the Fagor are nice--got mine as a surprise unregistered for wedding present and it took me four years to try it. It gets CONSTANT use)

-Food Processor (I have the big Cuisinart and a little KitchenAid mini chopper--not in constant use but when you need them they sure are handy!

Check cooks illustrated equipment reviews! Worth the price of a monthly membership for sure. I never buy anything major without checking there. It's also worth is to learn basic cooking techniques. I don't mean like boiling water but making stir fries or brining, etc.

Little stuff: microplanes, lots of glass jars and glass storage containers, several pairs of tongs and wire whisks (silicon and metal), Kuhn Rikon can opener (slick--doesn't make a sharp edge), Oxo oven mitts (best!!), good heavy sheet pans, couple Silpats. I also really like my Le Crueset baking dishes (most found at Marshall's).

My wish list: Breville convection oven, better newer slow cooker that cooks really low on a timer (mine is prob ten years old and at the lowest setting is still too high), Vitamix (!!!!) and thanks to nomnom paleo a Sous Vide machine, Benriner mandoline (have a super cheapo), and a big dark green Staub stockpot.

[Susan W]

Besides my Kombucha brew set up, this is by far my most favorite new kitchen item:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-MSC-600-Central-6-Quart-Multi-Cooker/dp/B008YEXC22/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365994645&sr=8-1&keywords=cuisinart+slow+cooker

So fun to brown your ingredients and then switch to slow cooking. LOVE it for lamb shanks.

[Beets]

Hmm. I didn't know Cuisinart made one of those. I've seen the All Clad one and despite the browning capability it gets mixed reviews. It would be nice to not have to desperately try and scrape every last bit of fond into my slow cooker.

[Susan W]

Hmm. I didn't know Cuisinart made one of those. I've seen the All Clad one and despite the browning capability it gets mixed reviews. It would be nice to not have to desperately try and scrape every last bit of fond into my slow cooker.

You know..the 6 Qt Cuisinart got good reviews but the 7 Qt got mixed. I find that very odd, but went with the 6 Qt. I had no idea All Clad had one. Breville does too but I like the see through lid in the Cuisinart.

[angekfire]

I use my slow cooker all the time. I could likely use better knives, but a good cutting board (or more than 1; I have 3 and I still wish I had more) are handy. I like my carbon steel wok that I seasoned with coconut oil (seasoning that thing was a pain. The smoke made the apartment stink for a few hours after, but nothing sticks to that thing!). Wooden and silicone cooking utensils are also super handy.

I could likely use a good quality food processor and/or blender though.

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Loving these two new purchases.

http://www.amazon.com/Rada-Cutlery-Starter-Aluminum-S38/dp/B000FZ223I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=O2DHCE7VN3RL&coliid=I1OU65I1M489WV

http://www.amazon.com/World-Cuisine-A4982799-Tri-Blade-Vegetable/dp/B0007Y9WHQ

Especially love ^^^.. that guy is so much fun to play with!

[Kirsteen]

My current favourite item is http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-AirFryer-Healthier-Oil-Free-Fryer/dp/B0042EU3A2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367748477&sr=8-2&keywords=Phillips+hot+air+fryer Don't be fooled by the *healthier low fat cooking* yeah right. I slather everything in XVOO or coconut oil or tallow before putting it in and it cooks great. Chicken is fantastic in it and so is veg, everything from sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips to brussle sprouts, broccoli etc.

[tarah802]

As strange as it sounds, the two items that i find myself reaching for a TON are the mandolin slicer & a very cheap manual lemon juicer (the kind that requires a little elbow-grease when using)!

[kew]

Best kitchenaid discovery today: cook chicken breast in crockpot, spoon into kitchenaid bowl, turn on mixer, shredded chicken in about 2 seconds! No more "two fork" method!

Which mixer part were you using? The wire one? The dough hook? I really HATE the two-forks thing so I would love to adopt this idea.

[Susan W]

Which mixer part were you using? The wire one? The dough hook? I really HATE the two-forks thing so I would love to adopt this idea.

I'm guessing she used the paddle attachment. The whisk seems like a nightmare to clean but it seems like the paddle would work. Big guess on my part. :0)

[JosieJake]

jhmomi

No need for a dehydrator. The oven works great. 

[kirkor]

For those of you lusting after gadgets, http://camelcamelcamel.com/ can be a good resource to let you know when the price is right!

[Lyolya]

Cast iron skillet, stick blender and Thermomix!

[Rebe_J]

If my immersion blender broke, I would drop everything and go to the nearest retailer and replace it.

 

Now that I have an Instant Pot pressure cooker, it may become my favorite. It arrived yesterday...

[slpowers]

I use my wok all the time!  It's a cast iron one with lid.  I use if for everything from stir fry to meat and veggies!  My fave veg is brussel sprouts cut in half and brown a bit in the wok.  add a little water, cover and steam til somewhat tender.  Remove lid, add butter or bacon fat and saute to mix well!  

 

Other than my kitchenaide, it's my most versatile kitchen tool!

[GFChris]

 My fave veg is brussel sprouts cut in half and brown a bit in the wok.  add a little water, cover and steam til somewhat tender.  Remove lid, add butter or bacon fat and saute to mix well!  

Just confirming, when you say butter, do you mean *clarified* butter?

Regular butter is not allowed on a Whole30.

[pintchow]

Joining late to the party (I'll blame the W30 daily email on gadgets today (thanks actually) -

 

On my 14th day, and I'm loving my hand-held blender to give more options to my daily chunked roasted veggies.

Puree away, my friends!

 

Otherwise I could do with a spatula...works better with scrambled eggs/omelettes. My frying pan will thank me..

 

I'm hesitating on a spiralizer as I have a scary razor sharp Nakiri knife...I practically go Zen when I use it, so therapeutic..

 

For week 3/4: I'm revving to go with the pressure cooker once I accumulate enough chicken bones and offal bits.

 

Cheers!

[Dodo Bird]

Ooh hey a kitchen equipment thread!

 

I see that cast iron cookware has been brought up a few times before in this thread, but I'll reiterate: cast iron owns.  Now that I'm not cooking grain-based things, I'm finding myself using my 12" Lodge for just about EVERYTHING - it just lives on the stove top now.  Now that I use it constantly, I can maintain a Teflon-like finish on it - totally hydrophobic and nothing sticks.  Fries eggs like a dream.

 

So yeah, 12" cast iron skillet is a must-have.  It's big enough for an entire meal (hash plus two eggs and enough space to flip said eggs) or scaled up recipe batches, holds heat really well, oven safe up to way hotter than your oven can get, and is effectively indestructible.  I've taken it camping with me, put it right on top of the campfire to cook food, and then cleaned it in the creek with some sand and mud.  Oh yeah, also comes with a hundred year warranty.

 

Also, I more recently got an immersion blender.  I agree, it's awesome.  For pureed soups, which I love, I just never make them because I HATE the part where you have to transfer it into the blender in batches - it's annoying and also dirties the blender and all the dumb lid parts and gaskets and stuff.  Now I can make them MUCH more easily and only have one part to wash instead of like six.

 

Lastly, one gimmicky thing that I have is the silicone tube garlic peeler.  Put garlic clove in, press and roll, and peeled garlic clove comes out.  Super handy and actually works.