What's your favorite kitchen/garden gadget?

On TV I often see gadgets for choppong veggies and they make it seem effortless. does anyone have experience of them. Sometimes I see them ending up at garage sales and wonder what went wrong.

Usually when I see gadgets on TV that seem carefree, it usually means it is difficult to clean. I love my

Like CampRN, I spend a lot of quality time with my 10" chefs knife and my new love: a Hammer Stahl 7.5" Santoku knife, which--wonder of wonder--has the same heft as the Wusthof ten-incher. BUT, I also use the food processor. The main reason for hand chopping is to get vegetables chopped to a specific size so they cook in the same time, or for visual reason. If cooking time and/or beauty are not important, but time is, sure, pull out the Cuisinart.

we have one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Vidalia-Chop-Wizard-VOWR-2/dp/B000I6JZWA/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1340313899&sr=8-19&keywords=food+chopper+manual

one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Genius-USA-ND05RT-Nicer-Dicer/dp/B000HEBCEM

and one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-Manual-Chopper-Salsa/dp/B0000DINF7/ref=pd_sim_k_2

i like all of them. because of gadgets like these, my little girl has been able to help me in the kitchen since she was five years old.

I love my Presto Salad Shooter. I use it to slice or shred veggies, shred cheese, etc. I do wish the chute was larger for larger veggies. I'm hoping Santa gets me the pro version.

I have a kitchen aid food processor I have had for many years and absolutely LOVE it.
I use it almost daily, as I make a lot of pesto.
I buy the parmesan regioanno cheese at costco in the big chunks and put it through the processor and then put it in large bags in freezer OR fridge for easy use.
I also LOVE my henckle (sp) knives, I always love cooking, but when I am cooking at someone else's place and they have lousy knives, cooking loses its CHARM.
However I do keep a large package of bandaids in the kitchen though

Hey Doc GWN, you should be used to sharp knives.
Kay

This thing's a winner, the Chef'n StemGem Strawberry Huller. Small, ingenious...so I got two, one to use, one to lose. Found mine at locak kitchen store, Kitchen Kaboodle, but I see it's available nation wide on Amazon, etc., even Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table. Easy to use: push plunger, stab "teeth" into leaf end of strawberrry, release plunger, twist, pull and the core/leaves pull right out. (Alton Brown says the core of the strawberry should be removed when making strawberry jam. Grandma 'Re didn't, but her berries were probably more flavorful than most available today.) Now, after you've made your jam, and there are a few berries left over. Dip a strawberry in a bit of rich sour cream, then into dark brown sugar, and eat. Fabulous dessert....especially with a bit of off-dry champagne!

I'm going to vote for a cherry pitter. I've always liked cherries, but now with a pitter, I LOVE cherries. And it takes only a few minutes.

My most recent favorite kitchen gadget is the pressure cooker. This site has some awesome information, including some about pressure cooking.
http://sodapic.com/22-kitchen-cheat-sheet-guide-basic-cooking-techniques/

I just cooked up a bunch of chickpeas in my pressure cooker a few days ago - 3 bags of them! deeeelicious!

But my fave tool is my Dexter Russell offset serrated knife. I've had it at least 10 yrs, use it numerous times a day to cut everything and anything, and it's never gone dull.

CC

Squat_Johnson wrote:This is a great garden kneeler/stool that I got a couple years ago for $18.99. I bought two and use them all the time.

http://www.amazon.com/Step-2-5A0100-Garden-Kneeler/dp/B00004W431/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1287674031&sr=1-6

Exactly what I use! Got mine at the local ACE Hardware store for about the same price a few years ago, too.

Lavender Debs wrote:Gadgets I use so much I keep one in my travel trailer: micro-plane, zester, salad spinner

Electric stuff I like enough to put one in the trailer: hand (stick) blender.

Gadgets I need to replace because I’ve use them so often: nut grinder (tool for turning nutmeg into usable dust)

I don't know what a nut grinder is. I use my micro-plane on whole nutmeg. Can you please elaborate?

+1 on the stick blender!

While it's not exactly a gadget (think back to the knife discussion, before I hijack this thread) ... my favorite kitchen item is my Grandmother's hand-written cookbook.

Since I'll be 73 this summer, there are some OLD TIME recipes in there.

I love that it's all in handwriting ... hers and of those of friends who shared their recipes. (All are pre-Palmer Method)

On page three of this thread is a picture of my favorite gadget the Gilhoolie, it's even more important since I developed arthritis in both hands. Anyway, this week I received a gag gift/Mother's Day gift from my son living in Tokyo. He sent these kitchen gadgets, can you guess what these two-eyed, rabbit eared things are?

You squeeze the ears together. The left one grinds sea salt, the right one grinds peppercorns. The Japanese culture favors things that are petite and cute. Guess this was right up their alley.

My stainless-steel i-cook[/i]TM cookware!

It requires only a tiny bit of water, and, like a pressure cooker, seals in moisture and nutrients. I'd like to add that food cooked in these tastes much better than that prepared conventionally! Also, I can stack up to three pans on one burner to cook an entire meal.

Full disclosure: I'm an Amway IBO and sell this product.

I've got to come clean on this one .. It's Alison my wife
Closely followed by our i - cook ware ..

my favorite kitchen gadget (and I have alot and always look for more) has to be a garlic press. Ive tried cutting the garlic into itty bitty pieces with a knife and it just doesnt seem to work as well as the garlic press.

boffer wrote:My wife doesn't beat around the bush sometimes. This weekend I was informed that a certain item in a certain gadget catalog was the cat's meow! Gadgets indeed!

Check out www.chefscatalog.com for all kinds of stuff you don't need!

Just an update (if you've been reading the entire thread) : my favorite gadget cooked 16 dozen cookies yesterday. When she left this morning, she took all of them with her except 6. Not 6 dozen...6 cookies!

Oh my goodness boffer, you should never have put that link in there. Its a gadget paradise.

That's one of my favorite websites, too! I'm forever drooling over Wusthof cutlery.

I have a new favorite kitchen gadget - is the Avocado Cuber from Williams Sonoma. It is honestly one of the best purchases I've made this year. I hate the mess and fuss of cubing avocados and I avoid them because of it. At first sight, I thought the cuber was a gimmick and then I read the reviews and something clicked. I realized how easy it would be to use it and not make a horrible mess with junk in my nails and rings. I got it a couple of months ago and am now using an avocado just about every day in salad or as a snack.

This is my new favorite kitchen gadget.



It might look like an electric knife sharpener to you, but to me, it's a Marital Harmony Infuser.

I'm a tool guy, and I am fortunate that my wife appreciates quality tools. She uses some quality tools in her professional and is a stickler about keeping them sharp.

But when it comes to our high end kitchen knives, the woman drives me bonkers! For years, she's been using them to slice away on Corningware and metal cookware and steel cooling racks. Sometimes I quietly suggest that they would stay sharp longer if she didn't do that; sometimes I bite my tongue, walk away, and pretend I didn't see it. I've been totally perplexed that she doesn't respect our knives the way she does our tools.

The last time we got them professionally sharpened, she acknowledged how nice it was to have sharp knives again...as she was slicing meat sitting in Corningware. I like sharp knives, but they're not worth starting WWIII over. That was when I decided to sharpen them myself, and went looking for a gadget to do so.

In the past, I've looked into various sharpening methods that knife enthusiasts use, but I couldn't mentally get into them. This sharpener does a good job and is fast and easy. It doesn't quite get the edge that a professional can do, but if my wife ruins the edge the first time she uses a knife after it's been sharpened, it doesn't make much difference.

Now when I see her abusing the knives, I just smile to myself and think 'Oh well, I can fix them'.

I've got one of those boffer, they're nice. I find this one even more handy.



Keep it in the drawer below the cutting area, a few (3-4) strokes and sharp to slice through things like a razor. Basically gets almost as good as our $100+ electric three stage in about 3 seconds.

Cooking is at the TOP of the list of my favorite things to do.  I garden to support my cooking.

Years go I had good knife skills but an accident 11 years ago left me with my right (dominant) hand/arm less than 100% - lots of nerve damage. 

Since then my knife skills have diminished.  I have searched for and purchased various gadgets to help me with chopping, slicing and dicing. 

My first acquisition was what I call a "Whopper Chopper".  You put your vegetable under the dome then "Whop" the top to chop things up.  An "OKAY" tool. 

My Sister gave me a tool that is about 8" X 4" with a flip lid.  There are 2 different stainless steel grids that can be inserted into the base depending on the desired size of dice.  Another "OKAY" tool.

Herb scissors - a pair of scissors with 5 blades on each side for cutting herbs - a MUST HAVE in any kitchen.

For my birthday last year I asked my DH for a Mandolin.  A very nice tool that I use frequently for making perfectly uniform slices.  Better than "OKAY".  It DOES require some practice and LOTS of attention while using.  The 2nd time I used my Mandolin I was slicing vegetable like a pro and , unfortunately talking to my DH.  That minor inattention resulted in having the tip of 3 fingers sliced off.

Lesson learned!

Two of my Brothers are knife aficionados.  My Colorado Brother makes custom hunting and utility knives.  I consulted them both and my DH gave me a stunning Japanese Chef Knife for Christmas.

CAS-G210 Aogami-Super Gyuto 210mm.

It is a hammered carbon steel blade clad with stainless. Japanese Handle.  It is just slightly blade heavy which works well for me.  With my "stupid arm" the slight heaviness of the blade makes the knife do more of the work.  Both of my Brothers prefer a balanced knife. 

Out of the box it was super sharp.  Lucky me - my Colorado Brother and SIL were visiting for Christmas.  He had his professional sharping tools with him.  He put a super fine working edge on my knife.  Awesome Brother that he is he made a Horse Butt Strop for me.  I use it before and after each use of my knife to keep the edge smooth and sharp.

My Baby Brother lives in town and has very good (not professional quality) sharpening stones.  When my knife edge needs a little touch up he takes care of it for me. 

A great chef knife makes such a huge difference.  A perfect knife can elevate your cooking from a good home cook to a great home chef.

My knife is the pride and joy of my kitchen.  I treat it like a much loved child. 

Quality tools MAKE a kitchen.

What are your favorite tools?

Amazing what we do for our addictions... 

Good knives & mandolin for sure!

My (commercial-sized) dehydrator and my seal-a-meal!  And my canning set-up (both pressure & waterbath).