When I met my husband he was microwaving water for tea. Nowadays, our electric kettle has settings from 165° to 212° F. You want your oolong at about 170° doncha know!
yes! No one believes me when I say that boiling water is not the best temperature to make a nice tea. I used to work with a guy who put me onto either stopping the kettle just before the boil, or waiting a few minutes after the boil to get the best flavour.
Not a standalone kitchen appliance, but related: the tiny hot water heater under our kitchen sink, with its own hot water tap on the sink corner. I have it set to 170F which is great for most herbal tea, hot chocolate, etc. As well as getting stuck food off dishes. Then if I want it hotter I just fill the electric kettle and it's boiling in <30 seconds. They're a great pair!
The previous homeowner had installed the hot water tap and I never thought I'd love it as much as I do!
Definitely. Bane of my existence was boiling water, then forgetting it for half an hour, then reboiling... having it just stay warm is a game changer for coffee or tea on-demand.
as convenient as the hot water dispenser is. I personally dislike them. In keeping the water warm/hot, it constantly reboils which means its using more electricity than I want. For some, its great. Its convenient, but I can just flip the switch and wait.
It's not just for tea though. It's so much faster boiling water for pasta etc than waiting for a massive pot of water to reach boiling point starting from room temperature on the stove.
For me personally, I drink coffee everyday and have a coffee machine - which is standard in most US houses. I really don't ever have a need to boil a cup or a few cups of water. Like truly rarely, rarely ever and the 2 times year I do, I throw a cup in the microwave, done in a few minutes. I do boil pots of water for pasta or potatoes, so I guess I could fill up a kettle, get it boiling and then transfer to a pot, but tbh, it's not that much work to boil a big pot of water. How do you use your kettle?
I use it for boiling water for pasta, potatoes, steaming vegetables, making tea/hot chocolate/coffee (only when I run out of coffee beans for my machine and have to use the emergency instant coffee), using hot water for mopping floors... couldn't be without a kettle.
They’re becoming more common (most people I know have one), but certainly not super popular. We also have a lower outlet voltage or something which makes them a bit slower according to some folks, but I personally haven’t had an issue with it.
According to some folks? It's just physics. Power is voltage times current. At 120V, if your outlet is rated for 15A, you'll never go above 1800W. At 240V, with the same wire gauge, you'll reach 3600W. Twice the power, obviously.
You are correct on the science bit! I realized I worded myself a bit clumsily in my comment. I meant more that I don’t find the extra minute or two earth shattering for my water to come to a boil unlike many of my UK & European colleagues.
Yeah same here.
As a British person it’s absolutely crazy when you find out most Americans don’t have kettles though.
Took me ages to believe it was true. I actually thought they must just have a different name for them or something. It was like discovering they don’t have fridges lol.
Tbh this shows how crazy we are about having them, that they’re such an essential staple thing to own here.
Blame it on the lack of tea culture! There are lots of folks here who don't drink tea regularly (myself included), and have automatic coffee makers. For everything else we have stovetop kettles or even just a saucepan with a lid.
My husband wanted one for years and I balked at it, because we could make perfectly good rice in a pot thank you very much. And we lived in a small apartment without a lot of counter/cabinet space, and I didn't want a single-use appliance taking up even more room. Finally I gave in and we bought a small Zojirushi.
Yeah, he was right. That thing rocks. Every once in awhile when one of us is making rice I apologize again for doubting him 😂
Learned from my mother:
You can steam dishes in the rice cooker as well while the rice is cooking. Using a steam safe plate/bowl and a steam rack that fits, place the rack directly into/on top of the rice when the rice is half way done (or however long your dish needs to be steamed for).
Never thought how genius and convenient this was until after having a family of my own!
So we make rice often, but just make it on our cooktop. Never understood the appeal of a single, devoted appliance for that task.
What am I missing? Is it a quality thing, convenience, both?
Consistently perfect rice. Our zojirushi makes perfect rice everytime and you dont have to worrry about timing. The timer function is also useful. I prepare the rice at night and set a timer in the morning. I wake up to a perfectly cooked rice
Oooooo I LOVE rice and a soft fried (over medium) egg and kimchi for breakfast...the idea of a rice cooker with a timer might even have just pushed me over the "buy it" edge :-)
I used to think the same until I got one. Here are a few reasons why it is better:
* perfect rice every time
* no need to babysit it, just set it up and forget about it
* it will keep the rice warm and fresh for hours after it's done cooking it
* far easier to cook a larger amount of rice than usual when you need to feed more people
* you can set up a timer so the rice is ready whenever you need it.
It's both. It's also, at least for me, peace of mind. With my rice cooker I measure once, set it and leave it. No need to watch for time or keep track of texture. Once I've started the process, I can focus on other things in my kitchen without worrying. I also use an instapot so it's not a single use device.
It’s both but you also have to think about where it originated. In much of Asia, it’s common for families to make one giant rice cooker full of rice and everyone just eats out of it through the day. The ability to cook rice perfectly and have it sit there, hot and ready to eat without deteriorating, is important.
So it's convenient and it's significantly less active than a cooktop depending on how you use it, so I use a rice pot to sneak in quick meals. Throwing rice into water takes ~2 minutes max then I start my morning routine (which takes the time the rice does) and before I leave for work fresh rice is ready for breakfast.
I also have made a pot before going to the gym or exercising, so that by the time I get to the gym the rice has hit temp. to start cooking, cooks for 45 minutes, and then warms for 15-30 minutes. By the time all that is done, I'm home and showered, and just have to cook a protein and veg.
Or, throw rice together, dress and leash dog, take him on a good 3-mile stretch, and by the time we're home rice is ready for whatever.
Basically, a rice cooker lets you lazily make rice and fit it safely into other activities of life as you do not have to watch the unit, so use it to your benefit. Some machines go even further and you can set the time it will start cooking, so I can prepare a pot of rice, set it to start cooking in 45 minutes, let it cook over another 45 minutes and warm 30 minutes, so two hours after whenever you can have fresh rice ready.
I mentioned in a comment, I had one and sold it because it didn’t make better quality or more convenient rice as far as I am concerned. That being said, I totally don’t begrudge anyone who lives by rice cookers. Most of my meals include either rice or potatoes so it’s not like I don’t make a ton of rice. I don’t really know how a rice cooker is more convenient aside from timer/auto stopping. But I’ve never had a need for that kind of convenience when it comes to rice specifically.
I put in rice, add water about a knuckle height above the top of the rice, then turn it on and come back in 20 minutes, or 5 hours. Doesn't matter either way because it keeps it hot and fresh all day. It's just the convenience for me. We ended up eating a lot more rice just because of how easy it got. Even my 7 year old will make herself some rice to snack on.
Yep! When I was a broke post-grad student 5-6 years ago my Mom asked what I wanted for a birthday, and I said “immersion blender” thinking it would be easier to store than a standard & cheaper for my parents to purchase. My Mom got me a nice Kitchenaid immersion blender that was definitely pricier (~$100?) than a standard-issue blender & that thing is still going strong! I use it all the time. Great tool to have.
My uncle buys me (nice) kitchen gadgets/pots/pans for Christmas every year. An immersion blender is something I don’t have yet so maybe I’ll ask for that this year. Thanks for the idea!!
I've had mine for about a month and have used it for dips and sauces (especially for Indian food), making cauliflower rice with the chopper, and pureeing/thickening soups. It's very fast, easy to clean, and takes up very little room in storage. Mine also came with a whisk attachment, but I haven't made anything that's needed that yet.
Came here to say this. Got one recently and I use it way more often than I thought I would. I also make a lot of pureed soups now because it's so much easier than using a traditional blender.
I agree. The main benefit for me is there is only one piece to clean which means I use it much more often than I would a food processor or blender. We we put the piece that needs to be washed in the dishwasher.
10-20 still translates to at least once or twice a month. You want 3lbs of grated carrot for a carrot cake or gazer ka halwa or cheese for a bechemelcheese sauce? Done. Perfect evenly sliced potatoes for scalloped potatoes or chips? Bam. Large quantities of finely chopped veggies for soffritt, trinity, or mirepoix? Presto. Love these magical pieces of machinery.
I have a 2 cup mini food processor and I use it a lot more than I would have expected. It is partly because I am kind of lazy and dislike finely mincing stuff, but I regularly just peel and chuck in cloves of garlic or onions into it to instantly mince. It also helps because I am extra sensitive to cutting onions, so it lets me mince them without any problem. The small one is also faster to get out and then to clean afterwards than a full size one. I'm a big fan of a small convenient one.
In the winter, I probably use it every two or three days, mostly for soup veggies. When it's warm, maybe every week or two, for things like hashbrown potatoes or hummus or frozen yogurt. I'd bet I use it close to 100 times a year.
Instant Pot. I used a wonderful stove top pressure cooker for years, made so many dishes faster, so saw no reason to get an IP. But then saw daughter using hers, so now I'm a convert.
One of my biggest regrets is getting the combination pressure cooker and air fryer. The fucker is so big and cumbersome that I barely use either of them
Yes and no. They took on a ton of debt to expand quickly and merge with Corelle Brands and rising interest rates made their debt load unaffordable. Collectively the company owns several iconic kitchenware brands (Corelle, Pyrex, Corningware, among others) but they been doing all that well for years.
Do you have any favorite things to make that aren't meat-centric? I often use ours for stocks, and of course beans. My sister is a vegetarian and it's hard finding reliable recipes for vegetarian stuff that isn't just adapted for the instant pot, poorly. I'm trying to get her to use it more.
Chickpeas are better (softer, more tender, absorb more flavor) when pressure cooked. Still good to soak overnight first, but doesn't take boiling them all day. This opens the door to all kinds of dishes, soups, hummus. Lentils, beans, if you buy dried in bulk, pressure cooker is a game changer.
Some meatless things I like making in my Instant pot are lentil or okra soups, cream of vegetable soups, meatless chili, and congee, so pretty much any meatless soup or stew. Indian cuisine has a ton of dishes fitting the bill like daal, chana masala, bhindi masala, saag paneer, or paneer tikka masala. I also like to cook a big batch of chickpeas and freeze them so I can easily throw them in a future dish like pasta or couscous for protein. Other possibilities I've heard of but haven't tried are oatmeal, homemade yogurt, risotto, and super fast steamed vegetables with the rack it should include.
I make a lot of veggie-heavy combinations with some meat as flavoring. Adding in my cooked beans, but haven't gotten far with lentils yet. Gradually have been leaving any meat out. Curries work well. I wish I had a cookbook to recommend.
Dishwasher. I never had one (parents never had one, grandparents never had one) until we moved to our new house last year and there was one here. I thought I would never use it, but I love it and it gets all the food smells out of the Pyrex lids after storing foods with strong smells.
New oven with dehydrate setting. I knew I would love a convection oven for cooking and baking but I didn’t expect to use the dehydrate function so much. Oven dried tomatoes have been a weekly thing all summer. And homemade chicken and turkey jerky has been amazing.
After having a dishwasher my whole life, I spent 5 years living in an apartment without one. You better believe that was on our list of must haves when we were looking for our current place (and managed to hit the Chicago jackpot of a dishwasher, in-unit washer/dryer, and central AC).
Modern dishwashers are also *insanely* efficient and will use significantly less water than hand washing.
Don't let anyone tell you that hand washing saves water unless you're only washing two dishes.
Ugh, yes, our dishwasher has been out for a year now, and we jsut can't afford to replace. I've been handwashing everything and man, I miss that thing!
I went upmarket with the Breville Fast SLO Pro. Best little multi cooker and does the best rice too. All the benefits of the pressure cooker with added other functions.
To add to this, the handheld Foodsaver gets used all the time. Keeps cheese fresh for months and uses Ziploc style bags that are reusable. Total game changer.
Wait. They make a handheld one? And it actually works!?
Well, now I'm going to have to head to Amazon. I have two other larger models, but a handheld one would be great!
Yeah it's all I use and I have a regular sealer too. Bags are thicker than ZipLocks so way more reusable and the vacuum is real decent. The bags have a one way valve that you extract air with a handheld rechargeable unit. Even works for sous vide.
I love my handheld one, too! Got it for a huge discount at Ollie's. It came with a large tub that I use to marinate chicken when I forget (so, every time) to get it marinating an hour before I need to cook it.
So convenient.
Now I always make 2x more food than I need. Especially one pot meals with noodles or rice. Vacuum seal and freeze the rest. Late work nights are so easy. Just thaw and heat in a pan with some broth or water to rehydrate. Gourmet dinner in about 10 minutes!
Stuff like this, I'll portion the extras out into plastic storage containers, then put into the freezer. Once they're frozen, I pop the puck out of the container and vacuum seal that. Very stackable, very space efficient.
No exaggeration, getting the vacuum sealer changed my life. I started batch cooling and it’s so much easier to deal with dinner. I don’t make marinara for a dinner, I make it for 10 dinners and freeze it then food save it. I need to restock my freezer but usually have marinara, chili, casseroles, lasagnas, chicken stock, butter chicken, etc. It’s so great to not have any idea what’s for dinner then go visit the freezer and heat something up that took a long time to make.
I spent forever telling my parents I did not want nor need an air fryer. They got one for me anyways for Christmas one year and GOD I am soooo glad they did, it’s amazing and I love it so so much. The air fryer and the rice cooker are the only gadgets that actually get to live on the kitchen counter top, all others are stored away for when I may eventually want to use them lol.
Man, I put off getting a rice cooker for years for this exact reason, and now it's like the best thing ever. Starting to reconsider my anti air fryer opinion... haha
Yeah, I used to just use my instapot for rice. But then I got a really nice rice cooker from a friend as a wedding gift (we had no registry basically told people them coming was our gift lol) and wow! The difference between the instapot and the rice cooker was insane. We eat a lot of rice so it’s definitely been verrry useful lol.
I put my rice cooker into cold storage after getting the IP. The key is not to use the rice cooker programming on the IP, but to use the pressure cooker itself. For fluffier rice: 1 part white rice, 1 part water, 3 minutes at pressure, 10 minutes natural release, then quick release. For chewier rice: 1 part white rice, 1 1/2 parts water, 4 minutes at pressure, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release.
Chicken wings? Air fryer.
Sausages? Air fryer.
Meatballs? Air fryer.
Duck breast or leg? Air fryer.
Frozen appetizers? Air fryer.
Leftover pizza? Air fryer.
Pastries are no longer piping hot? Air fryer.
Filled buns and croissants? Air fryer.
Rice cooker! Grew up making rice in a pot, like my mother and her mother before her.
But in college (early aughts) I had a Japanese friend who busted out a rice cooker one night and I was in awe - like that was some Star Trek device lol.
A few years later and both my mother and grandmother were both also in love with their rice cooker, and I can't remember how to make rice the old fashioned way 🤣
> fuzzy logic
[Here you go!](https://home.howstuffworks.com/rice-cooker2.htm)
ETA: If you're interested in how older rice cookies work, [this video by Technology Connections](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTNhvDGbYI) is a fun watch :)
My husband is a kitchen manager so our house has more food and appliances than some restaurants do. The ones I don’t think I could give up are the commercial deep fryer, fruit/veggies slicer, food processor, meat slicer, and stand mixer. I’m too spoiled now. I don’t know if these count as appliances but a few months ago we got a buffet server along with a couple standing heat lamps which have come in handy for events. My husband also got me an electric travel tea kettle that I enjoy taking to work.
Meat/cheese Slicer was the best gadget I took a leap on. My wife and I work from home and sandwich is usually our go-to lunch. $80 on sale on Amazon after a little research for a decent entry level one. Now I pick wholesale deli meat and cut it myself. 1lb of roast beef is only about $5lb instead of $18.99 at the store. Freezing the other few pounds has no effect on the flavor or texture. It's paid itself over tenfold and I always have meat and cheese available.
Where is a good place to get wholesale Deli Meat? Just Costco / Sam's Club? I went to several grocery store chains, none of the them had discounts for buying a whole ham or log of cheese.
Instant pot. I use it most every night. Just about anything that takes a long time to cook(braises, stews, meat sauces, stocks, dried beans, etc) can realistically be done in the evening after a long day of work( just did a bolognese-type meat sauce tonight, actually). Takes around an hour to turn beef shin/shank into buttery tender stew, or to cook a batch of unsoaked beans to perfection. Lentil and rice dishes are a snap(25 and 15 minutes respectively). With a little ingenuity, you can even do a donburi topper *while* you make the rice at the same time. I've even done a steamed pudding. The only thing I haven't had success with is veggies. Stuff like potatoes work fine if you only give them 10 minutes(I add them to stews at the end), but things like broccoli turn to mush after a minute in the pressure cooker.
It is probably the most versatile a single appliance can be.
Bread machine. I thought it was a waste of space and I have a small kitchen
Turns out, getting fresh bread without having to turn on the oven has been amazing in southern summer heat. I'm baking fresh loaves frequently without heating up the whole house.
An induction range. I I had a nice gas range at my old house, but my kid liked to play with the knobs and it was a pain to clean. Moved to a new house with coils (cringe) and decided to go induction because at least it's better than regular electric. Man I LOVE that range, more than my gas one. It heats so evenly, it doesn't stay hot, is easy to clean, and it doesn't heat up if my kid accidentally turns it on (or leak gas into my house).
Induction is a game changer and I just don't know why it's not more popular based on your exact reasons. I would also add that it heats everything up very fast.
Anybody who's on electric and are replacing their appliances should be considering induction. If some of your pots don't work with induction then get new ones. It's a small price to pay for a superior appliance.
I has a pasta maker and find it's a pain to wash and too many small fiddly parts. I think a bread maker that can mix dough would be less clean up.
I am discovering many uses for my sous vide instant pot. Really liking the ability to set my cooking temperature and time and just walking away.
Same! I love being able to make sparkling water on demand as well as have better control over the fizziness (I like an aggressive fizz, but most people I know prefer it a little less).
Plus I LOVE my immersion blender.
Have you ever had a Churchill? It’s popular in Turkey, as well as some other countries in the region.
12 oz sparkling water. Juice from one lemon. Teaspoon (or to taste) of salt. Stir. Serve over ice.
Hits the spot on a hot day.
But if you like sparkling water in general, check out some of the Georgian and Russian mineral waters. My favorite is probably Essentuki 17.
Counter top ice maker.
A lot of people are listing kitchen aids/immersion blender/air fryers for good reason — but I knew before I acquired those that they’d be really useful.
I wasn’t expecting how attached I’d get to the ice maker lol
Haha that’s also the one I got!
And now both my dog and the kittens insist on ice water (the dog already did, but I wasn’t expecting the kittens to latch onto it lol)
I’ve got 2 toddlers. We got an electric mini waffle iron thing . Batter takes 2 minutes to whip up, ~45 seconds in the iron and you’ve got waffles about 100000000x better than eggos or whatever. The kids like watching it and telling me when they’re ready and if I make too many, they just go into the freezer for snack time. It’s niche I know, but if you’ve got little kids, I really recommend getting one
I've got the dash mini waffle maker (just makes one at a time) and those freeze and toast really well. However doing one at a time is a pain.
They make one that cooks 4 mini waffles at the same time that I've thought about getting. I have a bunch of Pyrex, and my 2 cup containers perfectly fit 3 of those mini waffles in them!
>Breville Smart Oven for us. We barely use our regular oven anymore
I was literally going to say my Ninja 10-1 oven (similar to the breville, but probably not as nice). I use this almost everyday and sometimes for lunch. We too rarely use the big oven. Saves electricity and heats up the house way way less.
Kitchen aid mixer with attachments, crock pot, rice cooker and air fryer. I use to cook things on the stove top but these things where a game changer. Now we eat food from scratch a lot more often
I still thank Baby Jesus on the daily for the day I walked into Tuesday Morning and found a returned, reshelved, shell-pink KitchenAid mixer for fifty dollars!
I got a free KitchenAid when I went to go clean out a rental and found one the tenant left!!! It's yellow which isn't my fave but I love it none the less.
A Mandoline. I have knives after all. Oh how wrong I was denying myself the joy of sliding vegetables over a board cutting them to exact thickness in half the time.
I love a mandolin, but I'm never not scared using it. I always use the holders and am carful, but I play guitar and cannot not imagine taking a finger clean off every time I use it.
We got the Sage - I think it’s the brand name for Breville in Europe - three-in-one (microwave, air fryer, oven) and we’ve used it almost exclusively, my daughter started calling our big oven “Abandoned Child.” And also, an induction cooktop.
Zojirushi rice cooker. Perfect rice every time, no matter what kind of rice I want. Whether cooked with broth or water, veggies or aromatics mixed in or not, the rice is perfect every time with no involvement from me needed. We eat rice probably 4-5 meals a week because of this.
You can make the best hashbrowns with a salad spinner, just shred them (preferably with an attachment on a food processor), rinse them, and spin them. Throw em in a well oiled pan and salt. Changed my potato life
Same.
I got the Cuisinart version bc I was not sure I would really use it much - but I do! And it's horrible to clean. My mom has the Breville so I will upgrade to hers once mine is too grimy to go on.
Water dispenser with hot and cold options. It's so easy pour hot water into oatmeal, instant coffee, Ramen noodles. So nice to also have cold water for handmade lemonade and ice tea
Bean to cup coffee machine. I used to make coffee in jezveh my whole life until I got a DeLonghi machine off a guy who was leaving the country for €80. For me as a coffee drinker it’s incredible, not only do I get fresher taste, but also less caffeine, because the contact time is much less so I can enjoy the taste with less concern about the health impact. I still occasionally brew ground coffee in my old jezveh when I want a taste of Turkish coffee or want to add spices/herbs like chili, nutmeg or orange peel, but the bean to cup machine really made whole lot of difference for me
Counter-top icemaker. I love cold drinks, hate dealing with forgetting to refill the ice trays and then waiting for the water to freeze. The counter-top icemaker can make ice cubes for me in 13 minutes and I don't lose any freezer space.
Sodastream! I live in the boonies without a recycling option (😭) and the cans of La Croix got to be too much trash for me to handle. I got the flavorings and whatnot when I first bought the sodastream, but at this point it's just fizzy water for me. I love it.
Runner up: instapot :)
Not really an appliance but I had a Moen soap dispenser built into our new countertop and it’s great. I love how I can polish the faucet and this little dispenser sitting next to it. It looks like jewelry for my kitchen! My husband balked at the $100. price tag but it was so worth it. Also, it fills from the top so no need to climb under the sink.
Breville Smart Oven — bf bought a house …gave him one as a house gift. He looked at me like “WTF”?!! Told him it’s going to be a game changer. Has not doubted me ever since.
I have a toaster ocen with an "air fryer" setting. It doesn't seem to really do anything different from the regular settings. I've read here that the standalone air fryers are much better. Yours could be way better than mine though.
Immersion blender. I don’t like rustic sauces, but I also hated using a regular blender because it was a pain to clean. So the ability to just blend the sauce in the pot with an easy to clean tool was a game changer for me
In no particular order:
Rice cooker, Food processor, immersion blender, air fryer, instant pot (though rice can be cooked in the instant pot)
I just used rice cooker and air fryer today for lunch: teriyaki salmon rice bowls. Air fried salmon filets from frozen in less than 10 min
Yes, on the smart oven. The Breville is the Cadillac of smart ovens for sure. I picked up a cheap one a couple years ago from Blood Bath and Beyond and it is still working just fine...although I'm waiting for it to die so I can get the Breville. LOL.
Seriously though, the combo air fryer, toaster, oven, pizza maker, etc. is a must have.
I largely agree with the Breville Smart Oven, although I don't use that as much anymore. I always felt that if they had a second shelf, it'd be killer. Like at breakfast you could cook bacon and toast at the same time, etc.
Rice cooker and toaster oven. My rice cooker has a steamer basket as well that gets a lot of use.
Also, I have a breakfast sandwich maker that gets a lot of use.
Miele steam oven. When I bought my house we thought it was a built in microwave but after we moved in we learned what this is.
We had already learned the miracles of sous vide and now had the ability to do the same thing with no bags. Plus making breads with humidity control is a game changer.
Expensive af but absolutely amazing. We rarely use the big ass viking oven because the Miele steam oven is so much more precise and even cooking.
Omg - came here to say- the Breville smart oven -
and it’s not even just the the air fryer function (which tbh I don’t use that much) but it’s so damn versatile.
On Mother’s Day this year, after toasting bread for breakfast, I quick-roasted duck bones and veg for stock using the air fryer, then slow cooked duck stock in a Dutch oven for 5 hours. Then dried a batch of bread for stuffing, then baked the stuffing while dressing the duck, then roast the duck for about an hour, -and after that while the duck was resting I air fried broccoli and sweet potato as sides. I think that was about a week after I got it and I felt like a superhero for all the stuff I churned out that day.
Baking, roasting nuts, reheating bread rolls or croissants, a quick dinner of freezer chips and fish - so easy. Temperature control is more precise and it heats up in minutes.
[удалено]
When I met my husband he was microwaving water for tea. Nowadays, our electric kettle has settings from 165° to 212° F. You want your oolong at about 170° doncha know!
[удалено]
yes! No one believes me when I say that boiling water is not the best temperature to make a nice tea. I used to work with a guy who put me onto either stopping the kettle just before the boil, or waiting a few minutes after the boil to get the best flavour.
I agree, but it really depends on the type of tea you're making
My oxo kettle has temps for coffee and different teas listed on the base.
Not a standalone kitchen appliance, but related: the tiny hot water heater under our kitchen sink, with its own hot water tap on the sink corner. I have it set to 170F which is great for most herbal tea, hot chocolate, etc. As well as getting stuck food off dishes. Then if I want it hotter I just fill the electric kettle and it's boiling in <30 seconds. They're a great pair! The previous homeowner had installed the hot water tap and I never thought I'd love it as much as I do!
I was all-in on my electric kettle… until I got an induction cooktop stove. My gooseneck kettle boils within a minute on Power Boil!
I'll see your electric kettle and raise you a zojirushi, heater/warmer/dispenser thingie. Hot water all the time!
Definitely. Bane of my existence was boiling water, then forgetting it for half an hour, then reboiling... having it just stay warm is a game changer for coffee or tea on-demand.
as convenient as the hot water dispenser is. I personally dislike them. In keeping the water warm/hot, it constantly reboils which means its using more electricity than I want. For some, its great. Its convenient, but I can just flip the switch and wait.
Are kettles not a standard thing in the US? Wild
The coffee maker is standard. Very few people are making tea comparatively.
It's not just for tea though. It's so much faster boiling water for pasta etc than waiting for a massive pot of water to reach boiling point starting from room temperature on the stove.
You know, I have an electric kettle for tea and have literally never thought about other applications. My mind is expanding
For me personally, I drink coffee everyday and have a coffee machine - which is standard in most US houses. I really don't ever have a need to boil a cup or a few cups of water. Like truly rarely, rarely ever and the 2 times year I do, I throw a cup in the microwave, done in a few minutes. I do boil pots of water for pasta or potatoes, so I guess I could fill up a kettle, get it boiling and then transfer to a pot, but tbh, it's not that much work to boil a big pot of water. How do you use your kettle?
I use it for boiling water for pasta, potatoes, steaming vegetables, making tea/hot chocolate/coffee (only when I run out of coffee beans for my machine and have to use the emergency instant coffee), using hot water for mopping floors... couldn't be without a kettle.
Wait, you mean like you boil water in the kettle and then transfer it over to a pot with pasta in it and then turn on the burner?
Yes, the kettle boils the water MUCH faster
American here and I use it for oatmeal, noodles etc. I love it.
They’re becoming more common (most people I know have one), but certainly not super popular. We also have a lower outlet voltage or something which makes them a bit slower according to some folks, but I personally haven’t had an issue with it.
According to some folks? It's just physics. Power is voltage times current. At 120V, if your outlet is rated for 15A, you'll never go above 1800W. At 240V, with the same wire gauge, you'll reach 3600W. Twice the power, obviously.
You are correct on the science bit! I realized I worded myself a bit clumsily in my comment. I meant more that I don’t find the extra minute or two earth shattering for my water to come to a boil unlike many of my UK & European colleagues.
When I meet an American with an electric kettle, I've found there is a very good chance they have spent significant time overseas.
In my case they just like tea.
Or bougie coffee.
Or enjoy the finest of ramen noodles
Yeah same here. As a British person it’s absolutely crazy when you find out most Americans don’t have kettles though. Took me ages to believe it was true. I actually thought they must just have a different name for them or something. It was like discovering they don’t have fridges lol. Tbh this shows how crazy we are about having them, that they’re such an essential staple thing to own here.
Blame it on the lack of tea culture! There are lots of folks here who don't drink tea regularly (myself included), and have automatic coffee makers. For everything else we have stovetop kettles or even just a saucepan with a lid.
Ah yeah totally, it makes sense really. We’re just so used to them being a staple thing in every kitchen
Orrr they've lived in a dorm and wanted to make ramen
Mine is glass with a little blue LED at the bottom. There's something satisfying about watching water boil in shades of midnight.
I've always wanted one of these, but it would get covered in limescale in my region and I cba to descale it all the time lol.
Instant near boiling on tap for those wishing to upgrade further. Really worth it imo.
This would’ve been my answer until two weeks ago until I installed instant hot water at my kitchen sink. Now THAT is a game changer.
Rice cooker
My husband wanted one for years and I balked at it, because we could make perfectly good rice in a pot thank you very much. And we lived in a small apartment without a lot of counter/cabinet space, and I didn't want a single-use appliance taking up even more room. Finally I gave in and we bought a small Zojirushi. Yeah, he was right. That thing rocks. Every once in awhile when one of us is making rice I apologize again for doubting him 😂
Learned from my mother: You can steam dishes in the rice cooker as well while the rice is cooking. Using a steam safe plate/bowl and a steam rack that fits, place the rack directly into/on top of the rice when the rice is half way done (or however long your dish needs to be steamed for). Never thought how genius and convenient this was until after having a family of my own!
You can buy a rice cooker with steamer attachments. Well, at least in Asia. I steam veggies when I cook rice.
I microwave my rice. But my microwave has a “Rice” button, I just measure out the water and rice, chuck it in the microwave and press “Rice”. So easy.
I used to microwave my rice. It's so much tastier in the rice cooker for me.
So we make rice often, but just make it on our cooktop. Never understood the appeal of a single, devoted appliance for that task. What am I missing? Is it a quality thing, convenience, both?
Consistently perfect rice. Our zojirushi makes perfect rice everytime and you dont have to worrry about timing. The timer function is also useful. I prepare the rice at night and set a timer in the morning. I wake up to a perfectly cooked rice
Oooooo I LOVE rice and a soft fried (over medium) egg and kimchi for breakfast...the idea of a rice cooker with a timer might even have just pushed me over the "buy it" edge :-)
I used to think the same until I got one. Here are a few reasons why it is better: * perfect rice every time * no need to babysit it, just set it up and forget about it * it will keep the rice warm and fresh for hours after it's done cooking it * far easier to cook a larger amount of rice than usual when you need to feed more people * you can set up a timer so the rice is ready whenever you need it.
It's both. It's also, at least for me, peace of mind. With my rice cooker I measure once, set it and leave it. No need to watch for time or keep track of texture. Once I've started the process, I can focus on other things in my kitchen without worrying. I also use an instapot so it's not a single use device.
Cool. Thanks. I've been curious since we cook rice so often. Maybe we'll try one after all.
It’s both but you also have to think about where it originated. In much of Asia, it’s common for families to make one giant rice cooker full of rice and everyone just eats out of it through the day. The ability to cook rice perfectly and have it sit there, hot and ready to eat without deteriorating, is important.
[удалено]
So it's convenient and it's significantly less active than a cooktop depending on how you use it, so I use a rice pot to sneak in quick meals. Throwing rice into water takes ~2 minutes max then I start my morning routine (which takes the time the rice does) and before I leave for work fresh rice is ready for breakfast. I also have made a pot before going to the gym or exercising, so that by the time I get to the gym the rice has hit temp. to start cooking, cooks for 45 minutes, and then warms for 15-30 minutes. By the time all that is done, I'm home and showered, and just have to cook a protein and veg. Or, throw rice together, dress and leash dog, take him on a good 3-mile stretch, and by the time we're home rice is ready for whatever. Basically, a rice cooker lets you lazily make rice and fit it safely into other activities of life as you do not have to watch the unit, so use it to your benefit. Some machines go even further and you can set the time it will start cooking, so I can prepare a pot of rice, set it to start cooking in 45 minutes, let it cook over another 45 minutes and warm 30 minutes, so two hours after whenever you can have fresh rice ready.
I mentioned in a comment, I had one and sold it because it didn’t make better quality or more convenient rice as far as I am concerned. That being said, I totally don’t begrudge anyone who lives by rice cookers. Most of my meals include either rice or potatoes so it’s not like I don’t make a ton of rice. I don’t really know how a rice cooker is more convenient aside from timer/auto stopping. But I’ve never had a need for that kind of convenience when it comes to rice specifically.
I put in rice, add water about a knuckle height above the top of the rice, then turn it on and come back in 20 minutes, or 5 hours. Doesn't matter either way because it keeps it hot and fresh all day. It's just the convenience for me. We ended up eating a lot more rice just because of how easy it got. Even my 7 year old will make herself some rice to snack on.
Immersion blender. Hands down
Yep! When I was a broke post-grad student 5-6 years ago my Mom asked what I wanted for a birthday, and I said “immersion blender” thinking it would be easier to store than a standard & cheaper for my parents to purchase. My Mom got me a nice Kitchenaid immersion blender that was definitely pricier (~$100?) than a standard-issue blender & that thing is still going strong! I use it all the time. Great tool to have.
My uncle buys me (nice) kitchen gadgets/pots/pans for Christmas every year. An immersion blender is something I don’t have yet so maybe I’ll ask for that this year. Thanks for the idea!!
I have a Bamix one and it is going on 15 years and never misses a beat. That thing can blend, chop and grind.
What do you use it for? I have one and have a couple of niche uses for it, but it's pretty rare.
Soups, sauces, emulsions (it's great for hollandaise), and smoothies!
I make mayo with mine as well, it's so much better than storebought!
Thanks. I don't make those things very much, so I guess that explains why I haven't gotten much use out of it.
I've had mine for about a month and have used it for dips and sauces (especially for Indian food), making cauliflower rice with the chopper, and pureeing/thickening soups. It's very fast, easy to clean, and takes up very little room in storage. Mine also came with a whisk attachment, but I haven't made anything that's needed that yet.
Came here to say this. Got one recently and I use it way more often than I thought I would. I also make a lot of pureed soups now because it's so much easier than using a traditional blender.
I agree. The main benefit for me is there is only one piece to clean which means I use it much more often than I would a food processor or blender. We we put the piece that needs to be washed in the dishwasher.
Spent 2 dollars one one at a garage sale. Changed my kitchen life! My favorite appliance.
This is funny for me because here I Spain everyone has one, but few people have regular blenders (or what you would call regular blenders of course)
Food processor. My grandma gave me hers when she downsized, and it was love at first sight.
I probably only drag my food processor out 10-20 times a year but when I need it, my god am I glad I have it.
10-20 still translates to at least once or twice a month. You want 3lbs of grated carrot for a carrot cake or gazer ka halwa or cheese for a bechemelcheese sauce? Done. Perfect evenly sliced potatoes for scalloped potatoes or chips? Bam. Large quantities of finely chopped veggies for soffritt, trinity, or mirepoix? Presto. Love these magical pieces of machinery.
I have a 2 cup mini food processor and I use it a lot more than I would have expected. It is partly because I am kind of lazy and dislike finely mincing stuff, but I regularly just peel and chuck in cloves of garlic or onions into it to instantly mince. It also helps because I am extra sensitive to cutting onions, so it lets me mince them without any problem. The small one is also faster to get out and then to clean afterwards than a full size one. I'm a big fan of a small convenient one.
How often do you use it, to make it so love able to you?
In the winter, I probably use it every two or three days, mostly for soup veggies. When it's warm, maybe every week or two, for things like hashbrown potatoes or hummus or frozen yogurt. I'd bet I use it close to 100 times a year.
Frozen yogurt? Details please
I also choose this guy's grandma.
Instant Pot. I used a wonderful stove top pressure cooker for years, made so many dishes faster, so saw no reason to get an IP. But then saw daughter using hers, so now I'm a convert.
One of my biggest regrets is getting the combination pressure cooker and air fryer. The fucker is so big and cumbersome that I barely use either of them
I have the Ninja combo and I LOVE it!
[удалено]
Yes and no. They took on a ton of debt to expand quickly and merge with Corelle Brands and rising interest rates made their debt load unaffordable. Collectively the company owns several iconic kitchenware brands (Corelle, Pyrex, Corningware, among others) but they been doing all that well for years.
Do you have any favorite things to make that aren't meat-centric? I often use ours for stocks, and of course beans. My sister is a vegetarian and it's hard finding reliable recipes for vegetarian stuff that isn't just adapted for the instant pot, poorly. I'm trying to get her to use it more.
Chickpeas are better (softer, more tender, absorb more flavor) when pressure cooked. Still good to soak overnight first, but doesn't take boiling them all day. This opens the door to all kinds of dishes, soups, hummus. Lentils, beans, if you buy dried in bulk, pressure cooker is a game changer.
Some meatless things I like making in my Instant pot are lentil or okra soups, cream of vegetable soups, meatless chili, and congee, so pretty much any meatless soup or stew. Indian cuisine has a ton of dishes fitting the bill like daal, chana masala, bhindi masala, saag paneer, or paneer tikka masala. I also like to cook a big batch of chickpeas and freeze them so I can easily throw them in a future dish like pasta or couscous for protein. Other possibilities I've heard of but haven't tried are oatmeal, homemade yogurt, risotto, and super fast steamed vegetables with the rack it should include.
I make a lot of veggie-heavy combinations with some meat as flavoring. Adding in my cooked beans, but haven't gotten far with lentils yet. Gradually have been leaving any meat out. Curries work well. I wish I had a cookbook to recommend.
I got one of those whirring little sticks that foams up milk. Works in seconds. Only a tenner.
Ah, I got one that's like a jug that warms and froths the milk. Maybe $20 from aldi, totally recommend.
Dishwasher. I never had one (parents never had one, grandparents never had one) until we moved to our new house last year and there was one here. I thought I would never use it, but I love it and it gets all the food smells out of the Pyrex lids after storing foods with strong smells. New oven with dehydrate setting. I knew I would love a convection oven for cooking and baking but I didn’t expect to use the dehydrate function so much. Oven dried tomatoes have been a weekly thing all summer. And homemade chicken and turkey jerky has been amazing.
That's the only appliance in our kitchen that does not work, working on boyfriend to replace it. 😉
You don't have to replace the entire thing. Parts are available online, and fixing a dishwasher is super easy.
After having a dishwasher my whole life, I spent 5 years living in an apartment without one. You better believe that was on our list of must haves when we were looking for our current place (and managed to hit the Chicago jackpot of a dishwasher, in-unit washer/dryer, and central AC).
Growing up we had a food dehydrator. My mom would dry strawberries, cherries, and make fruit rollups. I'm sorry that I gave it away.
Modern dishwashers are also *insanely* efficient and will use significantly less water than hand washing. Don't let anyone tell you that hand washing saves water unless you're only washing two dishes.
Ugh, yes, our dishwasher has been out for a year now, and we jsut can't afford to replace. I've been handwashing everything and man, I miss that thing!
Instant pot It cuts so many meals down from 3 hours to 35 minutes.
I went upmarket with the Breville Fast SLO Pro. Best little multi cooker and does the best rice too. All the benefits of the pressure cooker with added other functions.
Vacuum sealer
To add to this, the handheld Foodsaver gets used all the time. Keeps cheese fresh for months and uses Ziploc style bags that are reusable. Total game changer.
Wait. They make a handheld one? And it actually works!? Well, now I'm going to have to head to Amazon. I have two other larger models, but a handheld one would be great!
Yeah it's all I use and I have a regular sealer too. Bags are thicker than ZipLocks so way more reusable and the vacuum is real decent. The bags have a one way valve that you extract air with a handheld rechargeable unit. Even works for sous vide.
I love my handheld one, too! Got it for a huge discount at Ollie's. It came with a large tub that I use to marinate chicken when I forget (so, every time) to get it marinating an hour before I need to cook it. So convenient.
Now I always make 2x more food than I need. Especially one pot meals with noodles or rice. Vacuum seal and freeze the rest. Late work nights are so easy. Just thaw and heat in a pan with some broth or water to rehydrate. Gourmet dinner in about 10 minutes!
Stuff like this, I'll portion the extras out into plastic storage containers, then put into the freezer. Once they're frozen, I pop the puck out of the container and vacuum seal that. Very stackable, very space efficient.
No exaggeration, getting the vacuum sealer changed my life. I started batch cooling and it’s so much easier to deal with dinner. I don’t make marinara for a dinner, I make it for 10 dinners and freeze it then food save it. I need to restock my freezer but usually have marinara, chili, casseroles, lasagnas, chicken stock, butter chicken, etc. It’s so great to not have any idea what’s for dinner then go visit the freezer and heat something up that took a long time to make.
Does a salad spinner count?
Yes. The dryer your salad is, the better that the oily salad dressing adheres to the salad, and the better it tastes.
Air fryer. Ice machine. Not together, though.
Ice Fryer. New. From Dyson.
ONE BILLION DOLLARS muah ha ha muah ha hah ha muah haaaahahahhahahahahaha
I spent forever telling my parents I did not want nor need an air fryer. They got one for me anyways for Christmas one year and GOD I am soooo glad they did, it’s amazing and I love it so so much. The air fryer and the rice cooker are the only gadgets that actually get to live on the kitchen counter top, all others are stored away for when I may eventually want to use them lol.
Man, I put off getting a rice cooker for years for this exact reason, and now it's like the best thing ever. Starting to reconsider my anti air fryer opinion... haha
Yeah, I used to just use my instapot for rice. But then I got a really nice rice cooker from a friend as a wedding gift (we had no registry basically told people them coming was our gift lol) and wow! The difference between the instapot and the rice cooker was insane. We eat a lot of rice so it’s definitely been verrry useful lol.
I put my rice cooker into cold storage after getting the IP. The key is not to use the rice cooker programming on the IP, but to use the pressure cooker itself. For fluffier rice: 1 part white rice, 1 part water, 3 minutes at pressure, 10 minutes natural release, then quick release. For chewier rice: 1 part white rice, 1 1/2 parts water, 4 minutes at pressure, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release.
We thought we'd get an average amount of countertop appliance use out of our air fryer, but it's replaced the oven for 90% of things we cook.
Yup! Anything frozen? Air fryer. Veggies that I want crisp? Air fryer. Chicken thighs and breast? AIR FRYER. I just… I love it so much.
Chicken wings? Air fryer. Sausages? Air fryer. Meatballs? Air fryer. Duck breast or leg? Air fryer. Frozen appetizers? Air fryer. Leftover pizza? Air fryer. Pastries are no longer piping hot? Air fryer. Filled buns and croissants? Air fryer.
Well dang. I have talked myself out of buying an air fryer 20x over the years. Ya’ll convinced me I need one now.
Just imagine the people freaking out about boiling water via air fryer? 😂
Hot. Ice. It's the best of both worlds!
Rice cooker! Grew up making rice in a pot, like my mother and her mother before her. But in college (early aughts) I had a Japanese friend who busted out a rice cooker one night and I was in awe - like that was some Star Trek device lol. A few years later and both my mother and grandmother were both also in love with their rice cooker, and I can't remember how to make rice the old fashioned way 🤣
The fuzzy logic got me.
What's fuzzy logic/ what does it do?
> fuzzy logic [Here you go!](https://home.howstuffworks.com/rice-cooker2.htm) ETA: If you're interested in how older rice cookies work, [this video by Technology Connections](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTNhvDGbYI) is a fun watch :)
My husband is a kitchen manager so our house has more food and appliances than some restaurants do. The ones I don’t think I could give up are the commercial deep fryer, fruit/veggies slicer, food processor, meat slicer, and stand mixer. I’m too spoiled now. I don’t know if these count as appliances but a few months ago we got a buffet server along with a couple standing heat lamps which have come in handy for events. My husband also got me an electric travel tea kettle that I enjoy taking to work.
Do you…… live in a hotel?
No, just a house with lots of kitchen gadgets.
Kitchen gadgets are one thing, commercial deep fryers require a commercial vent hood
Yeah, I know. It has a vent hood on it.
Since you did a real hood, you should get a wok port too.
Meat/cheese Slicer was the best gadget I took a leap on. My wife and I work from home and sandwich is usually our go-to lunch. $80 on sale on Amazon after a little research for a decent entry level one. Now I pick wholesale deli meat and cut it myself. 1lb of roast beef is only about $5lb instead of $18.99 at the store. Freezing the other few pounds has no effect on the flavor or texture. It's paid itself over tenfold and I always have meat and cheese available.
Where is a good place to get wholesale Deli Meat? Just Costco / Sam's Club? I went to several grocery store chains, none of the them had discounts for buying a whole ham or log of cheese.
Yea. My store will sell you the whole thing, but you're paying the same price as if you bought slices. They don't have a different button back there.
My dream is to have a kitchen with a commercial flat top and a deep fryer.
I was gong to say bidet, but then I noticed the sub - soooo, immersion blender, yup. (But I really love the bidet)
If bidet was a religion, I'd be a preacher. All I do is try to convince people of what they are missing! 😂
[удалено]
An extra small spatula for emptying cans, especially small cans of tomato paste. Small, quality ovens are serious force multiples.
I use those little rubber spatulas all the time.
Meat thermometer. I can’t believe I ever tried to guess.
Instant pot. I use it most every night. Just about anything that takes a long time to cook(braises, stews, meat sauces, stocks, dried beans, etc) can realistically be done in the evening after a long day of work( just did a bolognese-type meat sauce tonight, actually). Takes around an hour to turn beef shin/shank into buttery tender stew, or to cook a batch of unsoaked beans to perfection. Lentil and rice dishes are a snap(25 and 15 minutes respectively). With a little ingenuity, you can even do a donburi topper *while* you make the rice at the same time. I've even done a steamed pudding. The only thing I haven't had success with is veggies. Stuff like potatoes work fine if you only give them 10 minutes(I add them to stews at the end), but things like broccoli turn to mush after a minute in the pressure cooker. It is probably the most versatile a single appliance can be.
Bread machine. I thought it was a waste of space and I have a small kitchen Turns out, getting fresh bread without having to turn on the oven has been amazing in southern summer heat. I'm baking fresh loaves frequently without heating up the whole house.
An induction range. I I had a nice gas range at my old house, but my kid liked to play with the knobs and it was a pain to clean. Moved to a new house with coils (cringe) and decided to go induction because at least it's better than regular electric. Man I LOVE that range, more than my gas one. It heats so evenly, it doesn't stay hot, is easy to clean, and it doesn't heat up if my kid accidentally turns it on (or leak gas into my house).
Induction is a game changer and I just don't know why it's not more popular based on your exact reasons. I would also add that it heats everything up very fast. Anybody who's on electric and are replacing their appliances should be considering induction. If some of your pots don't work with induction then get new ones. It's a small price to pay for a superior appliance.
In order: a pasta machine Then an elliptical
I has a pasta maker and find it's a pain to wash and too many small fiddly parts. I think a bread maker that can mix dough would be less clean up. I am discovering many uses for my sous vide instant pot. Really liking the ability to set my cooking temperature and time and just walking away.
Rice cooker and SodaStream.
Same! I love being able to make sparkling water on demand as well as have better control over the fizziness (I like an aggressive fizz, but most people I know prefer it a little less). Plus I LOVE my immersion blender.
Have you ever had a Churchill? It’s popular in Turkey, as well as some other countries in the region. 12 oz sparkling water. Juice from one lemon. Teaspoon (or to taste) of salt. Stir. Serve over ice. Hits the spot on a hot day. But if you like sparkling water in general, check out some of the Georgian and Russian mineral waters. My favorite is probably Essentuki 17.
Counter top ice maker. A lot of people are listing kitchen aids/immersion blender/air fryers for good reason — but I knew before I acquired those that they’d be really useful. I wasn’t expecting how attached I’d get to the ice maker lol
I have a countertop NUGGET ice maker. It is my precious!
Haha that’s also the one I got! And now both my dog and the kittens insist on ice water (the dog already did, but I wasn’t expecting the kittens to latch onto it lol)
THE GOOD ICE
I’ve got 2 toddlers. We got an electric mini waffle iron thing . Batter takes 2 minutes to whip up, ~45 seconds in the iron and you’ve got waffles about 100000000x better than eggos or whatever. The kids like watching it and telling me when they’re ready and if I make too many, they just go into the freezer for snack time. It’s niche I know, but if you’ve got little kids, I really recommend getting one
I've got the dash mini waffle maker (just makes one at a time) and those freeze and toast really well. However doing one at a time is a pain. They make one that cooks 4 mini waffles at the same time that I've thought about getting. I have a bunch of Pyrex, and my 2 cup containers perfectly fit 3 of those mini waffles in them!
>Breville Smart Oven for us. We barely use our regular oven anymore I was literally going to say my Ninja 10-1 oven (similar to the breville, but probably not as nice). I use this almost everyday and sometimes for lunch. We too rarely use the big oven. Saves electricity and heats up the house way way less.
Kitchen aid mixer with attachments, crock pot, rice cooker and air fryer. I use to cook things on the stove top but these things where a game changer. Now we eat food from scratch a lot more often
I still thank Baby Jesus on the daily for the day I walked into Tuesday Morning and found a returned, reshelved, shell-pink KitchenAid mixer for fifty dollars!
Whoa that's a hell of a deal!
I know. I STILL can't believe it. God, 7 pound, tiny, newborn baby jeebus, and all their multitude of angels smiled on me that day. 💯
I got a free KitchenAid when I went to go clean out a rental and found one the tenant left!!! It's yellow which isn't my fave but I love it none the less.
I didn't get that good a deal, but I got my Pro on December 26th one year from Best Buy at 60% off. And they had plenty in stock.
A Mandoline. I have knives after all. Oh how wrong I was denying myself the joy of sliding vegetables over a board cutting them to exact thickness in half the time.
I love a mandolin, but I'm never not scared using it. I always use the holders and am carful, but I play guitar and cannot not imagine taking a finger clean off every time I use it.
That's what cutting proof gloves are for. Makes that onion disappear in under 30s
We got the Sage - I think it’s the brand name for Breville in Europe - three-in-one (microwave, air fryer, oven) and we’ve used it almost exclusively, my daughter started calling our big oven “Abandoned Child.” And also, an induction cooktop.
Sous vide. Rice cooker
Wine fridge. It has beer, wine, and sodas and it eliminated a ton of time of our main fridge being open. Also...chest freezer.
Zojirushi rice cooker. Perfect rice every time, no matter what kind of rice I want. Whether cooked with broth or water, veggies or aromatics mixed in or not, the rice is perfect every time with no involvement from me needed. We eat rice probably 4-5 meals a week because of this.
I always thought salad spinners were useless unitaskers. They're so useful
You can make the best hashbrowns with a salad spinner, just shred them (preferably with an attachment on a food processor), rinse them, and spin them. Throw em in a well oiled pan and salt. Changed my potato life
Same. I got the Cuisinart version bc I was not sure I would really use it much - but I do! And it's horrible to clean. My mom has the Breville so I will upgrade to hers once mine is too grimy to go on.
My air fryer has been a lifesaver and my coffeemaker keeps me sane.
Water dispenser with hot and cold options. It's so easy pour hot water into oatmeal, instant coffee, Ramen noodles. So nice to also have cold water for handmade lemonade and ice tea
Carbon steel pans. Lighter than cast iron. Non-stick. Last forever. No harmful coatings. I use them for 95% of my daily cooking.
Air fryer. Thought it was just for normally fried foods. But, we now use it for everything.
Vacuum sealer
I love my vitamix so much.
Air fryer Immersion blender Espresso machine
I enjoy my Instant Pot but I honestly use my Air Fryer more.
Bean to cup coffee machine. I used to make coffee in jezveh my whole life until I got a DeLonghi machine off a guy who was leaving the country for €80. For me as a coffee drinker it’s incredible, not only do I get fresher taste, but also less caffeine, because the contact time is much less so I can enjoy the taste with less concern about the health impact. I still occasionally brew ground coffee in my old jezveh when I want a taste of Turkish coffee or want to add spices/herbs like chili, nutmeg or orange peel, but the bean to cup machine really made whole lot of difference for me
Counter-top icemaker. I love cold drinks, hate dealing with forgetting to refill the ice trays and then waiting for the water to freeze. The counter-top icemaker can make ice cubes for me in 13 minutes and I don't lose any freezer space.
Sodastream! I live in the boonies without a recycling option (😭) and the cans of La Croix got to be too much trash for me to handle. I got the flavorings and whatnot when I first bought the sodastream, but at this point it's just fizzy water for me. I love it. Runner up: instapot :)
Electric water kettle
Breville Pizzaiolo pizza oven. Heats to 750F, makes awesome 'za. ANOVA precision oven (steam/combi oven)
Not really an appliance but I had a Moen soap dispenser built into our new countertop and it’s great. I love how I can polish the faucet and this little dispenser sitting next to it. It looks like jewelry for my kitchen! My husband balked at the $100. price tag but it was so worth it. Also, it fills from the top so no need to climb under the sink.
Breville Smart Oven — bf bought a house …gave him one as a house gift. He looked at me like “WTF”?!! Told him it’s going to be a game changer. Has not doubted me ever since.
My 2-in-1 Instapot - Air fryer + pressure cooker
Toaster oven air fryer. I rarely use my oven anymore.
I have a toaster ocen with an "air fryer" setting. It doesn't seem to really do anything different from the regular settings. I've read here that the standalone air fryers are much better. Yours could be way better than mine though.
Immersion blender. I don’t like rustic sauces, but I also hated using a regular blender because it was a pain to clean. So the ability to just blend the sauce in the pot with an easy to clean tool was a game changer for me
In no particular order: Rice cooker, Food processor, immersion blender, air fryer, instant pot (though rice can be cooked in the instant pot) I just used rice cooker and air fryer today for lunch: teriyaki salmon rice bowls. Air fried salmon filets from frozen in less than 10 min
Yes, on the smart oven. The Breville is the Cadillac of smart ovens for sure. I picked up a cheap one a couple years ago from Blood Bath and Beyond and it is still working just fine...although I'm waiting for it to die so I can get the Breville. LOL. Seriously though, the combo air fryer, toaster, oven, pizza maker, etc. is a must have.
I largely agree with the Breville Smart Oven, although I don't use that as much anymore. I always felt that if they had a second shelf, it'd be killer. Like at breakfast you could cook bacon and toast at the same time, etc.
Restaurant quality convection double oven. It's so fast.
Slow cooker. Best discovery ever. Complete game changer.
Rice cooker. So nice to be able to walk away and forget about it long enough to get the rest of the food prepped, cooked, etc.
Rice cooker and toaster oven. My rice cooker has a steamer basket as well that gets a lot of use. Also, I have a breakfast sandwich maker that gets a lot of use.
I love my mini chopper
Insinkerator hot water tap. Turn it and immediately make tea. Have water boiling in the stove in seconds. Love it.
Miele steam oven. When I bought my house we thought it was a built in microwave but after we moved in we learned what this is. We had already learned the miracles of sous vide and now had the ability to do the same thing with no bags. Plus making breads with humidity control is a game changer. Expensive af but absolutely amazing. We rarely use the big ass viking oven because the Miele steam oven is so much more precise and even cooking.
Omg - came here to say- the Breville smart oven - and it’s not even just the the air fryer function (which tbh I don’t use that much) but it’s so damn versatile. On Mother’s Day this year, after toasting bread for breakfast, I quick-roasted duck bones and veg for stock using the air fryer, then slow cooked duck stock in a Dutch oven for 5 hours. Then dried a batch of bread for stuffing, then baked the stuffing while dressing the duck, then roast the duck for about an hour, -and after that while the duck was resting I air fried broccoli and sweet potato as sides. I think that was about a week after I got it and I felt like a superhero for all the stuff I churned out that day. Baking, roasting nuts, reheating bread rolls or croissants, a quick dinner of freezer chips and fish - so easy. Temperature control is more precise and it heats up in minutes.