3 Kitchen Gadgets I Didn't Think I Needed
-
1. Rice Cooker
When you make rice on the stovetop, you put water in a pan, add rice, and wait. When you make rice in a rice cooker, you put water in a pan, add rice, and wait. How helpful could it really be? And yet people raved about rice cookers. So when I saw a small cheap one at Target last year, I decided to fork over $15 in the name of experimentation. Wow, what a difference. Before, with only the stovetop method at hand, I'd think about making rice and then decide it was too much work: the waiting for the water to boil, the watching it come down to a simmer, the checking to make sure the simmer was neither too low nor too vigorous, the cleaning up of the stuck rice at the bottom of the pan afterward. Now, I make rice at the drop of a hat. It's the easiest dinner you can make, even easier than scrambled eggs.
2. Immersion Blender
Otherwise known as a stick blender, it's one, long-handled spinner rather than the traditional two. As far as I could tell, you used it to make milkshakes. Then I got one as a hand-me-down. I admit: I only use it for one thing, but that one thing is so helpful: It purees soup. I love soup, and I love thick, pureed soups. But to make a good pureed soup you have to pour a stockpot full of boiling soup into a blender. Now, whirr whirr whirr and you're done. And you can take it right from the soup pot to the sink, run hot water over it, and you're done.
3. Zester
I had no real misgivings about zesters, and yet somehow I never managed to buy myself one. A friend gave me one for my birthday, and now when a recipe calls for zest, I think, That will be easy! I've got my fancy zester.
ALL THIS BEING said, I'm still on the fence about the apple peeler. This is a contraption that resembles a vise, a metallic contraption that looks heavy and you have to haul up on your counter to use. But again, the prospect of peeling apples is a barrier to all manner of delicious pies, tarts, and crisps. Maybe I should troll yard sales and see if I can pick up one cheap.
-
1. Rice Cooker
When you make rice on the stovetop, you put water in a pan, add rice, and wait. When you make rice in a rice cooker, you put water in a pan, add rice, and wait. How helpful could it really be? And yet people raved about rice cookers. So when I saw a small cheap one at Target last year, I decided to fork over $15 in the name of experimentation. Wow, what a difference. Before, with only the stovetop method at hand, I'd think about making rice and then decide it was too much work: the waiting for the water to boil, the watching it come down to a simmer, the checking to make sure the simmer was neither too low nor too vigorous, the cleaning up of the stuck rice at the bottom of the pan afterward. Now, I make rice at the drop of a hat. It's the easiest dinner you can make, even easier than scrambled eggs.
2. Immersion Blender
Otherwise known as a stick blender, it's one, long-handled spinner rather than the traditional two. As far as I could tell, you used it to make milkshakes. Then I got one as a hand-me-down. I admit: I only use it for one thing, but that one thing is so helpful: It purees soup. I love soup, and I love thick, pureed soups. But to make a good pureed soup you have to pour a stockpot full of boiling soup into a blender. Now, whirr whirr whirr and you're done. And you can take it right from the soup pot to the sink, run hot water over it, and you're done.
3. Zester
I had no real misgivings about zesters, and yet somehow I never managed to buy myself one. A friend gave me one for my birthday, and now when a recipe calls for zest, I think, That will be easy! I've got my fancy zester.
ALL THIS BEING said, I'm still on the fence about the apple peeler. This is a contraption that resembles a vise, a metallic contraption that looks heavy and you have to haul up on your counter to use. But again, the prospect of peeling apples is a barrier to all manner of delicious pies, tarts, and crisps. Maybe I should troll yard sales and see if I can pick up one cheap.
-
posted by Anonymous at
9:11 PM
4 Comments:
You haven't lived until you've used a cherry pitter. Ask Bob.
I'm not a gadget fan but love my immersion blender too for soups--even if you don't want to blend the whole soup, it's fun to blend some and mix it in to the rest to thicken it some.
Susan E
on a semi-whim, g bought me an apple peeler a few years ago. i laughed and semi rolled my eyes, and then i used it. GRANTED, i only pull it out about once a year, and GRANTED it takes up a lot of space for a single-function appliance, but i will say that we now actually make apple pie, whereas before we thought about making apple pie. so i'd say it's net positive, but only by a teensy bit. and it's really cool to watch it peel and slice apples.
This is exactly the kind of first-person recommendation I was looking for regarding the apple peeler! Can you tell me which brand and/or model you have?
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home