Cooking Gadgets

Nothing gets more activity in my kitchen than a new cooking gadget.  Everyone wants to know how it’s used and what I am going to do with it.  It’s like getting a new toy, only for a practical, hands-on purpose.

Cooking gadgets usually make your life easier and save you time.  I’m not going to highlight the weird new kitchen tools that are out there.  I’m just going to focus on the cooking gadgets that I feel are essential to any kitchen.

I’m partial to Pampered Chef and Kitchen Aid products.  You can probably find a cheaper alternative, but they probably won’t last as long or work as well, in my opinion.

Good knives and cutting boards are the first place I would start.  Almost anything you make from scratch is going to involve some chopping.  The best knives I have ever found are Cutco knives.  They stay sharp the longest and cut the best of anything I have ever used.  A friend of ours used to sell them and gave us an in-home demonstration. The only way I know of purchasing them now is on eBay or from a representative.

For fast and fine chopping I prefer the Pampered Chef Food Chopper.  Not only does it chop quickly, but it also helps me hide lots of vegetables in my meals.

A few small tools that sound dumb, but are my favorites are my Pampered Chef Mix N’ Scraper and my Kitchen Aid can opener.  My children don’t really like the scraper because it gets EVERYTHING out of the bowl when I make a cake or cookies.  There is basically nothing left for them to lick!  It is made of silicone, I think, so it can withstand high temperatures.

I have tried many can openers.  Electric ones are okay, but then they sit on your counter and add clutter.  I hate battery operated anything! If there is a way to get something that is NOT battery operated, I’m all in.  My last option was a manual can opener.  I know it sounds arcaic, but it works well for me.  I went through quite a few can openers before I found my Kitchen Aid.  I bought the dollar store can openers for a while, thinking they couldn’t be all that bad.  After buying two that lasted only a few months, I decided I needed to spend a little more money.  I went out and bought a $5.00 can opener!  Wow!  No luck, though.  This one didn’t last all that much longer than the $1.00 can openers.  So I splurged and got a $15.00 Kitchen Aid can opener and I LOVE it!  I have never used such a smooth can opener before. This thing is solid and feels like it will last for generations.  My grandchildren will be able to use this thing!  Best of all, it fits neatly into my drawer out of sight. This thing will be around for GENERATIONS!

I think I’ll have to post again in the future about my favorite cooking gadgets.  I’m sure I will come up with many more.