The tools I use most in the kitchen are my Global chef's knife (going on for 13 years old), a knackered old mini grater that I refuse to replace (used for ginger, garlic and parmesan/grana padano), and my rice cooker. I couldn't live without my rice cooker. It's just a cheap little on/off thing but to me, it is perfect.
My microplane graters and zesters and lastly my simple wooden spoon.
I don’t actually have a preferred brand, it very much depends on the item I’m getting.
Investing… hmm quality and frequency of use I think.
I have an old plastic red handled cheese knife that I have had since I headed off to university in 1991. In fact it’s my only cheese knife and it gets used daily. I wouldn’t dream of replacing now, too much history (it’s also been to Australia and New Zealand with me 😊 )
My Thermomix is my gadget of choice and it regularly saves me from the “drudgery cooking” of weekdays when you need to churn out one meal after another for a young family. On the days I’m feeling experimental I love my silicon baking sheet which I use to proof bread and roll out roti that don’t stick. And can’t live without my Sheffield knives that making chopping relatively fun.
Although I have a mixer, it rests in a cabinet and my hands do most mixing. A cheap little paring knife that sharpens up quickly. Microplane. Insta Pot. Kitchen scale. My Wolf oven and Wolf Induction range. Food processor. For the sourdough bread I’ve mixed by hand, a beautiful luxurious New West bread knife. A citrus wooden thingie (what are they called??) Measuring cups are handy when scale is not appropriate. Sour cherry pitter for the years with good harvest. Apple press for cider. Our Sanctuary, the Kitchen.
Oooh, this is a tough one! A good quality mixer is an obvious one for a baker. Mine is a black KitchenAid and I love her.
I do love my microplane grater. I use it to shave down pastry to ensure it is absolutely perfect, and for all my fruit zest, etc. I bought myself a nice one after I passed my first exams at pastry school.
Last one is a little off piste - I nearly wrote chefs knife, but I think I will say spatula. Mine are only cheap but I have a few and use them constantly. It makes a really difference with mixing and at getting everything out of the bowl!
I can tell you, we used both equally 😉. Once you get to that more professional grade, their quality is very similar. Unless either brand has gone down hill in the last 10-15 years, of course. I do like Kitchenaid's option to have that bowl-lift instead of tilting the top bit but that's a nice to have really. I used a Kenwood for around 15 years too, the cheapest one they don't make anymore, and it still worked so 🤷♀️.
A Kenwood Cooking Chef XL is on my wish list. The bowl is larger than the Thermomix bowl. But I also have a slow cooker and Air Fryer. So I wonder if the cooking chef is a gadget too far. It's also very expensive.
I'm always a bit weary of those 'all-in-one' things, I mean, my vitamix could technically chop carrots but I never used it for chopping carrots😂. Or at least, I tried it once and the line between chopped carrot and soup was probably half a second😅.
And then what happens if they break down and you only have the one gadget. I use the kenwood food processor attachment, as much as I do the mixing. Sometimes I decide which is quicker, grating carrots using a hand grater or the food processor. The food processor won hands down, including the washing up. And with my dodgy sprained wrist, it's proving invaluable. Besides, I don't have any room for more stuff. Unless, of course Mr K offered me a free one for a sponsored post. Then I'd find room and use it. :-)
The tools I use most in the kitchen are my Global chef's knife (going on for 13 years old), a knackered old mini grater that I refuse to replace (used for ginger, garlic and parmesan/grana padano), and my rice cooker. I couldn't live without my rice cooker. It's just a cheap little on/off thing but to me, it is perfect.
Sometimes the cheapest gadgets are often the best.
My apple green kitchen aid mixer. Love it.
My microplane graters and zesters and lastly my simple wooden spoon.
I don’t actually have a preferred brand, it very much depends on the item I’m getting.
Investing… hmm quality and frequency of use I think.
I have an old plastic red handled cheese knife that I have had since I headed off to university in 1991. In fact it’s my only cheese knife and it gets used daily. I wouldn’t dream of replacing now, too much history (it’s also been to Australia and New Zealand with me 😊 )
I have a few microplanes that I can't do without.
Is a tea kettle considered a “gadget”? If so, my trusty stovetop All-clad stainless steel kettle has been whistling for years, several times a day.
Absolutely, a kettle is also our most valuable and well used gadget.
My Thermomix is my gadget of choice and it regularly saves me from the “drudgery cooking” of weekdays when you need to churn out one meal after another for a young family. On the days I’m feeling experimental I love my silicon baking sheet which I use to proof bread and roll out roti that don’t stick. And can’t live without my Sheffield knives that making chopping relatively fun.
I have a Thermomix, but don't use it as often as I should.
Although I have a mixer, it rests in a cabinet and my hands do most mixing. A cheap little paring knife that sharpens up quickly. Microplane. Insta Pot. Kitchen scale. My Wolf oven and Wolf Induction range. Food processor. For the sourdough bread I’ve mixed by hand, a beautiful luxurious New West bread knife. A citrus wooden thingie (what are they called??) Measuring cups are handy when scale is not appropriate. Sour cherry pitter for the years with good harvest. Apple press for cider. Our Sanctuary, the Kitchen.
My digital scales are one of the most used items in my kitchen, along with my kenwood mixer.
Oooh, this is a tough one! A good quality mixer is an obvious one for a baker. Mine is a black KitchenAid and I love her.
I do love my microplane grater. I use it to shave down pastry to ensure it is absolutely perfect, and for all my fruit zest, etc. I bought myself a nice one after I passed my first exams at pastry school.
Last one is a little off piste - I nearly wrote chefs knife, but I think I will say spatula. Mine are only cheap but I have a few and use them constantly. It makes a really difference with mixing and at getting everything out of the bowl!
I've had my kenwood stand mixer for around 17 years and I love it.
Oh yes, I know lots of pastry chefs speak very highly of their Kenwood. If my KitchenAid ever goes, I will look into one!
I can tell you, we used both equally 😉. Once you get to that more professional grade, their quality is very similar. Unless either brand has gone down hill in the last 10-15 years, of course. I do like Kitchenaid's option to have that bowl-lift instead of tilting the top bit but that's a nice to have really. I used a Kenwood for around 15 years too, the cheapest one they don't make anymore, and it still worked so 🤷♀️.
A Kenwood Cooking Chef XL is on my wish list. The bowl is larger than the Thermomix bowl. But I also have a slow cooker and Air Fryer. So I wonder if the cooking chef is a gadget too far. It's also very expensive.
I'm always a bit weary of those 'all-in-one' things, I mean, my vitamix could technically chop carrots but I never used it for chopping carrots😂. Or at least, I tried it once and the line between chopped carrot and soup was probably half a second😅.
And then what happens if they break down and you only have the one gadget. I use the kenwood food processor attachment, as much as I do the mixing. Sometimes I decide which is quicker, grating carrots using a hand grater or the food processor. The food processor won hands down, including the washing up. And with my dodgy sprained wrist, it's proving invaluable. Besides, I don't have any room for more stuff. Unless, of course Mr K offered me a free one for a sponsored post. Then I'd find room and use it. :-)