Monday, May 24, 2010

Readers let me know, what are your useless kitchen gadgets? Are "produce bags" one of them?

I'm as much of a sucker as the next gal. I watch the Slap n Chop infomercials and think, "I could make salsa, lots of it! I use onions all the time, this will make it so much easier!" Ditto the Vidalia chop thingy above. I watch the Food Network occasionally and saw Sandra Lee during Money Saving Meals use it all the time. I forget that the thing is always on the counter, and someone else is there to clean it up. By the time I have gotten up on a chair to get *Gadget down, put it together, wash it, put it back away, it is definitely NOT a time-saver. Maybe if I had a massive kitchen with unlimited storage...
A few batches of salsa later, and a few onions down and the thing is just collecting dust now. My Target Santoku knife does the job pretty well.

Gadgets/extras I have that I don't use:
Slap n' Chop
Vidalia Onion Chopper
lemon juicer (handle thingy)
food processor
bread machine
compost bin (I've taken to just using a big bowl that is easier to wash...)


Gadgets I love:
rice cooker
rotating cheese grater thing (like at Olive Garden)
chip clips
salad spinner
waffle iron
griddle (not a gadget, but a special pan...)
fondu pot (annual cheese blowout, broth and veggies, chocolate dessert)
cheese slicer (handle with a wire)
water bubbler
mortar and pestle (herbs and Chai tea time...)
immersion blender (with little container to "process" food)

Gimmicky thing I really want to buy, but want to hear from you all. Do any of you use those Produce Bags (As Seen on TV!) that are supposed to make your lettuce etc last 5 times longer? Do they work? Are they a gimmick?

9 comments:

  1. I LOVE my immersion blender. I'm not huge into gadgets, but I do love a good set of knives. My MIL gave me some of those produce bags and they really do work.

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  2. I'd love to know about those produce bags too.

    Stuff I no longer use:
    Vacuum sealing bags
    Pannini Press
    Food scale

    Stuff I love to use:
    Rice cooker
    Apple core-er
    Chip clips
    Waffle Iron

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  3. I'd like to know about the bags too. I really have trouble using produce before it goes bad, especially when I get a bunch of one thing from my CSA.

    My much-loved and much-used gadgets:
    -KitchenAid stand mixer
    -blender
    -laser thermometer

    My much-loved but only occasionally used gadgets:
    -bread machine (makes great pizza dough!)
    -air popcorn popper
    -food scale
    -mandolin (awesome for slicing sweet potatoes)

    My never-used gadgets:
    -food dehydrator (it sounded like such a good idea at the time)

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  4. I adore my onion chopper. I don't use it every day, but it sure makes salsa canning season a lot easier. I have started to use it for lots of other things, too - carrots, taters, semi-hard cheese... As for the produce bags, I have them and they work - kindof. The food absolutely has to be dry, perfectly dry, when it goes in. Otherwise, el yucko.

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  5. I adore my single chopper, it came from Pampered Chef and is riduculously easy to clean.

    Things I can't live without:
    The KitchenAid mixer
    digital scale (I bake a lot and weighing ingredients is more precise than measuring.)
    Food processor
    Pyrex measuring cups and bowls

    Things I could live without but don't want to:
    The immersion blender
    the chopper
    Whirly Pop popcorn maker
    Microwave
    potato ricer

    Things I can live without since I rarely/never use them.
    Garlic press
    juicers
    rotary cheese grater, my mom loved hers, but it's function, plus my arthritis is not a happy combination.

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  6. I purchased some of those bags and they did nothing, as far as I can tell. My strawberries went bad within several days.

    My favorite gadgets:
    Sunbeam Mixer
    Ice Cream Maker
    Mini food processor

    I've always wanted a mandolin and an immersion blender, but my kitchen is so small as it is...

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  7. I suppose if I canned stuff it would come in handy :) (That's another thing I will do someday*!) Thanks for the hints on the bags. DRY DRY DRY!
    Anyone buy one of those "food savers" that looks like a laminating machine?

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  8. I like the food savers for freezing meat. They really do help with freezer burn.

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  9. I'd like to know about the salad bags too!

    ReplyDelete