Convince me of the merits of your newer small kitchen appliance

Parents Forum Parent Cafe
41

Newest, not necessarily kitchen, and outdoors:
Ooni pizza oven. My big birthday present this year. We’ve made lots of pizza, even H who doesn’t eat it enjoys making the dough and using the oven. We’ll try some other breads and different things in it this fall.

Used daily & can’t live without:
Nespresso
Breville toaster oven - toasted whatevers in the morning, reheating, baked potatoes, etc

Almost daily:
Air fryer.

A lot and truly indispensable:
Foodsaver - we season or marinate and repackage chicken/meat. We have the full-size version at home and a small one that uses quart-size bags at our 2nd home.

Anova sous vide - used in conjunction with the foodsaver, all meats from large roasts to small, but thick, steaks, chicken. Last year’s christmas tenderloins were cooked in there to a perfect temp and then seared. Perfect.

Zojirushi rice cooker. Small, efficient. Cooks more than rice.

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42

I didn’t mention my keurig. We have the metal fill yourself pods and we grind beans fresh everyday. My keurig also has a steamer I use daily. It’s awesome.

43

Another big instapot user too. I will never use anything else for pasta. Even without sauce. Pasta cooks quickly and you don’t have to watch it. No boil overs and it comes out perfect every time. We just got the Ninja indoor grill air fryer. It did a great job on sausage and peppers last night. The other night we roasted zucchini and potatoes. They came out great with very little oil and faster. There is only 2 of us now so it’s nice to not heat the whole oven. I look forward to trying a lot of things that are my Facebook group for easy recipes.

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44

I forgot about my rice cooker. Really…if it dies, I would replace it immediately! It gets used at least once a week.

Our daughter had one that died during professional school…and she was beside herself…so we sent her a new one asap.

45

I got rid of my rice cooker, but then one of my daughters complained about my rice not warm enough, so I bought back a mini one. I don’t eat rice that frequently so it doesn’t make sense to own one.

46

I use my rice cooker every day for my steel cut outmeal breakfast! @Singersmom07 tell me how you do pasta in the Instant pot?

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47

We used to use a cooker, now we just soak the steel-cut oats overnite in the fridge. In either milk or water. They cook in 5 minutes on the stovetop the next morning.

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48

Here’s an Ooni pizza oven trick: last weekend we made our pizzas and turned the oven off. I wrapped a salmon fillet in aluminum foil with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, stuck it towards the back of the pizza oven, and watched some football. About half an hour later, the pizza stone was cool to the touch but the fish was perfectly cooked and still warm.

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49

Whenever I’m thinking of cooking a soup or stew, I just search online for main ingredient and instapot and then look for a recipe that sounds good and has a lots of 4-5* reviews. Have made lots of great dishes that way.

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50

I have the same brand, but mine is a monster, we have a large family.

51

Here is my rule for small kitchen appliances: I limit myself to what can be stored out of sight. I cannot stand appliances on my counters. The only appliance I have out is our Keurig.

I have and use frequently:

Instant pot
Basket-type air fryer
Vitamix blender
Electric skillet (I use this when I brown larger quantities of ground beef/turkey or for stir-frying veggies)

I have and use sometimes:

Crockpot
George Foreman Grill
Smallish Cuisinart food processor
Cheap hand-held mixer (I do not bake much at all)
Immersion blender

I have but use rarely and should probably reconsider whether I should own:

Anova sous vide
Food saver (which I got for the sous vide)
Waffle maker that makes one large, Belgian waffle at a time (but, I mean, you can’t make a homemade waffle without one of these - it’s not like there is a substitute)

I do NOT own a toaster, kitchen aid stand mixer, bread machine, espresso machine, or electric tea kettle (though I have had all of these appliances in the past).

We are not in a large space but I do have pretty good cabinet space. However, keeping all these appliances stored in cabinets means I don’t have a lot of room for things for entertaining - platters, serving type things, multiple types of dishes, lots of bar ware, table decor, linens. We live more casually now and no longer do large-scale entertaining, so it’s a trade-off for me to use the cabinet space for appliances.

I love my Instant Pot! Great for ribs, hard-boiled eggs, one pot pasta, risotto, cheesecakes, pork tenderloin. I have not used the air fryer as much as I thought I would, but I particularly like it for fish and shrimp and use it a couple of times a week. I use the Vitamix for smoothies.

I have just never gotten into the sous vide. I don’t understand how it is particularly useful if everyone likes their steaks cooked to different levels of doneness. I have not had great luck learning how to sear well. I have never tried chicken in it. Just steak and shrimp. I felt the shrimp had a weird texture coming out of it. Really sort of did with the beef as well. I should ditch it.

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52

OP, if you are using a 30 year old crockpot, treat yourself to a new one.

I don’t like appliance proliferation- spouse has never met a gadget or gizmo he didn’t love.

So many things get given away after minimal use- but the “new and improved” crockpot is definitely a keeper. Every single function is better- the timer, the ease of cleaning up, the amount of heat it puts out (you don’t care in the winter but in the summer it’s nice to walk in to the kitchen and not get hit with a hot wind) and even the size (mine is the ginormous one, perfect for a crowd, just use more water if you’re making small portions).

And I was a rice cooker skeptic, but if you’ve ever wondered who has time to make hummus out of non-canned chick peas, or who has time for brown rice, or lentil/barley soups that don’t take forever-- it’s people with rice cookers!!!

I’ve heard friends rave about the instapot… I can’t get excited… not my style of cooking I guess.

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53

I have a teapot on my stove and use it frequently.

I’m a creature of habit (love my crockpot and rice cooker) but H has never met a gadget he wont try. Thus we own an Instapot and an Air Fryer which he uses occasionally. I have never used either.

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54

I missed the part about 30 years. Definitely the time for an update. Heating elements can go bad. The best outcome it just stops working. The worst… that is the reason I don’t leave heating appliances unattended.

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55

Forgot about this little guy. It joined my household about 5 years ago so counts as a newer appliance.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/cuisinart-mini-prep-plus-processor/103163

Use it periodically to make tomato horseradish sauce or to chop nuts.

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56

My crock pot was over 15 YO but brand new when I pulled it out of attic last year. This year I’m going to be better about using it.
I have and use the Breville Toaster Oven. I’d like a regular toaster, but don’t need both so keep only the Breville.
LOVE my fancy espresso machine, but most would say I’m nuts for paying so much for a coffee machine.
I own a kitchen aid stand mixer but don’t use it that often.
We’re pretty boring when it comes to small appliances, but my counters are still messy :frowning:

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57

I also have a cute red tea kettle that I keep on my stove for boiling water. I have the same mini chopper that @BunsenBurner posted above. I don’t have a toaster oven, but have had one in the past. I love my toaster and never thought the toaster oven did a good job toasting my bread or bagels.

58

I have used mine exactly once. I would have given it to one of my kids years ago, but H uses it. IMO it is a pain to clean, takes up (too much) counter space and it is just as easy for me to bake using a hand mixer.

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59

Rice (especially brown rice) is great from the Instant Pot. Eliminates the need for a separate rice cooker.

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60

Took me 40 years of marriage before I got a Kitchen Aid mixer. I do really enjoy it. Don’t keep it on the counter.

Lol, after reading this thread yesterday I had made the executive decision to at least put the tea kettle on the stove away in a cupboard since it rarely gets used. I walked in the door from work and there it was on a potholder - H had used it during the day! I’m still putting it through the dishwasher and putting it in a cupboard - one less thing to look at!

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