Things ain't cooking in my kitchen

[venta]

Nicked from bopeepsheep's LJ:
Bold the ones you have and use at least once a year, italicize the ones you have and don't use, strike through the ones you have had but got rid of.

I wonder how many pasta machines, breadmakers, juicers, blenders, deep fat fryers, egg boilers, melon ballers, sandwich makers, pastry brushes, cheese boards, cheese knives, crepe makers, electric woks, miniature salad spinners, griddle pans, jam funnels, pie funnels, meat thermometers, filleting knives, egg poachers, cake stands, garlic crushers, martini glasses, tea strainers, bamboo steamers, pizza stones, coffee grinders, milk frothers, piping bags, banana stands, fluted pastry wheels, tagine dishes, conical strainers, rice cookers, steam cookers, pressure cookers, slow cookers, spaetzle makers, cookie presses, gravy strainers, double boilers (bains marie), sukiyaki stoves, ice cream makers, fondue sets, healthy-grills, home smokers, tempura sets, tortilla presses, electric whisks, cherry stoners, sugar thermometers, food processors, stand mixers, mincers, bacon presses, bacon slicers, mouli mills, cake testers, pestle-and-mortars, gratin dishes, apple corers, mango stoners and sets of kebab skewers languish dustily at the back of the nation's cupboards.

I think the short version is: I've got quite a lot of crap in the kitchen, but I do use most of it. The mincer is a recent[*] acquisition which I expect to use, but have not used yet. Get back to me next week. The juicer is a close call; it probably gets used about once a year. Used to be much more often when I lived in a house with an apple tree.

I'm bewildered by some of these things, though. What is a jam funnel? I don't own one, so it clearly isn't necessary for making jam. Mind you, I had a boiled egg for breakfast on Thursday and I don't own an egg boiler, either. How does a gravy strainer differ from any other kind of strainer (or is it one of those slanty jug things)? I have flat, ceramic dishes which I use, but I'm not sure if they're legally gratin dishes or not. I have made gratin in them. I counted my Kenwood as both a stand mixer and an electric whisk (I use it for both).

[*] Hmm. Not as recent as I think, though. Must get on with it!

Comments

[rabbit1080.livejournal.com]

Out of the entire list, I own:
- meat thermometer (I use this at least once a fortnight, usually for roasts or occasionally measuring oil tempeature)
- Fondue set (I use this once every few months - recommend Gina Steer's non-traditional fondue cookbook)
- Pressure cooker (every fortnight or so, usually for chickpeas/kidney beans/etc)

I did have a meat-mincer until a couple of months ago when I accidentally found out it wasn't dishwasher-safe. Oops. I used it instead of a food-processor, and intend to replace it sometime.

For most food-chopping requirements, I just use a carving-knife and big wooden chopping-board. For cooking, I mostly use v non-stick saucepans.

(Almost forgot, I also have a pizza stone and a pasta machine. I used both fairly often a few years ago but haven't for a while. My stand-mixer has been replaced with a dishwasher-safe whisk.)

[venta.livejournal.com]

Indeed, food processing is one of the things I intend to try out with my meat mincer :) Mashing beans (even cooked) with a fork is a mug's game.

I wanted a mincer because I make a few things out of minced chicken, which is hard to find. Shortly after I acquired a mincer, the butcher became much more willing to mince on demand. Sadly, that butcher has now closed and I think the new one isn't, so the mincer may be in the running again.

[rabbit1080.livejournal.com]

The mincer was pretty handy, usually for veggies (eg. Gazpacho Soup or other soup-related stuff). I was just starting to think about maybe using the mincer for pork when I broke it.

Often, I'll just cook soup ingredients for an extra 10-20 mins and then use a potato-masher for a rustic texture.

[venta.livejournal.com]

On the soup front, I've heard a few people singing the praises of these (http://www.lakeland.co.uk/16900/Vitamix-Aspire-Black), recently.

At £400, though, I think I'll carry on with the saucepan and the masher :)

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I do this also :)

I do have a hand blender, and have used it in the last year; there's really no substitute if you want to get carrot-and-honey soup absolutely everywhere in but a single moment of incompetence.

I like my masher...