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Before the Black Friday rush, let's hear your thoughts on what works well in the kitchen.
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Read more.Quote:
Before the Black Friday rush, let's hear your thoughts on what works well in the kitchen.
Struggling to think of any. If I was pushed I would say Media Streaming speakers for the kitchen, or a WIFI enabled oven (to switch onto the desired temperature when leaving the supermarket, but I really can't see how any of these gadgets could really save much time or money, without significantly impacting on security.
An accurately temperature-controlled water bath or immersion heater/circulator (AK A a 'Sous Vide machine'). Makes a MASSIVE difference to cooking meat, particularly tougher meat (e.g. Beef). You can do other tricks with it like Onsen Tomago and various pasteurisation techniques too.
I read that as "Which high-tech kitten gadgets are worth buying".
You don't need high-tech kitchen gadgets, unless that tech makes the oven not have a broken clock.
I have a pyrolitic oven, don't really use that aspect but when I do it does make some of those sticky black splashes far more ashen.
Most high tech thing I have is probably my bean to cup machine...
I'm not a big fan of kitchen "gadgets" generally and certainly not the ones that need an Internet connection! Although SWMBO was commenting that we've got a surplus of coffee makers - a Tassimo, a Rombouts and an Aeropress, (plus a filter machine that eventually went to charity shop).
If you're going to exclude the obvious stuff like a decent oven, then there's two things that get more use than we thought they would.
First one is a soup maker - even the kids can make something decent in under 30 minutes. And no, we didn't buy one of those £100+ Cuisinart ones, ours got bought at a food show and was half that price.
Second thing is a breadmaker - Panasonic in our case. Once you get the hang of it the thing produces some pretty nice loaves etc. Although my kids tend to sneer and ask "well what weird stuff have you put in THAT loaf?" - because I've known to put oats, tomato paste, etc in various "experiments". Heck, I'm the one who eats them, so I figure I'm entitled to dabble!
Thinking about a reverse osmosis water treatment 'plant' for the kitchen tap.
The only gadget I want in my kitchen is my tablet, just to fire up the app from a cooking community here to see recipes.
I want everything else to be low tech because I use the time of cooking to take a breath and relax from my everyday working in front of my computer.
Egg Timer !!
maybe in 5 - 10 years if there are no major security problems
The only electronic things in the kitchen I would really miss:
Digital scales
Food processor with dough hook
A timer of some sort
Kettle
Toaster
Fridge & Freezer (could probably do without the freezer tbh)
I can see the appeal of sous vide, but as ive never had one, I cant really miss it.
If I loved coffee, then maybe a coffee grinder. A french press has served me better coffee than any electronic machine has.
Dont think Ive ever had anything good come out of a microwave, I would happily throw it in the bin tomorrow.
I did have a breadmaker, and it made a decentish loaf of bread (with a rather large hole in), but can still do better myself.
It depends how hi you mean by hi-tech. And, of course, what you want it for.
As for 'gadgets', a good (blunt blade) blender is one of my favourites, with a good food processor and perhaps a mixer not far behind.
I also agree with mention of breadmaker, and with Panasonic as my preferred make. Yes, I can do as good a job nearly all the time, and a better job most of the time, by hand. But not for as little effort. My small selection of standard loaves takes me, and yes I timed it, under 5 minutes to do. By which, I mean get everything out, measure up, load up the machine, program it and set timer, and wash the measuring spoons and cup, and put everything away.
So, before bed, I can sort out a new loaf for the morning. And the cost? Between 40p and about 70p depending on the flour I use.
I'm also partial to my pasta machine (manual type). Easy to use, can have several types of fresh pasta whenever I want, and minimal effort.
Best low tech is a lever press lemon squeezer. My hob is induction, so I suppose that is highish tech. Microwave oven is quite hi tech in terms of RF engineering, even though the concept is over 50 years old.
The question would have been better phrased as 'New tech' because generally advances in kitchen technology are incremental in that the basic function is the same. An induction hob still heats food, as does a gas burner or halogen hob. My food mixer does the same thing that my mother's did (when they were then 'hi tech' - except the term wasn't around then).
And domestic kitchen tools tend to flow down from professional kitchens.
So the real hi tech developments in timeline order
Gas/electric cookers 1930s/1940s
Fridges - early 1950s
Food mixers - late 1950s
Automatic washing machines - mid 60s
Freezers - mid to late 70s
Food processors -1970s
Microwave ovens - early 80s
Dishwashers - mid 80s
Bread makers - mid 90s
Induction jobs - mid 00s
Vacuum packers/ sous vide mid 15s.
My most recent purchase has been a basic vacuum packer, not yet tried cooking sous vide.
I did have a bread maker, but I get far better results using a dough hook in a mixer, mainly because I have control over the proving time, but as all the processes are manual, it does take a lot more effort, so I tend to batch bake three or four loaves at a time, then slice and freeze the results. And while nothing comes quite as close as that crust off the loaf freshly out of the oven, the thawed slices come close. For best result leave the loaf 24 hours before slicing and freezing.
The best gadget for the kitchen is probably the Pipo X9 you did a news story/preview on a while back. A table top tablet for playing video, radio, storing recipes, accessing email/social media whilst waiting for stuff to cook etc.
How about a full review of one of these?
I have a PC in the corner, does that count?
Past that my toaster can boil eggs.
I am glad others admire the qualities of the Panasonic breadmaker. No matter what manner of odd flour mixes and weird additives I add to it nothing seems to faze it. It is quick to set up, quiet in operation and often full of unexpected tasty surprises when finished its cycle