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What are yours?
My top ten, I think (though I've no doubt missed something) are :-
- microwave oven
- bread maker
- sharp knives
- knife sharpener
- steamer
- slow cooker
- vacuum sealing machine
- meat/food slicer
- pasta machine
- decent, reasonably accurate digital scales
.... and that's not in any particular order. Oh, and food processor probably ought to be in there, though I'm a recent convert.
Ooooh, I'm looking for some recommendations on decent scales. What's the low-down ?
A george foreman grill! (or similar).
Define "decent"?Quote:
Originally Posted by Phage
What I meant is, basically, accurate enough for most cooking purposes.
The ones I got are .... hang on, I'll get a link ....
.
.
.
..... right, I'm back. Typical, I got mine from John Lewis and they seem to no longer do that particular model. That might account for the price. ;)
Similar, though, and the same brand (Salter), is this
Here's the complex bit. I ran a whole series of tests on these, including hysteresis and linearity, eccentricity, repeatability and so forth, and I did it with very accurately calibrated, and certified test weights. By certified, I mean that shops selling produce by weight have to have scales calibrated, tested and certified to be within margin of error, across their operating range, as defined by EU Metrology legislation. And those weights are currently certified as accurate for that purpose by my local trading standards. I know that, 'cos I've used them to certify (or decertify) supermarket scales. ;)
Within that context, I know my testing methodology is accurate, and the scales I got (Salter 1035 SSBKDR) are "reasonable" for kitchen use. I wouldn't want to see my pharmacist using them to measure out a few grams of a drug for medicinal use, but for flour for bread, they're fine.
They measure up to 5KG, supposedly in 1g increments. More on that later. They're small, about the size of a tea plate, with a little lump on the front for the display. They measure in grams, millilitres, pounds and ozs and fluid ounces. As far as I can tell, what the capacity measurement mean is that capacity of water. Obviously, 10 fl oz of molten lead weighs more than 10 fl oz of water. If you switch between grams and fl.oz, the reading does not change.
When I bake bread, I know I need x amount of water (depending on dough type). I use these to get that right. But other liquids might vary.
One very useful feature is to add incremental weights, and zero.
For instance, a bread recipe requiring 250g of wholemeal flower, 225g of white, 6g of salt and 8 g of sugar. I just put a bowl on, and zero. Add the wholemeal flower, to 250g, and zero. And the white flour, and zero. Add salt, zero, add sugar and zero.
And I do it that way round for a reason. I mentioned the "1g increments" earlier. The reason was this ....
- if you have a weight of 3g, and add 1g, are the scales accurate? Answer, not very.
- if you have a weight of 50g and you add 1g, are they accurate? Answer, yes.
- if you have a weight of 400g and you add 1g, are they accurate? Answer, yes.
So .... in that flour recipe, if you add salt then sugar, accuracy is probably okay, most of the time. But I wouldn't want to add 3g to 2g and rely on it. But once you get above about 8g, and certainly above 20g, they're accurate to within about 0.1g, and that was established with 0.1g trim weights of a known accurate weight. Doing it the way round I do it with that recipes ensures accuracy, and consistency. The scales will give accurate repeatable results all day long.
Another issue was ..... if you have weight of x, add 1g then remove 1g, do you go back to x? That's the hysteresis bit. Answer, usually, yes .... but not reliably, under about 10g.
So, again, it comes down to technique. If I want to be sure of accurate measurements of small (sub 5g) weights, use a container. Pre-load the scales with a plate or something, then zero them. Then, add your sub-5g weight.
As you can tell, I went to town on these scales. And yes, I know, I need a life. ;)
The results were that they were pretty good, with the caveat mainly of dubious accuracy very close to the supposed 1g minimum. And that, by the way, is why you'll find commercially accurate scales (of a class for shop use) might have a maximum load of 5Kg, 10Kg or even 15Kg but they'll also have a 50g or 100g minimum to their operating range too.
The overall conclusion of my mini-review .... they're very small, extremely neat, easy to use and, within the bounds of reasonable expectations for home-use kitchen scales, accurate. Just don't rely on them for running a meth lab. :D
Saracen, that's quite some write up on how good your scales are. ;)
Although I did just sit here and read the whole thing...
For me, the favourite gadget has to be the toaster, everyone loves a bit of toast in the morning :D
AHA! You're the one. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Hoonigan
Or, as the case may be, how good they aren't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoonigan
One day we'll find something he doesn't have impeccable knowledge of....;)
Living with 3 other adults, all of which seem to drink exclusively from cans (why?!), the recycle bin can get rather full of them...Solution. Granted that most people won't need one though :D
:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Agent
It wouldn't take much, believe me. Just work out what I don't comment on, and you've got a guide to my extended absence of knowledge.
For a start, football. I think it involves a bunch of overpaid idiots running up and down a field kicking a bit of leather about. But that's about the depth of my knowledge. Or interest. Oh, and that Beckham bloke is one, isn't he?
Favouite kitchen gadget: a wife...
/fetches coat
i would assume the wife would say i'm her fav kitchen gadget.
mines got to be,
range cooker,
kenwood mixer
dishwasher :D
AnySharp knife sharpener
http://www.anysharp.com/
The marketings amusing but we love ours :) Mr Stabby is always ready for action!
I also like my wine aerator and my mini chopper (ohh behave).
why would I want the cooking done badly ?Quote:
Originally Posted by peterb
/runs away without getting coat ;)
1 - Minosharp sharpener
2 - New tin opener, actually works !
3 - My 30cm sauté pan by Anolon :) £70 but worth every penny (now over 10 years old and still perfect)
OK the last is not a gadget, but I still love it :)
Hmmmmm, I'm not really a gadgety cook, I have to say. Much prefer nice, old fashioned, very heavy implements.
That said, I'd be miffed to be without:
1) Glass-jugged blender. Almost exclusively used for grinding Soya Beans to make tofu out of. Yes, I am that weird.
2) Sandwich toaster. Currently rocking a genuine breville, although I've yet to find a modern sandwich toaster that can come close to the quality of my original breville that lasted the family over 20 years and actually cut and sealed the samdwiches.
3) Panini press. For when you've got unsliced bread or rolls but still want a toasty :D Although I have to admit preferring the above.
And those items that I'm not convinced qualify as gadgets:
Slow cooker. Yes, I know Saracen included it in his list, but I'm not convinced it's really a gadget as such. But I love mine (well, technically it's actually on loan to my wife from one of her friends from many years ago...!).
Pestle and Mortar. It's a couple of lumps of marble, so I'm not sure it counts as a gadget, but on the other hand it's non-essential and small. Best garlic bread I've made in a long time was done by mashing garlic, olive oil and salt in my P&M. An absolute must.
And finally: my cheap 'droid tablet. Not technically a "kitchen" gadget, but I eventually lost track of the number of times I used it to look up recipes & check conversions and measurements whilst cooking. I now use my laptop to do the same job, but it's nowhere near as convenient...
Have you tried feeding it to your cat(I mean the tofu and not the grinder)??:mrgreen:Quote:
Originally Posted by scaryjim
...and not as easy to clean dried soya beans off!! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by scaryjim
This is the only kitchen gadget I own, and thus use :DQuote:
Originally Posted by HSK
(I love it to bits)
My kettle is my favourite, followed by my Dolce-Gusto machine...the Kettle is a necessity for making tea for the evenings, whilst the Dolce-Gusto makes pretty darn good espresso or latte for the morning or a weekend afternoon. Certainly not as good as a "real" espresso maker but miles and miles better than any form of instant rubbish.
Yes - she thinks it's food, but not very good food... :O_o1: !Quote:
Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH
She much prefers it once I've marinated it in soy sauce and sesame oil and fried it, but now we're drifting inexorably away from kitchen gadgets and into recipes ;)
My new favourite:
http://coffeegeek.com/proreviews/qui...nstein/details
Only useful if you have a 'proper' coffee machine though
I love my hand blender for soup, milkshakes etc, so much easier than having to clean a jug blender (although mine comes with a little container which is great for making marinades etc in too) Have had this one for a while.... http://www.johnlewis.com/230994086/Product.aspx
To be honest I do love kitchen gadgets but cleaning some of them is a complete nightmare!
Parents have a bread machine, but I prefer doing it by hand when possible.
For me? My Mobile.
Fantastic tool for hot chinese with minimal effort. Rumour has it other types of food can also be requested. ;)
My most used has to be the giant bottomed and deep pan.....and my silicone/rubbery spatula thingy......helps loads in making sure all the mixture gets from A to B and to stop things sticking when cooking on high heats.
My wife
Not quite what I meant. I guess I should have been a bit clearer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spud1
I guess I'm taking certain things as effectively essentials, though I suppose that that definition is rather subjective. I'd put certain things in a category of kitchen 'basics', and either essential or to most of us, pretty close to it. Those would include (obviously) oven and hob (or combined), but I'd also include fridge, freezer (though I'm sure some people manage without), and microwave (though I know people manage without that). And I'd put kettle in that list.
What I really meant was those things that are more of a whim or personal choice than "basics", though I'd agree it's not a very clear line between them.
Espresso machine and coffee grinder for me. Freshly ground espresso is amazing, about 1000% better than Starbucks or the like.
That knock box Million linked is interesting; I use an old tupperware box at the moment, something a bit less oversized would be useful.
i will soon be adding this to the list http://direct.tesco.com/product/default.aspx?r=207-1781
intellisteam for £20, thats about a 3rd of the usual price you can find it for :D
solves the issue of dropping the broccoli into the cauliflower after the caulis been on for 3 minutes so they cook at the same time ;)
My list:
Mino Sharp Plus 3 knife sharpener. Having properly sharpened knives is somewhat an obsession of mine, and I've tried MANY over the years. This one is the best yet without spending silly money
Wusthof Classic Cook's Knife 20cm. Well balanced, great general purpose cook's knife.
Wusthof Classic 10cm Paring Knife. Great for jobs the Cook's Knife is too big for.
Poachpod Egg Poacher. I like the occasional poached egg. These do a great job. You do need to follow their advice and put a drop of oil in the bottom/rub it around before cracking the egg in and cooking it, though.
Chef'n Kitchzen Silicone Balloon Whisk. Silly name, good for using in non-stick pans for hot food, as well as whisking cold foods.
Chef'n Switchit Spatula. Great silicone spatula. Literally use this every day, and it doesn't scratch non-stick pans.
Falcon Multigrade non-stick reusable liner. This one is BRILLIANT, came across it on a cookery course and now use it all the time to line baking trays for cookies, potatoes, chips, fish, veg, etc instead of using foil. A sheet lasts ages if you clean it properly (easy in the dishwasher).
Kitchen blowtorch. Good for caramelizing sugar, and also crisping up crackling (although you'd want a bigger blowtorch for large roasts etc)
Pestle & Mortar. I got a nice solid granite one from Tesco's a few years ago - great for grinding spices. Seems to work better and is easier to clean than those white ceramic ones, which I've also owned.
Vacuvin Wine Saver Pump & Stoppers. Essential for keeping opened bottles of wine fresh for a few days.
I would highly recommend it. It's a very small thing that I didn't think I needed, but now I have it I wouldn't give it up! Very ethically sound company too, if that interests youQuote:
Originally Posted by Butcher
Knife, board sharpening stone, the one used to sharpen garden tools, its better than the metal thing. Brings me so much joy when cuttin meat or vegies, especially tomatos which are slightly soft, the joy of cooking
I can't say this is really a gadget, but don't underestimate the frying pan, specifically a decent Tefal non-stick pan. I recently picked one up, and I want to slap my self for not doing so earlier.
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/11390/Pota...D5B8632AC.app1
Potato Ricer. I've been using this exact same model for well over 20 years. Makes the best mashed potato ever.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Cook...7717610&sr=8-9
Digital thermometer. Takes the guesswork out of perfectly cooking a joint of meat. But mostly I use it for accurate oil temperature when making chips! Indispensible.
I use a sub-£5 cast iron job, it's amazingly good - the non-stick rivals the best tefals I've used.Quote:
Originally Posted by HSK
Also, bought the knock box, very impressed so far. :)
In our kitchen we have:
Kenwood Food Processor
Kenwood Chef Mixer (loads of attachments so reduces the need for other machines)
Microwave/grill/fan oven (big 30L capacity works great for baking)
Standard full gas stove with double oven (very rare here as they are usually half gas half electric, we had to import this on from the UK)
Phillips Senseo (Best Coffee Ever)
Bread Maker
Rice Cooker
Slow Cooker
Pressure Cooker
Mayonnaise Maker (yes you read that right)
Favourite gadget hands down is my apple peeler/corer/slicer.
Link
Just watching this as it works is a joy, plus my son has never eaten so many apples!
Steve
Just got some stainless rings.....really enjoying them so far.
Some fancy cheesecakes and potato rostis have been well received from them so far :)
From a most used perspective...
Breadmaker
Rice Cooker
Hand Blender
Spice grinder
Food Processor
weirdest one...
Mango Stoner
My fav has to be my microplane set they are usefull for grating anything including puree garlic with no problems at all
It's not really gadgets as such, but it's my thread, so what the hell.
Add Induction hob to my list.
I've used most (if not all) hob types over the years, and I have to say, I adore induction. It's as fast and versatile as gas, and yes, responds incredibly fast, like gas. It is also far easier to clean. A good wipe usually does it, and every few weeks, a quick wipe with a ceramic cleaner.
Downside though .... new pans. A lot of mine were old-ish and even the 'good' ones were almost all aluminium.
Upside .... new pans. I've replaced all the relatively cheap pans, and done it properly this time. Proper 18/10 stainless steel, copper core for thermal transmission, they're luvverly.
Oh, and a Le Creuset stir-fry pan (and optional lid). Beautiful bit of kit and I use it loads. Not cheap, though. And a Le Creuset Grillet for searing chicken, steaks, veg, etc.
So another advantage of the hob was that it forced me to indulge in new pans, and by 'eck, indulge I did. I've spend more on the pans than I did on the hob, though I got a stunning deal on the hob.
And I enjoy cooking SO much more than on the crappy solid electric contraption that was there before. That piece of garbage was a nightmare. If you wanted something to go off the boil, you needed to anticipate it and turn it down about 5 minutes before you needed it to go off. I certainly turned rice off 2 or 3 minutes before it finished, and the plate stayed hot enough to keep it simmering.
So, not exactly a gadget, but new hob and a new collection of pots and pans. And I'm happy as Larry .... whoever he is.
I got a new couple :)
Breadmaker with gluten free programme.... I mainly use it in dough only mode as this means I can use my other new toy, a long narrow terracotta window sill flower pot, which I then bake my bread in.
Like this one -
http://c713667.r67.cf3.rackcdn.com/Y...71_1_large.jpg
Now that is interesting. I'm intrigued with the windowsill pot for baking bread, got any more details on that?
I use one of these for bread: http://bakerybits.co.uk/Traditional-...-P1499168.aspx
Works like a charm.
Yeah, I have four of those too, but actually prefer my terracotta - for the big loaves only though, it will take a whole kilo of flour.
Wellll, what more info do you need ? Bought it from a garden centre for about 3 quid, it has two holes in the bottom so you need to line the base. I use a large piece of baking paper on the bottom and up the two long sides, this also prevents sticking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Funkstar
I use the breadmaker to make the dough, then turn it into the pot. Leave it to prove for a lot longer, about 2 hours. Using one kilo of spelt flour it needs baking a bit longer too, I give it an hour at 220C.
Spelt recipe - ask and Ill post it.
I guess the next logical question is, can you bake a muffin in a plantpot?
of course :)Quote:
Originally Posted by snootyjim
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7232927_ba...ower-pots.html
Great article, spoiled by the use of the word "mini" :p
Yeah I think that just about covers it! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by g8ina;2702165[snip
Do you think you get a more even bake with the thick heavy terracotta? I guess it would be a bonus for very large loafs, i can imagine it would help prevent the crusts from over cooking berofe the middle is done?
Oh, and what exactly is spelt floor? I've seen it in the heath food shops we go to but don't know anything about it.
Thanks :)
Yes on the baking query, I do seem to get a much more even bake in terracotta.
Spelt is an "ancient" form of wheat, known to Paleolithic Man, and used by the Romans a lot. Its naturally low in gluten, not free, but very low. Not suitable for coeliacs then, but great for gluten intolerents like me. Tight crumb, very dense, VERY tasty in wholegrain flour, and makes exceedingly crunchy toast, even if it does take 5x longer to toast it.
So a very large tasty loaf that makes great crunchy toast? I'm sold! :mrgreen:
Might need to give this one a go when I get a spare moment (latest estimate is sometime around Spetember 2015)
I'd try it before you buy a big sack - I really don't like the taste of spelt, you don't want to be stuck with it if it's not to your taste.
A big red KitchenAid and a slow cooker for making shredded beef
I love my Bamix.
|Have to agree with this! Expensive and I thought twice before buying it, but it is so well made and versatile.Quote:
Originally Posted by Top_gun
Cafetiere
Steak knives
I also have a new toy, I believe it to be called a Julienne slicer. Slices and shreds in one movement, great for shredding carrots for salad etc.
I WANT A PATIO PLANT POT IN MY OVEN... NOW!!!!
I've never seen that G8ina... you are a god :)
Favourite Kitchen stuff.. gadgets?
-------------
Magic Bullet... 100% the best thing when you've got a kid.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-BUL...4419517&sr=8-2
it's a power base with pastic tubs/pots and a screw on blase base. It blends stuff and you can microwave the pot/tub with a screw on lid. So you can cook in it, blend in it and then pout it out. Great (under statement) for pasta sauces. Great for single portion fresh soup. Great for cocktails (smashes hell out of of ice cubes) and great for melting cheese it, then blending chilli with it and pouring ober nachos. Great for milkshakes (the cup/tub thing comes with screw on colured tops for drinking straight out of it..) great for... blummin' everything. I love it. 7 years old, had to buy new set of cups/tubs things.. power base ALWAYS on my kitchen work surface plugged in. Even use it for blending gravy. I adore it.
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My dad made me a meat slicing board... it involves having a dad with a router (not a broadband router.. it's a router for cutting into wood) and a large bit of wood that looks like it wants meat carving on it.
then get the bloke with the router to route deep grooves in it, all aimed to the corner to pour the meat juices back into the gravy. I love it.
----------------
Next up.. a glass Stock Seperator. It looks like a glass measuring jug but the spout is long, and thin and starts right at the bottom...
when you pour all the meat juices into it, with the stock and the wine and ...everything... the fat floats.. and when you pour it.. the spout hole is at the bottom.. and all the nice fat free juie comes out.. and the fat stays in the glass jug.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_SS500_.jpg
mine has the pouring spout connected even lower...
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Next up is the the knife block.. the one that holds ANY knife and is washable.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stellar-Fibr...4419866&sr=8-4
buy the knives you WANT (not the ones that fit your current block) and PUT THEM IN SIDEWAYS>> cos iof you put them in blade down you WILL cut yourself at some point pulling one out from below it (experience)
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next up.. drip stops. Thin foil like circles.. you roll it up, stick in the wine bottle and the wine doesn't drip down the side of the bottle.. ever.
http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/908/9...941908_510.JPG I got 10 for £1
yup.. now THAT'S a tool :)
one of these :
http://www.johnlewis.com/oxo-good-gr...=c&tmcampid=73
so you can pour liquids at an angle and still measure. can also see the scale when looking down into the jug.
I also have the fat seperator one :)
Just bought #2 son a potato ricer and i dream of a kitchen aid blender...
:D
my new 2nd fav (the kenwood chef still holds 1st place) is the replacement to my Dualit hand blender as the POS broke for the 3rd time and Dualit would only offer to sell me a full new kit for 40% off, for less than that I got a Kenwood HB724 Triblade Hand Blender complete with a dedicated mashing/puréeing attachment..
no splattering, attachments have geared drives to reduce the speed unlike the Dualit kit that whisked into the next street...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moby-Dick
http://www.focusst.org/forum/attachm...e-my-money.jpg
Also known (I think) as a mandolin.Quote:
Originally Posted by g8ina
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&k...l_92wewg58pw_b
Kenwood mini chopper, I picked one up ages ago for £8 :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000C6WP..._df_B0000C6WPC
That's a new design but it's exactly the same as my small kenwood, we paid 7 pounds for ours.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunvsmoon
Very handy, I especially like the whipped cream making attachment. It has one for juicing oranges as well but I never use that.
It and my kenwood chef are the two most used gadgets in our kitchen.
I installed our first dishwaher last year and I bloody love it.
Makes my life so much easier since I am on dishes all the time.
mine definitely has to be my breadmaker and oven,
fresh dough to put in the oven for lunchtime rolls, yummy :D
You cant't go wrong with a really sharp knife
My Hario burr grinder & my AeroPress.
^^ Oh yeah - and a Global chef's knife.
Rather fond of my Kai Shun knives, look amazing too.Quote:
Originally Posted by naromOG
Bread maker and rice cooker. My GF said we should get a rice cooker for ages and I couldn't understand why, but seriously it's been the best kitchen thing we've bought.
After we bought it I later heard Ken Hom say, when asked how most people in China cook rice, that most people use rice cookers. Good company then. :)
Yeah, but what do the Chinese know about rice?
Oh, wait ..... :D
My favorite is my juicer. I have been into juicing lately and I can consider my juicer as my new best friend.
Has to be my apple peeler/corer that I got from Aldi for £6.99! It's one of those that spins the apple and peels and cores and slices as it goes.
Breadmaker is our favourite, for sure! Pizza nights are a weekly event now :)
A good bread knife is a good thing to have, too. Never tried one of those snazzy motorized ones, not sure I trust myself haha
Guzzini Gildo crumb vacuum! Brilliant for those toast/muffin/pikelet crumbs. Looks good too and gets people talking.
Couldn't agree more! I have a Henckels I found at TKMax for £20 (costs £60 RRP!!) which is amazing, by far my favourite/most used "gadget" in the kitchenQuote:
Originally Posted by naromOG
My favourite with no doubt is the wife, does it all for me and more
My absolute favorite is my Kitchenaid 6500 stand mixer. Not only does it do the standard paddle/hook/whip functions, there are also plug-ins to a high torque socket for pasta rollers, meat grinders, dough rollers, shredders, etc. Don't ask what I paid for it and all the accessories. If I had of been married when I bought it, I'd probably have been divorced as a result...
After that comes my Robot Coupe R2N - if you're going to buy a tool, buy the best you can afford, and you aren't getting better than these, except when you buy the higher dollar versions. This beast has replaced my old Cuisinart AND my VitaMix blender. Bought this one as a demo model, otherwise would have had to spend better than $850 for it - and they go a lot higher.
I've seen some mention of pans, and specifically non-stick pans. Those things are dangerous. A well seasoned cast iron pan is every bit as non-stick, if not more, than any teflon coated pan, and far less likely to poison the air you're breathing. A couple of Revereware stainless pots and pans for everything else. No aluminum. Period. Too much anecdotal evidence between aluminum and Alzheimer's. Dunno about England, but the brand of choice here is Lodge.
My newest toy, and one I wish I had of bought years ago, is my countertop induction cooktop. Good thing I don't have aluminum, as none of them will work - absolutely perfect for frying, candy making, heating water for coffee/tea, baking, etc... Waring 23.5" dual burner... 1/2 price from Wayfair.com, saw it on a TV commercial...
Good knives and a couple of good whetstones are a must. I've got a very nice set in a butcherblock holder on the counter that I bought 30 years ago, thinking it was cool to have a beautiful set that was made in Solingen, Germany... spent more money than I should have for what turned out to be nothing more than a decoration. My daily driver? Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife... I've had 3 of them over the last 25 or so years, and only replaced them due to heavy use.
Lots of other stuff that never gets used. Not sure if all of the above is considered gadgets or not, but other than the addition of the oven and a good cutting board, those are my must haves for any serious kitchen work.
There's a fair bit of overlap between your R2N and my Magimix 5200XL. For instance, same company makes them. Magimix is Robot Coupe's domestic line. Same type of motor - commercial grade induction motor. 30yr warranty on mine.
Not sure about capacities. Mine says 16-cup, your 3 quart. As the Robot Coupe is aimed at restaurants and mine at domestic use, yours might be bigger. That said, mine is every bit big enough for us, or perhaps even oversized a tad.
Blades are similar (Sabatier s/steel), with similar range of s-type, cutting discs, Julienne dics, graters etc. Not sure about motors. Yours says 1HP, mine 1100w. My guess is yours is heavier duty, after all, it's aimed at, what, 20-30 covers per night, day-in, day-out? But, both commercial-grade induction motors, from the same company.
No way does it replace my Vitamix, though. Oh, there's a good degree of overlap, but each does things, or does them better, than the other. One thing the Magimix does which, I think the R2N doesn't, is three interlocking bowls, so three lots of processing before I need to wash bowls.
I seriously thought about the Robot Coupe range before buying the Magimix. What swung it, eventually, was that I could buy the Magimix, locally, retail, whereas the RobotCoupe is aimed at commercial and hard to find on retail sale, certainly locally to me. And second, and more important, that 30-year motor warranty which is certainly aimed at the domestic market. There's an element of reassurance in having it, but mainly I figure if the offer it, it's because they don't expect to have to honour it very often.
The Robot Coupe purchase was right place/right time. I happened to be at a convention for a large tech company, and there was a convention going on for restaurant supply on the other side of the hotel, which, by sheer coincidence, was being attended by a friend of mine in the restaurant business, and I got a side door invite to the sale of all the demo gear once their convention closed. I paid a touch more than 1/2 price for it, and considering I had used a similar product when I worked in a kitchen in my younger years, I knew just how good of a product it was right away.
Your base size is actually slightly larger than mine, both in capacity and power. I can get larger capacity bowls, but haven't found a real need, and the power difference is as much a function of electrical voltage as anything - we're on 120v here, and iirc, you folk are at 220+. Anything bigger for us would require upgrades to our circuit breakers for home use, or a dedicated circuit in a pro kitchen. Either way, I'm relatively certain they both sound similar, as in jet airplane at takeoff level...
I use it to make salsas, relishes, tomato based sauces, etc, which I then can. Also makes fantastic nut butters - no jarred peanut butter comes close to made fresh.
I still have a high priced Cuisinart machine with all the nested bowls and adjustments and accessories, and it sits on a shelf. I sold the VitaMix to the local health food store. The Robot Coupe does just fine for purees and pretty much anything I used a blender for, with one exception - I do have a $10 WalMart no named blender specifically for making milk shakes, on the rare occasion I want one and don't buy it made for me at the local burger shop (and no, I'm not talking fast food burger and frozen dairy product drinks with artificial flavors :) ) I had considered buying a so-called soda fountain style shake maker, but couldn't justify the cost/use nor the cleanup involved.
Jet plane on take-off? Well, depends on the plane. :D
But yeah, in common with the Vitamix, quiet they ain't. What helps a bit, at least in the rest of the house, is an insulated base. I use a square of wood, on top of a folded towel. It significantly dampens down vibration, but doesn't threaten stability or block motor ventilation. It helps a bit.
Some areas I use the Vitamix for include dry goods, like grinding down grain into flour, or anything involving ice or frozen fruit, like smoothies, frozen yoghurt, ice cream, etc. And of course, anything I want hot, like cheese sauce, chocolate sauce, hot soup, some coffees, satay sauce, etc.
Oh, and I use a Kenwood stick blender for quick blitzing, like a tomato pasta sauce, or blitzing hot soup, etc, in the saucepan.
And I do still have an older, much cheaper food processor that gets occassional use if the Magimix is busy, but it's .... crude .... compared to the Magimix. Quite what it is, I don't know, but it isn't a patch on the Magimix. I suspect a combination of motor power, and those oh-so-sharp blades. And they REALLY are sharp. You do get what you pay for. I don't really need the other one, but I'm not just dumping it, and it does just sit there as a backup.
What is the best espresso machine between 200$ to 300$?
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