What do you consider the single most useful kitchen gadget?

[kitchenelf]

Well, now that "gadget" has been clarified to all of us I will change mine from knife, which is not a gadget, to......................well, I'd say that most of my favorite kitchen gadgets would be found in most kitchens - so I guess I can't really put my finger on one.

I do like my mandolin though - nice thin cucumber slices for cukes and vinegar and nice thin potato slices for Dauphinois.

 

[Corey123]

Never said they did.

 

[SurvivorGirl]

The pannini press and the food processor.

 

[Andy M.]

...btw, did you Know the Screwdriver was invented BEFORE the screw?

quite true!

This needs further explanation. I can imagine some twit grinding and whacking away in a workshop to create this tool. When asked what it was for, he replied, "I really don't know. I suspect sometime in the future, someone somewhere will invent something that will require this device."

...or are you talking about the type of screwdriver that uses orange juice?


Help us out here, YT.

 

[YT2095]

"Rybczynski discovered that the screwdriver is a relatively new addition to the toolbox, an invention of the Late Middle Ages in Europe and the only major mechanical device not independently invented by the Chinese. Leonardo da Vinci was there at the start, designing a number of screw-cutting machines with interchangeable gears. Nevertheless, it took generations for the screw (and with it, the screwdriver and lathe) to come into general use, and it was not until modern times that improvements such as slotted screws came into being. Rybczynski spends some time discussing the underrated Canadian invention, the Robertson screwdriver."

as you can see, the ideas coincided, but it took a while before the screw itself was invented

 

[JoAnn L.]

Me again. I guess my favorite kitchen gadget is my small food processor, I keep it out on the counter all the time. Very handy.

 

[GotGarlic]

I don't consider regualr pots/pans/knives as "gadgets".

I thought the same thing when I first saw the title of the post, but the original poster said: "What's the single most useful piece of kitchen equipment (besides a heat source)? I nominate a non-stick frying pan. I could use it every time I cook something."

So my "most useful piece of kitchen equipment" would be my knife.

 

[OnlineCooking]

I'd have to say, my chef knife. Its my most used tool. My saute pan and stock pot get e run for their money as does my hand whisk. Man I hate playing favorites, I love all my kitchen gadgets and tools equally.

 

[skilletlicker]

What's the single most useful piece of kitchen equipment (besides a heat source)? . . .

A water faucet.

 

[OnlineCooking]

Good one!!! LOL!!!

 

[buzzard767]

It's a tossup between my Messermeister peeler and the garbage disposal. lol

 

[Robt]

I guess the most important/ best gadget in my kitchen would be that which is most used by the most people. In our kitchen that would be the kitchen shears. Somebody has them out of their place and gone all the time- or a least every time I wish to use them.

I also like my Roselle side cut

can opener​

, mostly used for canned tomatoes.

 

[MexicoKaren]

Hmmmm...I guess my most treasured gadget is a lime squeezer that works sort of like a pair of pliers. I use it almost daily - we always have a pitcher of limeade in the frig and use limes often in cooking. I've never seen one like it in the states, but they are everywhere in Mexico.

 

[TATTRAT]

Hands, have hands been said yet?

 

[Unclechili]

Despite the true meaning of gadget, I would still have to say my french knife. It's because of this knife that I don't need a million other doo-dads and what-nots in my kitchen.

However, I'd have to say my portable propane stove comes in a very close second. I use it at least 3 or 4 times a week during the summer (and sometimes the winter). It doesn't make sense to have a full size BBQ for two people, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper to run.

 

[skilletlicker]

Hmmmm...I guess my most treasured gadget is a lime squeezer that works sort of like a pair of pliers. I use it almost daily - we always have a pitcher of limeade in the frig and use limes often in cooking. I've never seen one like it in the states, but they are everywhere in Mexico.

I have one I bought for two or three dollars at the local Mexican grocery. It works great for small limes. I wish I had one a little larger for large limes and lemons.

 

[expatgirl]

A pair of very sharp surgical scissors that I bought over 30 years ago as a nursing student and now dissects poultry and trims fat and skin off other meats. That baby can help me skin and debone a whole chicken in about 20 minutes with no trouble. It was made in Germany. It goes whereever I go.

 

[Dina]

My knives and cutting board are used for everything I cook. Often, I'd rather wash a knife and board than all the gadgets in the food processor when chopping veggies. Plus I like to chop veggies and munch on them while cooking.

 

[college_cook]

It's got to be the knife. It performed most kitchen tasks before any popular kitchen gadgets were invented.

One of the restos in town has a chef who is super-hardcore about proper French style and technique, from what I hear. Apparently, vegetable peelers are not allowed in the kitchen, because they bruise the veggies. All fruits and veggies are peeled with your knife.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I don't know what you call this contraption, but it is just a little wooden tool that you use to juice a lemon, or an orange after you cut it in half. it does a good job for what it was designed to do.