Kitchen Gadgets - the Good, Bad and Ugly

Any recommended kitchen gadgets?
Reviews - good or bad are welcome.

 Mouli Herb Mill. 

   

I don't use it often but its good to have, in the back of the cupboard, for those mint sauce moments. It makes chopping a load of mint, easy. Bit messy to clean afterwards but very satisfying to use.
Takes up very little room so no need to feel guilty about hoarding rarely used gadgets.

One negative is that the Web calls it Vintage or Retro. Surely a gadget that still earns its keep after 30+ years  deserves better than that!!

Does anyone else have one?

I had one of these (but a different brand, bought off the internet by my brother) - it didn't cut anything and I'm pretty sure it got sent to a charity shop! I can see how an effective one could be quite handy.

Used to be my job at home to use one of these to do the mint sauce. Luckily it wasn't me that did the washing up. It wasn't one of those things I rescued when clearing mum's house. I can't say I miss it.

In a similar vein. I have a cherry stoner. Hardly ever used but when you need it, it's incredibly useful. There's also the pasta maker in the cupboard which only gets rolled out when I'm feeling homespun. One useless gadget is a sweetcorn 'de-kerneliser' never bothered with it ( I use my teeth ).

Hhhmmmm,
Slow cooker - last used 2 years ago to make mulled wine.
Stand alone blender - hardly used
Pestle and mortar - used approx monthly for grinding spices normally for curry
Potato ricer - use it when making mash, makes v good lump free mash, bit of a pain to wash but worth it (my wife doesn't tend to use it she uses a standard masher)
Bluetooth Digital temperature probes - useful for bbq, tend to use them to monitor bbq temp when roasting meat or smoking.
Large glass drinks dispenser with tap, v good for making fruit flavoured alcohol like damson gin. Currently has a black currant whisky experiment in it.

Ravioli cutter - never used
Mini burger press - never used
Julienne peeler thing, rarely used now don't tend to bother.
Kenwood chef with blender attachment - blender attachment used lots, probably weekly. Makes v good coleslaw.
I'll have a look what else I've got when I get home.

Apple peeler, cores & slices all in one. Very handy for good apple harvest years.
Spiralizer. Surprisingly useful.
Coffee grinder. It’s never seen coffee. It’s seen one or 2 chillies in its time.
Dehydrator. Again it’s seen the odd chilli, but it’s good for others things as well.
Slow cooker. Great for making stock & cooking lamb shank
Old kenwood chef. It only gets used for its mincer. Love that.
Pestle & mortor. Regularly used.
Cold smoker. Used when ever we get salmon, mackerel or we have a lot of cheese.
Garlic crusher. Pointless. My friend that brought it uses it every time she’s here.
Salad spinner. Very handy and regularly in use.
Bread maker. In use at least once a week.


Gadget/equipment I’d like is a pressure cooker. One of the newer ones with digital read out and a few preset programs.

Kenwood chef's 3 of them with a cupboard of attachments that all get used.
Spiralizer weekly
Apple Peeler corer slicer been well worth the £5 from charity shop.
Dehydrator use for homegrown apples. another £5 charity shop buy.
Slow cooker get used for mushy peas mostly
Pressure cooker 45 year old and still used weekly.
Smaller Camping pressure cooker
rice cooker rather like a two colanders hinged makes perfect rice.
Double boiler pan great for pinhead oats.

think thats the lot anything useless has gone to the charity shop.

Charity shops seem dodgy places to acquire gadgets according to this thread: 2 good buys detailed but plenty of junk sent to them.

On the plus side, you can buy things for a lot less than new price, so you don't waste as much money on a useless item.
We have a Library of Things where you can borrow stuff for a week for a few pounds - which is good if you want to try before you buy. They don't have a Mouli Herb mill or a cherry stoner though!

Kenwood Chef - dough hook a couple of times a week, mincer a few times a year, spice grinder every couple of weeks, blender often during tomato bottling season and for the odd soup.
Hand held beater - most weeks.
Pasta maker - once a month ish.
Pressure cooker - often in bottling season.
Slow cooker - five or six times a year.
Garlic crusher - only for stoning cherries or olives!
Potato ricer almost never.
Coffee grinder and maker daily.