Anonymous wrote:Immersion blender. It makes soups and sauces so much easier.

+1 to this and to a mandoline. Everytime I use either one I think about how much easier it is than the alternative.

It's not a gadget, but I recently bought a quarter size baking pan and I use that thing all the time to heat up leftovers in the oven. It's the perfect size.

Ohaus TAJ4001 scale. Capacity 4000g, readable, repeatable, and linear down to 0.1g. I keep it on the counter, plugged into an AC adapter.

Immersion blender. It makes soups and sauces so much easier.

Hands down, the Cuisinart convection toaster oven. I use it to air fry, bake cookies, make small sheet pan meals… it’s great. I don’t remember the last time I used my full sized oven.

The Breville food processing station is also really good. I wish the bowl was larger, but it’s easy to store and clean.

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t a gadget, but we recently updated our kitchen appliances and replaced one of ou wall ovens with a combi steam oven. I love it so much. I haven’t gone too wild with it, but fish, rice, potatoes have been perfection.

I have a free-standing combi-steam oven from Anova, and it may be my favorite kitchen appliance though it has a lot of competition. I’m a kitchen gadget/appliance maximalist, and playing with them all brings me so much joy.

Check out Reddit’s combi-steam board if you haven’t already: https://www.reddit.com/r/CombiSteamOvenCooking/ I’ve learned so many things from contributors there, including the counterintuitive fact that you can make an absolutely perfect, golden grilled cheese sandwich using high heat and 100% steam.

Anonymous wrote:So the air fryer isn’t really a good example if you are getting rid of it, is it? I’m still old-school with the crockpot. But the only kitchen appliance I use daily (besides the obvious fridge, microwave and stove) is my Keurig coffeemaker. I’m still on my original one. I’m the only coffee drinker in the house so brewing a pot is a waste. I also never buy coffee out - love my Keurig!

Ugh you are still using a Keurig? They make atrocious coffee and are an environmental disaster. A 01 Hario drip cone with a reusable or compostable filter, and a hot water kettle is superior for both the environment and for coffee drinking.

My housekeeper **laughing tears emoji**

No, seriously. She and our personal chef are amazing.

A good knife — my favorite is my very small chef’s knife. My hand blender. My Instant Pot pressure cooker. My rice cooker.
My waffle iron.

I have an old, small, Cuisinart rice cooker. It makes perfect rice and other grains, and I use it to heat up leftovers. I have also used it to make pancakes, Japanese style cheesecakes , and other desserts in small servings. The life-changing feature of the rice cooker and the IP is that the shut off /switch to warming automatically, so they can be left alone to do their thing.
The IP makes meats, soups, boiled eggs, lentils and beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes, greens, almost effortless. Boiled eggs usually peel perfectly. Lentils and beans have a nicer texture compared to cooking them on the stove. I’ve also used it to steam frozen foods — like dumplings and tortellini. My Instant Pot got my through my COVID-times cooking crisis. For an extra, I’d add my waffle iron. I’ve made waffles out of lots of things — including brownie mix. (Yum!) And bananas mixed with peanut butter. And eggs mixed with cheese.

So the air fryer isn’t really a good example if you are getting rid of it, is it? I’m still old-school with the crockpot. But the only kitchen appliance I use daily (besides the obvious fridge, microwave and stove) is my Keurig coffeemaker. I’m still on my original one. I’m the only coffee drinker in the house so brewing a pot is a waste. I also never buy coffee out - love my Keurig!

This isn’t a gadget, but we recently updated our kitchen appliances and replaced one of ou wall ovens with a combi steam oven. I love it so much. I haven’t gone too wild with it, but fish, rice, potatoes have been perfection.

I wanted the Breville air fryer oven but it's not stainless steel.

My Breville oven. It has a slow cooker function, air fryer function, toaster, roaster, cookie baker and is my most used appliance. I could get rid of my full sized oven if I never had to roast a whole turkey at Thanksgiving.

Also on my list is my Instant Pot, but a distant second. It makes perfect and quick rice, or beans, or collard greens, and homemade yogurt when I need to get rid of too much milk in my house.

Air fryer, hands down.

OP, our af had a bad chemical smell at first. It took about a month of use for it to dissipate. I wouldn’t give up on it yet!

I’m sorry but I really don’t have one. A set of good pots and pans, a variety of silicone and wood utensils, a nice cutting board and a good set of knives is really all anyone needs. If I had to pick one, I would say my Cuisinart food processor. Even then I only use that about every month but it is super handy when I do.

The reason I ask is because all my life I've been cooking with a standard stovetop/oven.

Was recently gifted an airfryer and it has made cooking foods so much quicker and easier.

Everytime I use the airfryer though there is an awful chemical smell that makes me sick so I'm thinking of getting rid of the airfryer but now I'm wondering about whether I'm missing out on any other cool kitchen gadgets or appliances that make life easier?

What's your favorite kitchen gadget/ appliance that has been life changing?