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Old 02-21-2015, 06:05 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
5,618 posts, read 5,891,390 times
Reputation: 4875

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Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot View Post
Some of the things I have found kind of useless, or more trouble than they are worth:

Rice cooker. Granted, I did not have a really fancy bells-and-whistles one. But the one I had did not make rice any better than my good old saucepan with a lid. In fact, I prefer the saucepan version.
I LOVE my rice cooker. Just load rice, put in water, turn it on and forget about it. Completely self contained, don't have to worry about boiling the water or anything. And it frees up stove top space. Also I don't actually know how to cook it on the stove...

Other stuff I agree with you.

We had an electric can opener. Rarely worked. Difficult to figure out. Much easier to just do it by hand.
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Old 02-21-2015, 06:14 PM
 
5,413 posts, read 6,670,337 times
Reputation: 9351
Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal View Post
Even though I don't use them daily, I wouldn't call them "placebos" (nor do I think that is really the word the OP was going for). When I need them, I need them. Just like the huge roasting pan that takes a big turkey or makes "company lasagne" - I probably use that once or twice a year.
A placebo is something that doesn't work but one thinks it does...I agree that it's clunky in this use but I think it is exactly what the OP was going for....to try and tell everyone that we don't know enough to use what kitchen tools work for us as individuals....and they somehow do.

Why not just start a thread about the pros and cons of kitchen tools if that was not the case?
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Old 02-21-2015, 07:26 PM
 
5,570 posts, read 7,237,350 times
Reputation: 16561
Quote:
Originally Posted by sedimenjerry View Post
I LOVE my rice cooker. Just load rice, put in water, turn it on and forget about it. Completely self contained, don't have to worry about boiling the water or anything. And it frees up stove top space. Also I don't actually know how to cook it on the stove...
I'm with you. I LOVE my rice cooker. I don't have to babysit a pot on the stove, worry about boiling over or burning. I put it all in, push the button, and forget about it. I can forget about it for hours, and it's okay. It'll still be hot and fluffy and waiting for me.
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Old 02-21-2015, 07:38 PM
 
7,672 posts, read 12,740,811 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot View Post
Of course. But I have also had tools and small kitchen appliances that didn't work well for me, and you probably have too. This is about personal opinions and experiences. Why not make the thread fun instead of criticizing the OP?

Some of the things I have found kind of useless, or more trouble than they are worth:

Rice cooker. Granted, I did not have a really fancy bells-and-whistles one. But the one I had did not make rice any better than my good old saucepan with a lid. In fact, I prefer the saucepan version.

Garlic press. Again, maybe it was a cheap one. But it broke the first time I used it, and I decided it was not so hard to mince garlic with a knife.

Egg beater. My mom wouldn't have kept house without one. But I am fine beating a few eggs with a fork, or a lot of eggs with the hand mixer.

Electric kettle. Apparently there are whole countries who depend on electric kettles. (Kind of like the rice cooker, as a matter of fact). But my stovetop kettle works just fine for me and takes up less space.

Flour sifter. I never sift flour any more. I do sift powdered sugar sometimes, but I just press it through a sieve.

Edited to add: I've never had an electric can opener. My parents did, though.
I have to agree with this list. I too have a rice cooker and end up just using a sauce pan. I hated the garlic press as it was a pain to clean and I had wasted garlic mush in the chamber. And I would giggle if I ever got an egg beaters, way too many jokes associated with it. lol I love to hear the whistle of my kettle when it's ready and it's very fast. (chantal brand) I just whisk the flour in a bowl before measuring. I use to sift and never had anything left over in the sifter so I just whisk to aerate it.

Another useless thing I have is a quesadilla maker. I got it as a gift and I use the darn thing but I can do it just as well in a large saucepan or griddle. If it breaks, I won't buy another one.

With all that said, I wouldn't judge another person for loving theirs. I say good for them, everyone should use what they want and enjoy it.

What i couldn't live without are my electric beaters, I can't imagine trying to cream butter and sugar with a wooden spoon, I am waaaay too lazy for that. Edited to add: I grew up with an electric can opener and got one when I moved in to my own home. I still have my original one too, it's going on over 20 years now. It's like this one and it's mounted under my cabinet:

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Old 02-21-2015, 07:39 PM
 
Location: New Yawk
9,196 posts, read 7,193,547 times
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I've wanted a rice cooker for ages, and have been waiting for my microwave to crap out so it's space can be filled by a rice cooker. All I really use the microwave for is steaming veggies and... cooking rice. So, it seems like a natural progression for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sedimenjerry View Post
I LOVE my rice cooker. Just load rice, put in water, turn it on and forget about it. Completely self contained, don't have to worry about boiling the water or anything. And it frees up stove top space. Also I don't actually know how to cook it on the stove...
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Old 02-21-2015, 07:44 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
5,618 posts, read 5,891,390 times
Reputation: 4875
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms.Mathlete View Post
I've wanted a rice cooker for ages, and have been waiting for my microwave to crap out so it's space can be filled by a rice cooker. All I really use the microwave for is steaming veggies and... cooking rice. So, it seems like a natural progression for me.
Oh I use a microwave far more than that! We always just put away our rice cooker. It's only taking counter space if we're cooking something. Other than that it's never out.
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Old 02-21-2015, 08:07 PM
 
6,757 posts, read 8,248,395 times
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I think the term the OP is looking for is more like crutches than placebos. Gadgets people are dependent on, that aren't technically necessary.

I love my stand mixer, and it gets used for various and sundry things - mashed potatoes, pasta dough, meat grinding, sausage stuffing, garden vegetable canning, whipped cream, meringues ...

My hand mixer for small mixing jobs, including some of the above.

Garlic press? Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't. Depends on the dish. A quick flick of the skin and a rinse in the sink, and it's clean.

Electric can opener? I have arthritis, so I do like to use it. However, I also have a manual can opener for a backup.

Food processor - gets used a lot in the summer, not so much in the winter. That garden veggie thing.

Blender - hello, smoothies! And mayo!

Multifunction cooker - pressure cook lots of meals that would be slow-cook if I hadn't waited too long to put them in. Pressure cooker is also for rice, potatoes for mashed, etc. Slow cooker function for lots of things.

Stick blender - in pot blending, mini processor attachment for chopping nuts, small amounts of onion, etc.

Yup, I like my crutches very much, thank you!
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Old 02-21-2015, 08:16 PM
 
Location: I am right here.
4,977 posts, read 5,730,523 times
Reputation: 15841
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
Things in your kitchen (or processes) that you think make cooking easier or better, but they don't really.

Like an electric mixer. I bake cakes, and just stir the batter 3-400 strokes with the handle of a wooden spoon, they turn out perfectly. It takes less time than getting out, plugging in, cleaning and putting away a mixer. I remembered from my mom that it was supposed to be 300 -- on he box it just says two minutes with a kitchen placebo.

By the way, the handle of the wooden spoon mixes batter or dough just as well as the spoon-end, and is a lot easier on your arm because there is not so much resistance.

Electric can openers are a godsend for arthritis patients, but if you're young and healthy, all they do is waste counter space, a little electricity, and twenty bucks.
You know what's even easier than mixing a cake batter by hand? Buying a cake from the bakery! They even frost it for you!! Bonus!!

I don't use my mixer often, but when I do, it's for BIG things, like:

Angel food cake. I cannot imagine whipping 12 egg whites by hand until they stood in stiff peaks.
Whipping cream. I cannot imagine whipping 1-2 cups of cream by hand until I had peaks.
Creaming butter with sugars for cookies.
Whipping cream cheese.
Mixing up cookie batters for 5-8 types of cookies at Christmas.

I have an electric can opener. I no longer have a manual can opener. It broke 5-6 years ago, and I've never replaced it. Most cans of things I use are pop top, and the few "regular" cans I use, I just use the electric opener.

I have a hand chopper for chopping onions, peppers, making pico de gallo, etc.
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Old 02-22-2015, 02:57 AM
 
Location: Finland
6,418 posts, read 7,213,585 times
Reputation: 10435
Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot View Post
Of course. But I have also had tools and small kitchen appliances that didn't work well for me, and you probably have too. This is about personal opinions and experiences. Why not make the thread fun instead of criticizing the OP?

Some of the things I have found kind of useless, or more trouble than they are worth:

Rice cooker. Granted, I did not have a really fancy bells-and-whistles one. But the one I had did not make rice any better than my good old saucepan with a lid. In fact, I prefer the saucepan version.

Garlic press. Again, maybe it was a cheap one. But it broke the first time I used it, and I decided it was not so hard to mince garlic with a knife.

Egg beater. My mom wouldn't have kept house without one. But I am fine beating a few eggs with a fork, or a lot of eggs with the hand mixer.

Electric kettle. Apparently there are whole countries who depend on electric kettles. (Kind of like the rice cooker, as a matter of fact). But my stovetop kettle works just fine for me and takes up less space.

Flour sifter. I never sift flour any more. I do sift powdered sugar sometimes, but I just press it through a sieve.

Edited to add: I've never had an electric can opener. My parents did, though.
Definitely couldn't be without my electric kettle, so much quicker for boiling water and I boil water many times a day for tea.

Agree with the rice cooker though, bought one and don't bother using it any more, it takes up too much space and the minimum amount you have to cook in it is way too much for my family so I stick with a saucepan.

My electric mixer is necessary, I always wondered why my sponge cakes wouldn't rise when I was mixing the eggs and sugar by hand and then I got an electric stand mixer/whisk and realised the difference. I just can't get enough air in there by hand alone, and although I can whip cream by hand its so much easier to do it with the electric whisk.
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Old 02-22-2015, 05:11 AM
 
13,754 posts, read 13,217,966 times
Reputation: 26019
Counter clutter makes me crazy. But I put up with it. We're in a rental at the moment. Not nearly enough space for microwave, coffee maker, toaster, TWO knife blocks and cutting board, a bucket of misc stuff that won't fit in the drawer, a small basket for keys, s & p shakers, dish soap, hand soap AND (are you ready for this?) a frickin' K-cup monster that doesn't accept NORMAL size K-cup thingies. No electric can opener but I'll never give up my mixer! I'm just getting really acquainted with my food processers (yes plural). And I have other "stuff" that I've managed to squirrel away in cupboards.
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