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8 food gadgets

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8 food gadgets

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:04 am

#1
the butter grater looks like harder work than pinging your butter for 10secs in the nuclear reactor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMmsPglRY0I

But some actually seem useful. The pot strainer for starters. (I mean for pasta).

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:05 pm

I suppose if you want to make rough puff pastry the butter grater might work, though I've always used a metal grater which I've chilled in the fridge.

The vac jars are very very similar to some they have been selling using cupons at our local supermarket. They have been well worth collecting the stamps and the little pump thing only costs 50c. They stack really well in the fridge
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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Suffs » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:38 pm

The only things I'd be tempted to get are the stretchy lids ... otherwise most of it's just a load of extra stuff to store and wash up.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:48 pm

Isn’t the butter grater just one design of Parmesan grater renamed?

I would have considered the kiwi thingy if my kiwi vine had fruited - if you wanted to make jam etc it would be essential, but not for the odd one

I do quite like the stretchy silicone strainer, most designs only fit one pan or have to be held in place, that one seemed to work.

The tomato corers do work but aren’t necessary - I have a smaller one for strawberries, I do find some current varieties are hard to core without - as Nigella says, inessential but fun and tends to give you better presentation than you get fiddling around with a knife

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Suffs » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:57 pm

Yes Sue, you reminded me ... we used to have a Parmesan grater like that (but I'm sure it was simpler) ... we bought it when in Florence ... but it went rusty after a couple of years.

I think it's simpler (and possibly safer) to tip the pasta into a colander in the sink ... why complicate things?

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Oct 30, 2018 3:12 pm

I have different sized re-usable elesticated covers form Lakeland to cover things that need covering and to save on clingfilm.
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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:08 pm

There are some French silicone covers that are supposed to cover bowls quite tightly for storage, but release enough to be safe in the microwave. I have one in the shape of a daisy to fit my hemispherical white bowls. Unfortunately they don’t cling enough, they don’t wrap over the sides of the bowl, just sit on top. They might work on dishes with a flat rim but not on my stun porcelain bowls.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Alexandria » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:49 pm

Interesting Video ..


I like Italian glass Vac Jars which we had purchased in Italy and have tons of them which I use to store assorted rices, pastas, espresso beans, beans (cannelli, chickpeas, lentils, etcetra) and chickpea flour and other types of dry goods requiring storage in the pantry ..
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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Sakkarin » Tue Oct 30, 2018 7:39 pm

"I love lasagne with corners" - there's a line you don't hear very often.

The butter thingy looks like it would take longer than a normal grater to clean. I use a standard £1ish box grater for grating the butter for Delia's rough puff pastry no problem.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby jeral » Tue Oct 30, 2018 8:55 pm

Well, that's cost me at least an hour! I watched two or three of the "Up next" gadget ones too - so a lorra lorra gadgets - and I have to say there are at least half a dozen I'd quite like. Talking of churros, there was a handheld extruder on one of them, giving c.1cm dia. strands.

On another there was a circular potato crisp holder, like putting slices of toast in a rack to keep them separate, then "baked" in the microwave. It came with a simple mandolin-blade-topped tub to give fine slices, which were seasoned before loading into the ring holder. I suspect it's a labour of love, i.e. patience, though for a large batch... (Edit: Have you seen the price of crisps lately? :o

Is lasagne supposed to come out all stiff like a piece of pie? If so, does it lose its slurpiness? My filling splurges out like the proverbial man's beer belly when he undoes his trouser button :lol:

My box grater needs replacing, so if anyone wants to recommend a decent grater that is no harder to use I'm all ears. I imagine the top turning handle grinders are hard work, but could be wrong.
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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:44 pm

I have an Oxo Good Grips box grater which is good though the little box that comes with it to catch and store the bits was never very good and died long since.

I find box graters tricky to clean and invested in a flat coarse grater that is good for most things

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Binky » Wed Oct 31, 2018 2:13 pm

The gadgets were very interesting. That's one of the things I like looking at when visiting foreign kitchen shops. I don't remember where I bought this nutmeg grater for instance, but it has been admired by lots of people, the latest being our American visitors.



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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:27 pm

I use a nutmeg mill - the current one is quite good, but they do vary in quality, so worth checking the online reviews

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Gillthepainter » Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:19 am

Good rasper there, Binky.

My go to unusual gadget is the Stirio. I can put a one-pot wonder on the standalone electric induction hob - Aldi £9.99
Stirio on top that goes round and round, timer for 3hrs.

And walk away.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Binky » Thu Nov 01, 2018 4:04 pm

I had to look that up, never having heard of a Stirio.

Being retired and having loads of time, there is never a reason to leave cooking pots unattended, and I actually like a bit of stirring.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Renee » Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:39 am

I had to look it up too! Gordon Ramsay used it on the One Show. It is powered by rechargeable batteries.

https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/cont ... io-stirrer

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Gillthepainter » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:42 am

Did he now.
The charge lasts 4hrs, I have to charge it up before use, no big deal, I know when I'm going to need it, if we are going out for a walk.
You have 2 size stirrers, that scrape right to the side of my large steel pot perfectly.

Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy attending the kitchen stuff too.
Most of the time.

Can't stand stirring beans though. Just one of those things ...............

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby dennispc » Sat Nov 03, 2018 5:52 pm

And you store these things where? ;)

Must admit that stir thing would've saved my recent cooked apple.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby Renee » Sat Nov 03, 2018 5:53 pm

Oh no! :( That is something that needs standing over.

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Re: 8 food gadgets

Postby jeral » Sat Nov 03, 2018 7:17 pm

I reckon stirrers are a brilliant idea gadget that actually works, but I don't have a need for one and occasionally feel I ought to have :? I.e. do we get new gadget longings every now and then?

A set of offset spatulas is my latest acquisition that are really for spreading icing, but I find them useful for pastry and flipping things in pans which is easier due to being offset ones. As Petronius asks, where to store them...

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