# Kitchen Gadgets: What are the must haves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162 "2005-08-29T21:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/21 "2005-08-30T15:31:11Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > … and rice dispenser are also must-haves for me. How is a rice dispenser useful? I have seen them and wondered why they are better than just pouring rice out of the bag. I’d get one if I knew why they are good. A completely unnecessary but wonderful gadget is the Panini Maker, guarantees perfect delicious toasted sandwiches, mmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/22 "2005-08-30T15:39:37Z")
The most essential gadget in our kitchen is Mr. Athena’s Homer Simpson bottle opener. “How 'bout a beer? glug-glug-glug YES OH YES WHOOHOO!” That, and our champagne stopper. Both must-haves. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/23 "2005-08-30T16:18:25Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > How is a rice dispenser useful? I have seen them and wondered why they are better than just pouring rice out of the bag. I’d get one if I knew why they are good. If you are part of a large Asian family that eats rice at practically every meal, you buy rice in 50 lb. sacks and keep it in the dispenser. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/24 "2005-08-30T16:54:59Z")
**Pressure cooker.** Brown rice in 45 minutes? But I want it to be done when my stirfry is finished! Tender beef is expensive? But I want to pay $2.95 a pound and have it fall apart under my fork! **Ceramic ginger grater.** I cook a lot of Indian and Asian food, so I go through a lot of fresh ginger. It’s too stringy to use a normal metal grater. My microplane grater just can’t get a hold of it. (It’s an extra-fine; maybe a coarser microplane grater would be better.) Mandoline. Thin, uniform slices, ridiculously fast. But always always always always **ALWAYS** use the hand guard. Don’t just think, O, this potato is large, I can hold it by hand for the first few slices. It’s too easy to misjudge. Wanna see my scar? It’s that quarter-inch oval there right on my fingertip that doesn’t have any fingerprint on it. **Salad spinner.** I resisted getting one because it takes up so much space, but I finally broke down. Hey, clean, dry lettuce, much cheaper than the bagged, pre-washed stuff! It’s also useful for spinning out handwashing. Yay for multitaskers. And turns out I can store it with the lid underneath, and mixing bowls inside, so it’s not a spacehog. **Fat rubber band.** Like the kind that comes around stalks of celery or broccoli. This is the _best_ tool for opening stubborn jars. Just wrap the rubber band around the lid, and I guarantee, it will come off with a gentle twist. And you can’t beat the price. My stick blender is not a gadget. With God as my witness, I will never puree hot soup in batches again. My spice grinder is not a gadget. Pre-ground spices _suck_. > [@Mama Zappa](#): > > Metal ones will last approximately forever . . . And unlike plastic ones, they will actually come _clean_. About a year ago, we threw out our perpetually grungy, geasy-feeling, nicked-up plastic measuring spoons and cups and bought two sets each of metal ones. _So_ much nicer. I’m on a plastic jihad in the kitchen. If it can be replaced with metal or glass, or I can do without it, it’s gone. Plastic mixing bowls, I am looking in your direction. I had never heard of a mezzaluna before opening this thread. Now I _need_ one. Badly. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/25 "2005-08-30T17:44:33Z")
> [@Pixisis](#): > > A pastry knife – multiple curved blades on a handle, used to cut the butter into the flour when making a pie crust. > > \*looks kinda like the mezzula. I have a mezzula oblongata 😃 I make my pie crusts in the KitchenAid [using this method](http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/cvt005.asp). So the KitchenAid would be my first gadget of choice (above those I mentioned above), but they are rather pricey for the powerful ones. If we are talking inexpensive, then I agree completely on the pastry knife. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/26 "2005-08-30T22:15:25Z")
–The Microplane grater with slider attachment. Perfect for hard cheese, garlic (when I want it finer than I’m willing to mince it by hand), and nutmeg. –The digital thermometer with alarm. –The kitchen scale. My baking went up a level when I finally broke down and invested in a decent one. –The stick blender. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/27 "2005-08-31T08:48:48Z")
garlic [del]condom[/del] sleeve, for peeling garlic ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/28 "2005-08-31T13:24:56Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > –The kitchen scale. My baking went up a level when I finally broke down and invested in a decent one. That’s a good one that needs repeated. Measuring by weight instead of volume leads to much more consistent results when baking. 270 g of flour is much more precise than 2 cups. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/29 "2005-08-31T14:25:46Z")
Microplance grater. Electric fryer Oil / Candy thermometer (I don’t fully trust the settings on the Meat thermometer that beeps when temperature reached Pasta pot Pressure cooker (is this really a gadget - I consider it a necessity!) Garlic press ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162/30 "2005-08-31T14:30:43Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > **Pressure cooker.** got one. love it. 🙂 > [@Podkayne](#): > > **Ceramic ginger grater.** ditto 🙂 > [@Podkayne](#): > > **Fat rubber band.** Like the kind that comes around stalks of celery or broccoli. This is the _best_ tool for opening stubborn jars. Just wrap the rubber band around the lid, and I guarantee, it will come off with a gentle twist. And you can’t beat the price. must try this at next opportunity ! thanks ! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-gadgets-what-are-the-must-haves/319162.md?page=1)