# Unessential kitchen equipment that you are lusting over **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366 "2011-04-14T13:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/61 "2011-04-21T16:46:13Z")
**Turble** , I think I love you. Now to convince my husband that we neeeeeeeeeed it. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/62 "2011-04-21T22:22:44Z")
My parents used to have the Pizzazz and I seriously miss having that thing around. ---
**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/63 "2011-04-22T02:41:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Those ridiculously expensive Shun knives and the like. I’d probably never use it, but they’re shiny. The Shun knives are insanely fabulous. I started buying them for my Dad one at a time (Christmas, b-day, etc.). He’s a cooking geek like me, and he says they are the most incredible knives he has ever owned. I was happy with my Henkel 4-stars before, but now I dream of the Shuns. After I finish with the ones Dad wants, I’ll start on my own collection, for sure. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/64 "2011-04-22T04:11:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A climate controlled wine storage cabinet. I’d give this a +1 if you weren’t already dead to me for dissing Jennifer Tilly. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/65 "2011-04-22T15:10:53Z")
We’re semi-lusting for a Keurig coffee maker. We’ve got enough other ways\* to make coffee, that it would be a pure luxury item. - two electric percolators, one stovetop percolator, a French press, a stovetop espresso pot, a church basement-sized percolator (makes 60 cups, I think) and our daily-driver timer-controlled drip brewer. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/66 "2011-04-22T15:29:54Z")
I love grinding my own meat for chili – that’s the only way you can be sure of getting the proper extra-coarse “chili grind.” I have a hand-cranked meat mincer; someday I will have an electric one. Maybe a stand-mixer attachment, though I never bake and have no other conceivable use for a stand mixer. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/67 "2011-04-22T15:39:42Z")
Update: I broke down and got the #!#@ vacuum sealer. I figured the Gods wanted me to since they were kind to me on Tax day. It’s coming Tuesday. _happy dance_ Anyone need anything vacuum-sealed? I’m yer girl! ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/68 "2011-10-04T23:40:08Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > I will be using one at a RevWar reenactment in October at the Fort at #4 in Charlestown NH. It’s the subject of a full chapter in a book about 18th century life (Tidings from the 18th century), and I can’t wait to actually use it in person. A bit of a zombie thread revival, but I thought I might report on the amazing bit of kitchen equipment, and renew my lust for one at home. I had the opportunity to use the oven twice this year. Once at a French & Indian war event in the spring, and once this last weekend at a Revolutionary War event. Both events saw multiple loaves of fresh whole wheat bread in the oven, and they came out better than I could have hoped. This has only strengthened my desire to build one in my backyard. The one at the [Fort at no 4 (Charleston NH)](http://www.fortedwards.org/colonial/ft-4-ovn.jpg) is clay, rather than brick, but the concepts remain the same. What a treat to be able to use such a piece of gear, and someday, I hope to help rebuild theirs, and build one of my own. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/69 "2011-10-05T03:40:22Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > > [@bump](#): > > > > I want one of these guys’ utility pans: > > > > [http://www.olvidacookware.com/?page\_id=3](http://www.olvidacookware.com/?page_id=3) > > I’m following you from thread to thread now because now I want one too! > > Oh, and since we have the vacuum sealer, a sous-vide machine is on the list. Thanks to this thread (and bump’s other mention of it), we got the [13" skillet](http://www.olvidacookware.com/?wpsc-product=man-pan). It’s amazing–I love it, and my wife calls it her favourite pan. We’ve had nicely seasoned cast irons for years, but this has them collecting dust. Its three best features are exactly what we expected. At its heart, it’s a cast iron pan with all the cookery goodness thereof. But it’s spotless between uses. To put it to the test, I seared steaks in it, deglazed it with a rich wine sauce, then after washing used it again in the same meal to make dessert crêpes. The third benefit: the dishwasher. Cleaning regular cast irons isn’t necessarily arduous, but the ability to put it in with the rest of the dishes vastly heightens the conveinence. We’ve gone so far as giving them as gifts to a couple people. Great thread, great pan, great thanks! Next up: a a sous-vide machine. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/70 "2011-10-05T04:08:45Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Oh, if you get that mixer blade, go for the [Side Swipe](http://www.sideswipeblade.com/) rather than the other kind; Cook’s Illustrated preferred this version, and I love it. > > Love them but wouldn’t use them after a while: > Sous-vide machine (plus holy-crap expensive and takes up valuable space) > Vacuum sealer (for sous-vide cooking plus general food storage) > Ice cream maker (wtf, I’m trying to keep my weight down and my husband is trying to lose significant weight - so not a good idea) > > More useful: > Kegerator (I brew beer but hate bottling - so I haven’t brewed lately) > Chest freezer (tiny over-the-fridge freezer compartment leaves no room for freezing stocks, sauces, or buying frozen stuff at Costco) The chest freezer is definitely just shy of the “essential” list but is well ahead of the nonessential stuff - on a rank of 1-10 where 1 = literally must have, like a couple of basic knives and a saucepan and 10 = something like a sous vide setup or a kitchen blowtorch… I’d rank the chest freezer at a 5. Hugely useful and pays for itself with 2-3 loss-leader sales at the grocery store! ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/71 "2011-10-05T05:26:43Z")
Another vote for a Kitchenaid mixer. I cook 3 meals a day about 300 days of the year and bake quite alot. I could use the shit outta one-a-those. Alas, we are poor. Not gonna happen, but we have talked (in jest) about getting married just for the mixer. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/72 "2011-10-05T06:17:06Z")
Automatic Bread machine. I’m resisting because I would eat too much of that delicious hot bread. Way too many calories. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/73 "2011-10-05T12:37:12Z")
As I posted above, I got the vacuum sealer I’d be lusting over. And holy crap, do I use the shit out of that thing. No, it’s not your standard kitchen item, and even I had reservations about buying something that had to sit on the counter all the time (cuz it’s 50 FOOKIN’ POUNDS) and might not get much use. I was so wrong. It’s one of those things that once you have it, you use it all the time. Pretty much everything that goes in the freezer (which is a fair bit - I like to cook with the future in mind) gets sealed up quickly and (if you just count the cost of the bags) cheaply. I buy big chunks o’ cheese, divide them up, and seal a few for use in a few weeks (no, it doesn’t retard mold altogether, but it makes it last a lot longer.) And it’s super great for sous-vide, I never have to worry that my bags are going to pop open halfway through cooking. Plus, it’s super fun to watch seal things. Mr. Athena and I both sit and watch it when it finally releases the vacuum and the bag seals. Yes, we’re easily amused. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/74 "2011-10-05T13:01:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Automatic Bread machine. > > I’m resisting because I would eat too much of that delicious hot bread. Way too many calories. [Psssst!](http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919) No equipment required. You’re welcome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366/75 "2011-10-05T14:54:03Z")
I have a very small kitchen with hardly any counter space after 'im indoors decided we absolutely could not live without the most humungous microwave in the entire world. However, that does not stop me lusting after KitchenAids and bread makers, especially after I found a [daily loaf machine](http://www.lakeland.co.uk/14760/Morphy-Richards-Daily-Loaf;jsessionid=3223BD52032247F6D35DE0E6A04DCC24.app2). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unessential-kitchen-equipment-that-you-are-lusting-over/578366.md?page=3)