Part of what I'm trying to do in my new kitchen is to really get set up to make a greater variety of foods, and to make my normal foods better, faster, stronger than they were before. In my mind, this means assembling the right set of ingredients and tools. The former is a gradual process, and has involved switching to more organic and bulk food purchases from the "whole foods" style stores in the area.
The latter (tools) is a lot harder, and a lot more expensive. We kept very few of our appliances when we moved. Most of them had been the cheapest versions from Target or Walmart and were already in sad shape, or they were so easy to replace that we just didn't worry about it. I think we only had a waffle maker when we arrived, and that was because it was expensive to begin with (also, a christmas present to my husband). Everything else would have to be purchased when we got here, and hopefully upgraded from what we had before.
So far we've bought two appliances - a coffee maker and a rice cooker. The rice cooker almost wouldn't have made it onto my original list, but after making rice in a pot twice in the last month, it went straight to the top. But these are far from my ideal in the kitchen, and there's a lot of work left to be done.
There's also a lot of appliances to choose from, and while it's fun to wander aimlessly through Bed, Bath, and Beyond to see what strikes my fancy, it's not very prudent to do so. I recommend instead having a plan of what will be most useful and most practical for your needs. In a very particular order, here are the top five appliances I want for my kitchen right now -
1) Food Processor: How could I have never had a food processor before? I don't know, but it's true. I had a blender in California, but it was never useful in the way that people dreamily talk about food processors. Especially now that I'm branching out into the world of canning, I feel like a food processor is a necessity. Oh, and if you need information about whether to choose a blender or food processor? Check out this link here.
2) Stand Mixer: So wonderful in baking. My favorite double chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for mixing the batter for 13 minutes straight, whipping tons of air into it. Lots of bread recipes instruct you to use a stand mixer in place of kneading. I've had a hand mixer before, but I think it's time to bump it up to the next level. The stand mixer is where it's at.
3) Bread Maker: My grandmother-in-law bought me a fabulous book about bread making for christmas this year. It follows the no-knead method from Jim Lahey, and it's astonishingly good. But that's more of an artisan, dip-in-olive-oil sort of bread, and wouldn't be great for making sandwiches. I'd like to stop buying bread at the store altogether, but sandwiches are a staple lunch food for us. Enter, the bread maker. This would be the perfect addition to helping us become more self-sustaining, especially if I can learn to make a whole wheat bread at home.
4) Slow Cooker: Mmm, slow cookers. To me they imply chili and stew and shredded bbq pork. Don't get me wrong, I love my dutch oven, but sometimes I need something easier. The idea of putting dinner on to cook at 8 am is just luxurious.
5) Ice Cream Maker: This is pure indulgence here. One of my loveliest friends pointed me towards Annies Eats a few months ago, and Annie celebrated National Ice Cream Month throughout all of July. Different types of ice creams, sauces, and toppings, and it all looked incredible. I have been craving the ability to make my own ice cream ever since. It just sounds like so much fun!
That's my current plan of attack for filling out my appliances. It's probably going to take months to accomplish (as this lot together? Probably $1000 worth of appliances right there), but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. There's a nice looking stand mixer for $40 at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. We'll see how long I can avoid the temptation.
- Caity
Embrace your inner foodie! Come! Join us!
ReplyDeleteFood processors are a godsend. Especially for canning. If you're making any kind of sauce, relish, or really anything that isn't just one thing in a jar, chopping by hand because painstaking. They also come in tons of different sizes.
Bread makers are great in theory, especially for what you want to use one for. However, and this may just be the one I have, the bread they make doesn't work very well for sandwiches. Don't get me wrong it was absolutely delicious and wonderful to be able to flavor bread any way I damn well pleased, but it came out with a thick hard crust, that flaked and broke a lot as you cut it, and then the bread itself was kind of crumbly/soft. We bought and used it years ago (now it's just kind of collecting dust), so it is entirely possible they have either changed how they work, or it may just have been that one. So I guess what I'm saying is just be careful when picking out a bread maker and you should be fine. :)
So here's my suggestion with the ice cream maker from my experience. If you plan on getting a stand mixer, check out if there is an ice cream maker attachment, like for the Kitchen Aid one. If you want to get creative with flavors, you might need adjustable speed for the churning process.
ReplyDeleteOne of the flavors I make is a maple base with bacon and chocolate (it's delicious). I use real maple syrup because that's what the recipe says, but maple doesn't freeze so the ice cream has a hard time setting unless I bump up the speed. In my Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment, it's perfect.
A summer or two ago, I tried making it in my friend's Cuisinart one that everyone gets as a wedding present. It only has an on-off switch with no speed variance. The ice cream never really set properly, turning the whole thing into a gross disappointment.
Following that, I needed to redeem myself by making cookies and cream with her leftover peppermint jo-jos. This recipe is pretty much standard and should have come out fine. It came out edible, but it still didn't set the way it does in my Kitchen Aid. Could be a couple variables, but it's created a bias for me.
Plus, I'm all about the potential multitude of use when buying kitchen appliances now. And if you were to look into a Kitchen Aid, there are all kinds of other attachments that I highly recommend, like the meat grinder and sausage stuffer. :)
@Abe - Thanks for the advice about the bread! I made some whole wheat bread recently, and it was pretty good for sandwiches. I just hadn't kneaded it long enough, and the recipe actually called for it to be beaten in a stand mixer for 15 minutes. My 15 minutes of pounding just couldn't match that, heh. I'm hoping that recipe can guide me with the bread maker, too.
ReplyDelete@Mo - That's really good to know about the ice cream maker. Maple's one of my favorite flavors, and I would definitely be trying maple ice cream at some point. How does the Kitchen Aid attachment work? Do you just freeze the beaten ice cream, once it's mixed properly?
As a parent I am duty bound to point out that large appliances, as well as small ones, are dandy Christmas presents.
ReplyDeleteThe first kitchen gadget appliance I purchased was a kitchen aid stand mixer. I worked at Williams-Sonoma and just had to have it even though I didn't even live in my own place. It is still the best purchase I ever made for my kitchen. The second best appliance is my food processor, 12 cup kitchen aid. Fortunately it was a wedding present so I didn't have to pay the $200+ myself. I use it all the time for pesto, pie crusts, shredding veggies and cheese, slicing veggies. You name it and I'll try it in the food pro. The one appliance I haven't used and was a wedding present is my blender. I use my food pro for blender type functions.
ReplyDeleteI am with Mo on the ice cream maker attachment with the stand mixer. While I don't have that attachment it is on my list. With a sml
Kitch my self I am always looking for ways to dual purpose a's many items a's possible. The best find was a colapsible salad spinner that can be sued a's a colander... Very handy.