A while ago, I resolved that we would have no new gadgets in our kitchen and began gradually getting rid of those we already had - the sandwich toaster, the daisy-shaped baking tin etc.
However, I have just received (as a birthday gift) a Soda Stream. Not only a gadget, but a unitasker to boot. But ... I love it. It's great fun and makes an amusing wind-breaking noise on operation. And instead of having a dozen bottles of soda water, coke and orange soda lined up in the spare room, we have a machine with a similar footprint to one 2litre bottle, plus 2 small bottles of concentrate.
So, I'm keeping it. Though I feel slightly furtive about it.
Is it just me or has anyone else found a unitasker they make exceptions for ?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I love my soda stream. I am a little embarrassed about it, but I thought about it for about a year and a half before I bought it, and I LOVE it.
The one I should get rid of is the tofu press. Nobody but me likes the homemade tofu.
Posted 1 year ago # -
my kitchen is full of large unitaskers.
a flour mill.
a commercial espresso machine.
a sandwich press.
a champion juicer.
a commercial deepfryer.in my defence, i do use all this stuff, we entertain a lot and we don't buy processed food.
and there are a lot of things i do NOT have:
a dishwasher
a microwave
more than one set of crockery or glassware or cutlery
more than one pot or pan of any size
more tools than i am likely to use in one session before washing upPosted 1 year ago # -
I have a plastic electric juicer, so I guess that would certainly be a unitasker because I can't do anything but juice stuff with it. (OK, maybe it could function as a tiny colander!) But I will not part with it. I can cut a lemon in 4 wedges and squeeze the juice out that way, but I don't have the hand strength to juice half a lemon myself. I love to put lemon juice or lime juice, fresh squeezed, into the blender with ice and water and have non-sweetened limeade or lemonade, and I usually need at least 3 lemons or limes to get the really tart taste I like, so my electric juicer is just what I need!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have ... um ... four Bundt cake pans. Oops. :-)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I had to look up what a sodastream was :) It looks like it will keep more waste from hitting the landfill so it actually is a good thing. As for my unitaskers, I have a toaster. I wish I had registered for a toaster oven way back when we married because then I could use it for so much more.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have two large flour sifters, a Bundt pan; an antique wooden rolling pin from 1947 (my Mom's; yes, I still use it for making cutout cookies).
I do not have a dishwasher, but it's on my wish list for when we remodel our kitchen (we live in an old building).
Posted 1 year ago # -
LOL, I feel soooo non-domestic. I don't know how to cook so kitchen stuff is uncharted territory to me. The only gadgets I have:
bottle opener (magnet on the fridge)
manual can opener (got rid of the electric one to save money)
handheld mixer (for my holiday cakes & cupcakes):)
Posted 1 year ago # -
i am making yoghurt tonight in yet another unitasker i own....the yoghurt-maker.
it's a sort of big thermos, runs on hot water, not electricity, makes gorgeous yoghurt reliably and takes up way too much room.
but i love having fresh yoghurt on tap, so it's worth it to me.Posted 1 year ago # -
The one "real" unitasker I own - or one that most people probably would consider to be one - is my egg boiler. It was dirt cheap, but I love it and use it frequently.
I do have other things that are probably considered "kitchen staples" but that are sort of unitaskers to me because I only use them once or twice a year - but it would be a real pain not to have them when I need them. For me, that's the lemon press, can opener (most cans come with an opener tag nowadays), coffee maker (the big one is collecting dust - just for myself, I only use my small espresso maker), the knife sharpener, cookie cutters and stuff like that.
Posted 1 year ago # -
i have a soda stream, too, and i love it because it makes my life so easy without all the bottles to be recycled.
i wonder if i could make prosecco out of white wine- that would also eliminate the unitask-"problem" ;)Posted 1 year ago # -
I have had a soda club for almost 4 years (actually, we are on our second one, totally wore out the non-replaceable seal on the first from heavy use)
We use it constantly.
and while prosecco is not the same as a spritzer, the soda club does make an excellent white wine spritzer!
Posted 1 year ago # -
-My Japanese bamboo matcha whisk: there's no substitute for making a good cup of matcha.
-Rice cooker: I'm Chinese, I need it.
-Toaster: I can't finish a loaf of bread before the expiration date. I keep half in the fridge, and toasting makes it fresh again.I'd definitely keep the can opener. As recommended by the homeland security (and Sarah Connor), we all need it as part of the emergency supplies along with canned food, water and medicine.
Posted 1 year ago # -
o heck yes, the rice cooker....a big old unitasker, but ESSENTIAL.
they make the best rice, hands down, and even when we lived in a miniscule apartment, we had one.Posted 1 year ago # -
Actually that soda stream thingy is probably a very good thing if you use it. You know what goes in your soda and you cut down (considerably?) on costs. My husband drinks an enormous amount of Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper and what not, but it's soooo bad for the teeth with all that sugar and other blargh that it contains.
I'm not against having a rather well-equipped kitchen if it means cleaner food, less bought stuff and more homemade, less expenses and so on.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ah, I have the usual "unitaskers" - coffee maker, can opener, toaster (and tmichelle, yours will die eventually and then you can have a toaster oven :) ). We have a dishwasher, but seldom use it for more than a drying rack. We are currently considering a yogurt maker - my husband goes through a couple of quarts a week - but are still in the investigation stage.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The rice cooker is not a unitasker. Roger Ebert, of Siskel and Ebert film critics, just published a rice cooker cookbook. You can use it to make LOTS of things.
I only recently started using mine to make the morning oatmeal. I love it. No more getting distracted, forgetting about the oatmeal on the stove, and burning it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Don't ask me why Zora, but it seems strange to eat hot oatmeal in Hawaii. :) I'll be there for a month in January, maybe I'll try it.....
Posted 1 year ago # -
Just plain oatmeal from the bulk bins at my health food co-op is a LOT cheaper than boxed cereal made from processed grains ... and healthier too.
When you come to Hawai'i, visit a supermarket and look at the prices. You'll understand why bulk bin oatmeal is appealing :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
To be pedantic I don't think Erin (nor do I) consider often used items to be true unitaskers. All of the items people have listed, if used frequently or are essential, aren't unitaskers to me! Otherwise we would throw away our fire extinguishers as "unitaskers"!
We got rid of our old sandwich maker as our cleaner used a Brillo pad on it but it will be replaced. We also have steamer, juicer, coffee grinder and coffee press but I don't consider any of them to be clutter.
@bandicoot have you ever considered just using a thermos? My grandmother made her yogurt by warming the thermos with boiled water and then leaving the yogurt preparation overnight in the warmed thermos.
Posted 1 year ago #
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