My favorite must have kitchen gadgets
I love kitchen gadgets.
I love useful kitchen gadgets.
I love small kitchen gadgets.
I love cheap kitchen gadgets.
But what I love the most are inexpensive, useful kitchen gadgets that don’t take up a whole shelf in the cupboard.
When I was a 19-year-old newlywed setting up my first kitchen, I had only the most basic of basics. I probably had two frying pans and a pot and I sliced onions with a steak knife! I couldn’t afford to spend money on anything I perceived as a luxury. As a result, cooking in those days was frequently frustrating and I realize now that my time in the kitchen could have been so much more enjoyable and productive if I’d had some basics and a few gadgets.
Now, 100 years later, I’m long past the steak-knife-as-a-chef’s-knife days, and am all too willing to buy various and assorted kitchen gadgets. I’ve had some stinkers over the years (I will never, ever buy silicone dish covers at the state fair again!) but I’ve had some winners too.
These are ten of my favorite, must have kitchen gadgets – the ones I can’t live without. Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you buy something I get a wee advertising fee but it doesn’t increase your cost at all. All of these products I own, bought with my own money, use regularly, and can personally recommend. You can read more about my disclosure policy here. It’s actually a rather amusing read. I’ll wait until you get back…..
At the time I’m writing this, none of these items cost more than US$10 on Amazon, and many cost substantially less!
Garlic: My secret lover
So the first three are all about garlic. I have a thing for garlic. It’s my secret boyfriend and we get down just about every day.
Silicone Garlic Peeler
Before I had a silicone garlic peeler I dreaded dealing with the papery covering on fresh garlic. I tried all sorts of things, including the shake it in a bowl trick – which has never worked for me. This little must-have gadget won’t peel a whole head of garlic at once, but I can easily do three at once if they are about the same size. It’s wicked easy to use. Slip the cloves into the tube and then roll it back and forth across the counter a couple of times, using gentle pressure. The clean cloves drop right out and the peels mostly just stick to the inside. Run it under the tap and it’s totally clean. Boom!
Rolling Garlic Chopper
The Chef’n GarlicZoom Garlic Chopper is a best friend. Once I’ve peeled the cloves I can throw them in this little guy and roll it around on the counter. It works amazingly well and is a snap to clean. I usually just throw it in some soapy water and after a bit rinse it. This is the size I have, but there is also a larger version.
Garlic Slicer
Sometimes I want thin slices of garlic, rather than chopped. Enter this handy-dandy garlic slicer. Lift off the top, put in a couple of garlic cloves, put the top back on and then twist. It makes lovely little slices that meld into whatever you’re cooking. As long as I do it right away, I’ve never had to do more than rinse it. If you do let it sit for a while you can throw it in the dishwasher.
Avocado Saver
This seems gimicky, right? The Avocado keeper makes crazy claims about keeping half of an avocado in the fridge for days. Well lemmee tell ya. It works! You can put it in the dishwasher but I don’t bother. I literally wipe it with a paper towel and put it right back in the drawer.
Jar Spatula
I didn’t realize how much I needed this until I had it. I can get every last smear of mayo, mustard, or anything-in-a-jar with this jar spatula. It has a long handle (no mayo knuckles!) and is shaped just right for digging around in jars. I find it works better in the blender than a regular one too. Well, I wouldn’t recommend you actually use it while you’re blending but when you want to get every last bit of piña colada out of there, this is your guy.
I didn't realize how much I needed this until I had it. Click To Tweet
Apple Corer and Slicer
Who doesn’t need an Apple corer and slicer? One ~~WHOMP~~ and you have slices to go. When you have kids who are STARVING TO DEATH RIGHT NOW this is fabulous. There is a “dial a slice” version that can cut either 8 or 16 slices. I’m really intrigued by it, and even though it is about US$20 I could see it being really useful.
Corer
Why would you need something that only takes out the core of an apple? There are more uses for this must have kitchen gadget than you might realize!
- My kids love to eat whole apples but don’t like accidentally biting into the core, so they end up wasting a lot of the apple. This corer allows them to eat the whole thing with no waste.
- A whole apple is easier to tote along on a walk than slices in a baggie and you don’t end up carrying the core around when you’ve finished.
- Baked apples with butter and brown sugar in the middle. Do you really need another reason?
- It cores more than just apples! It works on pears, tomatoes, cupcakes (for filled cupcakes), and for potato bombs!
Over Bowl Cheese Grater
I’ve had a lot of graters over the years. Right now I have a traditional box grater, a rotary grater, a zester (which I despise), and this Over bowl cheese grater. This one is what I use 99% of the time. It sits securely on top of a bowl and is easy to clean. I have never understood exactly how you’re supposed to be able to clean up inside a box grater! This grater is easy to hold does a great job with just about every type of cheese. It grates a bit more finely than I’d like for some things but I can overlook that!
Flat bottomed whisk
Is this silicone flat bottomed whisk not genius?? One thing that annoys me about regular whisks is that it can be hard to truly get everything whisked up and the round bottom just doesn’t seem to do the scraping necessary. This whisk solves that problem! This is one of those must have kitchen gadgets you didn’t know you needed!
Bonus: Mystery Gadget!
And now the bonus mystery must have kitchen gadget! This is not something I own right now, but something I covet. Even though I totally don’t need it. Can you guess what it is? Tweet me. If you’re right I’ll give you a million dollars a shout out.
While you’re here, I want to put in a plug for Amazon Prime. All of these items are available through Prime, which means that you get free shipping and it’ll be at your house in two days. Two. Like seriously. It takes me longer than that to make a plan to get the kids dressed, strapped into their carseats, and to the nearest WallyWorld. If you try the Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial you can order a butt load of stuff during that 30 days and then just cancel if you want. Plus you get the movies, music etc as part of Prime. They have some really good original programming! I pay full price for the service and am happy to do it. That’s how much I love it and have for years.
OK folks – what are your must have kitchen gadgets? What do you covet? Let me know in the comments or tweet me!