To all experienced pandas, please share your discoveries in the appliance or device apartment. For cooking, what's the one thing you learned was awesome no matter how big or small?
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Not common in the US, but an electric water kettle. Very energy efficient, fast, and jump starts anything needing hot water. Way more handy than ever expected. Not expensive either.
Mandolin. Make perfectly even slices and a lot faster than you can with a knife. Most also have a Julien attachment or setting.
Mandolins are awesome. My only comment is avoid the ones with blades that are "straight on" and go for ones with a "V" shaped or slanted blade. The former hack, the latter slice. Also, just always use the safety guard thing.
A non-electric can opener. My parents hated the fact that electric ones took up more space in the counter. So I only know how to use a non-electric one. It looks like tiny garden clippers with gears on one side. Also if your electric one stops working you can use the non-electric one
Onion goggles, they will save lives.
Spatulas. I know it's so simple and mundane. A spatula can scrape out every last bit in a jar, scrape the sides of a mixing bowl, scrape out all the food out of a pot. You can get spatula spoons that work as a mixing spoon, too.
I'm gonna add another one. Cupboard and drawer organizers. For years I was struggling to get all my mugs and plates, bowls and all that to fit nicely into the cupboards. Recently I got racks that add an extra shelf that fit my mugs and some plates. Wish I thought of it years ago.
Marrying a man that does all the cooking. Best decision I ever made. I mean I married him for all the right reasons (love etc.) but him doing all the cooking was the best surprise. Makes me love him even more.
A drink stirrer. An electric fast one. Sometimes I put a bit of cream, sugar and vanilla and stir it with my drink stirrer and wam bam whipped cream ma’am
Kid-safe plastic knives. They cut many things perfectly, like fruits & veggies, just as a normal knife would. You don't have to have kids to get them, if you cut yourself a lot, then these are perfect. They come in many sizes & colors.
lol These were banned at my daycare because a kid cut herself with a plastic knife during soap carving. Apparently metal butter knives are safer? I guess so, though.
Two more:
1 - A Professional Grade Electric Deep Fryer, with Frying Basket, 1500 Watts, 3 Ltrs. (About $100) Seriously, this number of possibilities this opens up is amazing. And used correctly, is not nearly as unhealthy as one would think.
2 - An OXO Good Grips 3-in-1 Avocado Slicer - Green. $12. Just don't wash it on the lower rack of a dishwater as the drying element will warp it.
A good set of large stainless steel bowls in multiple sizes. I cannot tell you how useful an obnoxiously big bowl has come in handy. I'm talking one so big it is difficult to fit in the sink to wash. I know it seems silly, but once you have one and get used to use it for mixing things in, you will never go back.
Also, a good quality hand mixer. Those fancy kitchenaid stand mixers are fine, but a regular hand mixer is much more practical and a lot easier to store if you have a smaller kitchen or not a lot of counter space.
I remember my mom having a set of them. They were really good for mixing flour-y doughs and batters, and easy to clean, and not that heavy.
Garlic press. Makes the garlic juice evenly distributed throughout the dish.
Also, cast iron anything. Super easy to use and they are very versatile with what dishes you can make. And if it gets hard to clean, use baking soda and hot watet
A good vacuum sealer!
My only regret is not buying one sooner. Food prices are climbing more and more everyday. This item has paid for itself ten times over.
