boring/disappointing/worthless small appliances??

13 years ago

What small appliances do you have (or had) that you either got bored with or didn't do the job as well as you thought they would?

My sister swears by her bread machine. Though she does occasionally bake bread, she mainly uses it to make dough for pizza. She dumps in all ingredients on her way off to work. Machine goes thru it's processes and stops short of the baking. When she gets home, she has dough ready for Friday night pizza. I bought one at a yard sale... cheap and still in the sealed box. Used it for a while but it was just too big to have hanging around. KA stand mixer with dough hook does pizza dough in no time, so I donated bread machine.

Bought a juicer today for $3... because it was clean, had all the paperwork, and owner said... used a few times till husband got bored with it.

SIL used to sell Pampered Chef stuff and gave me one of their chopper thingies. She swears by it, but I found it just sat in cupboard. Nice sharp knife was my preference.

How about you?

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Comments (11)

friedajune
13 years ago
My Cuisinart Mini Food Processor. It is, obviously, for small jobs. But because the jobs are small, it is easier just to use my knife and cutting board for the task. If I use the Cuisinart Mini Food Processor for a small task, I then have to clean the bowl, blade and body, and put them away. Any small amount of time I've saved by the processor is eaten up by the extra cleaning time. Furthermore, the mini food processor does not chop as evenly as my own self with a knife, or as evenly as the full-size food processor does with larger tasks.
anoriginal
Original Author
13 years ago
I have a C mini-processor, but only cuz I found it at a thrift shop or yard sale for a few bucks. Pretty powerful for its size. I use it when I want onions or garlic really finely minced. Doesn't take up much space, so it's stickinig around.
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13 years ago
I bought a milkshake maker once. I guess I thought it was a great and fun idea to make my family milkshakes. Yes, the one time I used it was fun. Then it kicked around the countertop for a while till it got shoved to the back of the island cabinet. I hope the Freecycle person who picked it up is having as much fun with it.
John Liu
13 years ago
A burst of initial use, then never touched again, should donate:

- Juice maker. Is this thing an intelligence test or a kitchen appliance? I hate Rubik's Cubes and I hate the juice maker. And it was pretty expensive.
- Bread machine. There's a whole shelf of these sitting at the local Goodwill and I know why.
- Pasta maker (electric). Not sure where it is. I think it ran away.
- Food processor (mini). As useless as a fuzzy kitten.

Used less frequently, but worth it because the results are so yummy:

- Ice cream machine. The kids chant when Ice Cream Boy is brought out.
- Deep fryer. Gets used for a week solid, then put away for a month until my arteries clear. When I'm 80 y/o, I will deep fry every meal.

Used frequently:

- Blender (countertop). For smoothies.
- Blender (stick/immersion). For soups.
- Food processor (full-size). Mine is at least 20 years old, but works fine. I sharpen the blades.
- Toaster oven. Recently made a whole dinner in it, broiled salmon and pork shoulder, roast veggies. Toasty can do more than toast bread!

I think I should use these, but usually forget about them as they live in the basement:

- Slow cooker/crock pot.
- Counter-top electric roaster.

Don't have, don't miss:

- Coffee maker. I use a stove-top espresso maker, or a French press.

Would like, but just haven't gotten around to it:

- Stand mixer. Like I need to eat more dough.
dee_can1
13 years ago
I don't have one; but I don't 'get' rice cookers. Seems much more simple (and space-saving) to make rice in a pot on the stove.
arkansas girl
13 years ago
I think rice cookers are great for brown rice which is a pita to cook on the stove top IMHO. Rice cookers make brown rice a snap and perfect every time and takes about 15 minutes instead of almost an hour. Only good if you eat a lot of rice. White rice is not a challenge to cook...wouldn't bother with a rice cooker. It does do something though that just seems to make rice...better...

I can't really think of anything that I have but I can't imagine the need for a milkshake maker. Put some ice cream in a bowl and stir it around...there you have a milk shake...HA!

I think the most unnecessary would be an electric can opener.
suska6184
10 years ago
OP, I can totally relate to your comment about the Pampered Chef chopper. My MIL gave me one years ago and it sat in a drawer. I either used a knife or my food processor for chopping. She told me I have to at least try it, she loves hers, so I did. She was right. I still prefer to chop with a knife, but when I am in a hurry, that chopper really works well.
palomalou
10 years ago
Once upon a time had a salad shooter. Not any more. Nice knives instead.
kitchendetective
10 years ago
About that little food processor--I have always preferred using knives, but during a bout of carpal tunnel with its gripping issues, that appliance came in handy. Some of these "useless" things are good for people with disabilities, temporary or permanent. However, that mini-processor cannot grind cardamom seeds. Mortar and pestle is my usual method, although I have been known to shoot out a seed or two out during grinding. If anyone has a special technique for grinding hard, tiny, round seeds, do let me know!
puzzlefan
10 years ago
Bosch Compact Mixer Horrid Thought this nice small foot print mixer would be ideal. It wasn't. Too too slow for fine cake baking and when I tried to make bread, parts fell off. Since I only had it 28 days, I want to return it but so far Bosch doesn't understand it shouldn't be my expense to return a worthless product.
bevwinchester
10 years ago
Puzzlefan- I feel your pain- I just had to pay Amazon 14 big ones to return a pressure cooker! Unfortunately (except for online shoes) companies just don't understand a "no longer wanted" product! You could always try saying its defective & doesn't work right- dubious & not totally honest, though.

boring/disappointing/worthless small appliances??

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friedajune

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