My wooden spoons. I can't cook without them.

My fave gadget is the jar popper- looks kind of like a big chunky church key bottle opener- it pops the seal on new jars and makes the lids twist off with zero effort. That and my wooden citrus reamer, I love that thing, too. :)

I think it might be my Kitchen Aide...

For some strange reason, I have a thing for cutting boards and colanders. I have so many. I love kitchen gadgets and tend to buy measuring cups/spoons and cutting boards and colanders. I finally found a good potato peeler from PC. Sharp knives are a good thing to have also! I was watching a cooking show once and the host said that every kitchen should have a lemon zester. I ran right out to find one and couldn't. Months later, I was with my sister and we were looking at kitchen gadgets and I told her I was looking for a zester and she asked me if I used one often, I said no, never used one but the lady on the cooking show said no kitchen should be without one. My sister looked at me like I was nuts.

Kitchen Aid mixer, Mandolin and my 35 year old Wustof knives.

I love all kinds of kitchen gadgets but my favorites are the Black & Decker mini food processor, A chinese chef's knife (looks like a small meat cleaver), and a heavy guage stainless steel WOK that has a thick steel plate on the bottom to help it heat evenly, plus it has a tepura rack, and a flat plate with holes the fits down low so you can use the wok as a steamer, and it has a glass lid...

but my all time favorite gadget is one the my Grandmother used to have,,a PIE TRIMMER

Pie Trimmer front view

Pie trimmer back view

After you lay the top crust on a pie you take the trimmer and hold the flange of the wheel against the side of the pie pan and push it around the outside of the pie...It instantly cuts off the excess crust and flutes the edge of the crust evenly...

On the back it has a raised template that you press on the center of the top crust and it leaves marks where you cut the steam vent holes with a paring knife

It gives the pie a real professional looking finish.

Ohhhhhh, I LOOVE kitcheny things. Love those stores.....won't step inside a clothing store, but a kitchen store? I'm there!!!

Matti, you use your madolin? The last time I pulled it out, by the time I figured out which way the veggie was to go on it, to get the cut I wanted, I wasted a lot of carrots!! I've told myself I should just sell the thing and get rid of it.

Phyllis, get to the drawing board!! I find the filters have to be perfectly round...no kinks or creases in it. They they don't collapse.

LOL Liira!!!! That is funny!

So many people mention their Wusthof knives! I use my Henckels that I've had for decades. I'll have to look into the Wust. Now, what do you guys like as a sharpener??

I'm glad I bought tongs with the silicone tips.
Pretty much my go-to knife is my sudoku knife.
I love my KA mixer as well, but don't use it all that frequently.

What I Should get is that OXO measuring cup on an angle or something, so you can see the measurement from the TOP instead of bending down and looking at the amount.

My 12" iron, non-stick wok with heat proof metal handle.
Most versatile(and easiest to clean) pot/pan I have ever had, and I use it almost every night.

I have the best knife sharpener you can get..Here in W.Mass we have a local chain of supermarkets called "Big Y" and if you take your knives there and drop them off in the butcher shop they will professionally sharpen them free while your shopping...generally takes about 10 minutes, and when they get done you can shave with them.

Now it's time to break out some of the gadgets the Kt has reminded me of. Enjoy zesting but forget to do it. I use the hand mixer often but the mixer is idle. Until the holidays. Guess it's time to put it out on the counter.
I secretly wish that my dh was my favorite gadget in the kitchen too. Until then...

I have one of those jar openers too, georgysmom. I still have to do a bit of prying with a 'church key' on some tops to break the seal though. (I used to be able to open almost ANY jar, but my hands are no longer strong.)

I'm down to one pair of metal Ecko tongs - the kind you squeeze and tilt to make them open or close. All I can find now have a tab you have to push or pull to rrelease the springs.

My kitchen scissors are 47 years old. I bought them at Sears because my DH was working at Allstate when we married, and we had a discount at Sears. They have red plastic-y handles with stainless steel blades made in Solingen, WEST Germany.

I wonder if anyone else has this eggbeater set my mother used many mornings to make me 'Egg & Orange'. It's a heavy glass 2-cup measure with a round top. The rotary eggbeater has a round metal shield between the handle and the beaters. The shield fits over the top of the glass part so there's no splatter.

Lazy Pup I have two of those old timey pie trimmers, one is still in the box.

Sue

LOVE our Henckel knives! Woody occasionally has to sharpen them using a knife sharpening kit he has, it has several different stones that gradate in roughness and some thing that holds the knife at just the proper angle.

Can I change my answer from the jar popper to my little kitchen TV? That thing makes my having to be in the kitchen a little more tolerable.

Definitely my microplane ranks up there. Those who don't have one should get one ASAP! It's awesome for zesting and it makes easy work of garlic.

It took me years to find a potato peeler I really like. It's made by OXO.

Speaking of Mixers..check out this old timer that Jan's Mother had...

It was originally patented in 03 (thats 1903 folks).

One hundred and eight years old and still works like new.

You can mix a drink in a water glass but I find it works excellant for whipping maraingue in a small bowl.

I use my Presto Salad Shooter almost every day. It's good for lots of things, grating cheese, vegetables for salad. I even grind up pecans with it. I have two of them, the smaller one and the professional size. Also, the good thing is, it can go right in the dishwasher (not the motorized base of course) but all other parts.

Lazypup, what a cool tool. I ran right over to eBay to buy one for my mother's stocking. I would have loved to find a new one, but I'm hoping I can clean up this used one.

One of my favorite tools is a small spatula/scraper that I bought at Pier 1 of all places. The head is small enough to get into my measuring cups, rigid so it gets all of the contents, but still has a long handle. I wish I had bought two!

Another favorite of mine is the mezzaluna knife that Giada de Laurentiis sells at Target. If you have small hands, it's a nice knife for cutting and chopping. I like it even better than my santoku knife. I don't know how it will hold up, though.

No Flamey, you can't change your answer!! Heehee

I find I use my kitchen shears, the can pop lid thing and the jar cap twister the most

Does anyone know if the pie trimmer lazypup is showing is still available anywhere? I would love to have one like that. I bake a lot of pies, but cutting the edges with a knife and "crimping" with a fork leaves something to be desired....

Elisabeth

My immersion blender, Viking stand mixer, Wusthof knives (been "collecting" them for 30+ years), french rolling pin, Pampered Chef small bar stoneware pan because it fits in the toaster oven and heats things up beautifully, and my hand mini-chopper.

Elisabeth, I've seen plastic crimping rollers but not metal/steel ones. Don't ask me where I've seen them, but I know I have.

Elisabeth, I never use a crimper or trimmer on my pies and I bake a lot of them. First roll the top pie crust with your rolling pin over the edges to get them together with the bottom crust, then lift up the pie with one hand and with a knife or other straight edge go around from the bottom and cut off the excess. Then go around the pie with your fingers and push the edges in a ridge and when that is done crimp with your fingers. That is the way my Grandma did it and my Mother and that is the way I do mine. I have plenty of crimpers metal and plastic, but don't use them. Have you tried doing them this way? I never use a fork.

Sue

......"my pies and I bake a lot of them"..
now THAT's an under-statement Sue!!! LOL (((SUE)))

I make my crust edge just like you, with my thumb and fingers. That's the way Nan always did it, and I just naturally do it. For sure you know it's a home-made pie when you see that.

Chisue: I remember those egg beaters that you described, but we only used a fork to beat eggs. We used the covered beater thing for whipping cream for on pumpkin pie. Never much had whipped cream on anything else.

What's egg and orange?

Thank you for the lesson Sue. I have always used a fork,and not always (as in never) with good results, and I will try the finger method when I make my six Thanksgiving pies this week. KT rocks!!

Elisabeth

I couldn't live without my toaster. There's no other way to make toast.

When I was little and we had no electricity my Mother would make toast in a frying pan, no butter on it while it "toasted".

Sue

I like the Jared (sp) with the tiny needles that make meat tender. In fact tonight on the Iron Chef, Mara Mota used one on the turkey--don't know why yet.
The other thing is my old flour sifter.

I love my Garlic Press!

Maxmom -- Egg & Orange is a raw egg beaten into orange juice. If the OJ isn't sweet enough, add a tinch of sugar. I had that and a piece of toast many mornings before school.

Thanks for your reply! I didn't think another one of these things existed. Mine says "Patent Applied For" in raised letters on the bottom.

oh so many! I have the lid popper thing too and man it is a life saver at times, I have several of the lid remover tools but that popper beats them all.

My Griddler by Cuisinart, my Black and Decker chopper/ processor, my Hamilton Beach Brew Station coffee maker (LOVE it), my West Bend Versatility slow cooker(the best one out there! mine is over 30 yrs old and going strong), my many cutting boards, my oven mits, and even though it does not work like I wish it would my DISHWASHER!
And my entire set of Magnalite cookware.

Speaking of dishwashers,,mine is over 67 years old and still working fine..but it is a little noisey..constantly complaining about something throughout the cycle.

Fork ... spoon ... en route to my mouth.

Swivel, floating double-bladed potato peeler. I've had the ones that you pull sideways, and recently one that you pull toward your hand, and I think that I like that one better, though I doubt that I'll use it by pushing away, so will likely get little use from the second blade ... but I only pulled the original one way, so I guess that it's a saw-off.

o j

Hmmmmm, she wouldn't have anything to complain about, now would she, Lazypup??? Hahaha

I like so many of my gadgets...but a couple that weren't mentioned....My freebie orange peeler from tupperware. Drag the sharp edge around the orange and the other flat end to pull away the peel. So easy.
And when I need it...my pampered chef apple/peeler/corer/slicer. It is perfect for fresh apple desserts, but a pain to get out and get started...
All of the attachments for my Kitchen Aide...many, many things have been processed through that little hum dinger!
Oh and my toaster oven....how did I get by for 25 years without a toaster oven? I use it ALL. THE. TIME.

Hamilton Beach Panini maker, my wooden citrus reamer and two Paul Revere copper bottomed pots I've had for many decades. .

I'm torn between loving my microplane zester and my crescent pot strainer.

Jodi-

Here is a link that might be useful: Pot strainer.

My favorite gadget(s) is my RADA knives! The oldest one I have is over 40yrs. old. Took me forever to find out thae maker of it, and I found that information right here at the KT!!!

CB, I have use the RADA veggie peeler, the 7" slicing knife and the sharpener. The sharpener does a great job on all my Henckels, etc.

I love my RADA knives too! The best I've bought!

I love my digital scale and my instant read thermometer. I use my plastic chopping mat ALL THE TIME! Too many things to name really!

Do the buttons on my microwave count?

Sue

Hahahahahaaa Sue!!!

Lazy pup I have one too and my mother had one for years but I noticed the last time I saw it the handle was broken. I think she got hers in the 50's or late 40's. I bought mine at a rummage sale I think. My favorite utensil would have to be my knives that are restaurant knives with big white handles that are easy for me to hold. No food processor or blender or mandolin or anything else like that in my kitchen. Just something extra to store and use once in while and then have to wash it. I would rather use a knife.

I was thinking about this just the other day. I love my little kitchenaide mini chopper. A large food processor would be overkill for me, but I use this one several times a week. That and very good knives are my favorites.

I have both the Black and Decker little chopper and the Kitchen Aid food processor. I use my food processor much more. When I chop nuts I do a pound or so at at time. The Kitchen Aid also comes with a little processor bowl, but I don't know as I have ever used it. I really have a lot of gadgets I like using.

Sue

I have this awesome drawer, and it holds more take out menus than I even have! It is the best kitchen thing ever.

Seriously, I love my immersion mixer/chopper/blender too. I bought my mom one years ago and she teaches cooking, she still uses the original Braun one I bought her at every class.

I LOVE the pics of the antique/vintage kitchen tools. I think I might try to collect a few and make a collage board with them for my mom. She would love that!

My Mother was at a flea market one day and she happened to see one of those pie crimpers on a table with old metal working tools...She picked it up and was looking at it and the man who had the both says to her,,,"If you can tell me what that is used for, I'll give it to you".

Mother told him it was a pie trimmer and to show him she borrowed a pie pan off a both next to his and demonstrated how it works...When the guy saw her using it he began laughing like crazy and he says..."Lady, it's yours,,I have had that with metal working tools for nearly a year and you would never guess some of the silly things ppl have told me it does."

I hate to admit it, but its my can opener.