21 useful kitchen gadgets

I love a kitchen gadget. It was one of the fun gifts I used to get for my mum when she was around for Christmas. Whatever quirky but helpful kitchen gadget I could find. But not all kitchen gadgets or appliances are useful and used.

I admit we do have some kitchen appliances that aren’t used that were wedding gifts:

• Breadmaker – leaves a hole in the bread
• 3 tier vegetable steamer – it’s a faff to get out and set up, vs using pans or the microwave
• Kenwood Chef mixer – I end up with flour or sugar everywhere so I prefer an electric hand mixer or even just mixing it myself.

So here’s some of my most used kitchen gadgets, from baking to smoothies to general cooking.

21 Useful kitchen gadgets

Garlic crusher

Ok, so it’s annoying having to remove the ‘peel’ outer once you’ve used the garlic crusher. But they’re so much easier and faster than chopping garlic cloves by hand.

Y shaped peeler

I can’t get on with old fashioned side peelers – I’m a left hander, that’s my excuse. So I have a cheap 99p Y-shaped vegetable peeler I’ve had for years. I’ve also got a larger one that works but isn’t as nice to use – it doesn’t feel so nice in my hand. But I’d always opt for these over side peelers any day. So much easier teaching children to use them too.

Hand electric mixer

My cheap hand mixer I bought after university 21 years ago had to be replaced after the wiring started coming apart. I think it cost me less than £10 all that time ago, and I’ve replaced it with another electric hand mixer not that much more expensive. Beaters and whisks, they’re easy to use although this latest one is so noisy and a little bit violent in the vibrations. But they’re invaluable for whipping cream and eggs (unless you want to work out the bingo wings).

Hand blender

Great for blending up soup in small amounts, my stick blender was another one of my post uni purchases. Easy to store and clean.

Silicone muffin trays

I rarely use my silicone muffin trays to bake cakes in, instead I use them for making keto fat bombs or treats. Or even fudge or chocolate treats for gifts. They tend to be the right size, and you can just peel the tray off the treat inside.

Grating box/lid

So much less mess when grating cheese, especially for children. And you don’t get the cheese all clumped up inside like you can with box graters. Mine has 2 interchangeable graters, and a lid.

Nutmeg grinder

A bit of a luxury, and I could just use a fine zester to grate nutmegs instead. But I love this gadget. I used to just use the little metal grater that would be included in a Schwartz whole nutmeg jar. I assume they stopped for safety reasons (or cost savings), but I then bought a nutmeg grinder (US link here) instead. You can keep all the whole nutmegs inside too, and it’s so good for sprinkling ground nutmeg straight into rice pudding or sauces.

Mini processor/chopper

Another of my cheap purchases but I use regularly for chopping nuts, making breadcrumbs, and pesto. So handy to have one of this small food processors, and it keeps all the chopping inside the container rather than my wild chopping on a board and seeing everything go flying off.

Jam jar opener

I have a husband to open jars when I can’t, but another gadget my mum had. A simple rubber or silicone mat, that helps grip around jars. Works better than elastic bands which are a bit fiddly (plus we can never find them when needed).

Klipits

I have so many of these ‘klipits’ or similar bag clips to use for bags, packets and more. I’ve got bulldog style clips which are good for large packs, and the long slim clips that I tend to use in the freezer as they take up less space.

Pineapple corer/slicer

I bought one of these pineapple corers for my mum as a fun gift, and was surprised at how well it worked. If it gets you eating more fruit, I’m a fan.

Spiraliser

One of those items you either use or don’t use. I love mine because I eat keto so use it for courgetti. Although if I’m only wanting a small amount I prefer to use my peelers. It has 3 different spiraliser options and is easy to clean and small to store.

Peeler set

The lazy version of a spiraliser and an easy way to do tiny julienned vegetables. I saw 3 peelers being promoted in a demo at a flower festival. I didn’t buy because they were £25 for 3, but tracked them down online for well under half the price. They’re not perfect, but are so fast to use. No more boring vegetables. Just watch the fingers as they’re sharp.

Melon baller

It took me ages to track down finding a melon baller, but it’s the best thing. I reckon melon tastes so much better in balls, than slices. Weird maybe. But it takes me back to my childhood!

Egg 3 in 1 boiler

I got bought one for a Christmas present from my OH a few years ago (at my request, although he has been known to buy some terrible presents recently…table cloth and 4 glasses – that he uses and I didn’t need or want). It can soft, medium or hard boil 6 or 7 eggs at once. Which is great for making salads or having hard boiled ready for snacks when you want them. The only downside is that the egg boiler metal plate isn’t the easiest to clean. They’re pretty cheap too.

Reusable non stick tray liner

Better than using foil as it’s reusable, and non stick. Cut to size, or have several all different sizes for different trays. And you can roll them up for storage.

Toastabags

Who needs a sandwich maker when you’ve got toastabags and a toaster. Best with normal sliced bread, rather than chunky sliced at home. Perfect for cheese toasties, but really add anything you want, and reuse time and time again.

George Foreman grill

These are so versatile, I’ve had one for years. If I was cooking just for myself I’d use it a lot more frequently, but the rest of the family like more fat with their meat. I do use it for burgers every time though, and a George Foreman grill is brilliant for paninis.

Digital scales

I do love my old fashioned weighing scales, but they’re a faff to keep clean and shiny, as well as taking up lots of space. Instead I have a nice simple cheap digital Salter scale with different weight measures. It’s so much easier to use, store and clean.

Meat thermometer

I find roasts really hard to get right, so I rely on my meat thermometer. No leaving pork pink anymore! I used to love my basic manual one I had. But then the prong fell out and my replacement one was useless so I’m a digital convert now.

Silicone tongs

We have 2 sizes of silicone tongs that can be closed up, and they’re so good for using in pans and with grills.

Nutribullet

Ok, so a Nutribullet is an investment and we don’t use ours every day, but we use it a lot more than the OH imagined. It’s great for smoothies obviously, but we also do milkshakes, blitz soup, make coulis/sauces, and I’ve tried blizing nuts (although it really groaned with that one, so I wouldn’t try it again – or maybe I just used the wrong blades oops).

What’s your go to kitchen gadget or appliance?