Kitchen gadgets - what do you find useful?

truthseeker said:
I have a meat slicer that I use every week to slice meat for lunches during the week
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I'm thinking of getting a meat slicer. Assuming you'd recommend your one, might you have a link for it? I wonder if the cheapest ofhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dkitchen&field-keywords=meat+slicer&x=0&y=0 (these) on Amazon would do.
 

All very similar to the one I got, which is this one:


(no connection, just a happy customer).

I find the stainless steel very easy to keep clean. Id advise reading reviews online - thats how I came to my choice.
 
Firefly said:
Hi truth, which cut would you buy - not a ham expert!
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I either buy an 'oyster' of ham from the local butcher (pre packed, in a sort of red and white netting under the vacuum plastic), this one has an outer layer of fat to be removed pre slicing - but very tasty.

Else I buy a pre packed fillet of ham in Tesco (think its called a pale ham fillet) - much less fat, but slightly less flavour too.

Think the butcher one is 6ish euro and the Tesco one is 5 or 6ish euro.
 


Sounds great - what sort of size/weight are we talking about here?

If it's enough for a week sounds like good value - I had no idea ham could be bought so cheaply.
 
I like the sound of that meat slicer.

The best kitchen gadgets I have bought are a good quality silicone spatula, a hand blender and a large diameter low sided heavy aluminium hard anodized pot with an oven proof lid. Great for curries and stews for the family.
A good steel for sharpening the knives is also an essential.
 
Caveat said:
Sounds great - what sort of size/weight are we talking about here?

If it's enough for a week sounds like good value - I had no idea ham could be bought so cheaply.
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hhhmmmm...Ill have to have a look next time at what the weight is. Its roughly the same amount of meat as you'd get off a chicken (if it were boned and rolled).

You can adjust the slice thickness so I have mine set to what is a weeks worth of slices - in our case thats enough meat for 4 sandwiches a day, Mon to Fri, so 2 large slices a day or 3 or 4 smaller ones (obv the slices from the centre are wider). I tend to get around 12-16 slices off it. I could go thinner and get 20 or so slices off it.

Check out the prepacked ham section in Tesco - they sometimes have special offers (Supervalu do too sometimes) - where you can get two hams for a tenner - if I see that I buy 2 and freeze one.

Obviously it depends on size, but the size I tend to buy is the 6ish euro mark.

I used to slice by hand before I got the gadget, but I find the gadget is more economical, as my own slicing used to include large unsightly chunks, some slices too thin, some too thick etc....
 
Thanks - this is a whole new world to me TBH.

Unbelievable that you can get a fillet of ham for a fiver(ish) yet need to pay about 2 quid for about 5, micron thick, slimey, vac-pacced slices of 'ham'.
 
Must give this a go, but knowing me I'll buy the ham, bread and fillings and only use it Monday!
 
Caveat said:
Unbelievable that you can get a fillet of ham for a fiver(ish) yet need to pay about 2 quid for about 5, micron thick, slimey, vac-pacced slices of 'ham'.
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I know - its shocking isnt it!!

I feel useful that I have contributed a recession buster idea!!

Only my OH uses the meat, I dont bring a packed lunch. He goes through the whole fillet himself in the 5 days but most normal people would get 2 peoples lunches out of it. He just eats a lot
 
Truthseeker- it's the best idea I've heard in a while. Not only would you save money, but surely home cooked ham would contain much less preservatives etc etc.

I usually buy sliced meats in Aldi as I find they have a good selection and are relatively good value but if I run short I end up buying in the local shop where the price of sliced ham is very high.

Actually our best used kitchen gadget is probably still the cheap coffee machine we bought over two years ago in Lidl, making cappuchinos at least once a day ( more often twice), and very good value.

Any potato ricer owners out there?
 
Vanilla said:
Any potato ricer owners out there?
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Id be interested to hear the answer to this one too.

A little off topic, but I also make my own cereal bars rather than buy them. Not sure if they work out cheaper, but they definitely work out tastier!! You choose your own ingredients so you can have much more exoctic things than plain old raisins.
 
Have a potato ricer - it does make lovely mash but (1) it is a bit fiddly and time consuming so I didn;t really use it for everyday (2) and this could just be me who is very clumsy / accident prone but I actually bent the perforated disc which sits into the ricer when mashing spuds... and so am back to the hand masher.

I am a kitchen gadget addict - always in search of the next great peeler or whatever, I have a bread maker from Lidl and use it every week but I think the handiest and most used gadget is my hand blender similiar to this which has a small beaker you can use like a food processor and goes in the dishwasher:
 
I've never heard of a potato ricer - so I googled it. I actually had seen before but always thought it looked very messy - probably okay if you are only cooking for 1 or 2 but not great for a large batch of mash.

To make the best, creamiest, smoothest mash, use a basic hand mixer - drain the water from the spuds, pop in your butter, milk/cream & salt/pepper and use the regulare attachment on a hand blender & it's knocks out all the lumps. Ultra smooth & non lumpy
 
The problem with using a blender on your mash is that you can end up over working the starch, and wind up with something resembling wall paper paste.
 
I saw Nigella use a potato ricer- she just popped the potato, skin and all, into it and out popped the skin-less mash. It's the peeling I'm trying to avoid.
 
I had a potatoe ricer once ... complete waste of effort - kept getting clogged up because the holes were so small ... easier just to mash with a masher. There is an attachment for the kenwood mixer that peels potatoes .... I think. Hmmm ... think I'm going to buy a meat slicer also ... my kids eat ham all the time ... bloody stuff costs a fortune ... could do roast beef sandwiches too ... mmmmmmmmmmmm
 
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