Do we really need all of those kitchen machines?

[MyDigitalpoint]

Want to share with you this thought coming to my mind insistently for the past few days, do we really need those small cooking and baking appliance that are continuously being released?

Actually I have a flat plate sandwich maker, but still wanting to get one of those with 2-slice triangles machines, despite I have two of these (but 4-slice) buried somewhere in the house.

Being a flat plate device, I still decided to buy a panini grill, and now I have a waffle maker in my wishlist because having actually one, this has Sesame street characters and now I want a traditional 2-squares waffle machine.

I have also a brownies and bread loaf machine, but still want one of those that makes cupcakes, another that makes donuts, or the last one I see that makes churros, without forgetting that I would like one that makes pizza, an a ton of those manufactured by the Nostalgia company.

Do you think this is insane? Do we really need all those machines and many others?

And what about having more than 1, 2 or 3 oven along with them?

 

[Becky]

You have a machine for making brownies? I didn't even realise that was a thing!

I have an electric whisk and a food processor, but nothing else other than lots of different baking tins in various shapes and sizes. I would love to have a waffle iron though!

 

[Christine Mlinek]

I love to collect the gadgets and appliances, but hubby put a stop to that a little while ago. I can get by with what I got, but a girl can dream..... just don't have the room for them all.

 

[OhioTom76]

Most of the electric griddles have interchangeable surfaces that are flat on one side and a grill on the other side. I would go with one of those instead of having two separate appliances for both. I can count how many times I used my waffle maker in a given year on one hand, so it would be one of the first things to go imo.

I got into the appliance hoarding as well a few years ago, which got even worse when I moved literally walking distance from a Bed Bath & Beyond store. I was in there all the time just browsing around making impulse buys. This last time I moved I got rid of most of them, including the Jack LaLane juicer, a pizza machine, and a SodaStream I never used.

 

[justusforus]

It was very freeing for me to pack up all the gizmos and gadgets and clean off my counters. I am saving them all for a huge sale along with the panini maker, the as seen on TV..blah blah blah... Off they will go to a good home. I will free up the space and go back to doing things by hand as I was taught to do.

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

You have a machine for making brownies? I didn't even realise that was a thing!

Yes, I found it at Walmart past year around this time and is this, only that mine came in red color,

Agree that there is never enough room for all these gizmos and gadgets if we start collecting them up, as I'm starting to feel it's time to free up space as well, but keep wondering if still need all that stuff.

As for electric griddles with interchangeable surfaces, I just realized about one of those when it was too late, but still thinking for a moment to buy and sell those that this device replaces. http://www.amazon.com/Nostalgia-Electrics-BSM300-Bakery-Express/dp/B005QSI4B8

 

[Meowmie]

Our grandmothers made all these things without the machines, and they were darn good. When I see a new machine or tool, I ask myself:
1.) where will I keep it?
2.) do I want it because it looks cool or because I will use it, and if so, how often?
3.) do I have something else that will already do the job?
4.) (thanks to Alton Brown) Does it do more than one thing?? He says anything that doesn't do at least 2 different things isn't worth getting.

Now if I could just remember to use the same strategy when I go to stampin up classes I'll have it made.

 

[basmae]

I don't think you actually need all these commercial machines as long as you have the basics.

 

[ACSAPA]

I don't recommend doughnut makers or quesadilla makers because I've tried both and found them to be a waste of money.
The doughnut makers basically make cupcakes with a hole that don't taste like doughnuts. The quesadilla maker I tried doesn't get hot enough to make the tortilla brown and crisp, so you get a soggy quesadilla.

The Babycakes cupcake maker is the only one those countertop machines that I've bought that actually works well and it comes with crust cutters to make mini pies or mini quiches, so it is sort of a multi-use device.

 

[Sabiya]

Technically we don't, but lots of companies are coming out with these products in the hopes that we will line up their wallets.
The only machine that I will personally find useful are; the electric whisk, blender, ice cream machine, and a Belgian waffle machine.

Everything else seems kind of redundant.

 

[ACSAPA]

Technically we don't, but lots of companies are coming out with these products in the hopes that we will line up their wallets.
The only machine that I will personally find useful are; the electric whisk, blender, ice cream machine, and a Belgian waffle machine.

Everything else seems kind of redundant.

I got rid of my Belgian waffle maker because the waffles always stuck to it no matter what I did. I actually had more success with a cheap heart shaped waffle maker than with the more expensive big waffle maker. I still have a lot of gadgets on my Amazon wish list. At some point , I guess I should go through and delete some stuff, now that I know I probably won't use it.

 

[Best Cake Recipes]

I personally use the blender and sometimes electric whisk in case I make delicious donuts dough or cakes that require such machinery.

 

[cupcakechef]

I'm kind of boring in that I don't really buy a device unless I have a big need for it and I know it'll get used. I have my KitchenAid which we use for so many things, but apart from that I don't really have a lot!

I try to limit those "one use only" type gadgets - as someone who used to want every new trend item on the market, I soon realized most are a waste of money and space!

 

[Diane Lane]

I'd rather just have the basics, but of course my basics could be different than what someone else considers basics. I have a waffle iron, and also a pizzelle iron. I don't have too many other specialized types of equipment, although I did used to have a George Foreman type trill from Sunbeam. That was handy, but a pain to clean. Oh, and I have a bread machine. I don't use it much, but I'm not letting go of it, even though it takes up a lot of space.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

I do not have many electric baking gadgets and I only had an electric beater, a blender which I am always using.. And one thing our kitchen is not that big that is why I only bought the most important ones rather than buying gadgets that I am not using regularly. And also it is because there is no enough space in my kitchen for these gadgets.

 

[Tina Nord]

I have quite a few kitchen gadgets that I hardly ever use, but I do admit that it is really nice to have them around when you need them. There are some gadgets in my kitchen that I only use like once a year, but I would not want to part with them.

 

[Winterybella]

I stopped buying gadgets a while ago. I got tired of becoming a collector because as time progressed and the novelty wore off, that's what they all became-collectibles.

 

[confettine]

I have also a brownies and bread loaf machine, but still want one of those that makes cupcakes, another that makes donuts, or the last one I see that makes churros, without forgetting that I would like one that makes pizza, an a ton of those manufactured by the Nostalgia company.

A machine for brownies?
A machine for cupcakes?
A machine for pizza?

Seriously... this is really too consumer-capitalistic for me.

I have a tool for making those things: it's commonly called an oven. You just need the baking forms (which cost much less money, especially if you get it from a thrift store or from your granny or something). And the baking forms are usually much easier to organize, what with taking not much space at all. For cupcakes, I have silicon molds. They take like... the size of my fist for twenty of them.

I mean, a waffle maker, I get. You can't really get waffles without the waffle maker. But anything that you can get without a specific machine is just... weird, at least to me. I can make good brownies, cupcakes, pizzas, crepes, bread, muffins, etc, etc, without having a machine for all of that.

I guess I just don't like this bunch of one-use electric bulky tools that do nothing but take a lot of space for whatever small effort trade off. Also, I hate cleaning them when someone has a complicated one. Really much easier to clean my baking sheets and trays (esp. with dishwasher...!)

Now the few 'gadgets' I do think are handy are just the most normal tool. A nice silicon spatula that can really "lick" all dough or batter off of a nice tupperware, for instance. A nice mixer -- I just don't have the right flick of the wrist motion for making my own whipped cream otherwise. And my granny had this measuring cup with a sifter integrated. That was awesome -- light, plastic, just like normal measuring cups, but with the added sifter for great use. Still trying to find one as cheap and as cool as hers.

 

[Winterybella]

If I had my way and my life was in order, I would have nothing on my kitchen counter. That's why I stay away from too many gadgets. To be using them often in my case I must remember they are around which means in some cases they must be 'looking" at me.

Someone mentioned the cleaning aspect. I personally don't want the gadgets and most of them need a proper cleaning to get to all the intricate places.

 

[confettine]

If I had my way and my life was in order, I would have nothing on my kitchen counter. That's why I stay away from too many gadgets. To be using them often in my case I must remember they are around which means in some cases they must be 'looking" at me.

Someone mentioned the cleaning aspect. I personally don't want the gadgets and most of them need a proper cleaning to get to all the intricate places.

I think that was me.

I mean, I loved my juicer. It was great for not wasting fruits and even carrots and other veggies!

But the cleaning? URGH. It was the worst.