Favorite - Can't Live Without - Kitchen Technology

[TampaAurora]

What is your "can't live without" bit of kitchen technology?
I don't know what I'd do without my programmable oven and slow-cooker. Both of them can make it so I can take care of other needs while getting a meal on the table. I can set up a roast or stew and go to work or take a bubble bath.

[Robin Joy]

My wife.

Oh, and a 9" laptop, which sits in a corner giving me access to pretty much every food resource and recipe in existance.

[TampaAurora]

In order: Programmable oven, immersion blender with whisk attachment, programmable slow cooker, grater/slicer. My faucet with a pull-out and dishwasher are life savers when the cooking muse has struck but the cleaning fairy hasn't.

[jessleigh]

I would have to say my probe thermometer.....I was constantly over-cooking everything "just to be safe!" My husband is very grateful!

[Sam Fujisaka]

A spoon - to taste what I'm making.

[KrystynaCooks]

We are having summer sales down under, so I bought a 5.5ltr covered stockpot -stainless steel, copper base & silicone handles. Supposedly (Essteele Australia) Made in Italy Lifetime guarantee only cost $229.95( Australian dollars) OUCH ! But yes I used my last "Dutch Oven" (is that what you call them?) a lot The other name brands like Jaimie Oliver Gordon Ramsay etc were in $500 price range Are appliances that expensive in USA??

[ch1ll1ng]

8 or 10" chef's knife, rice cooker, 5 or 6 quart sauce pan, and a few other things.

[KrystynaCooks]

I love my Potato RICER use it a lot Also My Old FOOD PROCESSOR , My Mum's very old 40yrs on "KRUPS"KITCHEN SCALES in grams & ounces etc as I love to Bake, & now it's summer " Down Under" my KRUPS ICE CREAM Machine - Deep Fryer, my teflon frypan (for eggs & omelettes) LASTLY GOOD SHARP KNIVES & GRATER

[JCap]

Low tech and I feel underrated- the salad spinner.

[nofunlatte]

Immersion blender. Not an everyday appliance for me, but I'd hate to be without it!

[bworp]

all related to coffee, all old school.
French press, stove top Bialetti espresso maker and grinder (the highest tech on the list - it plugs in!)

[onocoffee]

While cool technology is a seductive mistress, I would really dislike being without my old school cast iron skillet by Lodge and that 1988-era Gerber 6" chef knife that I've had since college - it's like an old friend.

But I have been seduced by some cool gadgets:

FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer
Just can't get enough of vacuum sealing everything. If I need to hold it, freeze it or cook it, into the bag it goes. The only problem is that it's terrible at sealing liquids. So, I'm getting ready to buy a MiniPak Torre Chamber Vacuum Sealer.

PolyScience Immersion Circulator
Of all the PolySci stuff I have, the circulator is by far my favorite. Sous vide at home. Rethermalize at home. It's cool. It's helpful and hours can go by and I don't have to worry.

[BamiaWruz]

Dishwasher.

[ThreeGigs]

Indoor plumbing. You laugh? Try cooking at an old fashioned farm with a well outside, and a coal stove. You begin to appreciate just how much indoor plumbing changed the world.

Electric anything and everything. Ever camp out?

When it comes to modern day technology, it's definitely a microwave. In second place is a digital instant-read thermometer. The dial ones work, but the response is a bit slow.

Nothing, however, qualifies as 'can't live without'.

[lcool]

Modern REFRIGERATION,and I do emphasize modern.No bells or whistles frig and or
freezer.Large,clean,dry with reliable temperature zones.FROST FREE Live around the world many decades for a true appreciation.
Next would be dozens of other thing in a dead heat for second and third place.

[ferret]

In no particular order: Silpat (and silicone spatulas), immersion blender, Mexican lime juicer (low-tech but indispensable), Keurig coffeemaker.

[swsidejim]

electricity and gas.

cant cook without light, electricity for the fridge, or gas to power the burners, and oven.

Other than that I am very low tech., I will occasionally use my food processor, deep fryer, or hand mixer.(slow cooker is collecting dust in the basement - my most useless gadget) Other than that I go old school.

I could probably get by without electric, and gas, and cook everything on my smoker, and grill on the deck if I needed to.

[ccbweb]

The soda-club carbonator just ahead of the coffee pot (so long as I can still get water boiled to be able to make coffee, that is).

[trishyb]

rice cooker, excellent coffee grinder for freshly ground beans, and the microwave.

[maggiej]

well-seasoned cast iron pan.

and, um, refrigeration.

Do love the immersion blender, though.

[Chefmonty]

I couldn't survive without my 14" cast iron pan. Also my chefs knife. Everything I could work around

[meatn3]

My immersion blender, food processor, and my brand new timer! I love this thing - I'm very visual and a little dyslexic, and it just works with my brains way of seeing things!!!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/l...

[nkeane]

stove with two induction burners and three gas, dish drawers(never actually have to put anything away!!!LOL, just use from one drawer and put them, dirty, into the other...then reverse!), Mandoline, BlendTec blender(the thing would rip the arm off a grizzly!!!).

[LOTW]

My deep fryer . . . its currently in storage as I am kinda nomadic at the moment. I hate that I can't deep fry a good wing right now!

[nyfoodjoe]

my GE Advantium oven...it cooks as a microwave, and as an oven...but quicker and hotter...I can bake two potatoes in 12-15 minutes

[jinet12]

Rice cooker, hydroplane for cheese, a very good stand mixer, and the Cuisinart when I need it...Oh and also my little vacuum deal to prolong the life of wine, and the wine opener itself....And let's not forget a good solid can opener

[thew]

u mean microplane?

hydroplaning cheese sounds like a serious danger on the highways

[Davwud]

I'm not sure it's the type of answer you're looking for but nothing beats a good knife in the kitchen. All other things can be overlooked as far as I'm concerned.

DT

[wayne keyser]

Rice cooker. Nothing fancy needed - it's just a delight to put in 2 cups rice, 4 cups water, push the button and forget it.

[RGC1982]

I wish I could give you a high tech answer, but for me the basics win, easily. A mixer, stand or hand probably wins contest, and if I had to choose, I would say stand mixer. Next would be a microwave.

If you are looking for higher tech, my smooth cooktop with its reconfigurable burners. It is great to be able to adjust burner sizes and use bridge burners for griddles and grills. Next would be my programmable slow cooker.