Which kitchen appliances do you use regularly?

[HappierAtHome]

This is embarrassing, but I may as well ...

I don't think it's embarrassing at all to own many appliances if you're using them all the time. Seems legit to me.

I admire cooks who whip everything up from scratch without appliances, but I'm not one of them, and that's okay too :-)

[bacchi]

I use the

1) fancy rice cooker the most by far,
2) followed closely by the microwave
3) and then the blender for smoothies.

The rice cooker cooks grains and beans (and soups in the winter) and is brilliant for set-and-forget.

[jeninco]

This is embarrassing, but I may as well ...

I don't think it's embarrassing at all to own many appliances if you're using them all the time. Seems legit to me.

I admire cooks who whip everything up from scratch without appliances, but I'm not one of them, and that's okay too :-)

Thanks for the kind words -- I'm not very hardcore, by the standards of this forum. By the standards of many of the folks living around me, my family is mildly insane...

Anyhow, due partly to the reminder, I fed the sourdough starter that lives in the refrigerator and made several dozen waffles on Saturday. And remembered how much I like that waffle iron, which (1) makes 4 waffles at a time, and (2) has removable, nonstick plates that can go into the dishwasher.

(We also used the hand mixer to whip cream, which we used to make blueberry eton mess -- crushed meringues, whipped slightly sweetened cream with fruit mixed in -- with purchased meringues. Yum!)

[HappierAtHome]

This thread has made me realise we still own a stand mixer which we never use. I should talk to Mr Happier about whether we can Buy Nothing it (it's his, so his decision). I don't think it has any functions that aren't replicated by other appliances - I prefer to use a hand mixer for making cakes and icing, and he uses the food processor to make cheesecakes. Hmm.

[BudgetSlasher]

Alsomost daily:

Cooktop (currently a single induction burner during the remodel)
Oven (either full-size or countertop)
Automatic tea maker
Electric kettle (for the coffee drinker in the house)
coffee grinder
microwave
dishwasher (currently without due to remodel)
refrigerator
upright freezer (for leftovers and buying in bulk, such as in season fruits)
hood vent (again out of service due to remodel)

Several times a week:

Pressure cooker
panini press
blender
food processor

Several times a month:

sous vide immersion cooker
stand mixer
warming drawer/yogurt maker/bread proofer
immersion blender

Seasonally:

Food dehydrator 

We have a lot of kitchen tools and appliance, but an average week we might eat out one dinner. Otherwise, all dinners are home cooked, all lunches are homemade or homemade dinner leftovers, and most breakfasts are home made as well.

[Rural]

Daily: drip coffeepot, electric kettle (at work), microwave, toaster, refrigerator, can openers (we have two, one for human food and one for dog food)
3-4 times weekly: chest freezer, countertop convection oven, stovetop, instantpot
Weekly: bread machine
Every 2-3 weeks: rice cooker (make 2 pounds of brown rice at a time and freeze)
Seasonally: food processor. Also nonelectric things get seasonal use- pressure canner, water bath canner, food mill, meat grinder, dehydrator, oven (only used at the holidays)


 I’ve recently thrown out my 1970s – model yogurt maker because the instant pot has supplanted it. I’ve not yet thrown out my slow cooker, and probably won’t because it does see use when I’m cooking for a crowd. But the instantpot gets to live on the counter where it used to live, and it’s sitting on a shelf these days.

[sparkytheop]

Daily-- Espresso machine and grinder
           Range and/or oven (if not at home, I use the one at work, but my son uses the range at least as much as I do)

Every few days-- Microwave (by my son, I only use it once a month or so)
                         Kettle (again, by my son) 
                         Toaster

Weekly-- Blender
              Deep fryer (right now we tend to use it about weekly, but when the oil gets dirty I might clean it and then not use it for a long time)
              Rice cooker

Less than weekly: Waffle iron, dehydrator, Instant Pot, Crock Pot, mixer, griddle

I do a lot of stuff from scratch, but when it comes to cutting stuff up, I use a knife or a grater rather than a food processor, I often knead bread by hand if I make it at work, but will use the kitchen aid mixer if I'm at home, I use a potato masher for potatoes and beans instead of a mixer or blender, etc.

Outside of the microwave and kettle, there is not much I would get rid of.  I'd have no problem letting my son have those two when he moves out though, since I just don't really use them (I reheat things in a cast iron skillet on the stove, and can get plain hot water from the espresso machine.)  The other things might not get used often, but they still have a job to do that I don't want to have to "figure out" a different method to do the same thing.

[mm1970]

Daily:
- stovetop, microwave, toaster oven

Several times per week:
- instant pot, coffee maker, blender

Weekly:
- rice cooker, food processor

Monthly:
- bread machine (used to be weekly, but I can't eat wheat anymore...)
- immersion blender
- waffle iron

Quarterly:
- stand mixer.  Hubby uses it, he's the cake baker.

[Laura33]

This thread has made me realise we still own a stand mixer which we never use. I should talk to Mr Happier about whether we can Buy Nothing it (it's his, so his decision). I don't think it has any functions that aren't replicated by other appliances - I prefer to use a hand mixer for making cakes and icing, and he uses the food processor to make cheesecakes. Hmm.

It's funny how people are different -- I'm the other way around.  I use a whisk for anything that is too small to justify the Kitchen Aid, and I use the shredder attachments for any chopping/shredding that is too big for a knife (and then of course there are the pasta maker and meat grinder attachments, too).  I would get rid of my food processor and hand mixer long before I got rid of the Kitchen Aid!

[vern]

I have to give a shout out to the broiler!

I use it several times a week.  To make garlic bread, to reheat and crisp up leftovers, or to melt cheese on anything.  Its also great for getting a good crust on a brisket cooked in the pressure cooker or slow cooker.

If I cook a steak indoors, I'll sear both sides on the stovetop then transfer it under the broiler.  This heats both sides simultaneously like a tandoor oven.  It's also a good technique for heating up bratwurst without splitting the skins.

A few years ago Cooks Country did an episode that featured the broiler.  They called it the most underused piece of equipment in the kitchen.

Not in my house!

[Astatine]

I'm posting without reading the thread :p

My household uses:
Every single day - electric kettle (can't live without it)
Several times a week - microwave
Less than weekly - toaster, stick blender, slow cooker (we use the slow cooker in winter, never in summer because it still has quite a bit of radiant heat)

Does not possess: food processor, sandwich maker, proper blender

Household of two adults.

The kettle gets used many times per day, for hot drinks, to pre-boil water for cooking things like pasta (more efficient than our crappy old electric stove) and to fill hot water bottles in winter (which helps in not needing to run a heater overnight). I could live without a microwave but I can't live without a kettle.


ETA: could an American please explain a broiler? I've inferred from extensive googling that it's an element in your oven at the top and it gets used a bit like the griller in my stover, but a broiler is part of the oven, not a separate thing like a griller. Is that correct? (and isn't funny how much assumed cultural knowledge there is even for basic things like cooking ;))

[deborah]

Broiler = Grill

My oven has a grill in it instead of being separate. Advantages include having more room (so you can grill wide things as well as steaks...), and combine it with other oven things (so for instance I can put it on to do the crackling on a pork roast), but the disadvantage is that it consumes more energy and you can't have something in the oven and something else in the grill.

[Bracken_Joy]

Broilers are, like you mention, an element at the top of the oven that gets extremely hot. It's a bit like using a tiny blowtorch right on the food. Kinda like you're going for a creme brulee crust, but not actual fire. It's great for getting a good crust on things, esp with cheese topping a dish, or with breads.

The big metal things outdoors we cook on with propane or charcoal briquettes we call "grills" or "barbecues".

[teen persuasion]

Daily: Stovetop, fridge, toaster oven
Several times a week: Oven, microwave
Every few weeks: waffle iron, air popper, blender
Seasonally: stand mixer, electric knife, cookie press

Rarely use: slow cooker, deep fryer, food processor

Don't own: dishwasher, instapot, rice cooker, bread machine, pasta machine, hand mixer, coffee anything

[vern]

I forgot to mention that I use a cast iron skillet when broiling meat so that both sides cook at the same time.

Although I wouldn't use olive oil for such high heat cooking, this video is a good demonstration of the idea...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--q1-AUFbgA

[SnackDog]

The only one we use every day is the refrigerator.  It would be interesting if there was a better way to optimize that, like with a really small refrigerator or one that held temp without electricity as long as you didn't open the door.  We see too many Americans with refrigerators and freezers 2-3x larger than they need which are either mostly empty or full of junk they are not using. Such waste!

[nereo]

The only one we use every day is the refrigerator.  It would be interesting if there was a better way to optimize that, like with a really small refrigerator or one that held temp without electricity as long as you didn't open the door.  We see too many Americans with refrigerators and freezers 2-3x larger than they need which are either mostly empty or full of junk they are not using. Such waste!

There is - check out waht 'cruisers' (people who live board sailboats) use, when electricity is a severely constrained commodity. There's a variety of approaches, but they all start with really thick insulation (often 6" on all sides) that make them better insulated than the best Yeti coolers. Most are top-open (minimizing loss of cold air).  Some designs rely on ice (passive cooling) while others use very efficient low power compressors.

I think the inherent compromises are why so few people do this; newer energyStar fridges may use 300-400kw/year - equivalent to $1-2/day depending on your energy rates. The insulation requirements shrink the usable space of a 'normal' size unit by half or more (it's really amazing how small they are inside). Passive units require weekly top-ups of ice, and while a single bag (or brick, whicha re better) can keep the contents cool for a week you still have to add that to your weekly shopping list, and drain the bottom periodically.

FWIW I lived/worked on a catamaran in the Caribbean which had a passive reefer - it was pretty awesome how long just a little bit of ice could keep everything at ~35ºF, but it took up a very large amount of space in the galley (like most things ont he ship it served as seating as well), but on land i still keep a modern, large regular fridge.  To me the convenience is worth the extra few hundred$/year. YMMV

[Dreamer]

Daily
microwave, toaster, coffee maker

Weekly
Kitchen Aid stand mixer

Monthly
immersion blender

several times a year
waffle maker, food processor, crock pot, hand mixer, coffee grinder, french press, sandwich maker

have not used in years
apple corer/peeler, Magic Bullet

[Anon in Alaska]

Does running water count as an appliance? If so, water faucet = multiple times per Day

Daily - microwave, refrigerator
Almost daily - Freezer part of refrigerator, toaster
Every week - nothing
More than once a month - dishwasher, stove-top
Less than once a month - oven, hand mixer, air popcorn popper
Less than once a year - shaved ice machine, food chopper, rice cooker
Do not own - everything else