Kitchen and food impliments you can see no reason to own

[dwest]

A pierogi press, have one never used it and can't think of any other use for it. Can't throw it away as it is a perfectly good pierogi press.

[Nanohedron]

Microwave oven.

I confess I make frequent enough use of mine (again, a gift, a hand-me-down. I seem to get a lot of those, now that I think about it). I'll spare you the gnarly details; suffice it to say that it's mainly for reheating whole unprocessed foods, so I get a pass. And here's a tip: it's very handy for warming sake in a pinch.

More irrelevant things in my kitchen:

4) Absinthe spoon. The drink was okay for what it is; as to the ritual: I can't, as they say, be arsed. Gimme a whisky and water.

5) Mortar and pestle. I can't bring myself to call mine useless, but...I don't use it.

6) Garlic press. I use a number of other methods that please me better and are easier to clean.

7) There's this melon-baller looking thingy with an ejecter sproing. I don't know what on Earth it is, nor how it got there.

[benhall.1]

I have never owned a microwave oven. What are you supposed to do with the things? Anyway, nasty, new-fangled devices.

[emmline]

I have never owned a microwave oven. What are you supposed to do with the things? Anyway, nasty, new-fangled devices.

You then could live with my mom.
The thing about Keurig coffee things is I don't want one either. I'd rather just make a small pot, freshly ground. Here is where I become inconsistent though (please don't search for other examples...they exist):
I have a Nespresso thing which is, in function, similar to a Keurig except in that it makes espresso rather than regular coffee. In the evening, I make tiny decaf espressos with vanilla soy creamer. The kids, during intervals when they live with me, (as they are all college-age or older) are more apt to make swirly things with caf coffee and frothed milk. It's fun.

[benhall.1]

I just make coffee in a cafetiere. I never make instant coffee (although we do have a pot somewhere for those very few poeple who actually seem to prefer it ) and I always have my coffee hot, strong and black.

[dwest]

Here's something I don't have that I covet.

The handle finally broke on my old flimsy aluminum Foley juicer.

[mutepointe]

I don't buy kitchen crap, especially electric appliances. I stick with the basic tools. I have an antique and not so antique set of cookie cutters that I'll bestow on someone someday. OK, I don't use the rolling pin either. I'm not a baker, I'm a cook. Big difference. I'll buy a pie crust. I don't care. I'll do what I want.

What we need is a thread on bizarre kitchen gadgets you use that work. My Mom gave me one of these a long time ago. I have a spare ready to go if something happens to this one. I just found out it's called a "Flame Tamer". It diffuses the heat from a burner and prevents scorching. It takes longer to cook something but the fear of burning a sauce is gone. This is probably a Dollar Store Item. I removed the handle from mine. It got in the way. Well, I accidently burned it off. But I like it better without the handle.

[I.D.10-t]

Had a microwave die on us and went for about 2 years without it. We can do without and steaming is about as fast and easy for many of the same tasks but when we have one, as we do now, it gets used.

I am finding that when we are not using the electric coffee pot (for the morning timer), a coffee cone is what we tend to use. The nice thing is that like a press, you can control the brewing temperature.

An electric can opener seems like a waste of space to me and I have never found I needed assistance for regular can openers.

[dwest]

I put up a fair amount of stuff in the freezer so a microwave is convenient for defrosting and/or heating up previously made meals.

We only pull out the teapot for company otherwise it just sits in a cupboard tarnishing.

[Nanohedron]

I have a Bodum Chambord stovetop espresso pot (of course I bought it for its unusual and striking Art Deco silhouette, and I found that this proved to be its very design flaw. We can get into that later if someone insists), but I really only use it for guests anymore. That's okay; hospitality is well served by having options, when possible.

[benhall.1]

I put up a fair amount of stuff in the freezer so a microwave is convenient for defrosting and/or heating up previously made meals.

Yes, I put up a lot of stuff in the feezer as well. I heat it up in the Aga.

[Nanohedron]

You have an Aga? How freakin' cool is that?

[benhall.1]

Of course I have an Aga. And a bridge in my house that leads over a big gap to the sitting room. Don't you?

[Nanohedron]

I could hate you, you know.

[benhall.1]