Want or Wantnot List

Do Not Need:

Sporks
Pannini Press
Motorized Salad Spinner

Wants:
Immersion Circulator
Thermo-mix
Pacojet
Large Hydron Collander (oh, that's Collidar...)
and a decent frikkn' can opener.

Kidding aside I would love a quality can opener. I presently have three one is good for large cans only, one that I have to use on tomato paste sized cans. The third makes really deadly ninja stars.

--Al

It would be wonderful to have a really high quality. stainless steel lined 12-quart thick copper stock pot - one that is taller than it is wide.

Oh, a top quality six burner stove with a good broiler up high enough where it can be reached easily.

And a decent can opener ...:lol:

wants:

Microplane zester
new veggie peeler
new coffee maker
kitchen aid
blender
wok
good ventilation

don't wants:

toaster oven

What is it with can openers?

We can put a man on the moon, but......

I never thought a microplane would be such a handy item. It's one of the best little kitchen tools in the drawer. Get two!

Just two, Shel?

Ya know, if you add up the various courseness and size configurations there are 11 different microplanes.

I've even got one that's a fold-up box grater, with two different coursnesses.

Microplanes fall into the category of things you don't need, until you try one, then wonder how you ever did without it.

I knew there were several configurations, but never really counted.

As you know, I don't care much for gadgets, but you are absolutely correct - it's a great tool. The two that I have seem to do all that needs doing here, but I am afraid to get another - might need to collect the whole set.

Thirty bucks US :D

Just kidding. Don't have either one so I odn't really know.

A Microplane can be a grater, but a grater isn't a Microplane. Microplane is the brand name for a specific set of tools, a grater is a general term for a general catagory of tools. Microplane makes a number of tools:

Microplane® Graters, Foot Files, Woodworking Tools

Microplane - got one for grating cheese and it's lousy - much rather use the small round holes of the box grater for parmigiano (not traditional, i know, but it works and works fast) - the only thing i find it good for is grating nutmeg - i rarely use lemon zest

I don't need a can-opener, because almost all the cans here have a tab top to lift off. But i would NEVER have an electric one - is it so hard to twist a key or turn a crank? What a waste of precious counter space and electrical outlets, of which there are never enough, not to mention waste of money. My parents had an old one attached to the wall, with a crank - worked beautifully but they don;t seem to make those any more. My daughter has one you hold in your hand and it cuts horizontally, makes a clean cut, leaves no burrs and you can't hurt yourself. It's super and not expensive.

So, don't want:
electric can opener
toaster (i have a flat metal thing with a grate on top that you put on the stove - makes great toast)
a bread maker
most electric things that actually don;t save time or work but occupy space
flat-topped scoop and sweep off measuring cups (never used them)
measuring spoons


want:
-LOTS MORE SPACE - counter space, much more counter space
-a food processor if it came with space to keep it (impossible)
- a large american-style sink with a spray attachment where you can actually put a frying pan flat in it with water in it to soak

have, and am glad i have or i would want
lots of pots and pans so i can put them in the dishwasher and still keep cooking!
every possible baking sheet of all sizes so i can make lots of cookies
a 5 burner gas stove with huge oven
cast aluminum pancake griddle
non electric stovetop waffle iron
kitchenaid
good carrot peeler that's long enough to peel potatoes with a forward motion
good sharp knives - chef's and peeler
about 3 good-sized shelves of cookbooks
immersion blender
blender
lots of thick hot pads not to burn my hands
lots of measuring cups so i don;t have to wash them before measuring other ingredients

I don't use mine for grating cheese either. I like it for nutmeg, grating ginger (sometimes), zesting citrus, and have used it for shaving chocolate.

I agree about electric can openers, however, they are very useful for people that have difficulty using their hands, such as people with arthritis. I wish I'd had one when I had a similar problem. Many of our cans are kift off, but certainly not all. Also, most American kitchens are big enough to hold such a device.

The can opener that attaches to the wall and swings away is still available here. It's a very traditional model - we had one in my childhood home as far back as 1947. Swing-A-Way Magnetic Wall Can Opener : Target

The same company makes a pretty good hand-held can opener as well.

My O My - that's a blast from the past. While neat from an historical perspective, a regular modern toaster seems much more practical for people wanting to toast other types of bread besides regular slices. A toaster that will hold large slices, wide slices (like bagels), one that can handle three or four slices, and that works automatically seems more in keeping with contemporary times. Still, I think it's nice, but how well does it work on an electric range or the new induction ranges? There are a lot of those here in the US.

That explains a lot. My kitchen is quite small as well, and an old fashioned one at that, so it's easy to relate to your space predicament. I don't care for a lot of gadgets and "labor saving devices," and I'm lucky I don't. I don't know where I'd put them.

Actually, the Microplane is not a kitchen tool - it's a cabinetmaker's wood rasp, and a very effective one. It was Leonard Lee, founder of Lee Valley Tools, Ltd. who pointed out how useful it was in the kitchen, about 12 or so years ago. I tried one, and then bought one for each of my kids, who are foodies, too.

If you don't get their catalog, you should. In addition to sophisticated woodworking tools, they offer equally unique kitchen and gardening equipment. Small stuff - they don't sell machinery, appliances or tractors - but accessories and fittings that make your work, whether in shop, kitchen, or garden, more accurate, easier, quicker, and more fun.

Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Tools, Gardening Tools, Hardware

Mike
I don't work for them ;)

no, no, the toaster is a flat square of metal, completely flat, so it holds any kind of bread, bagle (if i could get them here) or thick italian bread, or a split baguette - anything. You have to turn the toast manually. I think it makes a nice kind of toast, with little tiny black bits, and it's sold as something for making bruschetta. It takes up no space, i use it on the gas stove, it;s cheap and never breaks. I don;t have an electric or induction or anything but gas, i really like to cook with fire, so i have no idea how it would work on those.

Oh, totally different than what I envisioned. We had these pyramid shaped toasters that fit over a gas flame - yours seems like it would be a wonderful addition to a kitchen. Here's what I was thinking of. My grandparents used these, and we even had one for a while.



This commonly seen non-electric toaster was meant to be used
on a gas or electric stove burner. While there are many other
models, this one seems to have been the standard item in the
dime store and hardware store.

I like simple, maybe even old-fashioned, designs that work without the need for extra power or accessories. I sometimes use an old style hand coffee grinder. Good to have one when the power goes out <LOL>

Want:

• Peoria custom "Santa Maria" type grill with hood
• Backwoods "Piglet" smoker
• 6 burner stove with a 24" wide griddle
• "French piano" stove top.
• At least one convection oven
• Salamander
• Takeda A2 Japanese style, left-handed knives (30cm Yani, 27cm gyuto, 21cm deba) with custom ebony, silver mounted handles
• Naniwa Chocera 1000 and 5000 stones -- how can sharpening stones be that expensive?!
• HandAmerican knife sharpening kit with base, felt pad, leather strop and diamond spray
• More cookbooks
• More space for cookbooks
• More counter space
• Synesso Cyncra espresso machine
• La Cimbali hybrid grinder
• The same Japanese demi-tasse espresso cups I got from the Good Will thrift store in Santa Monica which were the best I ever had, but all of which broke.
• American Roaster sample (coffee) roaster
• Replacement hinges for cabinet doors
• Core set of Vollrath Tribute
• Someone (else) to polish the silver
• 8" Crepe pan (Linda)
• Pasta roller for the KA (Linda)

Don't want:

• My old, hand-cranked Atlas pasta roller (Linda)

BDL

good food processor
good cast iron skillett
solid stock pot
a new set of pots and pans (period), something outside the walmart specials i have :lol:
a premo chefs kitchen would be nice in my little apartment as well LOL

Want:
new cabinets and countertop
6 burner stove with double oven
more good pots and pans
more counter space
more storage space (larger cabinets especially)
microplane(s)
more cookbooks (can you ever have too many?)
good can opener (I have to agree with you all. I have 2 hand crank that are pitiful.)
new colander
good wok
larger kitchen sink (deeper and wider)
cast iron griddle
cast iron dutch oven

Do Not Want
Bread machine (sitting in the storage shed because other half wants me to keep it)
50 different knives (just a few work great for me)
panini press or other sandwich maker
mango cutter

i see couple of posts saying you do not want bread makers. i, in a burst of being a homemaker, bought one. (panasonic sd206). it arrived. and then it languished in it's packaging in the kitchen for a while and then later, the attic. but one day last year i decided to give it a spin.

i have to say it is brilliant. i cannot believe i let it gather dust in the attic for about four years.

it is so great to have fresh bread with no fuss. toss in the ingredients and 4 hours later you have fresh bread. the white bread is particularly good for toast, toasted under the grill, and with lashings of butter. delicious.

and then i can do various brown breads. add some sunflower seeds, sesame seads, poppy seads and so on.

it really is a great machine. i read up before i bought it and the panasonic came up best. and not much cleaning afterwards. which is always a bonus.

so give them a try before you decide they are useless.

I did use mine for over a year (have had it for almost 4 years now). The first year was great. The bread came out great......not as good as hand made but still really good. After that, I can't get a decent loaf out of that machine to save my life. No matter what I do, it sinks in the center. I've learned to do it by hand and I love doing it. When I'm stressed, kneading dough works wonders.

Two of my all time favorite kitchen tools. They came from my wife's grandfather's kitchen, even that fancy handled masher is probably older than a fair number of folks on this forum. Notice the lack of power cords, battery compartments, LCD displays, control panels, etc.




You mean like this?




mjb.

Well then how do they work? <LOL>

Great stuff. My grinder is similar but not quite as heavy duty or as nice. Ex-wifey and I used to take it camping so we could have fresh ground coffee every morning. I sure like the one in the pic though - it's a beauty. My egg beaters are stored in the garage right now - not enough space in the kitchen for them :cry:

Check out these pages:
Coffee Grinders or Mills -- Box Coffee Grinders or Mills