Your favorite kitchenware product?

I doing a little research into products and was hoping Core77 could help me :slight_smile: What is your favorite kitchenware product (tools/serveware/etc) and why do you love it?

Hands down - our Senseo (and each Senseo we’ve had before it). We were introduced to the brand in the Netherlands back in the mid 90’s and have yet to find a more satisfying cup of coffee. Why? Because the coffee quality and product is better than Starbucks & the fancy thousand dollar machines, is quick & easy and it’s inexpensive. The design is euro-sensical (ie, more than tasteful compared to your average American retail coffee product), the used pods are compostable and the machine is well built. They made strides here in the States until K-cup marketing destroyed the progress and littered our world with wasteful, smashed little cups…but I’m told they’re going to be making a second push here soon.

my favorite tool in our kitchen is a Rösle Apple Slicer. A very simple tool, but well made, interesting looking, and works great.
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Another fave is our Fisher Paykel 2 drawer dishwasher. I like the 2 drawer thing. It is just my wife and I at home so being able to wash smaller batches of dishes makes sense and the drawer loading is nice vs the massive doors.
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Runners up:
Dualit Toaster: classic, simple, just does it’s job with no added features and bullet proof
Warring Waterfall blender with glass cloverleaf carafe: same as above, 2 speeds only. Was originally designed for lab settings.
Wolf range/oven: same as above
KitchenAid mixer: same as above

We like kitchen stuff. My wife loves to cook and bake.

Juicy Salif. It’s purrrdddeeee.

As you can guess, I don’t spend time cooking.

Iab, I would never in a million years expected you to go with a Juicy Salif. I have one as well, but it sits on a shelf in my home office as a sculpture… I was told that if you actually use it the citric acid will corrode it.

Same here, except the shelf is in the kitchen. As I wrote, I don’t need functionality in the kitchen because I don’t cook. If I “prepare” a meal, that means turning the car on to get carryout.

Although I like a good knife. But all I have is the obligatory Wusthofs that are on everybody’s Crate and Barrel wedding registry. That is how we roll in Chicago.

A good quality chefs knife. Almost anything is possible with it. Without it, it’s hopeless.
Personally, I use the Porsche Design ones but balance and ergonomics are different for everyone, so you have to try them on like a pair of shoes.

Big fan of my Global Knife.

But these Shuns have always grabbed my eye.

I’ll tell you a product I can’t seem to find and that is a really good tea kettle. I’ve tried and ruined many of them. I have some specific criteia:

  1. must be enameled (gas ranges seem to ruin the stainless ones)
  2. must not have a welded seem at the bottom (these fail within 1-2 years, instead it needs to be a central welded seem, like the more ball shaped one)
  3. I don’t want to use an oven mitt to pick it up.
  4. flip open spout
  5. has to be simple, modern, minimal

I have yet to find one that meets all of these considerations. I actually designed one early in my career but only bought the brushed stainless one for myself, and not the enameled one, and I can’t seem to find it anymore! (DOH!) I’d love to design another one now. It is more of an old man product, as a 26 year old I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had a crap apartment with a coil electric range. I couldn’t really empathize with a spoiled tea drinker’s needs :wink:

Prior to a week ago, I would have said either of my still functioning, in-use 50’s chrome appliances. A “Beehive” Osterizer and Sunbeam Mixmaster… (actual products shown).

…but I recently just got a Vitamix blender and it has changed my life. It can make a smoothie/whole fruit/veg juice from anything (same brand makes all the commercial ones you see at any juice bar), and you can make soup right in it. As in, the blades spin fast enough it heats the soup to stovetop hot! Made carrot soup tonite in 4min! It’s not really a design object, but I do respect the not overly designed aesthetic. No need to try so hard when you kick a$$.

Also nominate my Kyocera ceramic knife. Got it as a Freebie with a ceramic mandolin slicer I bought in Japan 8 years ago. I think I’ve used the sliver twice. Use the knife daily and it’s still as sharp as new.


R

Vitamix blenders are insane. Good call.

My parents got a set of these after reading Anthony Bourdain, and swear by it too. I have not gotten there yet, but it is a good investment for sure.

My vote: The classic Pyrex glass measuring cup. I think the spout could dribble less, but this thing makes heating up any liquid so much easier than using a pot on the stove. I was also about to buy a milk steamer or frother and then tried just heating up milk in this and spinning a whisk by hand. Works perfectly for lattes at home.

This one looks pretty awesome! That’s something I really like, a proper veggie chopping knife, I’m a huge fan of the Chinese ones.

I also love these things, reminds me of my childhood and are an easy and reliable way of making coffee.

I absolutely love our Shun knives. Even though we dont have a ton of expendable cash, I was sure to take some of the wedding money to get a proper set of knives and couldnt be happier about it. My wife was a little unsure spending so much on a couple knives, but now she cant live without them. We just went with the Shun Classic line.

Also, we couldnt live without our kitchenaid mixer. Im always amazed by how much it can do (3 loaves of bread dough at once!) without sweating. Sure beats the hell out of the hand mixers I grew up with.

Another thing I love in the kitchen is the temp probe on the oven. Just being able to set the internal temp and tossing something in the oven saves me from wondering if it is done or overcooking it. Also, this prevents me from preemptively cutting into something to check if its done (I’m ashamed to admit doing this :blush: )


Yes, I love the moka pot as well. Going to get a more upmarket model one of these days…the old polygonal Bialetti is a classic, but is a pretty flimsy and hard-to-clean classic.

On the coffee theme I can’t live without a pour-over dripper. Absolute coffee-making simplicity, and one of the best ways to extract flavor.

The coolest thing I have is my Yama siphon coffee maker. Takes a little more time than a pourover, but I love waking up to make a cup. it’s a good transition into the day.

My rotary parmesan cheese grater is right at the top of my list.

But my Shun knife is the best tool I’ve ever purchased.

I’ll see your Pyrex measuring cup, and raise you my modest collection of inherited cast iron skillets; a couple are pushing 120 years old and I use them all the time.

Now we are getting a little into kitchen geek territory but during my chef days, I just loved the Pacojet.
You fill the container with, let’s say a raspberry sorbet base, freeze it solid and later have the Pacojet churn as much as you need for that serving by shaving very thin layers at high speed. It produced better sorbets and ice creams than any professional ice-cream machine I have tried.

Fantastic invention. Unfortunately and non surprisingly, they are expensive and really for professional use only.