Kitchen appliances chat

Thanks, have you seen any of them in use? These are ones I was looking at but would be handy to know if anyone has cooked on one of them to be able to say if the extraction works well/isn't really loud.

I’ve cooked with that Bora at a friends, the venting is what they’re known for its strong and quiet. The Neffs and Elica have both come up in my research when thinking about new kitchen.
Bora is above your budget but you can find deals on them as sometimes they’re specced in show kitchens

Soon to be renting my first ever place on my own. Starting pretty much from scratch due to end of relationship so want to invest in some good basics for food prep and enjoying time in the kitchen. Birthday and Christmas lists will be kitchen focussed.

What are the hive minds recommendations for:

Kettle - quiet and fast
Pan sets - steel, long lasting
Frying pan - thinking 2, one heavy bottom pan, one lighter
Slow cooker
Air fryer - necessary for solo life?
Blender
Food processor
Decent bottle opener also a must

Any life saving utensils etc people can’t live without?

• kettle: check out this site for the most current one. Be aware that if you're in a hard water area limescale build up will increase the noise so get those mesh ball descaler things and clean often.
  
• Slow cooker: no offence, but is it worth it if you're on your jays?
  
• Bottle opener: Murano https://www.winegiftcentre.com/product/murano-best-corkscrew/
  
  

Any life saving utensils etc people can’t live without?

• Silicone spatula
  
• no-scratch spaghetti serving scoop spoon thing
  
• wide sieve spoon thing for poached eggs
  
  

Ta!

Link for kettle hasn’t worked?

Am debating slow cooker, batch cooking appeals but space requirements and reality of non usage will probably rule it out.

Sorry, got distracted and can no longer find the website. It was a specific quiet gadget site that listed all sorts of stuff.

Depends on what kind of food you like to make.

Food processor: Kenwood chef + blender attachment.
Less stylish than a Kitchenaid, but often much better value and pretty indestructible.

For frying pans, I’d recommend a cast iron shallow casserole with lid as one of them. Use it like a frying pan, stir fry, braise/slow cook, cook curries. I love my le creuset one bit less spendy ones are available.

A carbon steel frying pan for other stuff, and a non stick smaller one for eggs and fish.

If your oven allows lower temps, you can slow cook in the oven. Put everything in a lidded pot and put at 80 degrees for as long as you need.
Dedicated crock pots are pretty cheap, but take up precious space if you only use it occasionally.
I use a instapot , which doubles as a pressure cooker, which I’ve used quite a bit.

I’d get an instantpot or similar - they slow cook but pressurised (so quicker) can do rice and lots of other stuff.

I have one of the variable temp Phillips kettles - fast boiling was the reason I went for it and it’s fast

Slow cooker

Air fryer - necessary for solo life?

You can get a slow cooker, pressure cooker, air fryer all in one.

Personally I find a pressure cooker more useful than slow cooker. They are a bit bulky though.

I have Circulon Infinite saucepans. Had them for 10 years and still in really good condition.

Kettle is probably quiet or fast. I've got a russell hobbs rapid boil https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2137074 which is quiet in theory but not so much in reality. It is quick though and you can use it for boiling small amounts.

Do you really need a blender and food processor. Obviously slightly different purposes but a fair few of the functions overlap.

Other obvious thing is knives.

Dualit Architect kettle - loudest kettle I've ever heard even when descaled, would put the space shuttle taking off to shame. It's quick though.

Aren't all 3kW kettles exactly the same speed due to physics?

(unless they do some preheating shenanigans)

Kettles are one of those things where almost everything besides the cheapest versions are worse and gross. The cheapest ones are no less efficient, are often the only ones with no/minimal plastic internally, and weirdly the least offensive looking.

Get one that's all metal inside and cheap. Spending more is only worth it for a gooseneck coffee one.

Didn't realise how good my Dualit kettle was until I tried another, lesser, kettle.

At my mums for the weekend. Seeing this has made me somewhat distraught, might ask if she just wants to sell or give to me for some much needed TLC

Brilliant info, thanks very much, I love a deal so I'll be tracking them for a bit anyway haha.

Thanks all! Really helpful.

Re: knives. I’m probably going to invest in decent 3 knives rather than a full set. Have got a good sharpener already but again, any recommendations welcome.

I couldn't find that ikea example at the time.

Kitchen fitter tried all the usual tricks then suggested cutting the door/toe kick down so I threw money at proven model to save the lines.

Isn’t that what it’s supposed to look like if used?
Maybe not being used hot enough to carbonise the drippings.

It’s why I don’t rate griddles, they’re too messy for cleanup. Great for indoor burgers though.

With rust and shit caked all over it? Certainly not the way I look after use my Lodge stuff i.e quick wash with soap, dry off, heat over the hob and then a light coating of Crisco all over.

Don't think she's used it in years, found it right towards the bottom of her pans and stuff

It’s probably not must rust, just half baked on grease.
Le Creuset tended to enamel the inside with a black enamel even if it looks similar to raw cast iron.

Depends on how old it is also.
Le creuset went through a phase where they tefloned their cast iron frying style pans, and it was flakey garbage. You couldn’t easily just strip off all the Teflon to raw cast iron as it was enamelled under the Teflon.

I'd definitely try and claim it.

The le Creuset will be different from your Lodge stuff, as Lodge cast iron is raw cast iron that has a seasoning coat.
The Le Creuset has a 'satin black' enamel coating on the interior which seals the raw cast iron. You can in theory put it in the dishwasher (though it might not shift the patina).

Good news though is with a bit of scrubbing with coarse salt, you should be able to get it back to almost mint condition.
I'd be a bit wary, but you could use a steel scrubber, as the vitreous enamel coating should be harder than the steel.

Re: knives

Budget or bling?

Imo I'd either get victorinox knifes with the fibrox handles (pairing, chef and bread) like these:
https://www.victorinox.com/uk/en/Products/Cutlery/Chef%27s-Knives/Fibrox-Carving-Knife-Extra-Wide/p/5.2063.20

or go to a fancy knife shop and spend some time trying knives out and enjoy the experience. An expensive knife won't do anything more than the victorinox ones so it's just down to putting a price on your subjective experience/enjoyment. The feeling in your hand of the weight and grip will be more important than any marketing features.

An advantage of the fibrox handles is you can file and shape them as you like then finish them with a heat gun or hair dryer to neaten them back up.

Also idk if you know but Home Sense and TkMax often have caste iron pans and le Creuset/equivalents cheap.

What sharpener do you have?
Blade angles are different depending on different types.

If I was doing things again, I'd go for a santoku (or chinese cleaver if you get on with them), a good bread knife and a petty knife.
And a 3 pack of Victorinox paring knives for £15.

She's decided I can have it, hah. Initial scrub has taken off some gunk, but I reckon it might need some salt, scrubbing and a light coat of oil. Either way, happy days