Get To Know Your Gadgets

More cooking at home these days probably means you’re looking for more variety to your meals. Trying new recipes is one option. While scrolling through recipe blogs and Pinterest, you’re probably seeing more recipes featuring popular kitchen gadgets that are geared towards simplifying meals and cutting down on kitchen time. Many of these items can be an investment financially, time learning how to use it, and in kitchen space. Before loading up your Amazon cart, let’s take a look at some of today’s most popular kitchen gadgets to discuss their benefits and all the ways mealtime can be simplified during the busy work week.

Electric Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot® is the better known name in this category. Ask any of your friends which new appliance they’ve recently bought for their kitchen, and the response is probably Instant Pot. What is it exactly? Instead of having separate appliances for pressure cooking, slow cooking, steaming, sautéing, and baking, it can now be done in this all-in-one appliance. The pressure cooker feature is the most popular due to the speed in which food items can be prepared, along with the safety and quietness compared to stovetop versions. And the pot can go in the dishwasher, which saves time on the backend cleanup.

PROS:

• Faster cooking with pressure: Cooks 2-6 times faster than conventional methods, which means you can make recipes like pulled meats, stews, and braise meats in under an hour and during the work week
• Can do multiple cooking functions in one pot: Sauté meat to brown it, then add liquids and cook all in the same pot without transferring or creating extra pots to clean
• Energy efficient and doesn’t heat up the house: Using the oven and stove in the summertime isn’t always very desirable because of how hot it can make the kitchen and surrounding spaces. Instant Pot won’t cause the house to overheat, and is also overall more energy efficient than stoves and ovens.

CONS:

• Need lot of counter space: Instant Pots take up a lot of counter space, so make sure you will use it if it will take up prime kitchen real estate
• Steep learning curve: all the functions of the Instant Pot are amazing, but they also require time and practice learning how to use them all
• Not as fast as you think: between time to build up pressure, and then depressurize, it can feel like you could have done things faster through a conventional route. But for batch cooking items like dried beans and whole grains, the time using the Instant Pot can be worthwhile.

Did you know…

You can cook frozen meats, including chicken breasts, steaks, and meatballs, straight from the freezer?  Perfect if you forget to defrost items or need to change up your meal plan last minute

Beginner Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Chili
• Instant Pot Lentil Soup
• Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Air Fryer

Instant Pot® may be the hot new kid in town, but Air Fryer is right behind. Air Fryers cook foods by circulating hot air around the food. Essentially, it’s a smaller version of a convection oven. While many people may use an air fryer to create healthier version of traditional deep-fried foods like french fries, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks, it can actually do so much more. Not only can vegetables be roasted to crispy perfection faster than in the oven, but you can roast proteins like seafood, create crispy snacks like roasted chickpeas, and even use it for baking!

PROS:

• Easy to use: Most models come with pre-programmed features to make cooking proteins and veggies simple
• Cooks faster: No preheating required and the circulating air in a small space cooks food faster
• Healthier cooking: Only a little oil is needed to prevent sticking and for browning the food, which cuts down on fat in recipes

CONS:

• Take up space: Many models can take up a lot of counter or storage space
• Cooking quantity: some models have smaller cooking surfaces, which means recipes may have to be cooked in batches, which increases overall cooking time
• Loud: the convection fan can be very loud while cooking, which some people find distracting

Did you know?

Many convection ovens now include an air fryer feature, along with roasting and dehydrating, which helps save on countertop space.

Beginner Air Fryer Recipes:

• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Air Fryer Apple Chips
• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts

High-Powered Blender

Take your blender beyond smoothies. High Powered Blenders use between 1,000-1500 watts of power. They are known for the ability to crush and pulverize food items for super smooth textures and consistencies. Many also include features like heating so soups can be made directly in the blender and then immediately enjoyed. No more awkward transferring hot soups to a blender or using a separate immersion blender.

PROS:

• Speed: blend items at very fast speeds
• Consistency and Texture: puree foods to a silky smooth consistency or grind and chop hard foods
• Heat and Cook: Many modes have a heat feature, which is perfect for making soups all in one place

CONS:

• Price: many high end, high powered blenders come with a hefty price tag
• Loud: some high-powered blenders can be very loud, which some people can find distracting (especially if you’re making your morning smoothie and the rest of the house is still sleeping)
• Difficult to clean: depending on what you are using your blender to make, food items can sometime get stuck to the pitcher and blade and all the crevices in-between. Some high-end models include self-cleaning features, which helps cut down in cleaning time

Did you know?

These blenders are so powerful you can create your own nut and seed butters and even plant-based milks. Great way to save money!

Beginner High-Powered Blender Recipes:

• Going Green Smoothie
• Avocado Ranch Dressing
• Pumpkin Soup

Which of these kitchen gadgets do you own or are on your Wish List?