I think this is all the gadgets I have acquired since I cut back on carbohydrates.
My favourite and the most used is the mortar and pestle (the world's original gadget?). I use it almost every day, and sometimes stroke it when I walk past. It's beautiful.
The most essential is the hand blender. I use a lot of mayonnaise, and the only affordable way of doing without seed oils that is to make your own. It takes just a moment with the blender.
The spiraliser? Meh. Though I think drained cucumber spirals would make a good substitute in a Vietnamese noodle salad.
The waffle maker hasn't seen much use either. Chaffles are amazing and easy, but I just don't seem to want them very often.
What have you added to your kitchen since you went low carb?
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Subtle_badger
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Ooh lovely topic - I love my kitchen gadgets (almost as much as my sewing ones!).
I couldn’t do without my Zyliss drum grater set for grating veg and cheese… It saves my from grating my fingers or nails on a hand held one! But does mean more washing up…but I also love my microplane for Parmesan or lemon zest…
We bought a waffle maker after eating them so often at hotel breakfasts on holidays…. Now it’s great for chaffles too. I bulk make and freeze and love to be able to just grab one when I’m in a rush.
My biggest indulgence was a spiralizer add on for my Kenwood Chef. I love it!
I also use my Braun stick mixer - handy for blending soups.
We got a free coffee bean grinder years ago; I drink tea, and my husband uses ready ground coffee or capsules; but I finally opened the box and used it to grind the psyllium husks down finer!!!
I’ve had a pestle and mortar for years, I simple use it to store my garlic bulb in on the countertop☺️ I use a garlic press for crushing garlic, I did grind spices in pestle about once… now I just buy them ready ground or cook with them whole …. what do you actually make with pestle and mortar SB????
Mostly for crushing linseeds and chia for my brekky (when I have brekky). Also spices, most notably cracked pepper. I actually bought it after watching this, but have only made it a couple of times
You’ve made me think now 🧐I have some of the same pieces as you. The stick blender is brilliant for soups and my favourite baba ganoush 😋I have a new grater and I love my spiralizer for courgette noodles. The best new purchase though is my nakiri knife 🔪 It makes short work of cauliflower turning it into ‘rice’ 🍚 The only problem is that the knife is so sharp that I usually end up slicing at least one finger 😅
I made babaganoush last weekend for the first time. I used a blowtorch to properly cremate the skins which was fun. The recipe I followed suggested draining the cooked aubergines for at least an hour after cremating and skinning them. I was amazed how much water came out. Don't like to waste foodstuffs so I actually tasted some of the liquid that had drained out. I quite enjoyed it. It just tasted smokey really. I considered making cocktails with it but in the end used it to give a vegetable soup a nice smokey flavour.
I've never been big on gadgets, and since going LCHF my meals have been very ... well, boring isn't quite the right word because I'm not getting bored, but I do seem to eat the same things over and over. So, if anything, my use of kitchen gadgetry has declined.
OTOH I'm seriously considering buying an espresso machine. I think it's time to take my coffee addiction to the next level.
Got my mum a stick blender a couple of years back and she reckons it's the best gadget ever. I've had a play with it and it really is much easier to use, and more versatile, than the jug type.
I've retired my ice-cream maker and toaster, and the enormous food processor doesn't get much action these days, so I may be using less gadgets too, just different ones.
My home coffee is sadly simple: mostly cone and filter or (😱) instant.
I just realised I actually do have a new gadget - my coffee grinder. Making coffee with freshly-ground beans (as opposed to pre-ground) has been a revelation.
I'm a bit of a skinflint and just balance a coffee filter with coffee in it inside a small cup. Pour hot water slowly, the filter holds it shape, job done.
I bought a spiralizer/slice/dice gadget but 2 years later it’s still in the box… love my hand blender though, and I’ve upgraded my range of pots and pans so I have one perfect little omelette pan … and apart from that, much better salt grinders and olive oils than ever before!
No new gadgets but I did buy proper saucepans for my Aga before Christmas. Made all the difference. I’ve only had an Aga for 18 years ahem. I also spend a lot on oven cleaner. The the elephant in the room of keto for me is the greasy washing up from cooking lots of sausages etc.
Cheese omelettes cooked in a waffle maker. People pretend they are waffles but as someone who can’t eat eggs without some sort of flour to calm the eggy thing down, the reflex mechanism in my stomach assures you they are not really waffles. 😬
Ooh always on the lookout for new breakfast ideas! Having never had a sweet waffle I don’t know what they taste like, I’m wondering if it’s the same kind of batter I use for the American pancakes I make for my grandson, but if they are made with eggs and cheese I imagine they are savoury!
I occasionally make almond flour pancakes (no cheese, but egg, flour, milk, baking powder) but without the waffle maker to Chaffle them. Then eat with berries & Greek yogurt. You can also make with coconut flour but you need to separate the egg & my life is too short.
The first thing you need to know is that low carb versions of traditional food generally don't taste that close to the food they are replacing. A chaffle will very well take the place on your plate that was filled with a potato or sweet waffle, but you won't mistake it for either.
You could dress it with berries or have it with a bacon and eggs. Either would work.
But what you can't do is reproduce this....actual ingredients from a tesco waffle I picked at random 😱
Oh those ingredients!!!!! and to have 25% sugar 😳 thanks for the input though.... I have been making a low carb granola that is nice with coconut yogurt, husband loves it...
Hello Pixielula, I’d say they are neutral tasting. I’ve read people add cocoa or vanilla to the mixture for sweetness… I eat them with eggs bacon or cheese when rest of family have bread or toast. So more the breakfast waffle replacement.
Oh i love this topic Subtle_badger. Before i started my journey last september i had 3 cupboards with lots of pots, pans, muffin & cake tins and a couple of tupperware boxes. Most of them were unused or rarely used.
As my journey has gone on and i've started to cook, the pans rarely end up in the cupboard barr an occassional overnight stop lol. I've bought casserole dishes, a soup maker and a soup pan, an extra frying pan and a wok, ramekin dishes, new plates and bowls and a buddha bowl for my salads. I've also bought an egg cooker, spiraliser, hand held blender/whisk, a mini processor (great for hummus and cauliflower rice) an electric whisk (for the double cream lol) and a nice sharp pairing knife, spatulas, ladles and a garlic press. I now have 1 cupboard specially for tupperware for excess salad dressing, soup portions and for storing food in the fridge and freezer.
My kitchen in general looks and feels totally different. However much i try to keep it tidy there's always some evidence of me cooking something. I find it a real joy and have lots of fun experimenting.
Oh i nearly forgot... When i started out i had some black pepper, salt and a mixed spice jar. At christmas i got my first ever spice rack and now i have 2 more!!! 2 are completely full, the 3rd about 1/3 full. Across a week i probably use 3/4 of them too. The cupboard that had a shelf for the salt pepper and mixed spice is now full of different oils, mustard, lemon & lime juices, peanut butter, mayo, tahini and vinegars 😂
Writing that has just made me realise what a long way i've come. Thank you xx
Its like a steamer for eggs. Its boils, poaches and cooks omelettes. I only use it for poaching now - i've advanced to making the others in a pan 😂😂 xx
When I were a lad we had to cook eggs in discarded baked-bean tins. That's of course if we were lucky enough to have an egg, or baked beans, which we weren't, except on Christmas when we would have one egg to share between 18 of us, etc.
Our local grocery store was selling ostrich eggs a few years back (there was a brief craze for raising ostrich here). It tasted really weird. Hard to describe what sort of weird, but I couldn't finish it. Possibly something to do with the way the birds were raised?
It was that long ago (10+ years maybe) I can't even remember what I did with it. But I had a look on YouTube and, yep, it really was that big, and I do remember it being really bloody difficult to crack the shell.
The odd thing is that people on YouTube report it tasting like a chicken egg, or possibly a bit richer. But I didn't like the flavour at all. There are still people selling (local) ostrich eggs online, so now I'm thinking about buying one; maybe I ended up with a dodgy egg all those years ago? Anyway, it'd make an interesting LCHF post!
Just in case anyone is unaware of the power of a hand blender to make mayonnaise, its amazing. I used to make it in the food processor, but that took a bit of time and made a bit of mess. With the stick/immersion/hand blender, I just break a whole egg into an empty Douwe Egberts coffee jar, salt, pepper, mustard powder, splash of vinegar and glugs&glugs of oil. Stick in the blender, press the button and a few seconds later I have half a jar of mayo. Lid on the jar and into the fridge, and rinse off the blender.
That really is impressive. I've done it in the 'traditional' way before and it's a right pain (and very hit-and-miss). I really like mayonnaise/aioli but haven't bothered with it for a long time. Maybe time to invest in another gadget.
I think the only trick is that you need to do it in a narrow container. The one that came with the blender, or a suitably narrow jar. I didn't realise this, and used a bowl. It curdled. Luckily I was able to salvage it with a second egg and using a jar.
My handheld blender, which I think is my most used gadget, broke a few months ago. It was maybe 20-25 years old? I can't believe how far handheld blenders have come on in the last 25 years. My new one is PERFECT! It has made everything sooooo much easier and quicker.
I only really have 3 gadgets I use. My hand blender which is most useful, my cheese grater which is most beloved and my blow torch which is most exciting. I do have a lovely mortar and pestle, much like yours Subtle_Badger, but sadly I don't use mine.
So what's so great about the new one? I have owned several quality ones, but they all died many years ago. The current one cost less than £10, so is functionally equivalent to those old ones, I guess.
My old one was very slow and not very powerful, everything took ages to blend. Sometimes the handle would get so hot I'd have to stop blending for a while and let it cool down. I didn't realise it was a problem till I got a new one. I paid out for my current one, I think it was about £30 but I'm really pleased I did as I make a big pan of soup most weeks and I also use it for salad dressing and mayonnaise and all these processes are much more pleasant now.
Sorry. It's probably about one egg to a cup of oil. You have to use a neutral oil. Extra virgin makes hot/bitter mayonnaise, so a mild (ie refined) olive oil or use avocado oil. I think they are the only "safe" oils to use.
If you want an olive oil taste, glug in a bit of EVOO after it's made and blend it for a few seconds.
I am patient enough to make mayo with a hand whisk
My first effort was a disaster, too, as I used extra virgin olive oil and it was far too olive-y and green: I used plain olive oil since then and never had another disaster since
I was using a hand whisk (and EVOO - didn't realise I shouldn't) - and it separated and looked horrible! I am looking forward to getting it right! I have plenty of time for a blender to arrive, as I have just started a large jar of bought stuff, so must use that up first.
No. It's famously a bad idea. It's not olive-y, it's bitter and nasty. It's some chemical change that happens when you emulsify it.
But I just found a fix! I haven't tried it myself, but apparently if you emulsify EVOO with boiling water and wait for it to separate again, the bitter compounds are left in the water and you can make a mayonnaise with it that isn't bitter.
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