I’ve added a new page to Crowded Earth Kitchen called “Kitchen Gadget Links“, where I’ll share just a few of my favorite kitchen gadgets with you. Here’s a sneak peek. I’m pretty frugal and very low tech in my kitchen… you won’t find anything crazy-expensive or complicated here, just “old standbys” that I use often and highly recommend!
1) CANNING SUPPLIES. Cooks who learn to preserve food through simple, hot water bath canning save more money than cooks who don’t. Investing in a few basic canning supplies will pay off quickly!
Granite Ware 0707-1 Steel/Porcelain Water-Bath Canner with Rack, 21.5-Quart, Black
2) A STOCKPOT. You can get away with saucepans and little one-quart pots when you’re living on ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese, but when you get serious about cooking, you need a stockpot. Yes, you do.
Excelsteel 16 Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot With Encapsulated Base
3) AN IMMERSION BLENDER. I resisted this for a while, and tried ladling soup back and forth from a stockpot to a standing blender. The first time I burned myself, I stopped being (quite so) cheap and bought an immersion blender.
Cuisinart CSB-75BC Smart Stick 2-Speed Immersion Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome
4) A BUNDT PAN. I don’t have a huge assortment of baking pans, but I do love my Bundt pan. I use it for everything from delicious, light sponge cakes to decadent pecan rolls. The shape looks fancy – anything baked in a Bundt pan makes a great buffet centerpiece!
Nordic Ware Pro Cast Original Bundt Pan, 12 Cup
5) A FRENCH PRESS COFFEE MAKER. Best… coffee… ever! Just add coffee grounds and boiling water – this couldn’t be any easier. It works with tea leaves, as well.
6) INDIVIDUAL RAMEKIN DISHES. These are great for serving appetizers and desserts.
Norpro 6 Piece Porcelain Ramekin Set
There you have it… a short list of Crowded Earth Kitchen favorites! What’s your favorite gadget in your kitchen? Feel free to comment below!
Crowded Earth Kitchen 
Maybe it is better to keep it simple when it comes to kitchen gadgets. My “collection” occupies an entire spare room and the garage – most of these gadgets are still in their original boxes, only used once or twice in the practical world of home-cooking.
That’s an interesting perspective! Sometimes I wish I had another gizmo or two, but the urge passes…
My favourite gadget is my slow cooker. I like to keep the gadgets to a minimum too as not much space. Your list is very good though.
I use a slow cooker pretty often; perhaps I should add that to the list! 🙂
I can’t live without my kitchen aid stand mixer. I don’t use it as often as I would like because it takes up too much space in my tiny kitchen -but I absolutely love it.
I even bought a noodle press attachment for it. Store bought noodles are dirt cheap, so I probably haven’t saved any money using the noodle press, but I love making homemade noodles (so easy!)
I debate the idea of a stand mixer in my head often… haven’t taken the plunge yet. I still use the same little electric hand mixer I bought as a college student! I will say, making a souffle with a hand mixer is almost impossible…
In my mind a stand mixer is a lot like a food processor. Either you love it and find a way to use it several times a week, or you find it clunky and rarely take it out.
Unfortunately there really is no way to know until you actually own one.
I love the stand mixer because I can walk away from it while it does it’s thing. Not too far mind you – not many things need to be mixed for 20 minutes – but I can turn it on and take 5 minutes to clean up my mess or prep the next thing. And then, of course, there are the attachments (noodle press, veggie slicer, meat grinder, etc).
The actual clean up of the stand mixer is no worse than the hand mixer.
FYI…. The veggie slicer is really cool and kinda fun, but totally impractical for making a meal. Maybe if I made my own sour kraut in 20lb batches (??)