Must-have appliances according to kitchen experts

August 20, 2022 by
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The number of kitchen appliances available to consumers these days is staggering. From Instant Pots to air fryers to steam ovens to convertible refrigerators, appliances large and small can fulfill your cooking needs as well as your kitchen fantasies. Opinions vary on which appliances are the most useful, so Australian Gourmet Traveller recently polled several experts – chefs, kitchen stylists and food writers – to find out which appliances are on their must-have list.

Chef Federico Zanellato said a stand mixer is an appliance he can’t live without. I concur, especially if you have one with numerous attachments, as Zanellato does: “I use my stand mixer to make pasta dough, pizza dough, choux pastry, biscuits and cakes but also to whip cream, mince meat and cut pasta using the different attachments,” he says.

Callum McDermott, a digital editor at Gourmet Traveller, finds a mini-food processor indispensable. McDermott notes that “with a few oils and vinegars, you can turn sad herbs into a zingy salsa verde in seconds; make your own dips, purees and sauces on the fly; and even outsource some of your veggie prep.”

My kitchen is on the small side, so I don’t have room to add the latest appliance du jour. I do without many items that some cooks consider necessary, like an air fryer, Instant Pot, or rice cooker, but I wouldn’t dare part with my stand mixer and its many attachments. In my dream kitchen I would have a standalone icemaker – I tried hard to fit one into my kitchen remodel but I just couldn’t make it work. What is your must-have appliance no matter the space, and what’s on your dream kitchen wish list?

Category: Antipasto

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9 Comments

  • wester  on  August 21, 2022

    Why is there a washing machine on the photo? Am I missing something?

  • LeilaD  on  August 21, 2022

    Agreed on the stand mixer- now that I finally have one, I can’t live without it for whipping egg whites or cream. I also adore my crock pot, microwave, waffle maker, and blender. Once in a great while, I use the ice cream maker or food processor. Those are really the only kitchen appliances I have.

    Also, agreed with wester. Washing machine?

  • Larkspur  on  August 21, 2022

    I use my stand mixer often and also my Blendtec blender, with its different jars. My immersion blender is useful too.
    I could manage without a big food processor but the mini one is very handy. I could also live without my slow cooker, but I have space on a high shelf for it so I keep it.

  • dgiles  on  August 21, 2022

    The one thing I absolutely couldn’t do without is my Breville toaster oven. I live alone, and I’m able to put almost everything in it that would ordinarily go in a big oven. I also love my elderly but still mighty Nutribullet blender.

  • janecooksamiracle  on  August 21, 2022

    What’s with the wash machine ? Kitchen appliance. I, and many people I know, have the machine in the kitchen.

  • wester  on  August 21, 2022

    @janecooksamiracle: I think there is a difference between an appliance that some (or many) people have in the kitchen and a kitchen appliance.

  • lean1  on  August 21, 2022

    I love my Cuisinart food Processor. Couldn’t be without it.

  • Frenchfoodie  on  August 29, 2022

    I’d not be without my wet and dry grinder. I love being able to move straight from grinding dry spices to blending them in to wet pastes. I cook a fair amount of malaysian, indian, thai and vietnamese food and my grinder more than earns its place in the kitchen.

  • zczimm  on  September 2, 2022

    Love my instapot, vitamix and crockpot. I have zero need for a stand mixer.

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