I have cupboards full of kitchen gadgets I don’t need
- col-lee-elliot-aging-graciously
- November 8, 2023
- 708
I’ve been into recycling since my California days some 30 years ago, and not quite so long here. It was easy to throw bottles, jars, cans and papers into the green can on my way out the door. Just about anything that wasn’t food went in there.
Then at the farm market, someone handed me a little brochure that described the correct way to recycle. It really made sense, so I now am washing everything before dumping and not putting plastic bags or other junk in there. I am a pure recycler.
We can recycle in many ways. One of my most prevalent is to buy things I don’t really need, especially for the kitchen, and then when the light dawns, give them away to friends or secondhand stores to sell to others who probably don’t need them either.
I love to cook, bake, can and preserve, but unfortunately, I seem to like the accoutrements of those activities as much as the actual preparation and finished product. My entire family has always loved gadgets. From my grandmother’s “dribble” glass to my four-way egg cutter, we have filled our empty spaces with the best of the best. When an announcement of the top 20 gadgets you absolutely have to have pops up on my computer, bring it on. I want them all.
My sister and I used to be in serious competition over our gadgets. Thus, I have cupboards full of rice cookers, juicers, cheese holders — it says cheese right on them — specially shaped salsa bowls proclaiming SALSA, electric peelers, a rubber roller for peeling garlic, a pepper “cleaner outer,” spaghetti forks for rolling, things to stop pans from boiling over and many more.
Beyond cupboards, I have shelves full of pressure cookers, slow cookers, a bread maker, pasta maker complete with 10 attachments, food chopper, steamers, dehydrators, the now obligatory charcuterie board and other items too large to fit in the cupboards.
To my way of thinking, one must have a couple of heavy-duty stainless steel pans that don’t get ruined if you let them boil dry, a huge iron skillet and several smaller ones, a pasta boiling pan, a wok, special bottles for home-squeezed lemon and lime juice, a fizz maker, electric roaster, and a yogurt maker.
The last is a real luxury because I was taught to make yogurt by the same friend who taught me about organic gardening. You heat milk to the point where you can stick your little finger in it and just escape being burned, then add starter, pour it in a quart jar and wrap it in a towel overnight. The yogurt maker requires a couple of extra steps, and all of the little jars have to be washed.
As I’ve mentioned before, at age 86 I am trying to cull my house so my children don’t have to scream to the heavens, “Good grief, what are we supposed to do with all this stuff?” It isn’t easy. My friends don’t cook much or can anymore. Neither do young people. No one wants my castoffs. I may be overloading the thrift stores, but I don’t think they have recognized me yet.
Anyway, with canning season drawing to a close, I haven’t found any of that equipment I can give up yet. In fact, I have to admit I just added. I’m getting ready to make sauerkraut. Last year I cut it on a mandolin and cured it in a borrowed bucket with a lid. Ah, but this year I am ready with a little electric cabbage cutter and a 5-gallon curing container with inside lid to keep the odor down. If I have interpreted the metrics correctly, I should get about 20 quarts of the delicious treat. The container, by the way, also can be used to store bird seed.