So last week i asked about toaster stuff and i may have jinxed myself because yesterday the electric kettle that lives next to our toaster bit the dust. To me the kettle (we call it 'The Jug' mostly, as in 'i need tea/coffee, boil The Jug!') is a kitchen essential. I use it to fill the sink with hot water to wash dishes because the tap water takes forever to get hot & to make stock or soup, pasta, anything on the (slow (compared to natural gas) electric) stove etc and my family always did the same way back. So what do you consider a Kitchen Essential? My slow cooker ceramic pot cracked several weeks back and we haven't gotten around to replacing it yet but i think it's an essential for winter, and i use the microwave more for heating wheatbags and defrosting stuff but i think it's an essential too, but aside from that it's just the toaster and kettle. (I was actually surprised more people didn't say 'i don't have a toaster' last week).
It would probably be a toss up between the microwave and coffeemaker. My coffeemaker is 22 years old but the same model is still sold today. It is very popular on tv shoes as I spot it all the time in tv kitchens.
I have the microwave, the kettle, toaster, Nespresso, slow cooker, sandwich toaster, waffle maker and hand mixer. I find it interesting that some air bnb's in the USA don't have electric kettles. We were told to boil water in the microwave to make our tea. A kettle would be considered standard here.
On the counters, we have a Keurig single cup brewer for coffee, a two-slice toaster with a butter dish or butter keeper beside it (for soft butter to spread on toast), and a Kitchen Aide mixer. Under the counter, we have a egg cooker, crock pot, and waffle maker that we pull out when we need to use them.
My Keurig, hands down the most essential! Then probably my Instant Pot/slow cooker and my big deep fry pan.
In the last couple of years for me the essential item has been a crockpot. Have 2 of them. One is round, the other is oval. Since May I'm using the air fryer more so the crockpot is back in the cupboard. I also still have a toaster and it came back out of the cupboard when I was eating a lot of ham salad sandwiches during hot weather. But the item I use every single day is my BlendJet individual mixer. So much easier to use it for my morning breakfast shake than pulling the big blender out of the cupboard. Easier to clean as well! Don't need any kind of coffee maker since I don't drink it. And if I want hot chocolate, I just use the microwave.
I was mind blown when I read that electric kettles aren't considered an essential in America! That is our number one most used electrical item in the kitchen. Hot drinks obviously, but also for cooking and filling hot water bottles in the winter. Second most used - microwave, especially for defrosting or heating up leftovers. I also have a mini chopper which I use for finely chopping onion for recipes. Oh and the kids love the pannini press for making panninis and toasted sandwiches. Less regularly used are an electric hand whisk and a hand held blender.
That electric kettle sounds like a fab idea especially for preheating water for soups and stuffs. So sorry for your loss of this amazing gadget. We have a very old crock pot that we use all the time. We would definitely need to replace that.
on my counter is a coffee maker (it's a dual model - can do a pot of coffee as well as k-cups for a single cup), toaster and a stand mixer. Quite frankly, the toaster and the stand mixer could be put away... we don't actually use either that much. There is also the microwave. we have others - crock pot, instant pot, ice cream maker, popcorn maker, blender, food processor and emersion blender. I go through phases on when I think each of these might be essential. On our wish list is a rice cooker and an air fryer.
Microwave, Vitamix and our Air Fryer! I'm going to have to try these. I can't stand the knives we have right now!
I have a tea kettle on the stove, but often use the microwave for heating water or even the Keurig - depends on how much water I need and how hot I want it. Keurig & microwave for sure (several times daily). Toaster is next. Mixer lives under the counter; we have two here but own 3 (because DD owns two with one at college, and is a baker). We have a bunch of other electronic helpers, but our rice cookers (we have 2 because one is at college) get the most use.
Are we just talking appliances? Because there are so many must-haves, really, but just talking about appliances narrows it down a lot. The one I use the most is our toaster oven/air fryer. Our microwave died around 2008 and instead of buying a new one, I got a big toaster oven. I prefer crispy food; never liked microwaved food. I use a toaster oven so much, I've gone through 4 now, I think. I always get big ones, with two shelves, and this newest one has a bunch of settings including air frying. We use it every day. No coffee drinkers in my house, nor even tea very much, so we just have a metal teapot I put on the stove occasionally. Another appliance I consider important is the slow cooker (crockpot). I love the ease of throwing some ingredients in the pot in the morning and having dinner ready when I get home in the evening. I must have a good one. I've been using the same one for at least 15 years. I could live without a blender, but I do enjoy occasional smoothies, when it's hot, and others in my family make smoothies quite often. Oh, and my oldest daughter and I like to bake, so at least the hand mixer is important to me (if not the stand mixer I got her for Christmas). That's just about all. I don't like to have a lot of stuff to organize. I have a couple more, like an old waffle iron, but they've been inside a cabinet for years. I can't remember the last time I made waffles. The other is an electric knife we use for carving Thanksgiving turkey.
Besides my keurig (duh! ) I'd say my kitchenaid mixer. We use the crap out of those (I have 3- 2 smaller & 1 big one! ) The kids would probably say the toaster or microwave
I’m a kitchen gadget/small appliance junkie. I want every new thing that comes out and only hold myself back b/c my kitchen isn’t that big and I’ve already got the cabinets full so.... I have to pick and choose what to get these days but what I can’t live without would be my... Air fryer/toaster oven combo Wide slice toaster Kitchenaid mixer Single and carafe coffee maker duo Mini chopper Instant pot Popcorn maker Salad chopper knife and bowl (new purchase but already couldn’t imagine life without them) Assorted peelers for spiralizing Apple corer
Number 1 would be our Delonghi Espresso Maker. After that, in no particular order - toaster oven, kettle, stick blender, garlic press, Ninja Blender. I only have one ceramic knife but I love that and would definitely like more!
My coffeemaker (a Cuisinart that I bought at Costco, and it looks like the model depicted by @Iowan ) is my most important kitchen essential: I can't even function in the morning until I've had a cup of coffee. I also love my digital countertop oven (basically a toaster oven on steroids), and use it every day. Though I hardly use it every day, maybe not even every week, my stand mixer just makes me happy. Its colour is "Aqua Sky," which is kind of a retro light turquoise.
I wouldn't have anything else! The first ceramic knife I bought was one of those "As Seen on TV" "Ninja Knife" I was hooked after that!