Kitchen Appliances That Never Quite Fullfilled Their Promises

[lordkenmore]

I have vague sense I may have seen Presto Power Pop ads in the 90s, but can't say for sure.

I can say that I got one, used. I was not terribly impressed by it. It did pop popcorn, BUT the popcorn was no better than air popped popcorn. Plus the paper disks on the bottom needed regular replacement, which meant one more thing to buy every so often. I eventually lost interest, and donated the Power Pop to some thrift shop.

Of the options I'm familiar with, a better choice--much better--would be a US made West Bend Stir Crazy. Yes, it's an appliance that is limited to one job, and takes cupboard space... And the popcorn was admittedly not as low calorie, since you needed oil. But it did the job really well--the popcorn, from what I recall, was MUCH better than air popped or microwave.

 

[lordkenmore]

>As for quality, most things came out pretty well. Thanks to that bread maker's book and learning a few tricks could turn out decent to good brioche, raisin & cinnamon, whole wheat, seven grain and a few other breads.

Perhaps should have experimented more...and possibly read bread machine books. Maybe next time a bread machine turns up at 99 cent clearance day. LOL

BUT I can say that I at least did use recipes specifically intended for bread machines. It wasn't a case of taking my regular recipe, trying it, and then getting frustrated because it didn't work right.

 

[kate1]

I’ve always been pretty averse to any gadgety type kitchen items. My mother was a gadget fanatic and had an entire corner of our pantry filled with one trick ponies and as seen on tv garbage. I can’t remember a single thing that performed as advertised. I went so far opposite of her as an adult that I didn’t even own a microwave until a year ago, and it was a gift from my sister! The only thing it gets used for is reheating leftovers. I did get an air popper as a wedding gift, but I’d had one as a kid and knew better. It ended up at the Goodwill and I make our popcorn on the stovetop instead.

 

[ea56]

The older I get, the fewer extra gadgets I want in the kitchen. I really enjoy doing much of my cooking and baking as simply as possible.

I own a KA Classic Stnad mixer, but I haven’t used it for months. I use my KA 3 speed handmixer for all my baking needs. It can handle just about anything I need to do. I chop nuts by hand with a french knife, I can’t see dragging out the Cuisinart to chop a 1/2 cup to a cup of nuts. Likewise, I shred and grate cheese with a hand grater, much easier to clean, and in the end faster than the food processor.

And like Kate, in the post above, I make our popcorn in a pan on the stove, tastes much better, and is an easier cleanup too. I really like being a hands on cook. I do however use my MW oven a lot, its a great time saver for the things it does well, like making white sauces, puddings and pie fillings softening or melting butter or chocolate, reheating leftovers, cooking boneless skinless chicken breasts for salad or casseroles, heating flour tortillas.

I did however get an electric knife sharpener for Christmas, and my knives haven’t been so nice and sharp since they were new, great and useful kitchen gadget.

Eddie

 

[suebutcher]

Toasters and Microwaves

Toaster ovens are useful for adding a baked finish to food heated in a microwave. It's quicker than using a large oven go to whoa.

The Breville sandwich toaster was considered a disappointing gadget because it was difficult to clean. If you don't use it every day and only clean it when it's really necessary it's tolerable.

 

[polkanut]

Thanks Sam,

My mom had one of those Micro-Go-Rounds that she loved.  We had a 1984 Amana Radarange that it was used in.  It was a Christmas gift from my aunt & uncle.  When it quit working I think they were no longer available in stores.  I remember mom was kinda bummed about it.

 

[drhardee]

I have to wonder about those Samsung "Waterwall" dishwashers that supposedly clean your dishes with a spraybar that runs on a track along the bottom of one's dishwasher. They have a fairly high failure rate, and reviews have NOT been kind....

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro...er-fails-consumer-reports-wash-test/index.htm

 

[rp2813]

The waterwall system is yet another Samsung "revolutionary" feature that's already been tried before (by Ling-Temco).  Except LT's eye level dishwashers were infinitely cooler.

 

My mom's late '70s Montgomery Ward (of course) MO, a Tappan re-badge, had a Micro-Go-Round.  It got used a lot because, like everything from Ward's, the MO had an issue -- a hot spot that even the stirrer that made a scraping sound (of course) couldn't remedy.  The MGR was still working fine when that microwave was sold in 2008.

 

[wayupnorth]

I had a Micro Go Round in my 1979 Whirlpool Mark Series MW and I thought it worked well and did make for a more evenly heated dish. After about 10 or so years the spring broke in it so you couldnt wind it anymore.