Kitchen Appliances That Never Quite Fullfilled Their Promises

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I cook my veggies in the nukebox,too.Better than on a stove.There is a Sharp Carousel microwave here at work-in the site kitchen.The oven uses cards of some sort-they have been missing since I have been here-the oven has to be well over 20 yrs old-still works.And it has heated coffee,popcorn and who knows what else.A high quality machine if its lasted this long-and it gets heavy use.Has lasted thru like 3 newer GE's and one Frigidaire microwaves.When those die here they just go into the dumpster.
 
Back in the ‘70’s we gave my mother the nickname “the gadget queen”. She had just about every frivolous appliance ever made. My dad always indulged her in this as she was an excellent cook and he liked to eat. I remember the electric donut maker, hot air popcorn popper, a portable convection oven (1970’s), just to name a few. She was the first in the family and neighborhood to have a microwave (Litton), KA mixer, electric roaster, lefse griddle, pizzelle iron, krumkake iron, bread maker, and this is just the short list. When she passed away 5 years ago, she had almost 140 cookbooks.
 
 
We had a hot-air popper in the 70s.  Gnasty.

I have a mini-donut maker, received as a gift (operates like a waffle iron).  Tried a couple of the included recipes, then went to using packaged muffin mix.  It's cute but not really worth the effort.

The parents have a countertop bread maker and a rotisserie oven.  They like both, used them numerous times but slacked-off from it.
 
Besides Crock Pots

Think bread makers are in the top five things one sees most often at thrift stores.

Used my Phillips BM to death when purchased several years ago (ironically yes, at local thrift), but it has sat sitting for some time now. Just can't bring oneself to bin it just yet, but know it soon will have to go. For now it just sits there haunting me.
 
Here is a "promised alternative to deep frying" or an alternative to frying that ordinarily uses oil, that I was sold on:

I bought what was $10 at a garage sale that ordinarily goes for around $20, New... And although it looked unused, I dually washed the basket and the tray, tried a few things, such as fish, potatoes and shrimp to often find the stuff often didn't fry enough, of only get what would ordinarily be 'baked'...

The breeding just tended to be a bit raw, or simply needed more time to be baked, and to the point where maybe I just need to buy fish that's already breaded...

A "poor man's air-fryer", in other words, of which I would be interested in a real one, that a while back, the store I work at briefly carried and had seen at least a couple of my co-workers buy, while another one I had overheard bought hers....

This one is the Chef Club brand, while a classmate of mine, also a Facebook friend also has one, too, though most-likely a different brand that I had seen what she'd cooked in it, more than the actual appliance, while there's whatever the store I used to work at, Walmart carries, as well as with some 10%-off coupons I have a handful of around the house, leaves Bed, Bath and Beyond, and whatever is its brands...

So I feel tempted to go into air frying (I would love a clean, neat way to make my own favorite fried fish 'n chips) but I do not know which kind or brand works best and to get...

-- Dave

daveamkrayoguy-2018102212110903378_1.jpg
 
@daveamkrayoguy

Have yet to find anything that comes anywhere near a deep fat fryer replacement have seen and used air fryers and its nothing more than a halogen oven some take forever to cook and it comes out baked and dry so may just as well use the oven. I cannot abide oven chips/fries just like bits of dry card on your plate.

Austin
 
OOH! OOH! Have to share this about French Fries (chips). Fixed the first of the season in the Amana Micro-Thermal Oven in the 30" range. I turned on the broiler, got the frozen fries out of the freezer then drizzled a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a 7" Corning Ware skillet. I added the fries to the pan and tossed them with a fork to get some of the oil on them. Then I put them under the broiler and turned on the microwaves for about 4 min 15 seconds. I turned off the broiler when they had less than a minute to cook and when I took them out, they had the most amazing texture. There was a crisp, almost fried outside, not dry or baked and a pleasant, tender inside. This worked better than any way except actually frying them and with no mess at all.

Another candidate for the "Not All That" award is the Ronson Cook'n Stir blender--so loud, too loud for any extended cooking operation if you have to stay in the same room.
 
The electric spoon

In the 1960s some tried selling an electric spoon. I was an oval shaped mixing spoon and had a metal loop that was anchored in the handle and had the same contour as the spoon. An electric motor in the handle had three speeds to spin the loop. Was not practical or effective--it could not replace a portable electric mixer.
 
My husband and I have always loved "As Seen on TV" gadgets, even way back when. (we've been together for 44 years, married for 4) Less than 50% of them actually worked as advertised and if they did, they didn't last.  We have found our 2 Sharper Image halogen ovens to be indispensable. (these are the ones with the glass bowls) The NuWave halogen oven we tried just didn't get hot enough. 

 

Our past failures include: The Presto Burger Maker, Das Wiener Shocker, Sears belt-driven blender and food processor combo, KitchenAid mandolin slicer,  GE combination microwave/convection oven, (using the convection oven fries the electronics) The ultra-cheapo Redi Set Go fryer, (non-stick surface wears out quickly), The Ron Popeil pasta maker, (plastic bowl cracks around the extruder after a short time) and, of course, the Vegamatic. 
 
Ron Popeil

Ha that pasta machine infomercial was on all the time I remember back then.

"Give me a pocket fisherman, or a machine that can boil an egg inside its shell".

I think I'm getting the song right?
 
Ah,, the in the shellEgg Scrambler.. I bought one of those I'm guessing it was around 1977 ish. It actually worked and was really novel . I didn't use it much and for the life of me can't remember what ever happened to it... I must have still had it in 1983 when I met Larry because he still brings it up 35 years later in conversation to anyone and everyone when they ask about my collection obsession .
 
If you watch closely in the Popeil pasta machine infomercial, you'll see one of the machines break when being switched from mix to extrude. The camera quickly cuts away from it, but you can catch it.

 
 
Why not: Kitchen GADGETS! Here are MORE:

I bought something called Eggers that were supposed to make hard boiled eggs easier, but you were supposed to oil them so the eggs would come out, only to make them too slippery to get a good grip on...

I think you also broke each egg and got it to fit, all raw and that into each case, then shut with the lid, put in a pot of boiling water, and supposedly you got hard boiled eggs without the shell, so you can imagine with the mess and undesired results, this was an item I'd spent good money on and quickly got rid of...

Another was a potato cutter that was supposed to slice your whole spuds, but it resulted in the thing being thrown and flung around when the cut potatoes got stuck in there & wouldn't come out!

And last of alll, I had a pasta boiler--it was a part of our wedding set and the jar the pasta goes in arrived cracked, but somehow instead of returning it, I wonder why I just broke down and bought another one--and needless to say, the first time I used it I didn't put the lid on tight enough, so right when I strained the pasta through the slotted lid, along with the boiling water, all that spaghetti also went right down the drain...

Oh, and I'd like you to meet "Ms. Microwave Cleaner": You supposedly put water and juice from a lemon halve--or whole lemon in her & a fine mist from her will "self-clean you even dirtiest, filthiest, skumiest microwave oven cavity! (need I say more?)

-- Dave

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The Ronco Pasta maker is great, when it works. But as was said it fatigues quickly and breaks at the extruder.

You used to be able to buy replacement parts, I havent looked lately to see if they are still available.
 
Re Electric can opener...

I cant do without a electric can opener, but the BEST one is the can opener attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer, I leave it in place all the time,
 
Dave

I'm guessing you got less than stellar results.
But I do think Ms. Microwave Cleaner is pretty cute.
She looks like she's reprimanding the stains out of your microwave!

Barry
 
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