We like to think of cooking as being expensive sometimes. After all a lot of the fad culinary equipment is quite expensive. Instant Pots are incredibly pricey. Food processors, stand mixers, and Vitamix's are hundreds of dollars. And eating out at nice restaurants will cost more than an entire week's worth of food. So surely cooking is an expensive art form! And you wouldn't be remised for thinking this. Some things about cooking are ridiculously expensive and do inhibit the amount of people who have access to them. But not everything in the culinary world is this way. A lot of culinary gadgets are surprisingly affordable. This article is a list of kitchen gadgets under $30 that I actually find useful.
This Useful Kitchen Gadgets Article is NOT Sponsored
I don't make any money from this blog. I actually lose money paying for the domain and hosting. This is merely a hobby that I started to do for fun during the pandemic lockdown. I make no commission from any of these items.
I also do not necessarily support or condone these companies or brands. This article simply serves to show how not all useful kitchen gadgets are as expensive as it seems like it can be. And anything that supports more home cooks is something that I'm an advocate of.
Cooking your own food saves a vast amount of money in the long run. It's something that can and should be accessible to all people. And it absolutely doesn't need to break the bank in the process!
After all, getting the most out of an item and making more food at home is the environmentally friendlier and more sustainable option to eating out or buying processed and packaged foods. So, any step to making cooking more accessible is a positive in my book.
It should also be noted that prices on these items may vary over time. But these are all products that I have personally purchased within this price point.
1. Rice Cooker
I make a great number of things in a rice cooker. As fun as rice is to make, they work incredibly well to cook quinoa, lentils, and oatmeal. I've even used them in incredibly limited cooking spaces to fry an egg! Rice cookers are one of my favorite cooking appliances and truly one of the easiest ways to cook.
All that you have to do is measure out the rice and water to the correct ratio, spice, and then come back in 30-45 minutes to a perfectly cooked meal or side dish. I'll oftentimes add things like sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. A lot of rice cookers also come with a vegetable steamer. I don't tend to use this because I mix the fruits and vegetables in, but a lot of people find them incredibly useful. And it certainly does make the rice cooker a great versatile dish.
Rice cookers are kind of like the original Instant Pots. You can make an entire meal in them in less than an hour. Only, they're much simpler to use and certainly a staple in a lot of households. For something so useful, they're also rather reasonably priced. This is by far one of my most useful kitchen gadgets.
Where to Buy
I paid slightly less than $30 for my adorable Red 14-cup Rice Cooker. This is a rather large rice cooker. Most varieties are 6-cups and cost around $20. You can find them just about anywhere cooking appliances are sold.
Rice cookers also last quite a while. I use mine at least once a week and have still only gone through 2 of them in my lifetime. They are Teflon and do periodically need to be replaced when the non-stick coating starts to wear. And I ordinarily wouldn't recommend anything with Teflon in it. But a plastic or wooden spoon will greatly increase the lifetime of your rice cooker and they're by far the easiest way to make rice or other simmered foods.
You can cook them in a pot on the stove or in an Instant Pot. However, rice cookers take the guess work out of the cooking process because they automatically turn off when the liquid is absorbed into the rice. And, if your primary use for your Instant Pot is to cook rice? Then, you've paid too much. And are taking up far too much counter space.
2. Pasta Machine
I often talk about making my own pasta and people kind of laugh at me like that's something that hoity toity people do. And this might be one of those niche items that not everyone is going to use! But I'm incredibly fond of making homemade pasta!
The process is much simpler than most imagine it to be. It only takes about 15 minutes to knead the dough and 2 minutes to cook it. This means that you can make homemade pasta in about the same time as boiling water and waiting for store-bought dried varieties to cook.
I make mine with a mix of semolina, all-purpose flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt. Semolina is the only wild card here. It's often available in the baking or alternative flour isle. Semolina is not gluten free, but can sometimes be found in the health food section. You can also always use whole wheat flour, rice flour, and/or add in things like spinach.
Homemade pasta is also just a fun thing to make. I've done it with kids, who find the kneading and turn crank process incredibly fascinating. It's almost like playdough that you actually get to eat afterwards.
These can also be used to make everything from linguini and angel hair to lasagna and ravioli. I've even known people to make more than just Italian pastas in the machines, which can be used to roll out any number of varieties of dough.
Where to Buy
I have a sparkly Red Stainless Steel Pasta Maker w/ 7 Thickness Settings. When I bought it it was $22.99. I've bought 2 of these in my lifetime and they've both been around this price point. The stainless steel holds up very well. The turn crank is also metal, but has a plastic handle. And the turn crank that affixes the pasta maker to the table is also metal, but has a plastic handle. These plastic pieces, while easier to hold onto and use, are what tends to break.
You also can't really wash a pasta machine. There are so many nooks and crannies that exposure to water will usually make them rust. However, they're coating in so much flour that you can easily just brush off without worrying too much about them being dirty. After all, flour is shelf stable at room temperature. And simply wiping them down is all that you really need to clean them.
This might not be the most useful of kitchen gadgets if you don't make homemade pasta. Although it also goes go to show that you don't always have to spend a lot of money on specialty kitchen appliances.
3. Paella Pan
I have spent years wondering if I need a paella pan. I've never had a bad paella. Although I'm sure that they do exist! Paella has thus far always been worth it. And it absolutely has something to do with the pan. Every time that I see someone making it in person? There is something magical and mystical about the process.
This is likely just because I had never made paella or discovered the intricacies of exactly how such a pan works. However, since actually acquiring one? I am hooked.
Where to Buy
This pan I want to say was about $20 at Home Goods. You can also find it online in a variety of sizes, materials, and price points. And I'm sure that there is an incredible appeal of the absolutely expensive solid steel or copper paella pans! But let's call this the starter variety.
I've also heard tell that it's a great pan to cook fish on the barbecue. Along with generally stir frying or sautéing large dishes and cooking outdoors over an open flame. I always recommend having a large pot for these types of purposes and a paella pan is the perfect large pan to round out your culinary arsenal.
4. Mortar and Pestle
Mortar and pestles are a staple in many kitchens. Bulk spices are a lot more affordable than buying individually-sized amounts. They're also much more flavorful, so you end up needing less of them in the long run. It's one of my favorite useful kitchen gadgets.
Where to Buy
I believe that I got this at Home Goods. They can in a variety of sizes and price points, though. These stone varieties often cost about $20-30. Although they do also come in wood and metal versions as well as the similar, but much larger and more expensive-sized molcajete.
5. Rotary Cheese Grater
This one always cracks me up. Why do people not own cheese graters any more? I suppose it's the prevalence of pre-shredded cheese and the marketing campaign that paying far more for pre-shredded cheese is quite simply worth the ease of use. But was grating cheese ever really that difficult?
I suppose that I don't have fond memories of grating cheese. It is rather tedious to get out the block and start slowly hacking away at it. My family gave up on convention V-shaped cheese graters and used some horizontal contraption that was much like a mandoline for grating cheese. These were bulky and cumbersome, though. They were overkill for a small amount of cheese and kind of a pain to clean for when you were grating up an entire block. Not to mention the elbow grease involved!
But there is a better way. A way that doesn't involve pre-shredded cheese filled with wood pulp (I'm not joking, it's literally wood pulp that keeps those cheeses from sticking together in the package! That's also why it doesn't melt well). And it's a rotary cheese grater.
Where to Buy
I can't stop raving about this little appliance. My pretty Red Rotary Cheese Grater cost less than $20. It's incredibly easy to use, comes apart in 5 easy to remove pieces, and has 3 different blades for ordinary cheese grating, fine grating, and slicing.
I use mine quite frequently and have broken the plastic turn crank and plastic piece surrounding the blades. Although that's predominately because I've overfilled them with hard cheeses. Cutting parmesan or similar cheese into smaller chunks greatly helps this. Although there are entirely metal handheld versions, like the ones that you see table side at Italian restaurants, also available for incredibly reasonable price points.
I find this type the easiest to use because it stands on the table and uses the pressure of the stopper on top to quickly and easily push the cheese through the blades. It takes a fraction of the time and energy to grate cheese and is so simple that a child could use it.
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