What are your favorite kitchen gadgets for under $30?

While I was "outfitting" my "new" kitchen, I came across a little gizmo that I just love. It is a bag holder to storage my shopping bags, cluttered bags...It easily helps you organize the cluttered kitchen bags, and can be hidden into the cabinet, without affecting the appearance of the kitchen. And it's easy to clean and reuse.
The second "gadget" is one that I have used for the past 20 plus years. It is a clear, over the counter cutting board. Mine is big enough to roll dough on and it is easy peasy clean up.
What's your kitchen like? Can you give me some suggestions?

At my most hardcore, I think I could outfit an entire kitchen with the the essentials for under $30. But that's just me; I enjoy the challenge.

We find the best way to organize bags is to stuff them into a bigger bag and tuck them into the closet. I can't imagine paying for another gizmo to hold them. My 2c.

BTW my cutting boards are quite a bit more scuffed up than your photo. Do you buff it to keep it clear?

I don’t keep a lot of gadgets around, since the word ‘gadget’ tends to imply that they’re really only used for one specific thing.

I do have a scant few, and my favorite of those is my cherry pitter. It does four cherries or four olives at once. Fresh cherries atop the morning oatmeal or crepes? Yes please! Pitting cherries for the dehydrator? Sure!

I also think you can’t go wrong with quality wide-mouth funnels. I use my canning funnels for everything, even sometimes for filling spice jars. One of my favorites of those is a wide-mouth funnel with a removable strainer that sits in the bottom of the funnel, so you can strain your broth as you pour it into a storage container or jar.

These are my favorite kitchen gadgets:


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I found this kitchen gadget that is on my wish list:


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I am a minimalist by nature so I have few gadgets, but a two wheeled knife sharpener my grandmother had I really like. About the size of an eraser, it proves “iron sharpens iron” easily enough.

As for cutting boards, I put butcher block for countertops so it is intergrated right into the top of the counter. At first I was leery to cut upon it, but then thought”what the hay” and now just use it as I need. It’s a kitchen to use and not admire.

Another gadget, using a lot of license on that, is a pair of high heels. Naturally I do not use them, but when my ex wife needed to roll dough, she took out a pair that was tucked away in the cabinet, slipped them on and was several inches higher so she could push down on the dough from above. No special spot that was  purposely built lower into the countertop, she could roll anywhere just putting on a pair of tallish shoes. Kind of cheap and easy but effective. You could get them for little money at a thrift shop.

Welcome to Permies lk!

Maybe everyone has different preferences. Some people like to decorate their kitchen to make it look rich. Some people may go minimalist. But it's worth it if they're good.
For me, decorate their own home is not a happy thing?

Magnetic bars to hold knives. We have a couple that look like this one, though I'm not sure if it's actually the same one.

I second a wide mouth funnel. I use mine pretty much every day.

I like a wide vegetable peeler so I can make strips with big carrots or cucumbers or whatever.

That's about as gadgety as my kitchen gets.

Since I'm the one using the kitchen all the time, I made the counters to match my height (5'1"). I struggle to use everyone else's counters, so they can gripe all they want about mine when they come over 😁

Having been married for 36 years to a man who not only appreciates good food but enjoys cooking it, have been indulged with great cookware, knives and appliances.

We own very few kitchen gadgets per se, mostly tools.

I no longer recall the prices but sharp, quality kitchen knives, stainless steel and cast iron pots, traditional unglazed clay and terracotta from china, Malta, a romertopf, micro plane, zyliss garlic press, are amongst my favourite kitchen tools.

Every item has a purpose, some multiple.

I am only 5'1" so hubby had a stand-alone cup board built especially lower with a granite slab for rolling pastry. No need for heels though I do have a trusty kitchen ladder for high cupboards.

A thin teaspoon slipped under the lid of twist top jar and gently twisted usually breaks the vacuum of jars allowing the lid to be easily unscrewed.  The lid is undamaged and can be reused for preserving.

Second hand stores are a great place to find kitchen item, this whisk is the best for making bechamel and guaranteed lump free gravy.

Plastic bags are folded and stored inside a large Dutch oven.

Cutting boards are a must for me, as is a whisk because I love home made mayo.  A couple of good (used) knives and a colander or some kind of strainer.  A food mill is very useful, as is a vegetable peeler.  A mortar and pestle doubles for spices and medicinal herbs.  I love my hand crank sausage and grain grinders.  A rolling pin is always handy.  I use the Kitchen Maid stand mixer I was gifted, but I would not buy one (new, anyway) - a bread bowl and my hands would suffice.  Beyond that, a stock pot, a dutch oven and a good cast iron pan are all I really need.  I do use my toaster oven a lot, as a toaster, alternative to a microwave and for baking things too small to waste the energy heating an oven.  I also really like my salad spinner - I HATE soggy salads! A grater comes in handy for cheese, nutmeg and such.

My kitchen favorite is probably my husband, and with him everything can be fine.
Of course, if there is a recommendation, I think the full set of knife and shopping bag storage boxes are my favorites.

logist Kim wrote:My kitchen favorite is probably my husband, and with him everything can be fine.

Wait, you got your husband for under $30? Some folks here might like to know where you shop. Kidding, I'm kidding.

Welcome to Permies!

Having a good husband is really a good choice! I'd have to have a husband first. Just kidding. I've been doing a lot of kitchen goodies lately. Shelving, storage boxes, peelers... I'm really obsessed with little things.

Well, even though I am a retired chef (and therefore know very well how to turn any amount of garlic into a puree with just salt and a knife) I have to say: for a small amount in a hurry, my fave is an old Italian-made cast-aluminum self-cleaning garlic press...I have tried IN VAIN to supplant it with a stainless version that works as well, but no dice.  Had it in the Goodwill box, and took it back out a few times.  Now I have made my peace with its aluminumness and just try to not scrape too much when I use it.

My second fave is a Swedish style stainless swivel peeler with a movable carbon-steel blade.  Hard to find thee days but they last forever: to sharpen the blade again, just hold the flat side against your sharpening steel and make little circles; (then be sure to wash with a brush so little metal burrs stay out of your food)

I am going off on a rabbit track here, as it seems some folks have never learned how to scrape and peel carrots: I saw a charming Youtube video recently with a charming young woman dressed in 18th century garb, demonstrating fireplace cooking skills...she said the old receipt called for scraping the carrots: then she proceeded to pare away great stiff slabs, which she virtuously took out and bestowed on her chucks...who ignored them.  So, apologies to all who don't need this, but:

To scrape a carrot: hold the carrot by the smaLL end, and let the top sit on the cutting surface.  With the BACK of your chef/paring knife, scape downwards, turning the root in your other hand as you progress, until it looks "peeled" but in reality there is just a little bit of orange fluff.  The chucks will gobble that up, if there is much.

To peel a carrot, you hold it in the same position, and use the swivel peeler from top to bottom, turning it as you go; you trim the ends last.  Not being patronizing here, I had to go to culinary school to learn this...

My "Favorite Kitchen gadget for under a $30?"...
Hands down favorite, most versatile, used to fix so many broke its, rolled under the fridge, under the counter, fell in the drain cant get it outs, have to get in the bottle to clean it outs, need a dowel in a pinch, birdhouse needs a perch, have to reach into the fish pond for algae, or didn't remember to bring silverware with the lunch box, hold my long hair in a bun MAN BUN style when I had long hair LOL , need to cheat to start a fire with a cordless power drill because I'm to lazy to use a bow drill, and they are usually FREE?!???

Well that's an easy one, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my free chopsticks that come with my delivery of Asian dinners. I have used chopsticks for all of the above mentioned things and so much more.

Curious question to you and anyone else reading this, what do you use your extra chopsticks for?

Most of my kitchen tools are simple, durable and can be used for diverse tasks (i.e. the chefs knife), but a good tool of this kind under $30 is hard to come by except maybe second hand.

Under that price threshold, the two devices I really appreciate are a hand crank food mill with interchangeable sieves and a whirley pop. Both can replace electrical gadgets, sometimes with superior results. The food mill is useful for all sorts of food processing especially for home canning. The Whirley Pop makes superior popcorn IMO. It only has the one use, but if you like popcorn it’s worth it.

Larry Jackson wrote:Curious question to you and anyone else reading this, what do you use your extra chopsticks for?

Well, if they are wooden, they are perfect sponges for used-up paint thinner from the local recycling depot, making fantastic fire starters for wood stoves and burn piles. Not very eco-perfect, I suppose, but think of it as a bridge solution -- small cost compared to big rewards.

I found this spiralizer very useful for processing long necked butternut squashes. It only took me a couple minutes to turn a long log into a pile of squash "noodles". They were so thin I stir-fried and got the dish done quick and easy. New one is about $50 but when on sale or buying second hand, it is much cheaper.