Unusual Ways To Use Common Kitchen Appliances

Everyone has an appliance or two that is meant for one specific use, like a coffee grinder or a waffle iron. But there are plenty of ways to make those specialized appliances useful for other things. We’ve done some experimenting and found some awesome surprising ways to use common kitchen appliances.Give them a try!

Slow cooker
Slow cookers are awesome for making desserts like apple crisp, cheesecake and rice pudding. You can even roast a whole chicken if your slow cooker is big enough! Students attending cooking class online may even use them to wine-poach pears for special treats.

Coffee grinder
Have you ever used your coffee grinder for anything but coffee? If you clean the machine it can be super helpful for mincing herbs.

Microwave
Juicing citrus by hand is harder than you might think, especially when it comes to lemons and limes – they’re so small and can be really tough. Pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds before you juice them and the warmth will help break down the fruit’s cells, making it much easier to squeeze out all the delicious juice.

Stand Mixer
If you’ve ever made brisket, you know that it can be hard work to shred the meat to the proper texture and size. Why not throw it in your stand mixer bowl with some sauce?

Popcorn maker
While we love popcorn in all it’s herb and buttery goodness, a popcorn maker is seemingly only good for making popcorn. Have you ever tried toasting nuts in one? Toasting nuts on the stove can take quite a bit of time, and there’s a good chance that you’ll burn a few. Try tossing them in a popcorn maker instead! Just one minute and they’ll be golden brown and ready to top off any recipe.

French Press
So, you’ve got a fancy French press coffee maker taking up space on your counter. It makes a darn good cup of joe, but have you ever used it to make whipped cream? Mix all the ingredients and pour them into your French press. Use the plunger to whip the mixture.  It’s perfect for a small batch to top a serving or two of cake in a jiffy.

Ice cube trays
Ice cube trays are awesome to use for freezing food in single-serving portions. Think pesto and tiny bite-sized servings of cheesecake. If you have too many herbs, like oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary, and don’t want them to go do waste, put them into the trays and cover each cube section with olive oil. Keep the ration to 2/3 herbs and 1/3 olive oil in each individual area so you don’t lose the taste of the herbs.

Egg slicer
When your grandmother bought you that egg slicer off of the infomercial, I bet you never thought you’d use it to chop mozzarella for cheese and crackers or a strawberry for strawberry shortcake. It’s perfect for evenly slicing tons of small, soft foods.