Jahppliances

Of all the feedback I have gotten from this newsletter, the number one comment I hear is "I just need to get my husband on this program". I'm gonna take a pass at speculating at what's going here with domestic roles and go right to problem-solving mode. If you want to get a dude involved, let him buy some crap to do it. With that in mind, I offer you Jahppliances. These are kitchen things that plug in but are one step up from a "gadget" in both size and utility. Gadgets, some of you might recall, were covered earlier in my riveting Gadgets post, and coming soon is the final entry in this 3 part series: "Jah Tools"

You may notice that a lot of this stuff is not cheap, and I was reminded of this when I put this list together. OK- well, to be fair prices have increased noticeably since many of these things were purchased. Thanks Obama. I also bought this stuff over a span of a decade or so- not all at once. But beyond that I am very picky about what makes into my kitchen, and then what remains in the kitchen. If there are appliances out there that want to call my bluff here, I'd suggest you have a chat with a certain Mr. InstantPot from 2016 and see how that went. If a tool is not used often, and/or does not perform exactly as needed, it is politely but firmly led to Facebook Marketplace.

I also buy things that will more or less last forever, which means once I decide to buy something, I usually read or watch everything thing I can about that item and spend the amount that will add the most value for quality vs longevity. In other words, I buy nice stuff. So with that in mind, let's get started.

KitchenAid® 7 Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer

Estimated years owned: 10

Estimated average uses per week: 1

Kitchenaid has changed the lineup on their mixers since I bought mine, but their "bowl lift" series is basically what I have. It has a 500 watt motor (as opposed to the 250 watt motor in the tilt head models) and has enough horsepower to knead two loafs of bread at the same time- because honestly why not make two loafs. It takes the same amount of time as one, and you can freeze the extra, or make someone's day with a fresh loaf of bread.

In any case, this is not just for bread- I use it for many baked goods, flatbreads, tortillas, rotis, whipped cream, and yes, even shredding cooked chicken and pork. It also makes your kitchen look like a kitchen.

Cuisinart Food Processor, 14-Cup Vegetable Food Chopper

Estimated years owned: 20

Estimated average uses per week: 5

If you don't have a food processor in your kitchen, I honestly don't understand how you are even cooking anything besides toast and TV dinners. This particular model is the gold standard (according to America's Test Kitchen) and the one I would recommend because after 20 years it really appears to be indestructible and performs remarkably well with zero maintenance. But if you don't want to spring for this one, I'd highly recommend looking around and finding a food processor that fits your price range thats not a complete piece of crap (and there are crappy ones out there). In the kitchen a good food processor is really almost as important as a good knife.

Vitamix 5200 Standard

Estimated years Owned: 12

Estimated average uses per week: 10

This is the one blender you will ever need. It sounds like a F-14 jet at take off, and blends so hard it will actually make hot soup in the blender just by the speed of the blades. I know there are some of you out there who are like "I have my Fruit Ninja and its amazing", but I have one response to that: Fruit Ninjas (or whatever they are called) are for vacation rental properties, and they suck. Sorry. The Vitamix weighs about 25lbs and will take your arm clean off you get too close- you know, real ninja shit. Years ago my the base on my 8 year old machine started making a rattling noise and I called Vitamix about it. They were super apologetic, took the base back and repaired it for free. Mic drop.

Baratza Encore Burr Grinder/Temperature Controlled Kettle

Estimated years Owned: 15

Estimated average uses per week: 14

I would love to lecture you about coffee but I am one of those people than can "hear themselves talking", and when I start talking about coffee, I hear an asshole. However, I will say that it is possible to make really great coffee at home and to get better at it. The two most basic tools you need to do this are a good burr grinder (blade grinders more or less ruin coffee- look it up) and some way to control water temperature. I would then go on to look at the Hario Switch...ok sorry. I'm stopping.

Any kettle with a temp control knob will work, but according to my research, the Baratza Encore is the best entry level burr grinder hands down. Baratza also has legendary customer supporter their products. We have had ours for 15 years, use it every single day and just in the past year finally replaced the burr.

Hamilton Beach Portable 6 Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker

Estimated years Owned: 8

Estimated average uses per week: 1

If you have been following along with Jahtreats since the beginning, you know that the slow cooker comes into play around once a week. If you're ready to make the jump, be aware that while it seems like it's hard to screw up a slow cooker, thats not really the case. The hallmark of bad slow cookers are poor temp control, poor insulation and poor heat distribution. Good news, though. I have done the homework, and this is the one you want.

Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro and Convection Oven

Estimated years Owned: 2

Estimated average uses per week: 12

I replaced our toaster with this a couple of years ago, and it may be one of the best kitchen investments I have ever made. Admittedly, it's not a great toaster; I mean its OK, but honestly we were not making a ton of toast to begin with, and the dedicated toaster was taking up a lot of valuable real estate. However, it's amazing at almost everything else, and has more or less either replaced our main oven, and during holidays it acts as an essential partner. The temp control is spot on, it heats up in minutes, its big enough to fit a 9 X 13 casserole dish (and our dutch oven), the air fryer is totally serviceable, it proofs bread, its better and faster at roasting vegetables, the broiler works like a champ...honestly I prefer using this over my regular, very expensive oven whenever possible. I'm certain it's a fraction of the cost to run, as well. If you have the space and are cooking a lot, I would give this gem some serious consideration.