kitchen tools

(disclaimer: the text below is based on our personal experience and knowledge - your specific issue could be different and could require a different approach).

Remark: Keep in mind I'm not a 'normal' person and sometimes my ideas could be just a little bit extreme. Please don't take the following topics 'as black and white' but more as an input to analyze your own situation.

Kitchen Appliances

Waste systems: During my many years in this industry I was often confronted with the customer's demand for more waste storage space. For me this is one demand I always fought against. Why storing waste - instead of getting rid as quickly as possible. To force the user to do this the waste system/ waste bins should actually be as small as possible. Kitchen waste has the tendency to release strange smells, it attracts a lot of funny animals (cockroaches, flies etc) and is just not sanitary - therefore I would recommend to not 'store' kitchen waste in your kitchen - get rid of it as fast as possible! Don't forget to recycle!

Trash compactor: You probably already know what's coming. In most cases this appliance is just not necessary. Did you ever clean a thing like this?

Today we sanitize the shopping cart handles in our grocery store - but in the same instead we 'store' waste in our kitchen -something is wrong here!

Appliances (general remark): Please rethink your cooking habits - only buy what you really need on a regular base. Don't buy an appliance just because your friend/neighbor has one and you need a better (more expensive) one. You will spend hours with your kitchen designer to fine-tune the design, discuss colors, functionality and overall appearance - please don't destroy this work with 'ugly' appliances!

Ice machine: another appliance which is probably not necessary (at least not in a 'normal' household). Most refrigerators do have a built-in ice machine which works just fine!

Ovens: there are double (even tripel) oven combinations available - do you really need an appliance like this? How often do you need two ovens? How often do you cook a 20 pound turkey? Could you 're-work' your standard 'entertaining recipe' to reduce the need to only one oven? With this you would save some money (or could spend some money somewhere else), add some storage space, and most of the time improve the design of your kitchen.

Steam Oven: an absolute 'must' for everybody who likes healthy cooking! Vegetables will be just great (and the vitamins are still there), steaming meat is a bit 'unusual' but the meat will not dry out and there's no grease. There are many brands available - we are using a Miele steam oven and are very happy with it.

Microwave: Let's get rid of this machine! It's a relict out of the time where we wanted to have something quick and did not care if it's healthy or not. Steam ovens can take over the 're-heating' tasks, nature the 'defrost' tasks. What's left? Popcorn! Use the money you saved with not buying a microwave and go to the movies and enjoy a bucket of real popcorn.

Coffee system: Yes! Yes! OK -I'm a coffee drinker! Honestly this appliance is not necessary but on the other side it's nice to have one.We are using the 'old' Miele coffee system - and like it. There are many other brands which now offer similar systems. By the way Miele has also great vacuum cleaners!

Dishwasher: an absolute must! Using a dishwasher is not only comfortable it's also good for our environment (as long as you fill the dishwasher). With most models you do not even need to pre-rinse the dishes - of course you should get rid of all the leftovers.

Refrigerators: Do you need one or two or three? This depends on how much money you want to spent on energy! Most of the time one (good sized) refrigerator is just fine. Do you need a water dispenser? I would say yes (here's a good article about bottled water in fast company magazine)! Do you need an ice maker? This depends on your personal situation. Just keep in mind your teeth do actually not like ice cubes - for more information ask your dentist.

Cooktops: Yes definitely you need one. Gas or electric? Four, six or eight burners? This all depends on your preferences. Personally I think a 8 burner professional gas cook top is just an 'overkill' - I would go with a 4-6 burner electric ceran cook top. Why? Ceran cooktops are easy to clean, if not in use they can be used as secondary workspace, they are probably not as 'quick' as gas but there are some models available which are pretty quick as well. Most of the models have a sophisticated electronic which brings power when needed and cuts back power when not needed.