When I overhauled our kitchen and got rid of all of the plastic, wood and most of the kitchen appliances, I started forming a list of things that would need replaced and also things that would help make gluten-free eating easier.

It was kind of frustrating to have to re-do the whole kitchen less than a year after moving in and receiving all new pots and pans with the flat. The whole process made me wish we had a wedding registry, but I at least tried to view it as a chance to buy the things for my kitchen that I really want and to replace appliances that were broken or poorly designed.

Some of these kitchen appliances are things I’ve wanted since before the diet change and some are definitely new ideas, thanks to gluten.

Things we already owned that need replaced:

Waffle Iron: (Image Source)
We still haven’t replaced this and Kay wanted to make waffles awhile ago. It’s kind of annoying to want to make something that used to be a weekend staple, but since we haven’t found the perfect (or at least not as crappy as the old one) waffle iron, I haven’t attempted GF waffles yet.

The old waffle iron was really a bitch to clean with exposed heating coils, so we are really just aiming for an easy-to-wash waffle iron, but they are still not that common of an appliance in Switzerland. There is still an overabundance of sandwich grills that I will never buy nor understand the need for.

Braun Multiquick Hand Blender: (Image Source)

We looked at several hand blenders and I basically wanted the same apertive set that we bought from Braun in 2008. It has a soup blender, whisk, beaker, a large and small food processor container and our old one, pictured above, had an insert for grinding ice.

We ended up buying the newer, black version that works by squeezing to turn on and I’m not enthralled. It’s OK, but it came with a German power adapter which is clunky and big in our Swiss kitchen and it’s not easy to blend slowly with this version. For the black version they’ve done away with the ice insert and instead have an ice grinding blade, but it doesn’t make chips; it makes more ice powder, which is good for snowcones, but not caipirinha. We kept the ice insert from our original set before giving it away since we only ever used it for ice and I figured it was “clean” enough.

In this instance, it was a little disappointing having to replace something that wasn’t broken and having what should be the same or better version not live up to the old product.

Toaster: (Image Source)

The toaster was one of the first things we replaced, simply because it was a cheap buy and getting GF pre-packaged bread is pretty easy. It also tastes way better toasted than not. We opted to get a double-sided, double-length toaster this time around so we can toast baguettes and longer things if necessary. Upgrade here!

Mixer: (Image Source)

I had wanted a new hand mixer for years ever since I got banana bread dough stuck in our mixer in 2008. It had been clunking around in there ever since and I couldn’t get it out! Gross! Yep. When we finally replaced this a few weeks into the diet, I made my first dessert which were vegan, gluten-free blondies.

Deep Fryer: (Image Source)

We still haven’t replaced the fryer. Kay thinks it should be OK, but we used it for french fries, donuts, etc… and I don’t trust it. It cannot be cleaned well enough to be gluten free. I will get a new one at some point so I can make my own gluten-free donuts and fries, but it’s not at the top of my priorities.

Blender: (Image Source)

We also still need to replace the blender because I used it for making waffle batter from time to time. For now, we are making do with the Braun multiquick, but it’s not great as blender. I tried making margaritas in it a couple weeks ago and it sprayed a huge mess even with the lid held down with one hand. It’s better for slicing onions, making pesto, gazpacho, etc.

Things I’m thinking about:

Dehydrator: (Image Source)

When I started making my own gluten-free, oat-free muesli, I thought about getting a dehydrator because I could also use it to make dried fruit, fruit leather, beef jerky, etc. I’m not sure it’s worth it though. I mean, dried fruit is really easy to buy here… maybe it has too many chemicals on it… and we don’t eat beef jerky thaat often. This seems like an unnecessary splurge.

 Stand Mixer: (Image Source)

We almost bought a basic Kitchenaid mixer last year when we moved in. I saw one for 350CHF or so, which was not a bad price, but I wasn’t totally sure about it so I waited. Now I am glad I did! I would be pissed if I had to replace a stand mixer due to gluten. Now we are thinking of getting this Kenwood Cooking Chef that my in-laws rave about because it would be like a second slow cooker with some things and the Kenwoods seem to have a slight edge over Kitchenaid.

 Grain Mill: (Image Source)

One of the first things I thought about doing when I went gluten-free was making my own flour, because that shit is expensive here! But now I have a stash of all sorts of store-bought flours and I’m not sure how much use I’d really get out of a grain mill. If anything, we are thinking more of getting a grain attachment for another machine like the stand mixer.

Tortilla Press: (Image Source)To be honest, I tried to buy one of these at the Mexican grocery in Zürich already and they didn’t sell it to me because it didn’t have all the parts with it. After rolling out many tortillas at home, I’m pretty sure that I will be buying one of these at some point. I would like to make a bunch of them ahead of time and keep some on stock in the freezer for last-minute Mexican meals.

 

Vitamix: (Image Source)

 

Oh man. This is a splurge in the US, but it’s freaking expensive in Switzerland. The list price is like 800CHF, which is $886 or so. And, I mean… I know that it also can cook soups and stuff like the Kenwood Cooking Chef and it can support a grain mill of some kind as well, but it just seems like a lot for a blender. If I would need to buy this and a stand mixer to make doughs, I think that’s too much. Maybe if I win the lottery!

Refrigerator/Freezer: (Image Source)

I have wanted an extra fridge ever since we moved from Winterthur to our Zürich flat with almost no freezer. We didn’t get one there because Kay thought we’d moved out of the country within a year, instead of staying three years + in that flat. Now we have a larger fridge and freezer in the flat, but because I’d like to store flours in the fridge and freeze extra goodies so we can do more spontaneous/lazy meals, it would be very helpful to have an extra fridge freezer.

We don’t have a ton of room, but I’d like to see if I could squeeze one in the pantry in the hallway. I’ve mostly convinced Kay that this would be a good idea for us, but we haven’t pulled the trigger yet because we’re in the middle of paying for our built-in wardrobes finally.

Well, that’s quite a list, and quite expensive when you add up the high ticket items. Would you add anything else to our list if you were going gluten-free?