Do you really need that small kitchen appliance?

Despite being the resident writer for many small kitchen appliances Consumer tests, when it comes to my own kitchen, I keep it simple. I opt for a sharp knife for prepping vegetables, and an old-fashioned wooden spoon and mixing bowl for baking.

I don’t own a food processor, benchtop mixer or benchtop blender. Although, I can’t live without my smaller food prep appliances. A stick blender does the trick for whipping up smoothies and blending soup, and I’ve now replaced my hand beater with an electric hand mixer for whipping cream.

It’s a similar story for my cooking appliances. I have a basic slow cooker (perfect for those busy winter weeks) and a standard microwave with no bells and whistles. I also don’t have an air fryer (shock horror!) – preferring to use the oven instead.

My lack of storage space is one reason for my reluctance to buy bulky appliances. Many of these appliances are also fiddly to clean due to their large size and hard-to-reach areas.

If you need to buy new kitchen appliances, you can get more bang for your buck and maximise your kitchen real estate by choosing models that do multiple tasks. But check what appliances you already own and what accessories they come with. Like me, you might find you don’t need that small appliance at all!

BUYING TIP: You’ll tend to pay more for appliances with more attachments, so if you’re not going to use the additional attachments, it’s not worth paying extra for them.

Food prep made easy

A blender for smoothies, a mixer for making cakes, and a food processor for chopping veges. But hang on – your blender can prep the veges, your mixer might have a food processor attachment, and some processors can make pastry dough. So, your food prep appliances might be more versatile than you think.

Food processor

A food processor is the jack of all trades in your kitchen – it can chop, slice, grate and puree. Food processors are also good at emulsifying mayonnaise and making pastry dough.

You can also get mini food processors. Less versatile than a full-sized processor, these compact models are good for quick prep jobs like chopping herbs or nuts, or emulsifying mayonnaise. They’re simple to use, easy to clean and don’t take up much cupboard space. However, some models only have a maximum processing time of up to 1 minute.

Do you need it?

If you’re often cooking for a crowd or like to meal prep in bulk, a food processor can make light work of it. It can also be useful if you like to cook from scratch but want to save time.

Most models come with a range of accessories for different food prep jobs like slicing and grating. But food processors aren’t suitable for blending smoothies (unless they come with a separate blender attachment).

You probably don’t need a food processor if you already own a good set of knives, mortar and pestle, grinder and box grater.

Benchtop mixer

A benchtop mixer (also called a stand mixer) has a large mixing bowl and its main functions are mixing, blending and whisking.

Do you need it?

If you’re a keen and frequent baker, a benchtop mixer can be a good investment. It makes hands-free work of mixing cake batter, kneading dough and beating egg whites. It’s also handy if you cook in large batches, depending on the capacity of the mixing bowl.

Benchtop mixers can’t blend, chop or puree so have limited functionality unless you buy additional attachments.

Benchtop mixers also take up a lot of bench or cupboard space, so if you’re only an occasional baker, we think you can make do with a wooden spoon, mixing bowl and some elbow grease.

What about a hand mixer?

Light, portable and cheaper than a bench model, a hand mixer is good for small jobs like whipping cream. You’ll get the job done faster than by hand, and you can use any sized bowl. But you’ll struggle with heavier jobs such as mixing dense cake batter.

Like their name suggests, these aren’t hands-free (unless they come with a stand) and can be tiring to hold.

Benchtop blender

A benchtop blender is best for liquid tasks, such as making soups and smoothies. Most can also crush ice and chop veges – although they can’t slice or whisk.

Super blenders (or high-performance blenders) are more versatile. They can grind nuts and seeds into nut butter and make sorbet from frozen fruit. Some can knead dough. Super blenders spin so fast that they can blend raw ingredients into a hot soup in minutes using blade friction.

Do you need it?

Consider what you’ll use your blender for. Super blenders are pricey, so if you’re only going to use your blender for pureeing soft food and making smoothies, a regular benchtop blender (or stick model) may be all you need.

If you have a food processor or mixer with a blender attachment, you don’t need a separate blender.

What about a stick blender?

A stick or hand blender may do the trick if you’re mainly pureeing soft foods or making smoothies. You can put a stick blender directly into your pot and puree the cooked ingredients – perfect for homemade baby food. If you go for a model with a processing attachment you can also chop, grind and process hard foods – great for making curry pastes and chopping nuts.

Cooking up a storm

Small cooking appliances often have a range of functions, so you might find that one versatile option does the job of several appliances.

Air fryer

An air fryer is like a mini benchtop oven that bakes food by circulating hot air. Air fryers either have a rotating basket, a paddle to stir the food while it’s cooking, or a drawer. With the latter, you have to pull the drawer out and shake the food.

Do you need it?

Convenience is one of the biggest advantages of this popular appliance. Air fryers have quick pre-heat times compared with ovens. That makes them great for cooking frozen packaged foods like chicken nuggets and oven fries, which is handy if you cook dinner for the kids separately or have older children who can make their own snacks. Air fryers are also great for reheating food and, unlike microwaving food, won’t make your leftovers soggy.

An air fryer may also be useful if you’re a single person or couple and don’t need to cook a larger family meal, although there are bigger models with dual baskets that can cook larger meals.

So, convenience aside, am I missing out on this must-have appliance? Our air fryer expert, Bryan Wall, says probably not. If you already have an oven, cooktop and grill, you probably don’t need one.

Bryan said if you’re in the market for an air fryer, consider a multi-cooker that can function as an air fryer too. Our latest batch of convection microwave ovens also have an air fryer function, although some models are limited in what they can cook in this mode. If you are in the market for a new microwave, this option might be worth considering.

Multi-cooker

As the name suggests, a multi-cooker does several cooking tasks. The ones we’ve tested can slow and pressure cook, and most have dedicated settings for rice, steaming and searing, as well as niche functions like yoghurt making and sous vide cooking. Some have an air fryer function too.

Do you need it?

If you’re needing to free up space in your kitchen, a multi-cooker could be the solution you’re looking for.

What to consider when buying a multi-cooker

Before you shell out on the latest cooking gizmo with numerous functions, here are some things to consider.

1. How many people are you cooking for? Are you a single or two-person household? Some cookers aren’t big enough to cook for a crowd.
2. How big is your kitchen? You might save on space by replacing multiple appliances, but some of these cookers are large. Will it live on your bench or be stored away in a cupboard?
3. How do you like to cook? If you are only going to slow cook, a basic slow cooker without the extra functions may fit the bill. If you prefer crispy food, consider an air fryer. Generally, the more features a product has, the pricier it will be.
4. What’s in your cupboard? If you already have a rice cooker, a slow cooker, a pressure cooker and an air fryer you’re happy with (and have room for), then you don’t need a multi-cooker.