Sharpen. A few weeks ago, I took my kitchen knives in to be sharpened by the pros at A Southern Season. What a difference! I'm retesting and timing the recipes for my upcoming book, Wildly Affordable Organic, so I know that I'm saving minutes with chop-heavy recipes like Red Bean Chili. My hands are less tired after a big cooking session too. Sharpening three knives cost a little over $12. They are literally as sharp as new. But even with steep online discounts, a new set of knives would have cost about $200. My go-to knives are J.A. Henckels Twin Four Stars: the 3" paring knife and the 6" and 8" chef's knives. Savings: $188.
Repair. I resurrected my bread machine by getting a new paddle for it on eBay. I found the paddle plus a backup gasket for $16. The Zojirushi I've been admiring in the King Arthur Flour catalog costs $239 plus shipping. I just use the bread machine for bread and pizza dough that requires kneading, so my old Dak Auto-Bakery will keep doing the job just fine. (Don't have a bread machine? Use my Whisk Bread recipes to make great bread and pizza dough without kneading or a machine.) Savings: $223.
Put eBay to work. Now I'm on a repair tear. I spent my collected Sears Rewards on a new Cuisinart food processor the other day, but took it back after watching the instructional video. My 20-year-old Braun Multipractic 280 machine has more options and seems easier to use! My small grating blade came apart after years of making pimento cheese and the housing for the steel blade is beginning to crack, but other than that, it works like a champ. Parts are hard to find, but eBay is now sending me a note. I'm sure I'll be able to replace those for less than the $161 for the new machine. Savings: over $100.
What are your techniques for getting the best value out of your kitchen equipment?
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