Like every other RVer, I look for easier and/or quicker ways to do things in the kitchen. After all, who wants to spend time inside when there are trails to explore and amazing sights to see? Not me! I hope these tips and hacks for kitchen gadgets will help you get outside more often (and more quickly) too!
One kitchen gadget, many uses
The longer we RV, the more I realize the importance of judicial packing. Even the smallest item weighs something, right? So, when I discover that a kitchen tool can serve more than one purpose, I’m delighted! Here are some ideas for you to consider.
Vegetable peeler
- Butter toast. In addition to peeling veggies, I use our peeler for breakfast toast. We keep butter in our RV’s refrigerator so it’s always hard. I scrape the peeler over the top of the hardened stick of butter. That sliver of butter immediately goes on top of toast that’s hot from the toaster. I immediately slice another strip of butter and place it next to the first. The butter melts immediately and breakfast is on!
- Hull strawberries. Use the pointed end of the veggie peeler to remove the hull from strawberries.
- Peel an onion. Use the grater to remove the outside layers of an onion. And if you place the onion inside the RV freezer for ten minutes or so, you can chop or dice without any tears!
- Seed a chili. Cut the top off a jalapeño chili pepper. Then insert the vegetable peeler inside the pepper and work it around the inside. It will loosen the seeds for easy removal.
- Celery strings. Our grandchildren do not like eating celery—all because the “strings” get stuck in between their teeth. I use the veggie peeler to quickly remove the “strings” on the outside curve of celery stalks and the kids gobble them up.
- Slice cheese. We use the vegetable peeler to slice hard cheeses. Slices are uniform and perfect for snacks and sandwiches.
Egg slicer
- Slice fruit. Your egg slicer will make uniform slices of soft fruits like bananas, strawberries, and peeled kiwi. The resulting fruit slices are perfect as a topping for breakfast cereal, waffles, or just snacking.
- Mushroom. Use your egg slicer to make mushroom slices for fresh salads and pizza.
- Butter. Cut pats of cold butter with your egg slicer.
- Avocado. Cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit and use the egg slicer to make quick slices.
Kitchen tongs
- Citrus juicer. Cut the fruit in half. Then use the end of the tongs to squeeze juice from oranges, lemons, and limes.
- Dry kitchen gloves. Place the tongs upside down in your dish drainer. Put one kitchen glove on each end of the tongs to dry.
- Grease the grill. Use your tongs to hold a heavily greased paper towel. Rub the treated towel over the grill grates until well coated.
- Open bottles. Use the inside edge of metal tongs to hold and pop off bottle caps.
- Extend your reach. I store lightweight items on our highest RV kitchen cupboard shelves. The tongs help me retrieve these items easily.
- Hold meat. Ditch that fork! When cutting meat, hold it with your kitchen tongs. That way, you won’t pierce the meat and release those yummy juices.
Soup ladle
- Perfect pancakes. Use a soup ladle to measure and pour pancake batter. This trick ensures you get the same amount of batter each time, making pancakes with a consistent size and cooking time.
- Taco bowls. These are great! Grab your ladle and follow this recipe for perfect (and edible) taco bowls.
- Skim fat. Use your soup ladle to remove excess grease from soups. Put ice cubes into the ladle. Then run the ladle over the top of your soup. The grease will adhere to the outside of the cold ladle, removing it from the soup.
There you have it! Tips and hacks for using kitchen gadgets while RVing. Do you have additional tips? Please share them with me in the comments below.
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I am vertically challenged and use an old metal kitchen tongs to reach and open/close the bathroom vent. It fits perfectly on the rounded knob and I can turn it easily.
great ideas
I love these tips. You can use the upside down tongs in the dish drainer to dry ziplock storage bags so you can reuse them. I dated one bag and it lasted four years.
For us shorter people – I keep an extra set of kitchen tongs in the bathroom – they are great for turning the knob (open/closed) on your roof vents!
I hafta try the soup ladle/ice cube fat skimmer. Thanks.
Can’t reach the fantastic fan, use an ol’ fashioned style tong to reach and grab the knob. I also used a twist tie on the handle to make it ‘a semi-permanent installation.
This silicone microwave mat is another favorite of mine: https://tinyurl.com/3pj6rr32
Makes spills in the microwave easy to clean up, it’s a pot holder or trivet, use it to open a jar. I always know where to find it.
Can’t reach the fantastic fan? Use Kitchen tongs (the classic, ol’ fashion kind) to extend your reach. I also used a twist-tie on the handle to make it a ‘semi-permanent’ installation.