Welcome to Part 2 in our 3-part series of favorite RV kitchen gadgets. In Part 1, we talked about the favorite small appliances our readers like to carry along in their RVs. And next week we will turn our attention to odd or unusual RV kitchen gadgets. But this time we look at the essential low-tech RV kitchen gadgets you recommended.
These are the tools you will turn to when traveling or boondocking as they require no power.
Great coffee even when boondocking
Not surprisingly, a lot of our readers’ favorite low-tech gadgets centered on America’s favorite beverage: coffee.
- Pour-over drip coffee makers (Aeropress was the brand of choice)
- Moka pot (my personal favorite)
- French press
- Coffee percolators
Can’t live without cast iron
Many of our survey answers cited cast iron cookware as an absolute essential in an RV kitchen. Sometimes it was a Dutch oven, which has so many uses. But others said they could not live without a good cast iron skillet.
I could not agree more. My cast iron skillet is absolutely critical in my RV kitchen and I use it for nearly everything. It cooks evenly, sears exceptionally, and can go from stovetop to oven. You can even use it over a campfire!
Not only that, it’s easy to clean and cast iron lasts virtually forever. Your great, great, great grandchildren will still be using your cast iron long after you are gone!
Knives out!
Decent knives were another popular answer to what is essential in a low-tech RV kitchen. In fact, some people said a decent knife is about all they need to prepare meals on the road.
Einar H. adds:
“I am a retired chef, well, at least from cooking for a living. The one thing that I always bring with me is my set of chef’s knives. Cooking for a living you always have and bring your knives with you. They were, and are, the tools of my trade. “
As a subset of knives, several people recommended kitchen scissors, which are indeed handy for a multitude of uses. And they pack small and don’t weigh much.
Low-tech RV stove improvements
Not surprisingly, many of you are less than thrilled with your RV’s stove, claiming it heats unevenly and tends to scorch food. The other complaint we heard a lot was about the small size of the cooking area.
But you had creative solutions for these problems.
When it comes to heat, many people recommended a stovetop heat diffuser, something I confess I had never heard of.
Sandy R. explains:
“I love my stovetop heat diffuser and I rarely burn food anymore or have the hot spots that I had prior to using it. “
When it came to the size of the cooking area, a number of people said their favorite low-tech RV kitchen gadget was a non-stick two-burner griddle that straddles both burners of the stove and gives you a much larger cooking surface.
Robin C. says:
“I can’t cook on the road without my non-stick two-burner griddle. From bacon and eggs and pancakes in the morning to hamburgers or grilled cheese sandwiches for supper, my griddle does the job and when the cooking is done it is easy to clean up and ready for the next meal. It even serves double duty as a spatter guard as it rides along standing up along the wall next to my stove!”
RV squeeze
A number of you cited a citrus squeezer as essential. I know it is for me. A citrus squeezer packs small but provides big flavor, not only for cooking when you need a squeeze of lemon, lime, or orange juice, but also for cocktails.
Leonard R. agrees:
“My favorite kitchen gadget is really low-tech, but my lemon/lime juice squeezer is a keeper!”
Cut ups
Cutting boards also got a number of votes in our poll. Especially popular and practical for RVers are lightweight plastic flexible cutting boards that take up virtually no space.
Rosanne D. explains:
“I have four cutting boards! They are bright primary colors and flat as a piece of paper. Despite being seven years old and used multiple times a day, they are still like new. Truly a space-saving gadget that works!”
Grand opening
We got a fair number of votes for strain-free jar openers. It seems like age and arthritic fingers are taking their toll on many of our readers. No worries, this handy low-tech gadget makes child’s play out of the toughest jar lids.
Walt and Mary S. share:
“At our increasing years and weakening fingers, our #1 favorite is our jumbo can opener. The crank handle is 4″ long and we can easily open any can in seconds. Our next favorite is our jar opener. Just tighten the three gripper jaws, twist and the lid is off! Without these favorites we wouldn’t even be able to use most of our other gadgets. Are we having fun getting old or what?”
Scrape it!
Lastly, Nathan R. loves his curved silicone spatulas. I have also found this item to be extremely helpful in my RV kitchen.
Nathan writes:
“I love my bowl-shaped rubber spatulas at every meal for cooking and cleanup as well. You can scrape a dish almost completely clean with one of these, saving tons of water when washing.”