If you’ve been living the homestead life, you’re probably not a fan of gizmos, doodads and hi-tech thingamajigs. Homesteading is all about living the simple life and we’re not talking about the defunct Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie TV show that’s anything but simple. But like these two multimillionaire celebrities, you could use some technological advances in your life, particularly among your homestead kitchen essentials. And what perfect time to reward yourself with such kitchen companions than the coming holiday season?
Food Dehydrator
Food preservation is a major part of homesteading, as well as prepping. The process of dehydration, meanwhile, is one of the ways to preserve food.
Back in the day, the main method of food preservation was by drying the meat under the sun. This is still an effective technique. In fact, this skill will be vital if the electric grid falls after some apocalyptic event or terrorist attack. But since its Christmas and you want to give yourself a present, you may want to consider getting a food dehydrator.
The Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator from Nesco is currently at a discounted price of $54. It originally retails for $89 so you save $35 if you get this homestead kitchen essential for Christmas. Some of its impressive features include 600 watts of drying power, an adjustable thermostat, a top mounted fan, an opaque Vita-Save exterior, and Nesco’s own Converga-Flow drying system.
The Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator is a bit n the expensive side at around $300 for the 9-tray version. What’s great about this is that you dry more food at the same time. It also comes with adjustable thermostat, which allows it to dry meat to make jerky and keep the enzymes in fruits and veggies. The Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator also features a built-in power switch, 26-hour timer, a flexible poly-screen tray insert, a 7-inch fan, and 600 watts of drying power.
Pressure Canner
Aside from drying, you can also preserve different kinds of food by canning them. It is considered the safest method by the United States Department of Agriculture as long as you do things the right way. That’s enough reason why you should get any one of these pressure canners for Christmas.
These homestead kitchen essentials are used for heating food packed inside glass jars. Pressure canners are mainly used for alkaline foods, or those with low acidity. It is not enough for these kinds of foods to undergo boiling water bath. Botulism spores can still survive boiling temperature even if the bacteria are killed. In a pressure canner, the temperature is higher than boiling water, which effectively kills the botulism spores.
The Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker is made of heavy-gauge aluminium that is warp-resistant. It utilizes a pressure dial gauge that registers all the ranges of processing pressures automatically.
Stock Pot
If a pressure canner is too much for your budget, you can opt for a stock pot instead. However, as mentioned above, stock pots are limited with regards to preserving food. Nevertheless, stock pots are homestead kitchen essential you get for yourself.
This 20-quart stock pot from Cook N Home is made of durable 18-10 stainless steel that’s made pretty with a mirror-polished finish. The encapsulated bottom features an aluminum disc that allows fast and even distribution of heat while the cover is made of tempered glass. The best part about the Cook N Home stock pot is the 25% discount. It is currently available for only $37.
Food Processor
Food processors are perhaps one of the most useful homestead kitchen essentials. It’s also pretty cheap right now. The Hamilton Beach food processor is now worth $50 after $10 was slashed from its regular price.
It features a 450 watt motor with 2 different speeds along with a pulse control. The sealed anti-leak bowls has a capacity of 12 cups while the stainless steel blades can slice, shred or puree different kinds of ingredients.
Blender
Some people prefer not to use the food processor to make their smoothies. If you’re one of them, you probably have your own blender.
If you have yet to get one, the sleek Ninja Professional Countertop Blender is a good start. It can crush ice pretty fast thanks to its 6-lade assembly. At $68 right now, you get a good deal on this $90 blender.
Coffee Grinder
Who here doesn’t believe coffee is essential? Obviously, those of you with their hands raised belong to the minority. Most human beings depend on coffee to get their day going. They need coffee to perk them up or to give them the necessary boost to go on with whatever they’re doing.
A hot cup of coffee would do wonders if you’re going to slave in the kitchen all day. You can’t just have any coffee. What you need is freshly ground and freshly brewed coffee. This makes coffee grinders among the homestead kitchen essentials you should think about getting for yourself.
Cuisinart’s Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill is a popular choice. Its removable grind chamber can make coffee ground equivalent to up to 32 cups. It also has a removable bean hopper, an electric timer, grind selector and a 4 to 18 cup slide dial. This coffee grinder will look great in your homestead kitchen and it only costs around $38 right now. You save $52 if you get this as your Christmas gift.
After making your coffee grounds, of course you have to brew them. The stovetop coffee maker from Bialetti, at $35 each, will brew 6 cups of coffee in just under 5 minutes. Perfect for days when you badly need your caffeine fix.
Cast Iron Pans
If you can’t afford any of the gizmos and other kitchen items listed about, you don’t have to feel sorry about yourself. You can still reward yourself with other homestead kitchen essentials that are right around your alley, and by that, we mean your budget.
Take cast iron pans, for example. Every kitchen should have one. If you don’t then this is the perfect opportunity to get your own. Cast irons are a lot safer than cooking in pans coated in Teflon, which has been revealed to be toxic.
Lodge makes some mean iron cast kitchen essentials. Its 10.25-inch cast iron skillet sells for almost $15 (down from $26) while the 14-inch cast iron wok is available for a shade under $50 after a whopping 41% discount from its regular price of $85.
Expand your knowledge on homesteading by visiting The Gentleman Pirate. You should also check out Homesteading for Preppers by Dan F. Sullivan to know more about how you can prepare for emergencies and other scenarios while living in the homestead.
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Often, we are able to negotiate special discounts and/or bonuses, which we will pass on to you via our links. We often get short notice on sale items available for 24-48 hours as we will pass these savings onto you.
