What don't you have on your kitchen counter/bench?

[Zilla]

People always comment that I don't have a coffee machine or dish rack.  I drink coffee from a press or percolator in which both go in the "coffee" cabinet.  And I don't use a dish rack preferring the dishwasher OR hand drying and putting it away instantly. 


What don't you have that is "common" in most kitchens?

[sunnygirl]

I don't have anything coffee-related at all because I don't drink it, and none of my friends do either. I do have an antique coffee machine in my loft.

[lowspark]

I don't have either of those things either. I don't drink coffee and when I handwash the few dishes that can't go in the dishwasher, they get dried and put away immediately.

But no one's ever commented on those things being absent. Maybe it's because I don't actually have anything on my counters. Well, except a few decorative items in unused corners. All my small appliances are in an appliance garage so behind the closed door while still conveniently located for easy use.

Other than that, the only time anything is on the counter is if I'm preping/cooking.

[cwm]

I don't have a microwave, coffee maker, or toaster/toaster oven. People think it's weird, but I'm just poor. And I wouldn't use it much anyway.

[Dindrane]

I don't have a knife block. Mine is in a drawer instead (and I love it that way).

[Library Dragon]

I don't have and never owned an electric can opener.  Sometimes people look at the hand held opener with puzzlement.

[jalutaja]

I don't have and never owned an electric can opener.  Sometimes people look at the hand held opener with puzzlement.

What is an electric can opener? I have never seen one. Is it an American specialty?

[lowspark]

Here's a typical one.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CCO-50BKN-Deluxe-Electric-Opener/dp/B001C2F5NW/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1378988709&sr=1-5&keywords=best+electric+can+opener

[Green Bean]

What's an appliance garage? Is that like a pantry? We have a corner pantry that is half food, half appliances.

As for the topic of this thread... Not much! But there is no coffee maker. I don't like the smell, so DH makes his coffee in the basement. It's much nicer than it sounds as we finished it a few years back.

[Dindrane]

This is an appliance garage:


It's basically a cabinet that goes all the way down to the kitchen counter (often with outlets inside) and a door that often opens up and away. You store your appliances inside of it, but when you open the door, you can just pull them forward to use them, and then slide them right back in when you're done. It's kind of the same idea of storing your car in a regular garage.

The difference between that and a pantry is that you don't have to pick them up and move them to use the appliances, because they are already stored on the counter. It's basically a way to have your appliances always out on the counter without having them be visible on the counter.

[katycoo]

I have those - one for the micowave and one for the toaster and kettle.  i've not heard that term before though.

Noone really has electric can openers in Australia.  My mother is the only person I know who's had one adni'm pretty sure she brought it with her when we moved back from the states.  hers was wall mounted.

[katycoo]

Other than that, I pretty much have everything on my counter: Magic bullet base, veggie steamer, crock pot, knife block. spice rack, butter dish, salt and pepper grinders.

How people are different.  I have none of that except the knife block on my bench.

[NestHolder]

I have a kettle instead of a coffee maker - we Brits are often philistines who drink instant coffee if we drink it at all - and no electric can-opener or food processor. 

I do have—and you may all gasp in envy at this—a temperature controlled butter dish.

[Margo]

I'm a Brit, and I have a coffee maker :-) I don't have an electric can opener although they are available - my grandmother had one as she found it easier than a hand held one, due to the arthritis in her hands.

I have my coffee maker, toaster, microwave and kettle on the counter. Also a big jar with all my wooden spoons ans spatulas in it. And a bowl of eggs, when I have eggs.

I don't own a knife block, or a crock pot.

[nutraxfornerves]

I have one of these:


It's a combination electric can opener, electric jar opener, and plain old bottle opener. It sounds like a useless bit of overkill, but actually it's wonderful. I have arthritis and my hands are very weak. It's hard & sometimes painful to use an electric can opener or to try to open a jar. Mr. Nutrax had limited use of is left hand, so opening jars was difficult. This appliance solved those problems. Apparently it didn't solve problems for enough people, as it's no longer made. although you can still find stand-alone electric jar openers.

I don't have a coffee pot, because I don't drink coffee. I do have jars full of the utensils I use most right next ot the stove. A knife block. My toaster also stays out. I have large tins of flour & sugar on the counter as well, mainly because they don't fit into any cupboard. (They are stainless steel tins given me by a doctor who got them when her hospital was discarding them. They prominently labeled "circumcision sheets.") The tea kettle lives on the stove.

The mixer, blender, food processor, and other appliances live inside cabinets.