I can see why some of the items are on the list. I have had three rice cookers, all three given to me by my dad, and I have rarely used them. I have a bread machine that I use constantly for pizza dough. I’ve only made bread in it a few times and one time I made a huge batch of dough for cinnamon rolls (I was a hit with the neighborhood kids), but for pizza dough, it’s a real time saver.

Also on that list – books. Books?  I love books. I have a large collection of cookbooks and while I do look things up on the internet, I love to sit down with my cookbooks and find new dishes. I’m never going to be a kindle person, because I love holding the book in my hands, looking at the glossy photos, making notes on the pages, looking at the books lined up neatly on the shelf. The idea that books might grow obsolete just does not make sense to me. It’s heresy. Honestly, it makes my stomach hurt a little.

Ice cream makers are lumped with bread machines, they don’t even get their own place on the list, the author finds them that worthless. I don’t have an ice cream maker now, but I did at one time and we would use it a couple of times a month. It wasn’t the most cost effective appliance, but the kids loved it and some things you do just because they are fun. The same goes for the Polaroid camera. Some things in life are not about ease, they are about the process.

When I was a kid, my grandma had an old school ice cream maker that required rock salt and an incredible amount of noise. I can remember the machine going at family reunions and the ice cream took forever in coming, but the taste of that fresh vanilla or strawberry desert was better than anything else I had ever tasted.

When I think about Grandma’s machine, the whole family reunion experience is there – in and out the back door with the cousins, the warm sun, smelling something on Grandpa’s barbeque, swimming in the pool, lots of hugs and kisses. Not everything is about fast, easy, and convenient. Slow down. Pull that useless ice cream maker off the shelf and make something cold and yummy with the kids.

Image credit: Directron.com

Post from: Blisstree

Don’t Throw Out the Ice Cream Maker