Small Space Cooking: Why We Put Away Our Stock Pot

For the last several months my husband and I have only been using items in our kitchen that pull some serious double duty while we undergo renovations. Our shelf and storage space is extra short so we've even pared away items that we would have previously thought we couldn't do without. For instance, that's no stock pot in the photo above it's an...

...Old-fashioned popcorn popper!

We love our popcorn popper (plus the bacon fat popcorn it provides us... yum!) and although space is small, we'd rather have it on hand than our large stock pot. It works just the same and we've been able to keep our usual large pot in storage. We've boiled water, mashed potatoes, made soup and more and of course — made popcorn!

For those that aren't under ridiculously extreme kitchen renovations, the holidays are upon us and this is a great way to put another pot to use in your house. If you have cider boiling away in one and need a spare to drop some pasta into, don't forget that other items might be able to do the trick!

Have you used an item for a purpose other than what it's intended for and ended up liking it more than "the right tool for the job?" Let us know in the comments below!

(Image: Sarah Rae Trover, Amazon)

Comments (11)

That's pretty funny. Why not, right? I have all these things like a griddle pan, etc, and always seem to use the same one nonstick frying pan and nonstick pasta pot. For everything. Small kitchen :)

My Fiance and I each brought a fondue pot to the apartment. He used his as a regular small cooking pot and I loved it so much mine got the same use. Now just the warming plates sit in the back of the cupboard for the 10 times a year we use them and the pots get daily use.

Closest I can think of is I don't have a steamer or basket- I just use a mesh strainer. I have those around and can rest it above a pot of boiling potatoes/ pasta/ etc with veggies tossed inside and in a few minutes my veggies are perfectly steamed and the strainer just needs a quick run under the sink to clean. I use the same strainers to fish food out of oil when frying too. Sometimes to get pasta out of water too. Mesh strainers: super multipurpose tool! ha!

Mesh strainers: super multipurpose tool! ha!

I once used a small mesh strainer and a butternut squash in place of a food mill.

It was....effective. But very very messy.

I just use my 5-qt. Dutch oven for all my large-pot cooking needs.

Me too, Emily G. Stockpot, popcorn, casseroles, pot roast, and on and on and on...

or you could just make popcorn in a pot...

@katepk: That's exactly what I was thinking. I have a mid-size pot that's part of a set that I inherited from my mother. It's 40 years old and I use it for soup, mashed potatoes, and anything else I can think of, including super awesome popcorn.

I've used champagne flutes and the larger end of a pastry tip as cookie cutters (pictures here: http://batterlicker.com/2010/09/samoas/), and they worked well. No one eating those samoas at my friend's wedding could tell the difference. ;)

I use my rice cooker for everything (and my kitchen is so small it sits on the floor at the end of the galley). I use it to cook vegetables, beans, rice (!), quinoa, dumplings, and it even played a part in a recent chocolate chiffon cake.

I agree with katepk--what about making popcorn in a pot? Hooray for banishing unitaskers from your kitchen, but this might be one you should retire.

Particularly because I'd be careful about cooking more than popcorn in that thing. It's usually just cheap aluminum and the leaching can be harmful to your health. Those poppers probably aren't meant for constant use like what you propose.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/ask_treehugger_16.php

I've switched out even cooking with nonstick pans because of the potential harms.

Sooooo, I think get rid of popper and replace with a good pot of similar size. I make delicious popcorn in mine!