Occasionally, I stumble upon a post that claims to tell me what I like or don’t like. Or what I should or shouldn’t do. I usually just wrinkle my brow in disapproval, huff, and press on. But a recent one on ‘useless’ kitchen gadgets got my dander up!
It’s a real thing! A toaster-like Hot Dog Maker. Classic example
of a single-purpose gadget that nobody ever needed…
SO… The post in question was headlined: ‘Kitchen Gadgets We Wish We’d Never Bought’. I thought: “Here we go, again!” Another post by some Gen Xer who thinks they know what I like. In this case, what I use in my kitchen. Yes, I went in with literary malice a forethought.
Lemme at ‘er!
And sure enough, I found several items on her list that I disagreed with. A couple of them, items I use every day!
Author Jessica Morris listed more than 40 items that she considers ‘useless utensils we can do with-out’. Some I CAN’T do without. Others I just like, and use when the task they’re designed for comes up.
Among the many…
I immediately tagged some of the listed utensils useless, in spite of my secret wish that Jessica was wrong about ALL of them.
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- Microwave egg poacher
- Electric knife sharpener
- Meat shredding claws
- Egg yolk separator
- Avocado keeper
- Soda infuser
- Herb scissors
- Electric carving knife
- Bacon press
- Home candy floss machine
- Carrot sharpener
- Pizza scissors
That left a lot of items in contention for ‘definitely’ or ‘possibly’ useful. But I quickly eliminated a whole class of ‘appliances’ – electrical gadgets designed to do only one thing, and do it perfectly. Which things like automatic egg boilers, breakfast sandwich makers, crepe makers, bread machines, and toaster-like Hot Dog makers usually don’t really do well at all.
Then I eliminated the electric carving knife and electric can opener. Nothing more need be said about those.
Some things I use all the time…
Like the melon baller. I’m just a prissy nutcase, you say? My melon baller has a perfectly sized baller on one end and a tomato/strawberry huller on the other. I use them all the time. My cheese trays always feature cubes and slabs and balls. Variety is the spice of Life.
I’ve always used a turkey baster to baste the holiday bird, as well as to siphon off excess fat from all my roasts. Lifting up the whole hot pan and trying to pour it off is just to dangerous.
I never considered a honey dipper a necessity – until I tried one at friend’s house. Now, I always have one on hand. Nothing better to wrangle liquid honey, even if it does take a bit of practice.
I use my garlic crusher all the time; the majority of the times I’m adding fresh garlic to a dish.
When I was in culinary school, we were taught to use a salad spinner to expedite the drying of fresh-ly washed greens. And we always wash our greens, don’t we? One job I had after graduation was at an institutional kitchen where we fed 400 people three times a day. They had a semi-built-in spinner that was 18 in / 45 cm across!
I actually have two pasta machines. One excels at rolling flat pasta; the other produces superior ex-trusions. I wouldn’t be without them!
You may be surprised to know I have a burger press. I love them for turning out clean, uniform pat-ties every time. I team my press with a 4 oz / 115 ml scoop to ensure total consistency. Makes portion-ing a breeze, and I can make three times as many patties with the press in the time it takes to make one by hand. The press is also indispensable for salmon and crab cakes, latkes, and other internat-ional favourites.
Sister Erin would be distraught if, one day, she went to make her famous ice cream and there was no ice cream churn attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
No serious cook – even one who owns a quality food processor – would be without classic mandolin slicer. It’s just too useful to do without. I wouldn’t make scalloped potatoes as often as I do without it. And I can shred a head of cabbage with mine in under 2 minutes.
Just on the edge of essential…
… But still useful, is my hard boiled egg slicer. Think of all the other things you can slice with it, in nice, consistent 1/8 in / thicknesses.
I love my CO2 gas-powered whipped cream maker… It’s a great conversation starter when I bring it to the table to serve folks their dessert right in front of them… A couple of spoons of brandied fruits topped with a now-white swirl… It’s really performance art!
And last, but not least…
I couldn’t do without my popcorn air popper. I never really liked stove-top popcorn popping. Too labour-intensive. And you never really know when the last kernel that’s going to pop has actually popped. I detest the flavour of microwave popcorn. But I love making ‘naked’ popcorn with my air popper and dressing it up as I see fit! It’s a lot healthier that way, too…
My take
Your choices for the ‘keep it’ list from Jessica’s ‘useless utensils’ rundown will almost certainly vary from mine. It depends on what you make and what you love in your kitchen.
But any serious cook will agree with me that not all the items on Jessica’s list are ‘useless’. Quite the contrary…
~ Maggie J.