Let's Talk About Kitchen Gadgets

[Winchester]

We were at the mall last night and I came across a Hasselback Potato Slicer gadget. Now, you know me, I love kitchen gadgets. And since I make a lot of hasselback potatoes, this seems to be something that I'll use. (Right now when I need to slice the potatoes for hasselbacks, I slice a thin layer from the bottom to keep it level, then nestle the potato between two Chinese chopsticks and slice down to the chopsticks; that way I don't slice all the way through the potato. It works for the half, but sometimes, the chopsticks move out when I'm slicing and then I go all the way through the potato....not good.) So I'm going to do hasselbacks tonight to go with Rick's hamburgers. Will let you know if it works out or if it was a waste of $11 (Don't laugh; this thing was on sale for $11; the actual price? $30! Ridiculous and no way would I have paid that much!)

Do you have any interesting (or not-so-interesting) kitchen gadgets? What's your go-to gadget or utensil? What was a complete waste of money?

My go-to gadget in our kitchen is a really neat colander. It belonged to my MIL and, honestly, it's the best thing I've seen. I probably use it several times a week. It's a colander, but it has a long handle and it looks like a saucepan. It's very light-weight, made of metal, and I can just pick it up and flop it into the sink to drain pasta or I can use it in a Dutch oven (very carefully). I don't know, I think it's great. It's very old and I'd never put it into the dishwasher, but it's easy to wash and dry by hand.

 

[Mystikal kitten]

I didn't buy any of the kitchen gadgets in my house but I absolutely love the "Breakfast Express". It can make waffles and omelettes/pancakes at the same time.
Another one of my favorites is a cast iron (I think) grill plate even though it's not really a kitchen gadget that I just put over two burners. Out of all the kitchen gadgets that I have access to those are my favorite.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I love my apple bakers. They are little round dishes with a prong in the middle. Then I take that gadget that cores the apple and take out the core. I stick the apples onto the prongs, then pack the middle of the apple with butter, brown sugar, raisins, whatever. It makes a wonderful dessert with vanilla ice cream. The apple corer was not very expensive, under $10. I bought the apple bakers off E-bay and they were a little more pricey, but under $20 for 4.

So with the help of these two gadget, I make the baked apples and everyone I have served them to loves them.

 

[Freedom]

Winchester would love to see a pic of that colander!

 

[Winchester]

Sure....here you go. I love this thing. Note the lip on the end so that you can hook it on to a large pan on the stove, if you want. I use it so often for lots of tasks.

 

[Freedom]

Hey that DOES look handy! Appreciate you taking the time. I'm going to keep that in mind as I wander yard and estate sales, ebay and such. Thanks!

Edit to ask: would you put that in a pot and cook the pasta IN it, so you just lift to drain, rather than tipping the heavy pot to get the pasta into the colander in the sink? Seems like a possibility, unless I am missing something.

 

[AbbysMom]

I use my spiralizer all the time. I love my garlic zoom -


I like my herb scissors, but they are a pain to clean. I see the new versions come with something to clean it -


I like my avocado slicer -

 

[neely]

I bought this particular knife over the weekend. It's made by Cutco and we have other knives made by them that we absolutely love. I actually went to buy another paring knife that DH and I always fight over. While there 2 older women told me about this knife and said they use it for everything, e.g. cheese, vegetables, etc. They were a better rep. than the actual sales person. Here's the knife I bought:
Traditional Cheese Knife | Cheese Knives by Cutco

 

[Mother Dragon]

I have drawers full of gadgets and gilhickeys, many of which are very useful. OXXO/GoodGrips makes a wonderful egg slicer that will finely dice a cooked egg without it having to be picked up and turned. My garlic press with the self-cleaner attached is always in use. Then there are the instant-read, infra-red, and remote thermometers. Spiders (long-handled Asian style skimmers). My mother's old wire cake tester. My husband knows I'll have a purple fit tizzy if it's not exactly where it's supposed to be. My OXO/GoodGrips scale with the pull-out display.

On the other hand, there have been some failures and even some spectacular failures. Among the first were a pair of tiny skillets supposed to be just egg-sized. Every burner was too big and there is no way to flip the eggs. The same with a mini-cast iron skillet the size of sandwich bread. GoodGrips measuring cups that can only be read from the top. Most microwave cookware. The Black & Decker electric jar opener that only slipped around the jar lid.

I passed on the mushroom scrubber and the multiple cherry tomato or cherry slicer where you carefully line them all up and make one swoop with the knife. Avocado and banana keepers that fit only a certain size avocado or banana (who ever has half a banana left anyway?)

My worst purchase in memory was The Eggstractor, which was supposed to peel a hard boiled egg instantly. The gadget had a platform on which you balanced the cooked egg. You firmly pressed down on the bellows over the platform and the perfectly-peeled egg shot out the bottom. Peeling eggs is a chore and an exercise in frustration, so this seemed an ideal solution. That company lied.

I placed the first egg on the platform and pressed down. The intact egg went right through. I tried pressing harder. I got a completely smashed mixture of egg and shell. The next try sent the whole egg flying through, bouncing off the table and grazing a snoozing cat, which took off in terror. I was determined to make the machine work. I got one egg to go through peeled. However it was so pockmarked it looked like a lunar landscape. The final try yielded a peeled bottom half with the shell embedded deeply into the top half. I sold the evil monster at a garage sale.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

for me, it's my silicone spatulas. i use them almost daily. i use 'em to scrape out the last bits of stuff (ie, mayo, peanut butter, and etc) out of jars, scrape the last bits of batter out of mixing bowls, and much more! just last week i used one to stir the carob chips and butter i was melting together over low heat on the stove. i also absolutely love (and use very often) my Progressive brand oval-shaped scraper -- i'm pretty sure it's not made anymore, but i bought two when our wegman's had them on clearance years ago.

 

[Winchester]

Hey that DOES look handy! Appreciate you taking the time. I'm going to keep that in mind as I wander yard and estate sales, ebay and such. Thanks!

Edit to ask: would you put that in a pot and cook the pasta IN it, so you just lift to drain, rather than tipping the heavy pot to get the pasta into the colander in the sink? Seems like a possibility, unless I am missing something.

You know, I've not done that; I guess it's because it's really old and I don't want to do anything to mess up the finish, even though it looks like just a standard aluminum finish by sticking it in boiling water. I don't put it in the dishwasher either, for the same reason.

It's weird because when we were going through Rick's mother's kitchen items, I set aside a bunch of stuff that I thought I would use or that our son and DIL would use. First choice always went to Rick's sister as she is a daughter and I'm just a DIL. I was a little surprised that she didn't take the colander, but I was glad she didn't. Rick's mom has said several times that she was glad I took what I did because she knows I'll use the things.

I use my spiralizer all the time. I love my garlic zoom -

I like my herb scissors, but they are a pain to clean. I see the new versions come with something to clean it -

I like my avocado slicer -

I really like my spiralizer; it's just the neatest thing. To be honest, I didn't think I'd use it as much as I do!

I bought this particular knife over the weekend. It's made by Cutco and we have other knives made by them that we absolutely love. I actually went to buy another paring knife that DH and I always fight over. While there 2 older women told me about this knife and said they use it for everything, e.g. cheese, vegetables, etc. They were a better rep. than the actual sales person. Here's the knife I bought:
Traditional Cheese Knife | Cheese Knives by Cutco

I really like that knife! My mother always swore by Cutco knives. Cutco and Rada, too. I have a lot of Rada paring knives, a butcher knife, and a chopping knife. They are always handy in the kitchen, that's for sure.

I don't have a lot in the way of spatulas anymore and I need to get some new ones. I do have many wooden spoons and they come in very handily when I need to stir something.

One thing that I forgot to mention that I use very often is my 10-cup Pyrex measuring bowl with a pouring spout. I heat water in it all the time for making iced tea, I use it to proof small batches of bread dough, I use it to melt butter and chocolate in the microwave. I use it to mix my sourdough feed for my starter. Mom gave me that bowl decades ago and it's a staple around here.

Oh! BTW, the Hasselback Potato Slicer works beautifully! It made beautiful hasselback potatoes yesterday and I am very pleased with it. No more trying to position a potato between chopsticks and hoping for the best. And the potatoes were delicious. Excellent purchase! If you like hasselbacks, but have trouble making uniform slices or slicing through the potato, I can recommend this gadget.

I just kitchen gadgets!

 

[AbbysMom]

Can a pan be a gadget? I just ordered two of these bouchon pans -

de Buyer Bouchon Mold

We've had bouchons from Bouchon Bakery and they are amazing. I want to try to replicate them.

 

[Winchester]

Nice! I can't wait to see what your bouchons look like!

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

My daughter just bought me this. It is a really nice pan. She says her friends cook with one of these. It can go on the stove top, on the grill, in the oven. I can't wait to try it. She thought I would like it because it is just the right size to cook for two. Does anyone else have this pan. I need recipes and ideas to try it.

Rockcrok® Everyday Pan

 

[Winchester]

Oh wow blueyedgirl5946 that looks like a really nice pan. I like that it is lightweight because it makes it easier to use on a glass-top surface. I wouldn't put it in the freezer though, even though they say you can. Dishwasher-safe...I like that, too. Please give us a review once you've used it! (I like some of Pampered Chef's products.)

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I know several people who LOVE their Rockcrocks! My Mom included. I don't have one.

I have a lot of kitchen gadgets and tools. Most of my favorites are Pampered Chef or OXO brand. One of my favorite is a slicer from Pampered Chef called "Close & Cut." It's nice for those fat chicken breasts that are hard to cook all the way through.

I also love their "Mix N Chop" for cooking ground beef or turkey for tacos and chili. It does a much better job breaking the pieces up.

 

[MeganLLB]

I generally do not like "unitaskers" but there are two that I do like. My apple slicer- it cores the apple and slices into pieces and you just press it down over the apple. Super quick and easy way to cut up an apple. And I also like my garlic press. I think it is faster than mincing garlic with a knife and it does a better job.

Oh and also my spiralizer. I like my zucchini noodles.

Oh and one more. My vintage pastry mixer that I inherited from my nana. Nice to mix pie dough with.

Ok so maybe I do have a lot of unitaskers.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

MoochNNoodles Can you give any suggestions for cooking in this pot since your mom has one?

 

[Winchester]

I generally do not like "unitaskers" but there are two that I do like. My apple slicer- it cores the apple and slices into pieces and you just press it down over the apple. Super quick and easy way to cut up an apple. And I also like my garlic press. I think it is faster than mincing garlic with a knife and it does a better job.

Oh and also my spiralizer. I like my zucchini noodles.

Oh and one more. My vintage pastry mixer that I inherited from my nana. Nice to mix pie dough with.

Ok so maybe I do have a lot of unitaskers.

Alton Brown (from Good Eats fame) always said that the only uni-tasker you should have in your kitchen is a fire extinguisher. Everything else should have several uses or you shouldn't have it. Cuts down on clutter. That being said, I definitely have a couple uni-taskers, too.

 

[MeganLLB]

Alton Brown (from Good Eats fame) always said that the only uni-tasker you should have in your kitchen is a fire extinguisher. Everything else should have several uses or you shouldn't have it. Cuts down on clutter. That being said, I definitely have a couple uni-taskers, too.

YES! I loved that show. And that's why I always said that (and I do have a fire extinguisher) but like you said, I do still have a few uni-taskers.