I was browsing my credit card rewards store, and oohing and ahhing at all the cool kitchen gadgets I could acquire. In the midst of my kitchen gadgetry lust, however, I noticed that there are an abundance of tools and gadgets that are very much uni-taskers. As much as a garlic press might make my life easier when I am mincing a bulb of garlic for a Thai chicken rub, something about my pragmatic sensibilities makes me cringe at the idea of getting something that only does one thing. Let’s take a look at ten of these items, all meant to solve our first-world problems.
1. The Melon Knife
Kuhn Rikon Melon Knife, $24.95
I’m of the camp that believes that one good knife is all you need, and maybe a bread knife, but that’s all. Half the knives in a knife set probably never get used anyway. The idea of buying a $24.95 knife just for a specific fruit befuddles me even further.
2. The Corn Cutter
Kernel Kutter Corn Cutter, $5.95
Again. These things probably get blunt very quickly and worse, can’t be sharpened. Single-use is right.
3. The Cherry Stoner
Leifheit Cherry Stoner, $29.99
I guess if you bake with cherries a lot this might be okay, but there are cheaper and more compact cherry pitters out there.
4. The Egg Topper
Williams-Sonoma Egg Topper, $24.99
Well, I guess if you’re frivolous enough to spend money on egg holders that look like chicken feet, you’d spend $25 on something to remove the tops off of your eggs because a sharp and precise knock with your spoon won’t do.
5. The Banana Slicer
Banana Slicer, $7.25
You don’t even need a chef’s knife to cut through a banana. A table knife. Even a spoon would do.
6. The Egg Separator
Birchstone Studios Snot-A-Mug Egg Separator, $11.99
That’s just ugly and gross. Also, your fingers are the best way to separate an egg. Crack an egg and pour it into your hand. Let the egg white flow through between your fingers. It’s real easy and you don’t risk breaking the yolk when you transfer the egg from egg half to egg half.
7. The Oreo Dunker
The Dipr, $2.99
Apparently this is for the germaphobes. I don’t know, I think half the fun in dunking your Oreos is getting a little bit messy and then licking your fingers. At least this isn’t too much of a rip off. I could see myself buying this as some kind of gag gift that I expect never to be used more than once.
8. The Banana Peeler
There’s got to be no other fruit that’s easier to peel than a banana. Also, how do you peel a banana, from the stem or from the end? I read somewhere that apes peel a banana by pinching the end and that’s how I’ve been doing it ever since.
9. Spaghetti Measurer
Because the only kind of pasta you eat is spaghetti and also you need a gadget to tell you how much you want to eat. By the way, did you know that Coke bottles in the US are larger than the ones in Singapore? A US bottle holds about 590 ml and a Singaporean one holds 500 ml.
10. The Butter Curler
Things Cooks™ Love Butter Curler, $8
“The choice of professional chefs for creating curls of butter for serving or garnishing, this tool also plays a role in home entertaining.”
What is this I don’t even.
Want Dessert 