Unitasker hall of fame

[ethermion]

Gracious host that I am, I invited some friends over for dinner. Actually, I have no friends, and they were just acquaintances. I cooked a fine meal for them and all was cool. But, I proudly displayed my new Nordicware popover pan and was accused of having a Unitasker. I was told that I was not a real chef because I had Unitaskers in my kitchen. Really torqued me. So, I propose a list of useful Unitaskers - the Unitasker hall of fame. I can start with two:

1) Tea kettle.

I use it to boil water. Nothing else. Just boil water. Use it just about every day.

2) Pepper mill.

I grind pepper. Nothing else. Actually, I have two as one excels at coarse grind, the other at fine.

Anybody else?

[Peter the eater]

My ice cream machine and waffle iron are used for nothing else.

[Lilija]

My beloved, my favorite piece of equipment in the whole kitchen. Mr. Coffee. It's not Mr. Hot Beverage, not Mr. Multitasking Water Heater Upper. His sole purpose in my life is to keep me awash in coffee.

[judiu]

My ice cream machine and waffle iron are used for nothing else.

Peter, I'm ashamed of you! You've never used the waffle iron as a pannini press?

[mbhank]

One 8" non stick pan that I use only for omelets.

[HungryC]

See, non-pastry/baking people just don't understand us. Of course you have a popover pan, just as I have an extra-long tea loaf pan (cuts baking time of a pound cake by 1/3), an angel-food tube pan AND an angel-food loaf pan...sure, you could bake everything in a cast-iron skillet, but what's the fun in that? Also, I have not one, not two, not three but SEVEN different coffee-only brewing devices in my (rather small) kitchen.

[rooftop1000]

HungryC the Angel-food Pan doesn't count because you can use it for holding corn that you want to shell

tracey

[slkinsey]

Gracious host that I am, I invited some friends over for dinner. Actually, I have no friends, and they were just acquaintances. I cooked a fine meal for them and all was cool. But, I proudly displayed my new Nordicware popover pan and was accused of having a Unitasker. I was told that I was not a real chef because I had Unitaskers in my kitchen. Really torqued me.

This seems like an odd thing for them to say. First, you're not a "real chef" because you're (presumably) not the boss of a professional kitchen. Second, I don't see what having limited-use or optimized-use cookware has to do with whether or not one is a "real" cook. Plenty of culinary equipment is really only useful for one thing.

The primary question for home cooks is whether or not you do that one thing with sufficient frequency to merit the purchase of that piece of equipment, and the problem is that many home cooks buy a "unitasker" which is then hardly ever used. For example, looking at your popover pan: One can certainly make popovers in a regular muffin pan. But if you make popovers often, then it makes sense to me that you would have a dedicated pan that is optimized for popovers.

Related questions are the cost of the equipment, storage logistics and the extent to which the task for which the equipment is optimized can be done with other equipment. For example, consider an oyster knife: It can be had for a few dollars, it doesn't take up very much room, and it really does make opening oysters a lot easier. So if you only open oysters once every few years, or even if you are opening a lot of oysters only one time, it makes some sense to purchase an oyster knife. Or, to make another example, consider the waffle iron: If you want to make waffles, you have to have one.

So, I propose a list of useful Unitaskers - the Unitasker hall of fame.

I own dedicated French steel crepe pans, omelet pans and fish pans, a meat grinder, an espresso machine, tart pans, a lever-action citrus press, a kettle, etc. All these, and more, could bs considered "unitaskers."

[Porthos]

My stove is only good for applying heat to food I'm cooking. I've wanted to say that to AB for a few years.

[Lora]

A citrus juicing tool. They come in several varieties (most of which I own), but if you stole my favorite one I would replace it instantaneously.

And (to these dinner guests who started all this) since when is a pan a Unitasker? Just because it's called a popover pan doesn't mean I can't bake anything I feel like in it. I bake a lot of things besides pie in my pie plates.

A real chef uses the proper tool for the job!

[slkinsey]

Mostly what these friends have done is demonstrate that they are fans of Alton Brown. While I do find some of his shows informative, his DIY approach to kitchen equipment is a bit tiresome. In fact, no, tin foil is not as good as a heavy pot with a good lid for braising beef.

There are lots of examples of single-purpose kitchen equipment that is rarely used but absolutely indispensable when it is used. In my house, a good example is the spaetzle maker. Now, I don't make spaetzle all that often, but when I do this is an absolutely essential piece of equipment. Sure, there are other ways to make spaetzle... but they all suck comparatively. Believe me, you want a spaetzle maker and they're only around ten bucks.

[Special K]

My knife. I only use it to cut things. (No, I don't even smash garlic cloves with it.)

[emmalish]

If you have the space, I don't see a problem with unitaskers. I believe in using the best tool for a given job and I can't stand struggling to make do when there's a perfectly good tool out there I could buy for the job! (yes, I'm a gadget addict)

That said, I have a teeny tiny kitchen with no storage space whatsoever, and yes it's loaded with unitaskers. Waffle iron, tea kettle, pepper mill, french press, panini press, 3 different styles of citrus juicers, madeleine pans, various baking pans... each a joy to use and I'm so glad I have them.

But then, I'm not a true chef either.

[Doodad]

HungryC the Angel-food Pan doesn't count because you can use it for holding corn that you want to shell

tracey

and do the beer can chicken thing on it.

[Kouign Aman]

My stove is only good for applying heat to food I'm cooking. I've wanted to say that to AB for a few years.

Mine is used for glueing strands of mardi gras beads together. I suspect a soldering iron would be easier, but I havent got one of those.

[therippa]

Mostly what these friends have done is demonstrate that they are fans of Alton Brown. While I do find some of his shows informative, his DIY approach to kitchen equipment is a bit tiresome. In fact, no, tin foil is not as good as a heavy pot with a good lid for braising beef.

His DIY solutions might not always be the most practical, but it certainly encourages people to think outside the box when cooking.

[Kerry Beal]

My Tutove rolling pin is only good for making puff pastry. Although I suppose given the weight - I could also use it as a husband tamer.

[Darienne]

Gracious host that I am, I invited some friends over for dinner. Actually, I have no friends, and they were just acquaintances.

Time to get some new and nicer friends.

I have a set of pots which are used only by me and only for confection making.

[John Rosevear]

One wonders how Alton Brown brews his coffee.

My favorite unitasker is my c. 1940 Juice-O-Mat, a deco-streamliner-heavy-chrome lever-operated citrus juicer that has pride of place on my counter and is "only" used for juicing lemons and limes for cocktails... which is almost as common an event as my neighbors would like.

[andiesenji]

I have a unitasker that could be put to use ON such "acquaintances", i.e., my meat pounder (also used for poultry).

A simple tool but an absolutely necessary one.

That being said, I have a huge collection of unitasking utensils, appliances, pots, pans, dishes (a set of escargot plates, for instance) and etc.

I have the space and I want them and I simply could care less what anyone else thinks.

My friends, and I have a significant number that eat here often, have never criticized anything in my kitchen. In fact many have bought things they have seen me use because they thought it was a good idea, even though for only a single task.

Frankly, if anyone was so brash as to make such a remark (unless they were joking), they would not be invited back for a meal.

Edited April 21, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[Special K]

Thought of another, real unitasker: my corkscrew! But I do use it every day. In fact, I'm thinking of using it right now . . .

[Lilija]

I didn't even address the whole "real chef" aspect of the OP, because I was hurrying out the door...but anyone that goes accusingly spouting Alton Brown's isms shouldn't be calling anyone out about being a "real chef", amirite? I mean, I dig AB as much as anyone, but he's a TV personality, vocally not even a chef himself. So, the comparison falls way flat.

I love the "I just watched a Food Network marathon and now I'm a real foodie" type.

[andiesenji]

I didn't even address the whole "real chef" aspect of the OP, because I was hurrying out the door...but anyone that goes accusingly spouting Alton Brown's isms shouldn't be calling anyone out about being a "real chef", amirite? I mean, I dig AB as much as anyone, but he's a TV personality, vocally not even a chef himself. So, the comparison falls way flat.

I love the "I just watched a Food Network marathon and now I'm a real foodie" type.

Excellent! Your remarks are perfect - wish I had thought to write them...

[andiesenji]

One wonders how Alton Brown brews his coffee.

My favorite unitasker is my c. 1940 Juice-O-Mat, a deco-streamliner-heavy-chrome lever-operated citrus juicer that has pride of place on my counter and is "only" used for juicing lemons and limes for cocktails... which is almost as common an event as my neighbors would like.

I must have been composing my post when you posted this. I have the juicer. And I also have a very classy Ice-O-Mat from the same era. It is an unusual color too. Will post a photo later if I can remember where I put the thing...

Sometimes the classics simply can't be improved upon.

[Beebs]

I'm trying to come up with something in my kitchen that's not a uni-tasker, and drawing mostly blanks. Can openers, zesters, garlic crusher, citrus reamer, corkscrew, teapot, toaster, forks, knives are all uni-taskers. I think my only multi-taskers are chopsticks (cooking, stirring, whipping eggs, picking up food). Or am I just too unimaginative to come up with other uses for my uni-taskers?

Buuuut... if I had to put an item in the uni-tasker hall of fame, it would be my can opener. Corkscrew is a runner-up.