Unitasker hall of fame

[Prawncrackers]

I have only ever used my takoyaki pan to make takoyaki! Can anyone think of any other uses? Making canapé sized omelettes maybe, or a very heavy and inefficient ice cube tray...

[adey73]

Prawn, I use mine to make Æbleskiver – the Norwegian batter balls.

[Dakki]

A couple of thoughts:

First, I find that most people who belittle "uni-taskers" do so out of a misguided feeling that it's somehow macho to cook with only a handful of tools -- they tend to say things like "All you need to cook is a chef's knife, a wooden spoon, a bowl and a pot." Then they immediately start adding things on (sort of like the Steve Martin character in The Jerk -- "all I need is this paddle game. . . and my thermos. And this chair, but that's all I need.") and pretty soon they have a a full kitchen outfitted. I don't know why, in cooking, so many people feel it's better to work without good tools -- would they try to play tennis with a ping-pong paddle?

Reverse elitism. There's so much BS surrounding cooking gear from marketing departments and people who use their kitchen as a status symbol-cum-social weapon ("Oh yeah? My frying pan was handmade in a Japanese monastery by an 80 year old, blind, certified Master who was declared a National Treasure. I don't know how you can claim to make proper scrambled eggs without one!") that a reaction is pretty much inevitable.

[Porthos]

The deciding factor in whether to buy a particular kitchen tool should not be how many tasks it can perform. We tell our beginning students to consider three things when deciding whether to buy a tool: how often you need to perform a task, how well the tool does the task, and how hard it is to do the task without the tool. Then you balance those considerations -- along with the cost -- and you have your answer about the usefulness of the tool.

What great advice. Thank you for sharing it. It brings a great perspective to use.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Even my cookie press has in fact been used to make eclairs as well as cookies. Cookie cutters have made biscuits. Citrus juicer has done a bang up job with pomegranates. Pressure canner has sterilized driftwood and river rocks for the fish tanks. Pizza cutter has trimmed pie crusts. Waffle iron is reversible and does pancakes too. Poppy seed grinder does spices and makes a bit of flour in a pinch.

The rolling docker has really only docked crackers and breads. It does an excellent job and does it better than a fork. And the toaster only makes toast. Cherry pitter only pits cherries.

Hmmm....if the metal jelly bag holder-opener-thingie has been used for holding open jelly bags both juicing fruit for jellies and straining stock for soups, is that multi-tasking or unitasking?

I do try to avoid unitaskers unless I do enough of that one thing to really want the right tool for the job. I had a series of very small kitchens before my present spacious culinary nirvana.

Edited April 26, 2010 by Wholemeal Crank (log)

[Pierogi]

One of the deciding factors for me, in fact, probably *THE* deciding factor, is how often I'm going to be performing the task the so-called "uni-tasker" is designed for.

For example, I make creme brulees pretty often. Even though my little mini torch is a uni-tasker, it does the job admirably, its fun, and I use it a lot. Not to mention I'm scared of the thought of me with a big Kahuna blow torch....

I recently asked in another thread about the necessity of a pan for deep-dish Chicago style pizza. Now, I've never made this at home before, I want to try, but since my personal pizza heaven is thin and crispy, I don't think I'd be making deep-dish often. I don't want to buy another pan (which to me looks essentially like a cake pan) for maybe a once a year excursion.

Cherry/olive pitter, use it a lot. Good investment. Avocado slicer, eh, probably not so much.

I'm not inherantly opposed to "uni-taskers", just superfluous uni-taskers.....