Stupidest gadget awards

[kitchensqueen]

I've stated elsewhere before that I find a garlic press much more efficient than using my knife. And I must have a magic version because I don't seem to deal with losing a lot of garlic in the press. That's just me.

Do you use a dishwasher or do you hand-wash? My garlic press goes in the dishwasher and comes out clean.

I've always hand washed, so maybe that's where the cleaning nightmare comes into play. And maybe my loathing also comes from the fact that I have a mild love affair with my chef's knife. :-)

[andiesenji]

I've stated elsewhere before that I find a garlic press much more efficient than using my knife. And I must have a magic version because I don't seem to deal with losing a lot of garlic in the press. That's just me.

Do you use a dishwasher or do you hand-wash? My garlic press goes in the dishwasher and comes out clean.

I've always hand washed, so maybe that's where the cleaning nightmare comes into play. And maybe my loathing also comes from the fact that I have a mild love affair with my chef's knife. :-)

I use garlic presses and have never had a problem with cleaning them. I put mine in the dishwasher too but often just clean it using a nail brush that I use exclusively for cleaning stuff that needs a brush - such as container lids with grooves, pastry brushes, rubber or silicone spatulas and anything with holes or depressions - best way to clean a grater. Works a treat.

(I have several of these handy-sized brushes next to the sink. Different colored handles - one for my hands and nails, one for utensils and one for veggies.)

[chileheadmike]

Chip tongs and avocado scoops are worthy contenders but I think the hell of pointlessness that is Infomercia may offer something to beat that.

I nominate that double-bladed knife from Calphalon. Does that count as a gadget?

This is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. Do professional chefs really "often grasp two knives in one hand when mincing or chopping large quantities of an ingredient?"

I used to when I was in the biz. I had to chop a boatload of parsley everyday, one knife between my index and middle fingers, one between my middle and ring fingers. Worked pretty well.

[mgaretz]

Well I used to think those twirly apple peeler/slicers were a pretty stupid gadget until we got one as a wedding present. They are very, very cool! Peels, slices and cores an apple in seconds! Great for apple pie or we like to just mix the apple slices with some sugar, flour and cinnamon, spoon into largish ramekins and bake for a no crust apple dessert.

[andiesenji]

Well I used to think those twirly apple peeler/slicers were a pretty stupid gadget until we got one as a wedding present. They are very, very cool! Peels, slices and cores an apple in seconds! Great for apple pie or we like to just mix the apple slices with some sugar, flour and cinnamon, spoon into largish ramekins and bake for a no crust apple dessert.

Which one did you get? Some operate better than others.

[torakris]

I think that pizza cutter thing might beat out my potato chip tongs for the grand prize. That thing looks huge, I don't even think I have a drawer it would fit in.

[Le Master]

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen...

http://www.doobybrain.com/2008/07/26/the-pizza-pro-cut-and-carry-your-pizza-with-one-utensil/

Hahaha. I so want to try that out.

[IndyRob]

I'm a pizza maker and a purist. But that thing is just so cleverly stupid that I just can't bring myself to hate it. Although, IMHO, it needs a Japanese style fan type mechanism on the bottom to adjust for varying slicing angles.

[Le Master]

I'm a pizza maker and a purist. But that thing is just so cleverly stupid that I just can't bring myself to hate it. Although, IMHO, it needs a Japanese style fan type mechanism on the bottom to adjust for varying slicing angles.

Haha. Me neither. There's something stupidly charming about it.

[mgaretz]

Well I used to think those twirly apple peeler/slicers were a pretty stupid gadget until we got one as a wedding present. They are very, very cool! Peels, slices and cores an apple in seconds! Great for apple pie or we like to just mix the apple slices with some sugar, flour and cinnamon, spoon into largish ramekins and bake for a no crust apple dessert.

Which one did you get? Some operate better than others.

We got the one from Williams-Sonoma. The vacuum base works great on our granite countertop.

[banffcook]

this comming from a chef well actually a line cook who has worked in big and small resturants currently working in a 50 seater i have seldom perhaps never used 2 or more knives in one hand or two doing such is stupid in the best sense of the word, it increases the chances of cutting yourself or cutting yourself badly let alone for home cooks most of who dont know how to hold or use a knife.

[andiesenji]

I don't know if this would qualify as a "gadget" or be eligible for the "stupidest" title but it seems to me to be just another variation on something that everyone already has in their kitchen.

Self-Basting Roasting Pan

Self-basting roasting pans have been around since the turn of the last century and it seems to me that it is a bit of overkill.

If you don't have a self-basting covered roaster it is easy to make one behave that way by putting a sheet of foil under the lid, just loose enough so that it dips in the center. Have done this many times.

I think it would be more helpful if the basting fluid was distributed evenly over the top of whatever is in the roaster. But then, what do I know, maybe this will be just the ticket for some.

Edited October 14, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[Beebs]

Jamie Oliver's Flavour Shaker. Someone gave us one as a joke. It's supposed to be used for shaking up stuff like salad dressing and marinades, but you can do all that with a fork, the back of a knife, and a bowl. Or any old jar lying around. It's also a pain to clean - gets really greasy inside and sometimes liquid seeps out a bit making the whole thing too slippery to hang on.

[Dakki]

A worthy entry. I should get a rock tumbler, put a sticker on it and sell it as Dakki's Flavor Tumbler .

Wonder if I could get a patent.

[DanM]

May I be crass and suggest anything sold with Rachel Ray's name on it??

[Porthos]

May I be crass and suggest anything sold with Rachel Ray's name on it??

I dunno. They may be of questionable quality but they are recognizable kitchen items.

One of my favorites is the garlic grating bowl they sell at county fairs. Last year the guy demonstrating it was wearing chef's whites. I had to choke down my laughter.

[melamed]

the stupidest gadget I have is a chopstick training set. How long does it take to learn to use chopsticks?

[Dakki]

Twenty years training and still no luck.

I like your blog, by the way.

[dcarch]

Twenty years training and still no luck.

I like your blog, by the way.

Because you don't use chopsticks for soup.

Yes. Very nice blog

dcarch

[technophile50]

I found a dicer at a goodwill store that I couldn't resist - just 2 blades? how about six mini pizza slicers on a common shaft, spaced about 1/4 inch apart? Its just robust enough to dice parsley or cilantro, but it won't quite handle a 1/8 inch thick slice of onion. Plus you would have to use something else to slice the onion first - your Hobart commercial slicer perhaps?

The plastic from the handle does fit closely around the blades, so stuff that gets stuck between them gets ejected as they are rolled forward and backwards. It only cost 50 cents, so that was a plus.

[andiesenji]

A worthy entry. I should get a rock tumbler, put a sticker on it and sell it as Dakki's Flavor Tumbler .

Wonder if I could get a patent.

Someboddy done did it

marinating tumbler

Also one that uses vacuum.

Sorry Charlie!

This is one that some people are touting as an alternative to the Thermomix.

Soup Chef

Well, I just don't think so but that's just my opinion.

I recently got one of these as a gift. Already had one - the same person sent me one a year ago - it ain't me suffering from "senior moments" at least not today.

Cordless gravy warmer I haven't used it for gravy but it does a bang-up job of keeping syrup warm.

I wouldn't buy it - I think it is overpriced as I can get a mug warmer (8.99) and put my own gravy boat on it. But that's just me.

P.S. For dinner parties I usually have several things to keep warm. I use a "vintage" Salton hot tray to keep them ALL warm in the same place.

Edited November 11, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[Dakki]

marinating tumbler

This is awe-inspiringly dumb.

[Dakki]

I think I have a thread-winner: a gadget so bad, so stupid, so incredibly obscure even andiesenji doesn't have it in her collection. I know this because they never managed to sell a single one.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, from the 1969 Neiman-Marcus holiday catalogue... the Honeywell Kitchen Computer!

[haresfur]

I vote for the banana slicers. Seriously, how hard is it to cut a banana....

Actually the banana slicer was originally aimed at families with small children. Kids can use it where one would not want to turn a child loose with a knife and unlike anything with a blade (even plastic ones) they are acceptable at schools.

Really?

My one year old just eats them whole. I peel and he chows down. Big giant bites for Mr. Piggy. He eats a whole banana in one sitting. It's one of the few fruit he'll actually eat, and he eats them about one every other day. Very picky in that some days are banana days and some days are not banana days. There's no telling.

It's for having sliced bananas in cereal. Consider having to slice bananas for 7 kids who want their breakfast all at once. Having one or more of the kids handle this chore is helpful.

You can slice a banana with a spoon, although I think my SO is terminally weird for doing so. It does save a utensil.

My vote for the stupidest gadget is an old classic - the flat plastic or wood thing with different size holes in it for measuring spaghetti portions. How hard is it to grab the right amount, and what's wrong with leftovers, anyway?

[andiesenji]

I think I have a thread-winner: a gadget so bad, so stupid, so incredibly obscure even andiesenji doesn't have it in her collection. I know this because they never managed to sell a single one.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, from the 1969 Neiman-Marcus holiday catalogue... the Honeywell Kitchen Computer!

Sounds like a winner to me.

No, I don't have one of those - and '69 was a little early for any micro computer and that one had only a binary readout, no text. Someone posted about it a while back on old computers.com. I remember the post mentioned one could buy three or four cars for the price of that "computer" so it was aimed at the high end consumer.

However, I do have a Lisa, though not for the kitchen. I was an early convert to Apple, got the Lisa, then the first Mac and have stuck with them to date.

Edited November 29, 2010 by andiesenji (log)