# useless kitchen gadgets?



## marzipan (Oct 19, 2001)

With the holidays (and my birthday!) approaching, I'm starting to cringe. Every year, well meaning friends and relatives, rather than sneaking a peek in my cupboards and asking my partner for suggestions, go off to various kitchen stores and purchase all kinds of random gadgets, thinking, "Oh, she'll love this!".

I was reorganizing my kitchen today and ran across some of the more useless ones. At the moment, I'm trying to decide which is more useless: 

-measuring spoons in "pinch", "dash" and "smidgeon" sizes.

-OR-

-magnetic measuring spoons. you're supposed to keep them on your fridge so that they'll always be easy to grab. 


I've also received more garlic presses, apple corers, miniature zesters, and cheese knives than I can count.


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## chouxbacca (Aug 10, 2001)

I got this garlic peeler from a friend down south, it works and all, but...WHY!!!
all ya have to do is smash the dang clove and the skin practically falls off, I know it can be a bit overpowering that way, but to make a 5" green rubber cylinder just for removing the skin of garlic seems more than absurd to me


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

They really will make something for anybody willing to pay...

Lemon sqeezer (little metal folding thing)
Spoon rest (like a plate wouldn't work.... I guess a plate isn't pretty enough)
'Poker' for testing the doneness of a cake... I guess a toothpick or piece on linguine is inadequate
Miniscule whips for whipping.... a 'smidgen' of egg whites, measured from your 'smidgen' measuring spoon. :lol:


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

What is one person junk is another one treasure...


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Yep like a plastic onion blossom dodad
or a set of Ginso knives
or a jello mold that has a lobster in the middle
or a painted paella pan
*I think the all time gem is the thermater fork


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Shroom what is that??


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

The mold with a lobster I can picture -- kind of like my scallop-shell and fish-shaped cake pans -- but what are _Ginso knives_???

Personally, I just LOVE the "adjustable" measuring cup and spoon, with the part you push in or out to change the measure. Just try it with liquids!


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

They are sold thru TV Infomercials...the kind you may want to keep away...

Here's a funny story:

Someone I know bought a set of Ginzu knives for only three easy payments of $29.95 and they came with a lifetime guarantee. When the handles fell off, the knives were returned with the lifetime guarantee asking for a refund. 

They wrote back saying, "The guarantee was for the lifetime of the knives. Obviously, the knives are dead, so the guarantee is no longer valid."


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

My vote for Most Useless Kitchen Utensil (electrical) would have to the electric carving knife. A close runner-up maybe the electric ice-tea maker. Coming in third, the salad shooter. 
For Most Useless Kitchen Utensil(non-electrical)is no doubt, the Bagel Cutter. The one I saw could have been called The Bagel Guillotine.
I once worked at a restaurant that had a "the Amazing Ginzu", and we made a point of using it. Worked great for cutting cardboard. Never hurts to have one. And you never know. Some day you might be in a situation where you are sawing tin cans in half and then, all of a sudden realizing you really DO need to cut tomatoes, paper-thin...


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

This is funny but illegal.


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## daveb (May 1, 2001)

I went through the inaccessible kitchen cabinet (over the fridge) last night and found:

1 salad shooter
1 Ginsu knife
4 plastic things for microwaving Vidalia onions
1 electic breadmaker (lost the little mixer blade & couldn't find a replacement)
1 electric vegetable peeler


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Electric vegetable peeler?? This I've got to see.


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

I love my salad shooter. Okay, the only thing I use it for is grating cheese for pizza, but it does a terrific job at that. Oh, and I recently used it to "shred" frozen butter to use for pie crust and made an incredibly flaky crust because I did not have to overwork the fat to combine it with the flour. Creative uses.

I also love my pinch/dash/smidgeon spoons...but only because they're cute.

I hate my ice cream maker, deep fat fryer, espresso machine, George Foreman grill, uh, and several other small appliances I just had to have. I'm going to box them up and take them to the second hand store.

Oh, and Ginzu knives...I got a couple free and I have had sharper butter knives in my life...:bounce:


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Hey Peachcreek,

Don't get rid of your electric carving knife; use it to cut really hard squashes, like the blue hubbard...

I use mine to carve loaves of bread into neat sandwich breadboxes.


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## daveb (May 1, 2001)

Electric carving knives are also great for trimming foam rubber padding into odd shapes. I last used mine to cut new bunk cusions for my boat.


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## daveb (May 1, 2001)

Some helpful friend saw it on TV and thought I'd like it...

The thing is basically a handle containing an electric motor that spins a toothed cylinder. There's a plastic shield over the cutter to protect your fingers and to direct the material being removed away from you.

If you use it left-handed, it sprays the goop in your face...


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

This I don't want to see.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

peachcreek,
our iced tea maker is used on a regular basis, here in the south we set iced tea before water. Us good ole boys gather around the domino board and rant about the time those yankees charged us for tea in NY,"can you immagine charged for iced tea,****!"
Electric or battery knife is an essential tool for cleaning fish. I can whip through 25 catfish or crappie in about 15 minutes.
Send all your iced tea makers and knives to me    :smoking:


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Just goes to show, one person's junk is another's treasure.


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## marzoli (Nov 17, 2000)

nancya-why don't you like the george foreman grill?
It seems like it would be a good idea for hamburgers.


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

Ah, Marzoli...it is possible I would like a newer one better. I understand that they have addressed some of these complaints.

1. The one I have is really small and if you want to make a hamburger on it, you have to make it oblong.

2. It is not nearly as easy to clean as they say. Fat and steam drip outside the silly thing and it gets real yucky real fast.

3. It only reduces fat by 4%...not worth the trouble to haul it out.

4. It only has one temp. Some foods burn and dry out. Others don't get done well in the middle. Frozen doesn't work worth a dang despite what they say in the commercials.

5. Unevenly cut meats, chicken breats, fish fillets, etc do not cook evenly. The throw the veggies on at the same time is a total joke.

Call me picky.....


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## calicoskies (Dec 6, 2001)

I vote for this stupid hamburger press my Mom got me from Tupperware. It came with 6 plastic round things to freeze the burgers in. Just what I want, more dirty dishes! I dont even freeze meat, I hate frozen meats.


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## jock (Dec 4, 2001)

It being that time of year and all... I was in Brookstone the other day looking for a gift for my wife. They have a whole range of "smart" devices that are supposed to make your life easier. Like the "smart" coffee measuring spoon that tells you electronically how many scoops to put in the coffee maker. Or the "smart" pasta spoon. I didn't even look to see what that can do for you!
Of the gadgets I own, one of the most usless is the tiny butane torch you are supposed to use burn the sugar on a creme brulee. Another one is this thing wth 4 or 5 steel discs that you roll back and forth over herbs to chop them. Nobody in my house ever uses these things (and a bunch of others) but I can't seem to get rid of them either!!!

Jock


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## marzipan (Oct 19, 2001)

I was in Brookstone the other day, and saw yet another priceless and useless gift idea...and it gave me quite a giggle.

A stainless steel "to go" coffee mug that requires batteries and has a little propeller at the bottom of the cup...because.......it stirs your coffee for you.


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## chiffonade (Nov 29, 2001)

The worst cooking gift I got was a little 4 blade "roto" cutter. You're supposed to put herbs on a cutting board and roll the thing back and forth. How I didn't sigh in the presence of the giftor is beyond me.

As for those Ginsu knives...I guess all that cutting of soda cans will eventually wear them out. I remember those commercials. Hysterical stuff.

And those tiny measuring spoons, I've looked at them in the supermarket and smiled. I don't think I'd object to receiving them as a gift, just for the collectability.

Best cooking related gift was my matte black 5 1/2 qt. KitchenAid mixer given to me by my first ex-husband in an attempt to woo me back.


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## chiffonade (Nov 29, 2001)

My mom lives alone and uses the thing constantly! It's perfect for single serving grilling. In her development, there is only one place where you can use a real grill (with a fire in it) and you'd have to drive to it.


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

On a recent visit, I came across my parent's Geo. Foreman grill and I have to admit I thought it was pretty neat. It really is just a glorified sandwich press. I made some great turkey reubens in it. The bread was grilled evenly and the components were heated throughout. For 'apartment grilling' it is pretty nice. I also found it a snap to clean. Just my two-cents.


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## topak (Jul 2, 2008)

it's an oven. using too much electricity! but i raise my hand to my plastic food containers! :bounce:

________________________
plastic food containers


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

What's a salad shooter?

scb


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

I just bought a gourmet wizard in a charity shop in Cupar. It sucks itself onto the worktop and apparently does everything from squeezing oranges to making sausages. There is a vast selection of attachments to tantalise me and i know i'll be haveing a wee play with it when i come back from my hols then abandoning it to the cupboard of the damned to be sent back to another charity shop when i feel the need to clear out the £"$*)


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

One I just saw: disposable plastic slow cooker liners. Of the seven deadly sins, sloth is clearly in the lead.


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## sheffy (May 18, 2008)

I agree with the person who doesn't like the George Foreman grill. I think it is too difficult to clean to be of much use and it only cooks at one temperature. 
I think that the most useless gadget is an avocado stoner! What is wrong with a knife? The stone is so huge, anyway.


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

i love my GF grill, havnt used it in a while but do love using it
its great for when im in a cant be ****** cooking mood

i got given these silicone egg poachers that have holes in them and you sit them in the poaching water huh all the egg drips through the holes before it starts to cook , **** horrible things


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## blw7u (Jul 7, 2008)

I am remodelling my kitchen. Getting 2 ovens. One 30" (thinking of the GE Cafe dual fuel) and the other a 27" electric wall oven. My questions are:

1. If I have the electric 27" wall oven do you still think dual fuel is better than all gas for my 30" range?

2. Any experience preferences withthe GE Cafe? Good or bad?

3. I like the look of the KitchenAid Architect series 27" wall ovens. Any pros or cons with this? Thanks for your help!


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## yorvo (Jun 11, 2008)

Anyone remember the Ronco Electric-in-the-Egg Scrambler. Here's someone using it thinking it's cool.

YouTube - egg scrambler


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## bluedogz (Oct 11, 2006)

Well, I have a trash-to-treasure example there...

As some of you know, I run on one arm due to a motorcycle accident. So, a lot of stupid kitchen doohickies that I'd have scoffed at before have become useful. Particularly the lemon squeezer (all juice, no seeds, one hand) and the One-touch can opener. And I also use that silly multi-pizza cutter doodad for mincing herbs.


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

I happen to like the pinch, smidgen, etc. measuring spoons.
They are actually 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32 teaspoon measurments, so they do have an actual use.
They also make a great gift for that sweet old lady you have working in the kitchen.

Most useless?
Hmmmm.

I have a spatula/tong, a spat with a tong to hold the burger. I never use it.
Thermometer fork ranks up there for sure.
Avocado slicer/peeler, that takes the meat out of the skin and slices at the same time.
I have some sort of hand mixer I recieved as a gift. It can be twisted to form either an immersion blender or a standard hand mixer, and does neither of them well.


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## mycroftt (Jun 16, 2008)

As a reformed collector of worthless kitchen gizmos I now try to stick to Alton Brown's advice not to buy "single-purpose" items for the kitchen - except for the fire extinguisher.

I had an electric coffee spoon that calculated how many spoonfuls of coffee you needed. Somebody must have given that to us as a gift because even I wouldn't purchase such a worthless item. It emitted an annoying beep every time you moved stuff around in the drawer. Finally I just tossed it.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

I now try as well....we received many bedbathbeyondish gift cards for our engagement and with our 20% coupon, we love to go to BBB or LNT....however everything my fiance picks up, I have to ask "what else does it do" and she knows if she says nothing...I give it the toss!


or.....


I bring up.........



the "strawberry leaf remover" that she has..................and never uses (because...1. it doesnt work 2. why? why why?)

I've been known to use an egg separator on some occasions (needing a doz+ egg yolks, whites)


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

you hand is the best separator in the world, its also the best lemon strainer as well


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

not when ya have to make a couple of cups of lemon juice! (don't ask)


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

>I now try to stick to Alton Brown's advice not to buy "single-purpose" items for the kitchen - except for the fire extinguisher.<

I'm going to follow that advice: just as soon as he does. 

One of his many self-contradictions is that he constantly sings that "multi-tasker" song. But then he goes out and buys a low to single-use products. 

Just what, for instance, can you do with a deep fat fryer except deep fat fry in it? Or what do you make in waffles other than waffles? Or..... well, you get the idea.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

i can see the difference....in some things....one use is fine, if its the ONLY way you can achieve the result. If there is another way to achieve it....that can also do it...then that would be better....

for instance, hard to make waffles without a waffle iron, even though it's single use..

easy to take the leaves off of strawberries or chop/dice and onion, without the single use doo-dads .


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Sorry, Allan, this is hardly useless, at least for me! If I don't use one of these bags, it takes two days to scrape off the residue from a 10-hour simmer in the crock pot. I've got better things to do with my time.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Mezz, the dishwasher works a treat with my old crock pot.

shel


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Thanks, Shel, I'll give that a try. Any time I can stop using plastic for anything, I do.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

Perfect for this thread

Behold: Pizza scissors! - Slashfood


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

It works. You just have to know how to use it. You don't grab the leaves with the little tongs, you grab the flesh below them and give a squeeze. The tongs will cut a neat, cup-shaped scoop and take the entire stem. If the berries have a little white rim at the top, just below the leaves and stem, try and cut just barely into the red flesh beneath it. 

No. No. Don't thank me. Just get it through your head, SHE IS ALWAYS RIGHT. The quicker you stop struggling, the happier you'll be.

Tell her I said so. I'm currying favor.
BDL

PS. Ask any woman the following question: If a man goes by himself into a forest, is ten miles away from the nearest woman, and says something -- is he still wrong? You will always get the same answer: "Yes."


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## callie (Jul 29, 2008)

I use regular kitchen scissors for cutting homemade pizza into slices.
(After seeing the servers at a dim sum restaurant using scissors to cut broccoli, I am getting more adventurous in using the kitchen scissors to cut food...)


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## damack (Feb 21, 2007)

hey i have used those they make for really easy clean up. and there cheep


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Quote:
Originally Posted by *AllanMcPherson*

I'd never cook in plastic ...

shel


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

I saw this at the store the other day......really, 100$ because you can't shake a mixer. Heck....not to be foul, but ah...nevermind...










now....it has 3 buttons, shake/stir and on off.

thats all. it does.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Shel, I love you as a person, as an online friend, and in myriad other ways. But your lingerie habits are *TOO MUCH INFORMATION*.

BDL


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

RPM, 

The trouble with your generation is a lack of appreciation for Dean Martin movies. This makes a weird sort of "swinging bachelor pad" sense if you're old enough to have seen the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Admittedly, I was only 13; but I can appreciate the kitsch.

BDL


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

I'd be willing to say that my appreciation for Dean Martin movies, is more so than most who lived in that generation sir. I was born after my time.

besides my initial reason to post, was the joke my fiance made about "heck, guys can do [blank] but can't shake a mixer?"

haha.

P.S. I'm more of a Bogey fan, ala Casablanca, Maltese Falcon

Last great actor was Steve McQueen.....


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## praties (Dec 7, 2005)

My Step-FIL fancies himself as a cook, and being a very nice man, tries to buy me one of whatever gadget he's purchased for himself. I've gotten rid of a bunch of stuff, but I still have the "Hot Diggity Dogger" unused, (we eat hotdogs once or twice a year, maybe, and I'm still not sure how you're supposed to get the thing clean after use, shudder), a cheese slicer useful for either denting your cheese or causing odd shaped chunks to fall off and a salsa maker. The last is like some horrid Ronco or Popeil creation--a plastic bowl with cover and a hand-cranked "blade" that supposedly chops everything for "fresh salsa...anytime!!". It makes gobs of smooshed tomatoes (I don't think the blade could cut room temp butter), bruises the crap out of your peppers instead of cutting them, but it does mix the smooshed tomatoes and bruised peppers nicely. :crazy: Goodwill loves me, I'm sure.

Ah! Here's the salsa maker - http://www.asontv.com/kitchen/gourme...f=gb&s_cid=104

Hot Diggity Dogger - http://www.hotdiggitydogger.ca/


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

Not really the same, but....I have a "hot dog roller" that I got from Sams Club or Costco....can "roll" 6 hotdogs at a time..I think I paid under 100$ for it...and let me tell you, it's the best **** thing ever to have at a party....for some reason, people love it...and they swear that skinless sabretts taste so much better on it. ( i ususally start them on the gril then put them on the rollers on low)

it was the "hit" of my 4th of july party even though we have about 20 other foods.

(and what post would be complete without me posting a picture)

you can see it in the lower left on the table.

Amazon.com: Waring Pro HDG100 200-Watt Hot-Dog Griller: Kitchen & Dining


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## praties (Dec 7, 2005)

Now, see, yours looks like it'd be easy to clean and great for a get together. This one operates something like a toaster. The hotdogs and buns go down into it and it, well, toasts them. It also only does two dogs and two buns at a time. Not so good for a party. The only cleanable unit is the basket that holds the hotdogs--I'm not sure what you're supposed to do about the grease and whatnot that runs out of the dogs/basket down into the unit. I do like that they're kind enough to warn me not to apply condiments until _after _I remove the hotdogs from the unit! :roll:And I'd post a pic, but I think most of the folks here would find your fiance (wife? I'm thinking you guys aren't married yet, so forgive me if I'm wrong.) a lot cuter than my husband (well, *I* think he's cute!!!).


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

disclaimer : that is not my fiance. fiance's friend.


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## praties (Dec 7, 2005)

Ah! My mistake. :blush:


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## ohyum (Aug 13, 2008)

I LOVE my bagel guillotine! I tend to be a serious klutz around knives, so this helps avoid some serious cuts. I've had a George Forman grill and liked it for panini sandwiches, but it gave "grilled" meat a funky flavor. 

My all-time favorite cooking gadget (sort of) is my Pampered Chef pie gate. It allows you to cut into a pie before it's completely set up (really, who can wait that long for a black raspberry pie with berries fresh from your garden?) and not lose all the innards of the pie! I'm also a rubber scraper/spatula junkie. I LOVE baking, especially making cheesecakes, and it seems like they're all dirty by the time I'm done. Oh, and I won't even bother with a fresh lettuce salad unless my salad spinner is available. I love that I can wash the leaves thoroughly and get them incredibly dry in minutes. 

Praities...I have a chopper similar to what you're describing from Tupperware and I LOVE it. I can make salsa in NO TIME and everything looks like someone with serious OCD chopped it all. I cut myself pretty badly on the blades the first day I got it (I already mentioned I'm a klutz) and it hasn't dulled yet!


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

We bought a carpet remnant, and when it came time to cut it to fit the room, we had no utensil that was up to the job...until I remembered the electric knife. Worked great...and guess what...it'll still carve a roast thin enough to make sandwiches all year :lol:. My problem with the knife is not that it doesn't work, or isn't useful. I just have no place to keep it handy for when I need it, and when I do want to use it, the darn cord is a nuisance.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

This thing i got as a gift.....

useless for the most part....peppers actually wouldnt "stay" in the holder, since most were top heavy they kept falling out....longer thinner peppers would have helped, but....pretty useless.



















notice the bottoms too


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## earnason (Nov 25, 2008)

I was at good will recently and they had 3 different size and color george forman grills and 5 salad spinners, my mum had a salad spinner and I think we used it twice, didn't really see the point and put it in the corner cabinet (where all the christmas cookie cutters are and nothing is easily accessible )

Food Prep Research


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## bjh65 (Sep 25, 2006)

AHAHAHA! Brightened my day reading that!


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

*"For Most Useless Kitchen Utensil(non-electrical)is no doubt, the Bagel Cutter. The one I saw could have been called The Bagel Guillotine.
*

I've read many times that the Emergency rooms in NYC are crammed on Sat and Sun mornings, and the typical bagel-slicing wound even has its own surgical-practice name...

The various patented bagel-slicing gadgets are, as I understand it, an effort to avoid this very common mishap.

I'm not a bagel fan, so I don't have much experience here.

Maybe Suzanne could tell us if this is urban rumor, or not. 

Mike

The few times I have bagels, I slice 'em with my electric knife.


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## bjh65 (Sep 25, 2006)

In Philly, this is true. My best friend's father is a retired er boss md. Worked there all through the 70s. Not only was he REQUIRED to be armed at all times but he also was well versed in the "bagel-palm slice". I first heard about this from him. I lived in NYC for many years and can attest to the fact that many non culinary professionals just do not understand the correct way to slice a bagel.


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## chefray (Sep 29, 2009)

I grill potatoes in my waffle iron all the time. It makes a very nice sear pattern with crunchy spots rather than a full char.

He also found a use, other than putting out fires, for an extinguisher on one of the anniversary shows. It looked really cool too.


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## shermie (Jan 23, 2010)

This thread sort of puts me in the mind of all those As-Seen-on-TV wasteful and distasteful culinary crap wiz-kid gadgets. I'm pretty sure that some of you have seem them.

They sell everything from microwave cooking products to pasta pots, to utensils. And I've even bought some of them, thinking that i was getting a real bargain, but not on everything!

Chef Tony, Kathy Mitchell and Billy Mays lead the parade of seemingly endless ads that clog the airwaves in either commercials or those aggravating and annoying late night and early morning infommercials or paid programs, which are often wasting up and monopolizing precious TV airtime for what seems like hours & days on end!!

And the Food Network seems to be the biggest abuser of this crap from about 4am to 10am on weekday mornings! I got TONS of gadgets bought from places like Filene's, Kmart, BB&B and Target. The last thing that I need to watch is some annoying ad on TV offering some "magical wiz-kid gadget!

Those blasted commercials especially. And then there's the line; "But wait!! If you order now, we'll double your oder for free!!!! Just pay separate shipping and handling."

Those offers are really no bargain if you must pay double the cost of S&H! You might just as well buy it when it come to the stores. They almost always do. Then you can return it and get your money back immediately.


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