"useless kitchen gadgets" that are actually useful?

[trapezoidal jellyfish]

Every so often, I hear someone mention this great as-seen-on-tv-style gadget they thought was a sham/waste of money/useless dust gatherer until they got one and discovered it's actually unbelievably handy to have around. Of course, I don't remember what any of them are, so I turn to you, benevolent Dopers. What's your favorite kitchen gadget that one wouldn't necessarily expect to be useful? Out of the hundreds of little things they have in the stores, what's actually worth paying for?

[Cat Whisperer]

A good, high-quality garlic press. A lemon zester.

[caverject]

A lettuce keeper. http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/tonia...LETTUCE_KEEPER

Knife sharpener.
http://www.everythingkitchens.com/ch...pener_120.html

Aero-garden.
http://www.aerogrow.com/
fresh herbs

[Superhal]

Any kind of garlic peeler, they're all equally effective. The garlic press has been very useful to me as well.

The magic bullet makes amazing margaritas.

[kittenblue]

Egg-rite Egg Timer. I can't live without it. I WON'T live without one in the house. I give one to every new bride at their shower.

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by kittenblue

Egg-rite Egg Timer. I can't live without it. I WON'T live without one in the house. I give one to every new bride at their shower.

I've got one of these and have never got it to work properly.

My favourites include a pastry blender (a bunch of wire hoops attached to a handle - rubs fat into flour to breadcrumb texture in a few seconds, much more convenient than doing it by fingertips.

And not really a gadget - it's a Victorinox paring knife (non-serrated blade, about 10cm). I've got three of them*
They're amazing - brilliantly slender and flexible, and the steel holds a really good edge. I use them for just about everything.


(*I had only one and lost it, so I bought two spares, beside myself in panic, then I found the original)

[lost4life]

If you eat a lot of sliced apples, these are pretty handy. I don't know if I'd call it a gadget, but it works.

[RealityChuck]

A Microplane grater.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by caverject

Knife sharpener.
http://www.everythingkitchens.com/ch...pener_120.html

Useless? Everyone should have a knife sharpener. Keeping knives sharp is extremely important.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Munch

Useless? Everyone should have a knife sharpener. Keeping knives sharp is extremely important.

I have to admit, I probably screwed up using it, but I had one of those and managed to royally mess up a knife. I was given one as a present and though I was suspicious of my ability, I read the instructions very carefully, then used a "steak knife" that I'd never used and gotten as part of a knife set (these days I only have the chef knife from it), and followed the steps as given. It didn't look good at all, like I had roughly shaved down the faces of the blade or something.

Because I apparently suck at this, I stick with a steel, and for regular sharpening, I have two guys who do my sharpening work. In bad weather, there's a guy in town who owns a dry-cleaners/tailors, and sharpens blades. On weekends in good weather, there's a man who has a push cart with a bell that rings when he pushes it down the sidewalk; built into the cart is a sharpening "wheel" driven by a foot-pedaled belt. He has some kind of strop as well. Charges a couple bucks a knife, and people come out of their houses with their hands full of knives to be worked on.

[Chefguy]

Another vote for the Microplane products and a garlic press. I gave a Microplane grater to my sister for Christmas several years ago, as she makes tens of dozens of cookies every year and used to zest her fruit with an old-fashioned zester. When she opened the package, she gently mocked my gift, having never seen one before. A year later she called me and thanked me profusely for saving her a HUGE amount of effort.

[TruCelt]

I have the original multi-tool, straight out of Blondie and Dagwood, which was left to me by my Grandmother. It opens any kind of container (including wine bottles), pokes holes in stuff, cuts things nothing else will cut, and makes all kinds of pretty stuff out of vegetables.

To look at it, you'd think it was completely useless. It just a red stripey wooden handle with lots of strange metal bits sticking out at the end. One of my most prized possessions!

Another vote for the magic bullet. I bought it for making baby food, but still use it constantly.

And the NuWave oven. It was a panic purchase when my regular oven died right before Thanksgiving. I use it at least three times per week.

[otternell]

That SlapChop thing that you see on TV. Years ago (before the SlapChop made it to tv) Pampered Chef sold something similar - I love it. I have heard the Slap Chop brand is shoddy crap (YMMV) but the pampered chef version was well made and very handy.

Also, an olive oil sprayer. It is so nice to be able to add a little olive oil without having it concentrated in drizzles or puddles.

[zweisamkeit]

Microplane graters, definitely.

A V-Slicer (that's the original and the best. I've had other ones that really sucked). I don't use it every day, but it's absolutely amazing. If you need to slice up a bunch of vegetables, this thing makes it go so quick. I like baking sweet potato 'chips' or making gratins (or slicing stuff up for stir fries) and this is way easier and faster than with a knife; the slices are a lot more even, too.

[smithsb]

We used the Salad Shooter with great success for many years. Didn't work with some veggies but for mass quantities at a picnic - it was ideal.

[Mahna Mahna]

I have to agree.... the Microplane zester is my number one choice. Mine gets used more regularly than all my other kitchen gadgets combined.

Other than that, a good-quality silicone spoonula is a godsend. I got a Williams-Sonoma one as a gift a few years ago and I used it so much I decided I need a couple of more... yes, it's pricey for what it is, but it's not as floppy as the el cheapo imitators and it's a million times more durable.

[pepperlandgirl]

A lot of people mention garlic presses (and peelers), but why? You can just use the broad side of a knife or the heel of your hand to smash the garlic. Then it's pealed and "pressed".

[KennerTheGreat]

I'll second otternell's SlapChop nomination. I have a knockoff (can't remember the exact brand) and it works great.

[Dolores Reborn]

I love my lemon squeezer!

[Athena]

Originally Posted by pepperlandgirl

A lot of people mention garlic presses (and peelers), but why? You can just use the broad side of a knife or the heel of your hand to smash the garlic. Then it's pealed and "pressed".

I dunno about you, but when I smash garlic the way you describe, it still needs to be minced. The pieces from smashing are pretty big, I typically want a very fine mince to my garlic. A garlic press gives you that.

I usually smash to peel, then throw it in the garlic press to mince.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Athena

I dunno about you, but when I smash garlic the way you describe, it still needs to be minced. The pieces from smashing are pretty big, I typically want a very fine mince to my garlic. A garlic press gives you that.

I usually smash to peel, then throw it in the garlic press to mince.

You don't even need to peel it. The press will only pass the pulp through.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by pepperlandgirl

A lot of people mention garlic presses (and peelers), but why? You can just use the broad side of a knife or the heel of your hand to smash the garlic. Then it's pealed and "pressed".

Presses are fantastic. I don't understand the need for a peeler at all.

[ducati]

Originally Posted by TruCelt

I
Another vote for the magic bullet.

Mrs. Duc has one, but it doesn't belong in the kitchen...

[LiveOnAPlane]

I dunno if this qualifies, but once I got what I thought was a kitchen "gadget" but turned out to be just wonderful.

It was a potato ricer. Easiest and bestust way of making mashed potatoes I ever saw. I only later found out that this is actually what used to be a kind of "mainstream" utensil; it's just not so common any more.

[Mister Owl]

A tomato shark.

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by Mister Owl

A tomato shark.

I thought you'd just made that up, but now I've googled it, I want one. I tried using a melon baller on things other than melons (pears for example) and it was hard work.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

You don't even need to peel it. The press will only pass the pulp through.

Yeah, I know. But it's such a pain to clean the skins out of the press when doing multiple cloves that I prefer to skin 'em first.

[beatlejuice]

I thought the mango pitter would be useless, but it works quite well. Although, you need to stand up to use it to apply the proper pressure.

[SpoilerVirgin]

A grapefruit knife. I just got a second one for the office so I wouldn't have to constantly carry it back and forth from home.

[MitzeKatze]

This is funny. I came to this thread to say "my garlic press!" and not only did everyone else beat me to it, but just before I came back I took my dog for a walk. I am currently listening to the audiobook Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain on my iPod while walking the dog and he just got to the part where he describes what home cooks should have in their kitchen (in his opinion) to make their food more like "restaurant quality" food. He went into a rant about garlic presses, how bad they are and even said:

Misuse of garlic is a crime. Old garlic, burnt garlic,
garlic cut too long ago, garlic that has been tragically smashed through one of
those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting.

and

Smash it, with the flat of your knife blade if you like, but don't put it
through a press. I don't know what that junk is that squeezes out the end of
those things, but it ain't garlic.

LOL. I don't care and still love my garlic press, but had no idea there was such a hatred of them by anyone. Oh and I have decided that Anthony Bourdain is a pretentious ass-hat.

The other kitchen gadget that I love (and is surprisingly Bourdain-approved ) is my mandoline. My husband swore I would rarely use it, it would gather dust or I would slice off my fingertips, but I have found a gajillion uses for it and at this point probably couldn't cook without it.

[Cat Whisperer]

Micro-plane, eh? I might have to invest in one of those - I have a banana-orange loaf recipe that calls for the zest of an orange that is to die for.

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

You don't even need to peel it. The press will only pass the pulp through.

I must be doing something wrong with mine - I wind up with a flattened blob of stringy mush inside the press, and nothing outside of it, even if I've peeled it first.

Mine is an older aluminum one, with a rectangular "chamber" that's just big enough for one large clove of garlic. I haven't used it for garlic in years.

It does, however, do a nice job of cracking peppercorns and whole allspice when I'm fixing to brine a turkey

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by KennerTheGreat

I'll second otternell's SlapChop nomination. I have a knockoff (can't remember the exact brand) and it works great.

We've got the Pampered Chef version and while it's not an everyday item (usually when I'm chopping I need to chop more than will fit in that thing) it is deucedly useful at times.

Interestingly the thing I use it for most of all is ginger. You can grate ginger and have most of it wind up stuck to the "teeth" of the grater.... or you can put a small chunk of it on the cutting board and slap the heck out of it and wind up with a nice fine mince which is much easier than grating.

[typoink]

Originally Posted by Mama Zappa

It does, however, do a nice job of cracking peppercorns and whole allspice when I'm fixing to brine a turkey

! That's brilliant.

My contributions:

A digital probe thermometer. VERY handy.

An apple peeler / corer / slicer (the mechanical kind that twirls the apple through a blade). Prepping apples to make pies and pancakes and such is an annoyingly time-consuming process. Using one of these things makes it INSTANT, and they're pretty cheap. Doubles as a potato peeler, too, although not perfectly.

Electric Rotato. This thing WOULD be junk, but it actually works great at peeling potatoes and (more importantly) turnips. I HATE peeling turnips by hand. Breaks easily, though -- mine lasted less than six months before the clip that holds the blade in place broke.

Two-cup mini food processor. Works great, works fast, and easier to clean than a full-size processor (especially since it fits very neatly in the top drawer of my dishwasher).

[Ferret Herder]

Some presses are better than others. I got the one that Cook's Illustrated rated most highly, the Kuhn-Rikon Easy-Squeeze Garlic Press. Leaves all that skin behind and minces the garlic up nicely.

Considering that some people mash the garlic with the blade of their chef's knife and even puree it up with coarse salt on the cutting board, I fail to see how a good garlic press can "ruin" garlic. (Maybe he's only seen the shitty ones in use, I dunno.)

[Mangetout]

The microplane zester is like a grater, right? I can see how that would be good, but my conventional zester is still going to remain a favourite, because sometimes (well, quite often) I want long, decorative strands of zest.

[lazybratsche]

Originally Posted by Munch

Useless? Everyone should have a knife sharpener. Keeping knives sharp is extremely important.

Absolutely. But a lot of knife sharpeners are total crap, and that includes just about anything you can by at a department store. At best they'll put on a very rough edge that seems sharp at first (because the rough abrasive put in microscopic serrations), but that will dull really fast. Overall, though, you're really just damaging the knife by removing the hardened edge.

I suppose a bad sharpener is a bit better than no sharpener at all.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by Mama Zappa

You can grate ginger and have most of it wind up stuck to the "teeth" of the grater

IIRC, Alton solves this problem by covering the grater with cling wrap before grating, then it all comes right off.

[Waterman]

Here's my vote for the most unlikely but handy kitchen tool:

http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Good-Grips...3505285&sr=1-2

A pastry scraper! BTW - There are many brands and I'm not necessarily advocating Oxo as the only maker.

Probably my main use is for transferring food from cutting board to pot/pan. One of the few things that I probably use everyday.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

The microplane zester is like a grater, right? I can see how that would be good, but my conventional zester is still going to remain a favourite, because sometimes (well, quite often) I want long, decorative strands of zest.

You can get fairly long ones out of a Microplane grater by grating more slowly and using long strokes. Just like grating cheese.

For other items, I'll add Silpat non-stick baking sheets. Miracles, is what they are.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by MitzeKatze

This is funny. I came to this thread to say "my garlic press!" and not only did everyone else beat me to it, but just before I came back I took my dog for a walk. I am currently listening to the audiobook Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain on my iPod while walking the dog and he just got to the part where he describes what home cooks should have in their kitchen (in his opinion) to make their food more like "restaurant quality" food. He went into a rant about garlic presses, how bad they are and even said:
and

LOL. I don't care and still love my garlic press, but had no idea there was such a hatred of them by anyone. Oh and I have decided that Anthony Bourdain is a pretentious ass-hat.

The other kitchen gadget that I love (and is surprisingly Bourdain-approved ) is my mandoline. My husband swore I would rarely use it, it would gather dust or I would slice off my fingertips, but I have found a gajillion uses for it and at this point probably couldn't cook without it.

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

Some presses are better than others. I got the one that Cook's Illustrated rated most highly, the Kuhn-Rikon Easy-Squeeze Garlic Press. Leaves all that skin behind and minces the garlic up nicely.

Considering that some people mash the garlic with the blade of their chef's knife and even puree it up with coarse salt on the cutting board, I fail to see how a good garlic press can "ruin" garlic. (Maybe he's only seen the shitty ones in use, I dunno.)

The reason professional chefs don't like garlic presses is the same reason you should buy fresh garlic, not the big jars of pre-cut garlic in the grocery store; smashed garlic gets bitter and icky tasting if it sits for a while.

If you mince garlic with a blade, you essentially are cutting it to little chunks and not releasing much, if any, of the oils & juices. If you're a chef in a professional kitchen, you do this hours before you actually use the garlic. If you press it (or even smash it, if you're really particular), you release the oils & juices, and they will go bad as it sits and waits for you to use it. That's why professionals prefer chopping it with a knife.

If you're a home cook, chances are you're pressing the garlic a few minutes before you use it. If that's the case, pressing works fine. But if you *do* plan on letting it sit for a while, by all means, chop it, don't press it.

Me? I like the press. I just make sure to press it right into whatever I'm cooking.

[MitzeKatze]

Originally Posted by Athena

<snip useful explanation>
If you're a home cook, chances are you're pressing the garlic a few minutes before you use it. If that's the case, pressing works fine. But if you *do* plan on letting it sit for a while, by all means, chop it, don't press it.

Me? I like the press. I just make sure to press it right into whatever I'm cooking.

That makes sense, but doesn't explain why Bourdain was specifically against garlic presses for the home cook, and described what they produced as "not garlic". (As an aside, he was spot-on with what professional chef's use that are absolutely not necessary for home cooks to achieve similar results.)

I'm with ya on it, though, I love my garlic press and will continue to use it despite what any pretentious chef tells me, because I know what the results are.

And I need to second whoever said "pastry scraper" I completely forget about that, but mine lives next to my right hand almost constantly when I am in the kitchen- I use it all the time for so many things!

And even though it isn't really a gadget as in "as seen on TV" I could, but would hate to, live without my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and all its attachments. It was expensive (to me) so I put off getting one for a long time, but now I hate to think about working in the kitchen without it. But I am an at-home wife and mother, cooking 2 or 3 full meals per day (most days) for a family of 6 (sometimes more) so your mileage will definitely vary.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Athena

If you're a home cook, chances are you're pressing the garlic a few minutes before you use it. If that's the case, pressing works fine. But if you *do* plan on letting it sit for a while, by all means, chop it, don't press it.

Me? I like the press. I just make sure to press it right into whatever I'm cooking.

Oh no, I didn't even think of that. I put the cloves into the press as part of my "mise" work, then press right into the cooking food, cut any excess off with a little knife. It's easier that way, no need to handle the slightly sticky garlic bits.

[Cunctator]

One of those adjustable gadget things that opens stuck jars.

[freckafree]

Everyone is totally missing why garlic presses are so highly rated! It's because they're FUN! Squeezing something with all your might until it sploots out through little holes? It's a cross between popping...well, you know...and extruding Play-Doh! Awesome!

I pooh-poohed my sister's Toss & Chop scissors. Then she bought me a pair. Now I can't live without them.

[voguevixen]

My vacuum sealer has saved me a fortune in cheese. (I also use it to split up bulk buys of meat, but when you factor in the price of bags the savings are probably debatable.)

[smaje1]

Another vote for the Magic Bullet (although I need to replace the cross-blade attachment - the rubber on the bottom of the casing has worn down and now it just spins around without the blades spinning).

I don't currently own one, but my mom had an awesome hand-held hard cheese grater. It makes grating parmesan and other hard cheeses a breeze:

http://www.lionsdeal.com/fmp-137-109...arisonshopping

[Starving Artist]

I bought a Susi garlic press many years ago upon the very strong recommendation of the Frugal Gourmet and I have never regretted it. It's strong, well-built, extrudes all the garlic from the clove, and comes with a handy red plastic device to clean out all the holes at one time, although I usually just scoop out the skin with a fingertip.

[faithfool]

A spice grinder. And now this thread has reminded me how much I need to get a garlic press....

[Brynda]

Originally Posted by freckafree

Everyone is totally missing why garlic presses are so highly rated! It's because they're FUN! Squeezing something with all your might until it sploots out through little holes? It's a cross between popping...well, you know...and extruding Play-Doh! Awesome!

I pooh-poohed my sister's Toss & Chop scissors. Then she bought me a pair. Now I can't live without them.

WANT!!!!!!