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useless kitchen gadgets?

post #1 of 69
11/24/01 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
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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post #2 of 69
11/25/01 at 11:27am

baffled...

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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post #3 of 69
11/25/01 at 1:25pm
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:

Invention, my dear friends, is ninety-three percent perspiration, six percent electricity, four percent evaporation, and two percent butterscotch ripple

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post #4 of 69
11/25/01 at 4:53pm
What is one person junk is another one treasure...
When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food.

- Desiderius Erasmus
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post #5 of 69
11/25/01 at 6:20pm
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
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #6 of 69
11/25/01 at 7:01pm
Shroom what is that??
When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food.

- Desiderius Erasmus
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post #7 of 69
11/26/01 at 12:21pm
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!:mad:
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
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post #8 of 69
11/26/01 at 1:30pm

Ginzu Knives

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." :eek:


:eek: :confused:
K

«Money talks. Chocolate sings. Beautifully.»
«Just Give Me Chocolate and Nobody Gets Hurt.»
«Coffee, Chocolate, Men ... Some things are just better rich.»
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post #9 of 69
11/26/01 at 3:07pm
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...
What a relief! To find out after all these years that I'm not crazy. I'm just culinarily divergent...
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post #10 of 69
11/26/01 at 4:28pm

Re: Ginzu Knives

This is funny but illegal.
When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food.

- Desiderius Erasmus
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post #11 of 69
11/27/01 at 11:10am
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

:confused:
Dave Bowers
"First, slice an onion..."
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post #12 of 69
11/27/01 at 5:13pm
Electric vegetable peeler?? This I've got to see.
When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food.

- Desiderius Erasmus
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post #13 of 69
11/27/01 at 8:12pm
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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post #14 of 69
11/29/01 at 9:02am

Useless turned into Useful??

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.

:rolleyes:
K

«Money talks. Chocolate sings. Beautifully.»
«Just Give Me Chocolate and Nobody Gets Hurt.»
«Coffee, Chocolate, Men ... Some things are just better rich.»
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post #15 of 69
11/29/01 at 11:19am
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.:rolleyes:
Dave Bowers
"First, slice an onion..."
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post #16 of 69
11/29/01 at 11:26am
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...:eek:
Dave Bowers
"First, slice an onion..."
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post #17 of 69
11/29/01 at 5:25pm
This I don't want to see.
When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food.

- Desiderius Erasmus
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post #18 of 69
11/29/01 at 6:40pm
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:D :D :p :p :smoking:

Never! Live To Work!:::::::Work To Live!::Life Is To Short!!
Paninicakes.com

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post #19 of 69
11/30/01 at 9:26am
Just goes to show, one person's junk is another's treasure.
Moderator Emerita, Welcome Forum
***It is better to ask forgiveness than beg permission.***
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post #20 of 69
12/20/01 at 9:47am
nancya-why don't you like the george foreman grill?
It seems like it would be a good idea for hamburgers.
más vale tarde que nunca
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post #21 of 69
12/20/01 at 6:06pm
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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post #22 of 69
12/23/01 at 4:19pm
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.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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post #23 of 69
12/24/01 at 12:40pm
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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post #24 of 69
12/24/01 at 12:46pm
Thread Starter 
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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post #25 of 69
12/29/01 at 10:23am
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.
Food is sex for the stomach.
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post #26 of 69
12/29/01 at 10:25am

George Foreman Grill...

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.
Food is sex for the stomach.
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post #27 of 69
12/29/01 at 2:53pm
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.

Invention, my dear friends, is ninety-three percent perspiration, six percent electricity, four percent evaporation, and two percent butterscotch ripple

My Author Page

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post #28 of 69
7/2/08 at 12:26pm

useless?

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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post #29 of 69
7/3/08 at 4:46am
What's a salad shooter?

scb
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post #30 of 69
7/3/08 at 2:41pm
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 £"$*)
"If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?" Jo Brand
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