Admit it, you have a drawer in your kitchen that has a handful of one-use gadgets that you’ve forgotten about. These tools are meant to make our lives easier, but unless you need a whole lot of freshly minced garlic on a daily basis, or need to pit thousands of cherries each summer, the tools mostly just take up space.
I’m a sucker for these gadgets, and look wide-eyed at them in the store, excited about how this will revolutionize the way I prep food. However, I often stop before going through with the purchase, reminding myself that I shouldn’t buy something for the kitchen that only does ONE thing. So, I decided to do a little challenge. Below, I’ve listed links to some of the most popular one-use gadgets. You’re all going to vote on the one you think is the most ridiculous, and it will be my job to find FIVE ways to use that gadget. It won’t be pretty, people. And yes, there will be photos. Maybe video.
So take a look below, and leave a comment (on this post, Facebook, or Twitter) with what object you want me to purchase and actually use. Then stay tuned for the outcome. Positive results are not guaranteed. (Gulp!)
This device slices open your Avocado, removes the pit, and slices it into smaller pieces. I also can do all of these things, with a knife. (h/t to @aryooki for the suggestion.)
Is slicing bananas this difficult? Did someone really need to “solve” this problem? (h/t to @jared2598 for the suggestion.)
Again, is this necessary? Are people not able to quickly form uniform patties? I can’t imagine how difficult this press must be to clean.
This device pits cherries. And also maybe pierces ears? I’m getting flashbacks of sitting in a chair at Claire’s…
I can’t stop giggling when I look at this picture. It looks like the corn is wearing a cheerful little life vest! Anyway, this device removes kernels from your corn and puts it into the container. I’ve done this before with a knife and a plate. I really don’t understand why this exists. Maybe people tried to use dull knives like a butter knife to do it and got frustrated. Of course, you need to use a sharp knife for this. Did you know, 27% of people prefer knives made in Switzerland, I always thought it would be much more than that. But then, maybe I am biased since I am one of those 27%. Here’s the thing, a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife.
This torture device-looking object cracks eggs. That’s it. It cracks eggs. (h/t to @rhinosaur for the suggestion.)
Quite your crying, onion goggles are here! Not only do they protect your eyes from onions, but they come in a variety of colors, including a classy “tortoiseshell” version.
Ok, this looks kinda nifty, if you consume a lot of pineapple or have an occasion where your pineapple has to be ridiculously classy. But how often will you really use this?
Don’t be fooled by the cuteness of this device. It has claws that open up to rip the stem right off a strawberry. It’s like a freaky alien.
Ok, so what device will it be? Let me know in the comments which device I should find FIVE uses for. I’ll pick a winner on July 27!
Tough choices! Going for the egg cracker, b/c I’m truly having trouble imagining what else could possibly be done with it.
Corn Kerneler
This is literally something Alton Brown does all the time on Cutthroat Kitchen: he takes these one-use tools and makes someone prepare and/or cook an entire dish using nothing but that.
Who’ll give me $500 for the corn kerneler?
Strawberry stem ripper. For sure.
Definitely not the cherry pitter! As the owner of 2 cherry trees I couldn’t imagine pitting those many pounds of cherries by hand!
Strawberry huller!
Ooh, tough choice between the egg cracker and strawberry huller. Gotta’ go with the egg cracker. It just looks so ridiculous!
Banana slicer.
Hard mode.
As I own (and love) the strawberry huller, I definitely want to see you figure out some more uses for it.
Not that I’ve ever made melon balls, I’m thinking you could do melon cones with it maybe?
I’m echoing the egg cracker. Everything else I can think of something else to do with.
Have fun 🙂
Corn Kerneler
Pineapple corer!
I think the pineapple corer would be great for making pineapple-shaped drink glasses.
I’d like to see the banana slicer.
Egg cracker! It’s just so ridiculously unnecessary
Banana slicer, because how hard is it to use a knife?
Burger press.
Gotta be the Egg Cracker. I can barely think of ONE use for it, let alone five.
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Here’s my ACTUAL Amazon review of the Corn Kerneler:
Fought with this hunk of garbage for two minutes before throwing it right in the trash and crying a little.
Like some other reviews said, there is no way to adjust this, so 90% of the cobs will be too big or too small to work. Mine went down about half way then stopped when the cob was too big to continue. It juices most of the kernels, so you now have juice all over your hands, trying to slam this thing down that’s made of cheap plastic and jagged metal. I’m shocked that I still have my thumbs.
You then have to get the stuck half-stripped cob out of the device, which is another pain. Kernels are flying everywhere, juice is running off the counter and all the while, your girlfriend is laughing at you and judging your poorly thought out internet impulse purchase.
Now, to add insult to injury, WE HAD TO GO TO THE DAMN POST OFFICE TO SIGN AND PICK THIS PIECE OF TRASH UP!
You want to ruin your day by having to wait in line at the post office to get something that will ruin your night as well? Then this plastic headache is for you.
If you’re not so masochistic, then don’t bother.
Ha! Best review.
I actually love my cherry pitter. I bought it because of a very specific reason too – I used to love cherries, until I ate worms multiple times in cherries. Not fun. I stopped eating them for years until I bought one of these devices. Now I can pit them and immediately see inside to view any bugs that may be in there.