For the love of food, I buy kitchen appliances. It’s often due to convenience over need, or because a tele-marketer used a brilliant pitch to sell me something I never knew I needed. On hindsight, those buying decisions look frivolous. Now, most of those appliances are pushed away in a corner, forgotten.
After all, there are very few tools I need in the kitchen. A couple of sharp knives, a good pot and a pan and a few other essentials like a blender. The rest are add-ons. Some over-the-top, too.
For example, that automatic roti (Indian flatbread) maker that dad bought for mum - never did the job. Or that banana cutter that was on offer on an e-commerce website, unless there is an ultra-uniform banana slice competition, why would I need it? Just like a corn kernel stripper. No, thank you, I enjoy my corn on the cob, just like how it should be eaten in the first place - toasted over a flame with a dab of lemon and some salt.
Recently, after a conversation in the newsroom about this, my editor said it was time we made a list of certain kitchen gadgets we don’t need and can do away with, happily.
1. Egg slicer
Why go through the ordeal of washing-up a completely redundant gadget? When you can wedge, slice or pierce eggs with a humble kitchen knife. Come to think of it, how much time do you spend boiling eggs, eating it and then doing the post eating clean-up? Do you want to add another process to this and spend Dh 14 to 30, unless you are competing for an ultra-precise egg cutting marathon? Imagine having to clean individual blades of the slicers that would have eggs stuck on them. Does not save time, for sure.
2. Taco holder
Like there is no proper way to eat a taco, you just eat it. Similarly, why have a special gadget to place your taco on. Does it make eating tacos any easier? No! Purpose defeated. Adiós it is.
3. Honey dipper
I did end up buying one. But they were just as good as a spoon to do the job. Let’s list the many uses of honey in the kitchen? Wait. There aren’t many. Pour honey, drizzle honey, all this can be done with a spoon or a squeeze honey bottle itself. The dipper does look aesthetically appealing, but that’s it. It brings no value addition with it.
4. Garlic press
Peeling garlic is tedious. But there are excellent tips and tricks to peel garlic. That’s another story to write about. First, let’s evaluate the garlic press. Done. Not required at all. As if peeling wasn’t enough of a task, who would want to clean a piece of gadget with garlic and its juices stuck to it. The ordeal of garlic press doesn’t end there. The leftovers in the press, could well be used if cut with a knife, or blended, but much useless after pressing.
5. Egg separator
Why are there so many egg gadgets? That’s a discussion for another time. An egg separator’s purpose is to separate the egg whites and yolks, without disturbing either, for people who like their eggs a certain way - two white and one yellow omelette or even when baking, might be useful but imagine the whites coming out of a nostril. Ugh! There are some strange looking egg separators that can definitely be given a pass.
6. Stem remover and slicer set
Again, how afraid can you be of kitchen knives? These somewhat strange yet semi-popular stem removers are designed to remove fruit or vegetable stem only. Imagine having a knife to do the cutting, stem removing, slicing, chopping etc. Much easier and convenient.
Which are the gadgets lying around in your kitchen, you do not use? Let us know at food@gulfnews.com
