These 20 Kitchen Devices Are a Full Waste of Cash, Based on Chefs

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With infinite kitchen instruments and devices promising sooner meals prep and higher outcomes, it is simple to seek out your self with a cluttered kitchen. 

A handful of reliable instruments will carry you a lot farther than a drawer stuffed with gimmicks — not less than that is what the culinary specialists I spoke to counsel. Professional cooks stick with fundamentals like sharp knives, sturdy slicing boards, and dependable pans as a result of they work they usually final. Those are the sorts of instruments that make it easier to construct confidence within the kitchen as an alternative of including muddle.

To separate the important from the superfluous or downright ineffective, we requested culinary execs to share the instruments they swear by and the devices they’d skip. Their recommendation will make it easier to keep away from falling for flashy merchandise and as an alternative spend money on gadgets that you’re going to attain for each single day. When decluttering your kitchen, you may must make some robust selections however we’re right here to assist.

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Masaharu Morimoto 

Celebrity chef, restaurateur

Masaharu Morimoto cooking on stage

Masaharu Morimoto shared his decide for probably the most overrated kitchen device.

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

1. Mandolin

a mandolin sits beside sliced potatoes and carrots

Chef Morimoto encourages beefing up your knife abilities to make skinny and uniform vegetable slices.

Milk Street

Why: “While it brings good slices, mastering proper knife skills gives you more control, precision and safety in the long run. Mandolins can be bulky, hard to clean and risky if you’re not extremely careful. Relying too much on a mandolin, or tools like a two-in-one apple cutter or a tomato corer can hold you back from developing real technique. Taking the time to learn how to handle a sharp chef’s knife or Japanese blade will help you in almost every recipe.” 

What to strive as an alternative: Mac 8-inch Japanese chef knife.

Eric Rowse 

Lead chef-instructor Institute of Culinary Education, Los Angeles

Eric Rowse working in a kitchen

Culinary teacher Eric Rowse is aware of a gimmicky kitchen device when he sees one.

Institute of Culinary Education

2. Onion holders

Why: “These look like a weapon for Wolverine wannabes; it’s meant to help you hold a whole onion and “chop” it. Instead, cut the onion in half to create a flat surface so it won’t roll away. If you’re trying to cut rings, save the $14 and stick a fork in the root and hold the fork.”

What to strive as an alternative: Learn to properly slice an onion the old school method.

3. Onion goggles 

women cutting onions with goggles on

Save your cash — and a few dignity — and skip the onion goggles.

Rubberball/Mike Kemp/Getty Images

Why: “A waste of money, as they don’t form a great seal around the eyes to prevent the sulfur compounds from getting to your eyes and making you cry. Keep your knife sharp and open a window or turn on a fan instead.”

What to strive as an alternative: CNET’s Peter Butler shares suggestions for slicing onions with out crying.

4. Metal, glass, stone and acrylic slicing boards

onions chopped on cutting board with knife

Glass, stone and metallic boards are OK for serving however when slicing and dicing, wooden is the way in which to go.

David Watsky/CNET

Why: “Cutting on hard surfaces is bad for your knives; instead, go for wood or poly.”

What to strive as an alternative: Our listing of the very best slicing boards options loads of knife-safe choices. 

5. Chicken shredder 

shredded chicken with two forks beside it

Two forks are all it’s essential efficiently shred hen.

bhofack2/Getty

Why: “I can’t think of anyone needing a tool devoted to shredding chicken outside a restaurant and even restaurants don’t use it. This item only has one purpose so I’d skip it.”

What to strive as an alternative: Two forks.

6. Herb stripper

Why: “I love thyme but hate stripping it. When I was young I got suckered into believing this tool would help me … It’s been sitting in my cupboard, laughing at me for almost a decade now.”

What to strive as an alternative: For heartier herbs like rosemary and thyme, simply use your fingers to slip down the stem, reverse to how the leaves develop.

7. Bluetooth wi-fi probe thermometer

ThermoPro Lightning Instant read meat probe sitting on grill lid

Instant learn meat probes work quick and do not require a fussy Bluetooth connection.

Chris Wedel/CNET

Why: “These are a great tool but can be very expensive. I can see myself losing, breaking, dropping, accidentally throwing away or dropping it in the coals.”

What to strive as an alternative: ThermoPro’s Lightning Instant Read Thermometer

Peter Som 

Cookbook creator and life-style knowledgeable

Peter Som holding a tray of ingredients

Cookbook creator Peter Som did not maintain again when requested about his least favourite kitchen instruments.

Peter Som

8. Electric can opener

a person holding a manual can opener to open a can of black beans

A handbook can opener is cheaper, works nice and is much less prone to break.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Why: “Most of us grew up with an electric can opener permanently stationed on the kitchen counter, like it was a vital appliance. But truthfully, they’re more nostalgia than necessity. They take up space, can be a hassle to clean and often struggle with irregularly sized cans. A good manual opener is compact, reliable and gets the job done without needing an outlet or a user manual.”

What to strive as an alternative: Oxo’s soft-handled can opener.

Richard Ingraham 

Personal chef to Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union and creator of Love: My Love Expressed Through Food

richard ingraham

Richard Ingraham avoids sure kitchen instruments when cooking for celebs like Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union.

John Parra/Getty Images

9. Avocado slicer

Why: “A knife and spoon do the job just as easily and the specialized tool rarely fits all avocado sizes properly. It’s a one-trick pony that clutters drawers.”

What to strive as an alternative: A very good paring knife like this $35 Wusthof

10. Egg separator

egg in separator device

Separating an egg by hand is not so tough that it requires {hardware}.

Yipengge/Getty Images

Why: “A tool just for separating yolks is unnecessary for most home cooks.” The solely exception could also be this one, and even that’s only for yolks. Err, I imply yucks.

What to strive as an alternative: Cracking an egg and utilizing the shell halves or your fingers works simply as effectively. 

11. Garlic peeler tube

Why: “Rolling garlic cloves in a silicone tube may work but requires storing a single-purpose gadget.”

What to strive as an alternative: Smashing garlic cloves with a chef knife is faster and extra dependable.

12. Pizza scissors

person cutting pizza with scissors

Chef Ingraham says skip the scissors on pizza night time.

Zoranm/Getty Images

Why: “A pizza cutter or knife works better and faster. These scissors are gimmicky, awkward to clean and take up more space than they’re worth.”

What to strive as an alternative: KitchenAid’s stainless-steel pizza wheel

13. Herb scissors

Why: “They’re hard to clean and don’t offer a huge advantage over a sharp chef’s knife. Plus, they tend to crush delicate herbs more than slice them.”

What to strive as an alternative: Made In’s 8-inch Chef Knife.

14. Electric egg cooker

Why: “Boiling eggs in a pot is straightforward and flexible. The electric version just adds clutter unless you boil eggs constantly and hate using a stove.”

What to strive as an alternative: This 1-minute hack for making poached eggs within the microwave.

15. Butter cutter and dispenser

a silver butter knife shaves the top of a stick of butter.

A very good butter knife works simply as effectively and requires much less area and upkeep. 

Williams Sonoma

Why: “It slices sticks of butter into pats … but why? A knife works instantly and you don’t have to load and clean a plastic gadget for it.”

What to strive as an alternative: Williams Sonoma breakfast butter blade.

16. Pasta measurer

Why: “It’s a plastic disc with holes to tell you how much spaghetti to cook. Just eyeball it or learn the rough weight by experience. It’s not worth the drawer space.”

What to strive as an alternative: A kitchen scale for exact measurements.

17. Oil mister

Why: “Often clogs, sprays unevenly and requires constant cleaning. A small spoon or brush does the job with less frustration.”

What to strive as an alternative: World Market’s olive oil cruet.

18. Electric potato peeler

a person peeling potatoes with a vegetable peeler

A pointy vegetable peeler is all it’s essential pores and skin a batch of potatoes.

Capelle.r/Getty Images

Why: “Takes up a surprising amount of space and peels slower than a regular peeler. Plus, it’s overkill unless you’re peeling dozens of potatoes at once.”

What to strive as an alternative: Oxo’s Swivel peeler.

19. Bagel guillotine

Why: “Sold as a safer way to slice bagels but takes up a ton of space and is awkward to clean. A serrated knife does the job just fine.”

What to strive as an alternative: Opinel’s 8-inch bread knife

Jackie Carnesi 

Executive chef, Kellogg’s Diner

Jackie Carnesi

Jackie Carnesi

StarChefs

20. Oven mitts

kitchen towel

There’s a cause professional cooks do not use oven mitts.

Webstaurant

Why: “Oven mitts are the most useless item in a home kitchen. A sturdy kitchen towel does the same job, and odds are, it’s more likely to be washed regularly. I don’t know many people who wash their oven mitts frequently enough … it seems many have deemed it an item that doesn’t warrant regular cleaning. It does.”

What to strive as an alternative: Stock a plethora of kitchen towels.



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