The Chicago Tribune asked chefs about kitchen gadgets they find utterly useless (registration required).
Egg slicers get mixed reviews from the assembled chefs, but garlic presses seem to be nearly universally despised by the professionals, not to mention what chef Pamela Denison describes as “those garlic peelers that look like cannoli” (full disclosure: I’m the proud owner of one).
Anthony Bourdain takes particular glee in gunning down the SaladShooter: “What the #$%@ is that?! You have to be pretty helpless if you’re in need of a salad-conveyance system.”
CHOW recently listed 10 kitchen items worth spending a pretty penny for. Which kitchen gadgets do you find truly ridiculous?
I bought a dumpling press about 10 years ago. It’s in pristine, never touched condition if anybody wants it.
I love my garlic press, and I love my garlic peeler too.
You know, sometimes all I want when I get home after a loooong day at work is a bowl of pasta with garlic and olive oil.
And you know what else?
To get that bowl, I’m certainly not going to pull out my knife and my chopping board.
I’m going to grab my rolly thingy, pop a clove of garlic in it, rub the skin off and then put that clove of garlic in the press and smoosh it out into my bowl, then I’m going to pop the warm pasta on top of it, season with salt & pepper and a healthy glug of olive oil, and then I’m going to sit on my a** and make raspberry noises at the TV chefs that think they’re too good for the humble garlic press.
Haters!
theheadhen–amen to what you’ve said. I’d include my garlic press as one of the top five kitchen utensils I couldn’t live without.
Garlic isn’t easy to dice. Moreover, it saturates most cutting boards, requiring that you thoroughly wash the board afterwards. Because I adhere to the creed of doubling the amount of garlic whenever a recipe calls for it, I’d have to work twice as hard.
The garlic press eliminates cleanup time, releases more garlic aromas, and reduces the amount of time I spend on prep. I couldn’t live without it.