The time has come for me to once again get up on my “soapbox”. This time it’s to air my frustration with kitchen “gadgets”. Now I know there are a lot of you out there that LOVE your gadgets so let me apologize in advance if I should happen to insult you in the course of this discourse. It is not my particular intent to offend anyone out there but rather to politely say:
“What the heck are you thinkin’ ???”
I don’t even like the word “gadget”. I don’t know if it’s from seeing too many kitchen drawers crammed full of do-hickeys and thingamajigs or the result of a deep down childhood dislike for the cartoon character Inspector Gadget (most likely the combined effect of the two). I usually define “gadget” as something not really needed but perhaps unique and interesting while a “tool” is something that performs a useful and necessary task. Cooks need their kitchens to be out-fitted with great tools, not a myriad of gadgets. Out of curiosity I decided to look up the actual definition of “gadget” in Webster’s New World Dictionary where it lists the following definitions:
GADGET:
1) any small, especially mechanical contrivance or device.
2) any interesting but relatively useless or unnecessary object.
Yes, I’ve been vindicated!
Unfortunately this doesn’t change the fact that our lives, homes and especially kitchens are chock full of gadgets (Remember… useless and unnecessary objects). I could really go on for quite awhile about what you DON’T need in your kitchen. However for the sake of brevity I’m going to keep this post to a few key items that prove how the marketing gurus are grabbing your hard-earned dollars when you’re not looking.
Stupid Gadget #1: Color Coded Chopping/Cutting Mats
These are currently being featured on the Avon website and their catalog but variations abound in cookware stores and even in commercial kitchens. The idea is that you color code your cutting boards to prevent cross-contamination between food items. I’m not against the idea of preventing cross-contamination. Actually most food-borne illness is a result of carelessness at home rather than in restaurants. My frustration is that it’s attempting to “dumb down” and remove thinking from food preparation….as though if we only cut chicken on one particular surface we don’t have to be concerned about salmonella or other bacteria. WRONG! Even if you only cut one item per surface you can still spread bacteria if you don’t wash it well between uses. The primary focus should be to understand how cross-contamination occurs, how to prevent it, and proper care (i.e. cleaning) of your cutting boards. Water is the universal solvent…hot soapy water and a good scrubbing will take care of cleaning most anything. Wash your cutting boards well and don’t cut items to be served raw on the same board after potentially hazardous foods have been cut unless it has first been washed.
DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! (however if you’re going to order cutting boards from me I would recommend one each for: meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, breads/cakes, and crafts-heck as long as your in the spending mood figured you should get one for the craft room too!)
Stupid Gadget #2: Peanut Butter & Jelly Spreader
The concept behind this gadget is that according the manufacturer it
“eliminates risk of peanut butter and jelly mixing in jars”
OH REALLY???
Does it send an electric shock through your hand if you try to put the purple end in the peanut butter or the brown end in the jelly?
I don’t think so….It does nothing to eliminate risk but it sure sounds like a good marketing idea!
Jumping on the bandwagon of the peanut allergies out there it’s a perfect sounding “gadget” if you don’t take time to think through this purchase. Personally, I think you’re maybe more likely to get the peanut butter in the jelly by flipping it over to use the same utensil in both items. But perhaps it comes with a 10 page user manual instructing one to first spread the jelly and do the peanut butter last? AND who’s to say that someone else didn’t already put their peanut butter in your jelly? It’s not going to prevent that is it?
Once again, the marketing gurus and engineers (is their really any engineering to this item?) have tried to give the impression that this one gadget is going to solve the world’s peanut problems. Just as with the cutting boards…the real answer is “AWARENESS”…get some and save the money you’d otherwise waste on this pointless gadget. (By the way…how in the world did we manage to spread peanut butter and jelly before spreaders were color coded? AND what if you really prefer Strawberry Jelly? Would you then need to get one with a red silicone coating to denote that it’s for strawberry??? It only comes in purple so I’m assuming it must be ok to put in strawberry too. Gosh, with so many questions unanswered I don’t even know if I’d be qualified to use this!)
Stupid Gadget #3: Butter Slicer and Spreader
From the same manufacturer as the peanut butter and jelly spreader. Whew…wow, all these years I’ve struggled with getting butter on my toast….now I can spend $10-$12 and all my toast troubles will melt away! I should probably mention that I do in fact like this manufacturing company and readily use and endorse them (not on a paid basis but certainly willing to if anyone from the company is reading this! Ok, after these postings maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up) . My point is however that we can get caught up in consumer frenzy and spend money on things that just aren’t necessary. This gadget is intended to help you slice thin pieces of butter and then help you spread it on the toast. Well first…my butter knife has been slicing and spreading butter for years already. On top of that…the only way that this is going to help you spread and melt your butter is if the toast is hot….that has nothing to do with the spreading implement. If you’re having problems spreading butter then simply nuke it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to make it spreadable or
just keep your butter dish at room temperature so you’re ready to spread butter at the drop of an english muffin.
I really could keep on going and will do so another day.
In the meantime try to avoid getting caught up in consumer kitchen gadget frenzy and the next time you’re tempted to buy that nifty new gadget that just caught your eye, do us both a favor and just send me a check for the same amount! I’ll of course be happy and you will too because you won’t have a drawer full of unnecessary useless items!
Tools are necessary and beneficial….Gadgets are not!
Tool: an implement that assists in doing a necessary job.
Gadget: an unnecessary or useless item.
I doubt I’m the only one that feels this way!!!???
It’s time to play “True Confessions”:
What is the most frustrating, pointless, or just plain junky gadget that you’ve ever had or seen? Share your stories and thoughts in the comment form below: