Kitchen gadgets are designed – for the most part – to make life easier. As gadget vendor (and BBQ champion), Angie Qualle said: “it’s all about convenience — everybody wants things to be easier and faster.” And indeed, the microwave was created to give us more time (which we don’t seem to have), the blender to ease the strain we’ve encountered on chopping food items (which has been replaced by other strains) and so on and so forth.
Sometimes though it seems simple is best. Getting back to basics is what a lot of end up doing; as Qualle said, she always goes back to her knife. She believes that a good cook always requires: a high-heat spatula, and a good set of tongs.
So the question remains, is it really worth clogging up our kitchen cupboards with one-time-use-only gadgets? Which ones can we truly take benefit from? Do we absolutely, 100% have to have the pickle picker? Perhaps not. Maybe the pizza scissors are better for those busy moms who often serve up a few slices to hungry kids at dinner.
In other words, when deciding what deserves high value real estate in your kitchen closets, consider again perhaps the necessity of that macaroni maker. Perhaps say “no thank you,” to the Chef ‘n Banana Slicer for the days you simply cannot use the knife in your drawer.
Instead, get a simple microwave that just heats and defrosts (you don’t need one that is going to play The Star Spangled Banner every time your peas are defrosted), the three items Qualle says are useful and a kettle. The rest as they say, is commentary.