10 Hyper-Specific Kitchen Gadgets That Are Definitely Worth the Money
And the drawer space.
You might think your kitchen toolkit is complete. But have you ever heard of a mushroom brush? Or what about a pie bird? While certain kitchen tools are no-brainers (think: hand blender, garlic press or trusty paring knife) others may seem unnecessary — or even a little absurd — at the outset. However, there are some one-trick-ponies we think no kitchen should be without. Here’s a list of our favorite single-use gadgets that are well-worth the kitchen drawer space.
Getting into a pineapple has never been easy. (Frankly, we’ll take all the help we can get.) Thankfully, this all-in-one tool peels, cores, slices and dices the fruit with two quick steps, making last year’s viral pineapple video look like a thing of the past.
The best method for cleaning mushrooms can be a polarizing topic. Mushrooms are, by nature, pretty dirty, but conventional wisdom says you shouldn’t wash them with water because of their delicate nature. Solution: A gentle dry brush that cleans off soil without reducing the mushrooms’ flavor or damaging their skin.
Assuming you don’t always eat corn on the cob, this specialty peeler is an essential tool to have in your arsenal. Thanks to the curved, y-peeler shape, it removes kernels in satisfying, effortless strips. Once you try this, you’ll never go back to using a straight peeler (messy) or knife (messy and dangerous).
Even Victorians had an appreciation for niche kitchen utensils. Since the late 19th century, bakers have been using gadgets to release steam from pies and keep the filling from bubbling over. But it wasn’t until the 1930s that these gadgets took the whimsical form of birds. Any oven-proof funnel will do the trick, but the bird motif remains irresistible all these years later.
Cooking ground beef may be associated with deceptively simple, popular weeknight meals like tacos and spaghetti Bolognese. But to prepare the meat correctly, it doesn’t hurt to have a five-blade spatula in your corner. This unique design helps evenly chop and break up the hamburger, ensuring that it doesn’t burn or clump together.
Prepping cherries and olives is a thankless, bordering on impossible, task if you’re attempting to dig the pit out with a fork. This tool spikes the pit and cleanly removes it like nothing was even there. Side bonus: Your dinner guests will thank you when they don’t have to awkwardly spit olive pits out in their napkins.
Prepared correctly, tofu is a treat. Slightly chewy, it’s the perfect vehicle for your favorite punchy, garlicky sauce. Prepared incorrectly, it can be a dense, watery mess. A tofu press squeezes the extra liquid out of tofu bricks to give them better texture so they’re ready to absorb flavor.
Ever tried to make guacamole and ended up with half the avocado all over your hands? Us, too. This Swiss Army knife-style tool helps you skin, slice and even pit fragile avocados without wasting any flesh.
Let’s face it. Coring strawberries with a knife is tedious (if not outright dangerous). This handy — and adorable — gadget, which twists out the strawberry stem, makes the task infinitely easier.
Here’s one for the egg white lovers (especially those who are tired of juggling messy yolks). No one loves trying to manually separate the two. Instead, try using this simple tool. Just hang it on the side of a bowl, crack an egg into it, and let the egg whites flow.
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