5 Kitchen Tools I CAN Do Without
If you’re anything like me you can get easily overwhelmed in the kitchen accessories section of any store. Once I’m overwhelmed I don’t make good decisions. I will buy anything on a whim to get out of there and to stop the sensory overload.
I went through a dirty martini phase for a while a few years back. What is a dirty martini without bleu cheese stuffed olives, right? It always seemed like a such a waste of time and a pain to pull the pimento without ruining the olive. So, I got the idea in my head that I need an olive pitter. Once I have an idea in my head, it rarely leaves until I act on it. I went to my local Williams-Sonoma and picked up a pitter that did double duty—cherries and olives. That evening I decided I had to have a dirty martini. Any excuse to have an adult beverage will do for me! So, I pulled out the cherry and olive pitter and got to work. The pitter seemed to rip the olives in half worse than I did with just using a fork. I haven’t used it since.
Cherry and Olive Pitter
I love to watch the Food Network. During one episode of “Thirty Minute Meals” with Rachael Ray I noticed she was using a garlic press rather than go through the painstaking process of chopping garlic. So, naturally, I went out and bought one. For my next Italian dinner I decided to make use of the garlic press. I put the garlic in and pressed but barely any garlic popped out. I ended up having to use a knife to smash it through the press. The real problem with the garlic press is cleaning it. You can’t really just wash it like you would any other utensil. It takes a lot to get that garlic out. Too much work for me.
Garlic Press
Not only do I love watching the Food Network I also secretly love those info-mercials on TV. I found one particularly interesting—the herb savor pod. I will typically buy fresh herbs, stick them in the fridge, use them once or twice and then forget about them until they go bad and I have to throw them out. So, when I got married I registered for the herb savor pod system. You just put the herbs in with a little water and according to the commercials your herbs stay fresher longer. Guess what? When you’re forgetful with the herbs in a plastic container you’re probably going to be forgetful of the herbs in the pod savor. I had the same problem I had before and they took up more in the fridge.
I love my kitchen. I love it. However, the pantry is just a little too far away every time I need olive oil, a spice or foil. In order to make things easier for myself, I bought one of Rachael Ray’s EVOO containers. They’re cute and colorful but seemed to be easy to sit next to my stovetop so my olive oil was right there when I needed it. Cut to three weeks after I filled it…I hadn’t used it once. In fact, I would still walk over to my pantry grab the bottle of olive oil and walk it over to my stove. The purple EVOO container ended up being just a decoration in my kitchen.
EVOO Container
These four items ended up being a waste of money for me. They sit in my cabinets and take up precious shelf or drawer space. As any woman knows those two things are a commodity that is hard to come by in most kitchens! As with anything else you should try a product out and see how it works for you.
What are some of your least favorite kitchen gadgets you’ve purchased?