I didn't know there was a strawberry huller. My kids are always throwing away 1/3 of each berry to slice them off, and I'm always irritating my nailbeds trying to get them out by hand.

I don't mind a single purpose tool if it's not expensive and doesn't take a lot of room, or if it does one thing really well that can't be duplicated by something else. From these lists, though, there are several I don't have and several tasks I've never done!

Mcmjilly, yes I've heard that too, but I want to have the little pots of yogurt.... It's one food I desperately miss from Europe. And I could use it to make different flavors at once, or make true muesli, so I can't wait to have a dedicated yogurt maker and extra pots that I could use for baby food or snacks.

I did think of getting rid of the slow cooker, as dianolo pointed out one can easily substitute for it, but with my son's all-day chemo treatments and the three other younger kids at home, I don't like the thought of the cooktop or oven staying on all day. At least the crockpot can be tucked at the back of the counter so whoever stayed home doesn't have to panic every time the littles wander into the kitchen.

I'm so thrilled to read all of your responses!! I was sure I couldn't be alone. :) I can't make a family occasion without a minimum of two dozen people here. The whole group is more like four dozen, but there are subgroups where one can divide without leaving someone out. My friends come by the dozens too, though some of them can be seated by the half dozens. So, yeah, I guess I am a part time caterer (though compared to Worldmom and Rhome410, I'm a piker). That's how, in my planning stages, I got a lot of "why do you need four ovens?" questions. Gotta say, it works great! I could do fine for entertaining day with two large convection ovens and a warming drawer, but for daily life and the days of cooking prior, I prefer my gadgety ovens too: One normal large one, one half sized combi-steam, one half sized speed oven/MW/conv., and the warming drawer. :)

NatalieChantal, you can also make yoghurt in the oven if it has the proper low settings, and use your little cups, or ramekins, or custard dishes, or those little Pyrex bowls with covers, but that means giving up the oven for the duration. I totally get why you want the dedicated yogurt maker. :D

Rhome, there are all kinds of strawberry hullers. I love mine. Some are nippers, some are spoon shaped, some defy description. Mine works really well with no fuss, but I'm sure others work well too. With this one, you pull up the leaves (sepals?), stick the points in at the base of the stem, and slide them in while turning. Pull out, and the whole center comes out, leaving the top area of the berry pretty well untouched, with a little hole in the middle. I can do this with a pointy paring knife, but it's a lot easier with the huller. Which costs something like $3 at BB&B or similar.

{{gwi:1926014}}

Mcmjilly, gotta admit, I didn't even think of the food mill and mandoline as "one purpose". One is a fancy sieve and the other is a fancy knife. :)

Re using the knife for smashing the garlic, that's great for a clove or two, but I find it wearing for a head or two, and I do have recipes that require whole cloves. I used to mince garlic, but the OXO garlic press does a superior job of crushing the garlic and extracting the juice. That was an impulse buy that has paid for itself in time savings.

Re thyme, it's not so hard with a paring knife, the crux of the herb shears or even a thumbnail when the stems are stiff, but when they're tender it can be a nightmare. I've been known to think if they're that tender to figure they do no harm to the dish and just rip them up and throw them in. If the stems aren't determined to fall apart, you might try a wire stripper. :)

Circuspeanut, the picture looks a little like a canolli shell, but it's the silicone tube. They now make these in fun colors as well. Another great thing is it goes right in the DW, standing on one of the tines.

{{gwi:1926015}}

Natal, the big cube is something I don't have--you put your boiled egg, still warm, into a cube form, so you have a hardboiled egg that doesn't roll off the plate. I find that a bit creepy, but they're supposed to be popular in Japan. The little cubes are the ones you get from putting your egg through a wire egg slicer three times.

We had a simple one of these when I was a kid, and I always found the little cubes a delight. Additionally, if you don't over stir the yolk cubes stay intact instead of becoming an all over yellow tinge. I never found a simple one that worked well as an adult. You know how it goes. It looks just the same as the old kind, but is made cheaply by people (or robots) that don't care, and it's just not as good. I'm currently using the OXO, which is very fancy. It has pegs that form the egg platform, rather than just slats of the metal base. There's a grid that fits over the pegs. You do the first two passes as usual, slice, turn over a quarter turn, and slice again, but then there's a little protrusion on the grid thing that you push along which turns the whole platform. I used to be good at turning the egg for the third cut, but this is swell. The problem with this one is that even with the grid to lift out all the scraps, a lot of bits get lost in the lid and the pegs, and, if you're making egg salad for a dozen (a staple amongst the Jewish ladies since any dolt can make it kosher), you have to rinse it out partway through the task. I'd be happiest with a simple hardware store one, if it was actually made properly, but at least this one gives me the little cubes without squishing a whole bunch of egg in the hinge.

Katkatf, I don't have a zester, believe it or not!. I have a fork (from my college, now kitchen, set) with angular tines which does as well, but nowadays I use a Microplane. I received three as a housewarming gift. One has small holes and works great for zesting. It never gets the pith. The others are two sizes of ribbon graters.

MCMJilly, I think I get why you prefer your old grater. I still use mine for lots of things. But there's something to be said for ribbon graters too. For shredded cheese to make a sauce or top a casserole or pizza, one might want hardier thickness. OTOH, there's nothing like sharp cheddar ribbons to make turnip nachos. Regular shreds would be too heavy.

That's the old just right thing. I was fine when I just had the one box grater, but I'm glad to have the microplanes too. :) And each of my five whisks has a particular use, though I could pare it down to three if I really wanted to. :) (Y'all are going to ask, so here 'tis: One spring whisk, one spring whisk with center loop, one basket or whip style, one heavy ball whisk, one light weight plastic ball whisk which isn't as good for heavy tasks but doesn't scratch the pots.)

Mama_goose, I know what you mean about the meatballs. I usually just use my hands. I put a lot of veg in them and they have to be compacted anyway. I do use a food scoop for poultry balls, the kind with the lever which expels the ball. I don't have the patience to coddle along the poultry mix so that it stays round. :)

Good heavens! I must be more like those boring ideologues comparatively, but even all this isn't enough to make me think they aren't just fundamentally wrong by definition. Hearing I "shouldn't have" really makes me want to run out and buy a cherry pitter to demonstrate my materialistic lack of good sense (we're spitters and I don't bake cherry pies).

My own line might more resemble the noise of trying to find my valuable but seldom used electronic scale because it's lost again under a clack and clatter of other things in old, unregretted kitchens. So, I guess if it there's a place for it and I imagine it might be useful some day it can stay. Like the rather scary cleaver I've used about once since a friend crafted it for me 15 years ago...

I thought of another (craving hit :)

Lime Squeezer! The only way to make a pitcher of margaritas!

I have 2. One goes on vacation with me.

we're spitters and I don't bake cherry pies

(grinning)

I tossed my garlic press. I think it makes the garlic taste bitter. Same reason I don't use a Microplane zester to mince garlic.

Wow, I have very little gadgetry/single use appliances. An ice-cream maker, a hot-air popcorn popper, and a citrus press is the appliance list. Gadgetry - I hack my way through food prep with a chef's knife, paring knife, box grater and peeler. Oh, and a salad spinner - that's one gadget I'd have trouble without.

Where I fall down is single-use dishes/glassware - different glasses for white and red wines, sherry, brandy, port, champagne, probably margaritas, trifle, footed ice cream dishes.... Blame Crate & Barrel and an overeager fiance/now husband when we registered for our wedding - "only $0.99 for these cute port glasses? Let's register for 12! Wow, champagne flutes for $2.50 - another 12 of those!" :)

A lettuce spinner may be single purpose, but if you eat salads every day it makes a whole lot of sense.

Blame Crate & Barrel and an overeager fiance/now husband when we registered for our wedding - "only $0.99 for these cute port glasses? Let's register for 12! Wow, champagne flutes for $2.50 - another 12 of those!" :)

That was me yesterday. Now that I have all this cab space with some shelves completely empty, I decided life is too short to live with the wrong/mismatched adult beverage glasses. I order 8 red, 8 white, and 8 martini glasses from CB. I will serve the margaritas in one of those because those darn traditional wide rim things take too much real estate :)

Did no one mention a Zyliss cheese grater? Essential for me. Also a little gadget that you pour wine through to aerate it. Salad spinner and pizza cutting wheel. Little thing with teeth to take the stem top off the tomatoes. Whisks of all sizes All used all the time.

sayde said:
Did no one mention a Zyliss cheese grater? Essential for me. Also a little gadget that you pour wine through to aerate it. Salad spinner and pizza cutting wheel. Little thing with teeth to take the stem top off the tomatoes. Whisks of all sizes All used all the time.

zyliss cheese grater gets near daily use here. I don't buy parmesan in anything other than a hunk :)

Salad spinner too. Zyliss and it gets near daily use. That's one of the items (plus rice cooker) that we bought two of for second winter house...

Never heard of the tomato thing, but i generally use a knife on all things tomato.

None of my oodles of kitchen gadgets are single use because the secondary (or primary) use is entertaining my sons who love gadgets and love to cook. They use a lot of the gadgets to play with play dough (home made of course). The cherry pitter does pit olives and it is very entertaining to be surprised by whether and where the pit comes out and who will get squirted and where with juice from cherry or olive.

Now that nataliechantal has brought up the subject of müesli, I can't stop thinking that I really need a nice grain mill...

I forgot to mention my brioche pans, ramekins, tart pan, souffle dish, quiche dish, cookie press, cream horn moulds, pastry bag and tips, pastry frame, mushroom brush and christmas pudding mould.

I use the toaster infrequently enough that we can call that a "single use" item.

I also have several types of whisk, each with a specific application. :-D

I just realized no one said corkscrew or church key... we are going to have our GW status revoked for sure, lol....

And I am adding salad spinner to my wish list. I never had the room for one before....

LOL!! I didn't mention the wine stuff. It's in the butler's pantry, and is the province of the butler. ;) As in the guy in charge of the bottles. :) There are aerators, both white and red, and a couple of the stopper kind as well, foil cutters of a couple varieties, a Rabbit, some parallel leg cork pullers, some decorative stoppers, and a vacuvin. :) And a plethora of stemware all in its own lovely cabinetry.

Dianalo, I did mention the bottle/can opener. It's more of a kitchen thing than a classic church key, but same function. I just use it for piercing the evaporated milk, rather than old fashioned cans of beer. :)

Thanks Sayde and Marcy for mentioning the Zyliss cheese grater. It looks like it would be great for my mother. I just looked in her drawers but didn't find anything too different from what I have. A lot of corn cob holders and a butter cutter. I was thinking about that butter cutter when I posted my original list--thinking that if I ever wanted one I'd borrow hers!

I wasn't thinking of them as gadgets, but I do have a salad spinner, rotary egg beater, and skewers, both metal and bamboo. The egg beater is definitely one purpose. I only use it for making blintzes. I don't know how to make blintz pancakes except in a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup with an egg beater. The way my great aunt's recipe from Europe works is you add the milk 'till it goes like this when you lift the egg beater. The only way to get that feeling is with an egg beater. Some people say "heavy cream" but that's not quite right. So I searched and searched when they were unpopular, and finally found one which was heavy enough to work right. Nowadays, I could probably take my mother's. She'd give me the danged butter cutter if I let her, but it does get used at her house. :)

What she did saddle me with today was a Cuisinart Griddler. I've been complaining for months that my grill press (a "pot" that goes on the stove) had gone missing during the move back into the kitchen. The move from the living room. So she thought I couldn't live without making panini and made me take this small appliance home. I don't actually need this, but I have a bigger kitchen than she does. :)

My newest gadgets are a Cuisenart Citris juicer (like the one Ina Garten uses) from BBB for $15 and a salad spinner--love them both! The salad spinner gets used almost every day and the juicer is used about 3x per week (more if I'm craving lemonade. My other favorite one-use gadgets are my toaster tongs (from a Tupperware party many years ago) and ricer (best amooth mashed potatoes ever!) Toaster tongs are kept on a hook on the side of the toaster so its always handy.

Okay - those of you who said microplane graters are so invaluable had me Internet shopping immediately. But there are so many different ones! Which one(s) do you have and which do you recommend for a microplane newbie? I do already have a box grater and one of those rotary hand crank thingies.

Single purpose if not single use, but this strap wrench is indispensable!

Had to laugh at raro's comment about entertainment. Our kitchen gadgets double as percussion instruments. It all started one family gathering when a BIL and nephew had guitars and someone suggested that the rest of us needed instruments as well. That plus liquid libations made for some interesting repurposing of kitchen items!

Katkatf, my first Microplane and the one I use the most (for hard cheese, lemon zest, ginger, & nutmeg) is the rasp/ruler grater/zester. You can get it with or without a handle. I prefer without.

Here is a link that might be useful: Microplane zester

I've peeled garlic for years by just smacking it with a knife, but WOW that garlic tube works great! It's only a single use gadget but if you peel a lot of garlic...

I bought mine on ebay and it was less than $1.50 including shipping

Here is a link that might be useful: garlic tube

And speaking of indespensible one trick ponies - I've had a succession of pizza wheels for years too. Till I got this baby. It cuts AND serves the pizza.

Here is a link that might be useful: pizza scissors

"Hello, my name is mtnfever and I'm a gadgeholic."

Hence I have almost every gadget named here (and don't even get me started on motorcycle- and computer-type gadgets) and try valiantly to use them somewhat regularly to justify their existence and my expense. Some, like potato ricer and turkey lifter, get used once a year but boy oh boy do I need them that one time. Some, like the bread machine and a possibly lethal pizza cutter in the wrong hands, are used seasonally (pizza in winter, grilling in summer). Since they get used ~half the year, it's like having a whole new set of gadgets every six months!

A couple of my favorites that I haven't seen in this thread are the aforementioned pizza cutter. Previously I used the 'big wheel' type cutter but it seemed to push the toppings around too much and slide the pizza slices around too. With this cutter, three or four whacks and the pizza's ready, non-slid and every piece still owning its own toppings.

Another is a removable silicone pan handle; the one I have is a Le Creuset that I picked up in a fabulous kitchen store in Sheridan WY of all placess--the ranching wedding couples must drive for hours to use this place. Anyway, after picking up a saute pan from the cooktop for finishing the sauce, that I had just taken out of a 400 degree oven a minute earlier but had already managed to forget, FOR THE SECOND TIME, I decided this was a definite safety issue. I didn't want to end up like the evil Nazi in Indiana Jones with a brand on my hand.

Needles to say, I love this thread and avidly read every post to think hmm, how can I use that gadget or can I resist it? Thank you pllog for starting it and thanks to all for your favorite gadgets!

cheers

Wow! Rosieo, that's a good one! I've never seen anything like it.

Katkaff, it depends on what you're doing. I have the Home Series Fine Grater, which is the one I use for zesting. I think it would be hard on the finger for nutmeg--these things are VERY sharp--though they also sell a box attachment. I don't think the attachment is worth the money, but it's well designed and it does work.

I like the comfy handle on the original, "home" series, and the plastic frame. The "professional" ones look stylish, but a pain to hold. The wire frame on the "gourmet" series looks like it would be harder to clean in the crevices.

The most distinctive ones are the ribbon graters, which I have in two sizes (all three were a gift). They make much thinner "ribbon" of cheese than a box grater, and there's no comparison in what they do with a carrot. It's different, but not really necessary. Except maybe for the turnip nachos. If you use regular grated cheese on them you get more cheese than turnip and it throws off the balance, though you could probably get away with just carefully laying three cheese threads on each slice...

I realized that I didn't completely answer your prior questions: The steel glove is for doing a lot of fast, fine chopping. I have two scars from hitting hard spots on onions and having the knife deflect. You can actually chop through the steel mesh, but I don't usually put that much shoulder into my chopping, and the glove is a first line of defense. I don't use it for small tasks unless I'm trying to do cuts too near my fingers, but for choppapalooza it's a real gift. Though, since we're talking gadgets, I suppose that chop wizard one that a couple people mentioned would be good for that too...

The pillbug scale (it's by Joseph Joseph) is digital, as you can see in the picture. I love that the works are covered by the bowl when it's not in use, and it's hard to put something heavy down on it, inadvertently, that could throw off the mechanism. I LOVE this scale. I got it when I started writing up a lot of recipes, and realized that there's no good definition of what a "medium" onion was. My old scale just couldn't deal with a whole recipe. It's crochety. I just just dump produce in the scale's bowl, and it doesn't roll away, and, if I've set the tare, I can just put a prep bowl on top of the scale's bowl (I'm too lazy to move it), rather than having to pour things back and forth. 'Course, even though the platform is dished to fit the bowl, you can remove the bowl and weigh anything right on the scale. I forgot to mention the scale in the "what's on your counters" thread, because, like the teakettle and the dishsoap, it just is. :)

no one mentioned pizelle cooker (I inherited it and recipes from mother-out-law), pasta and grinder attachments for the KitchenAid, or grain mill (gives son a work out and yields fabulous whole wheat flour for baking) that had to have its own special mounting area designed into our plans (it used to mount to the top of the recyclables bin), or tongs for lifting jars from the water bath when canning. These are single use gadgets. Dumpling press only got used for play dough. Crepe pan gift never used yet.

ROTFL! Mtnfever, thanks for the cheers. :) I have two of those handle covers. :) I just think of them has pot holders. I have potholders at every station in the kitchen. Actually, I have silicone ones at every station, and cloth ones only by the MW.

Wyoming is a wonderful place. One of the first places in the world to realize women should have a vote in how things are run. One of the first places in the States to embrace healthy living ((voluntary) no smoking and heart healthy diets). It's no wonder that there's a fabulous kitchen store in the center of the state. I don't do snow, but I have much love for Wyoming. In the Summer. :)

Pllog, the Home Series looks similar to the former interchangeable model that I have. Should say had. The plastic housing inside the handle recently broke. I loved that I could switch blades so easily. Of course there's now no replacement, but I can still use the individual graters without a handle, so they're not getting tossed.

I'm considering getting one of the all stainless professional series coarse graters.

Here is a link that might be useful: professional series Microplane

I still think the original zester is the best. I'm on my second one. It's a workhorse!

Here is a link that might be useful: Microplane Classic Original Zester

Hey Plllog,

Thanks for this thread! I used to think I was still living in the dark ages when it came to modern-day computer and electronics technology. Now I know I'm there with respect to kitchen technology as well! This thread has convinced me that it's time to load up my BBB coupons and to go shopping! :-) Btw, I'm not sure whether these have been mentioned already, but the only gadgets I can think to add to this list would be the shrimp cleaner, vegetable scrubber, french press, sugar/flour scoop, mortar and pestle and tagine.

Evil, evil thread.

Now that two people have mentioned Joseph Joseph, of course I had to go look. Will probably now acquire even more kitchen gadgets! It will be on your heads ....

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!! I have now developed a love-hate relationship with this thread!!! I now have in my cart at Amazon.com the Joseph Joseph scale, a microplane, and a strap wrench (which I had never heard of before!). And I'm lookin' at herb shears and silicon pan handles!!!!!

Stop! I can't afford any more!!!! :)

Oh my gosh what a fun thread! I am going to have to come back and take notes of all the fun gadgets! I too have a ton of gadgets. I may have a few to add to the list.
ALthough we don't use them too much but my husband *had* to have: a hamburger press, bacon press, a (get this) hot dog holder made out of wire so that he doesn't have to turn *each* hot dog. I have a few fish shaped BBQ racks, but I forget we are talking about kitchen gadgets.

Lets see what else. A Meatgrinder attachment for my KA, a pasta attachment (will surely end up with another because the current one only makes flat dough, and we want the one to make rigatoni) haha. Oh, I also have a hand crank pasta maker. I am eyeing a ravioli maker too.

Ooooh, COFFEE machines how bout have *10* things that do the same job.
I have, well, 2 electric coffee pots, a Chemex Glass coffee pot, 2 6 cup stovetop espresso pots, 1 9 cup espresso pot, 2 french press pots packed away some where, and not one but *2* fully automatic Jura espresso machines. And my heart still skips a beat when I see the "pixie" in the Williams Sonoma Catalog/store, For shame! I have 2 spice grinders which were meant for coffee beans but aren't good enough and I would love a real grinder(but haven't bought one yet - aren't you proud). (to be fair, i did have a vacation house where most of the duplicates were needed) Oh, and a (2) cold brew Toddy coffee maker/s for iced coffee. I actually do use the stovetop espresso pots, the chemex and the juras (when they are not packed for the move) pretty regularly and the cold drip during the summer.

I have an electric knife sharpener, and a manual knife sharpener, and oddly enough my husband just walked in with a new knife sharpener he got for about $5 that is outta this world. He promised to get me one for the kitchen since his is meant for fish.

My problem (beyond the fact that I have duplicates) is that I tend to find another gadget that does a *better* job. Or they come out with a new and improved item. I went years and years before I broke down and finally bought a food processor (Cuisinart) and then about 6 months later they came out with their new one that has nesting bowls and an easy to clean on off switch, and even seals if you puree soup. I was so disappointed.

I got some good perspective last summer, when my husband and I went to visit his family in Morocco for 3 months. His family is by no means a poor family, but the way of thinking/ living was so different. We are so disposable here in the states. They had exactly what they needed and nothing more, and every single item in their kitchen was used to its death. His mom hooked up her brand new washing machine just for our visit. Out of its box. And it was from something like 1980. She had been saving it I guess. We are talking about going for another visit and I am seriously trying to figure out how much room I'll have to take a griddle pan in my suitcase (or if they'll let me through security!). They make the best yeast pancake like things (called beghrir) with orange water and honey mmmm. But they make them one at a time. Imagine making 30 pancakes one at a time.

A gadget is only good if it makes your life easier, And I consider myself blessed in more ways than one.

(Now I've bookmarked a few beghrir recipes.)

Katkatf, I've been acquiring these things for decades, and quite a number were gifts. You don't need them until you need them, and most are fairly inexpensive for when you do need them. That said, your choices are good ones. :) Every kitchen should have a good scale. Weight is a more reliable dry measure than volume, and, since the scales let you choose Metric or English, you an use all those lovely foreign recipes where everything is measured in grams. :)

Kashmi, I feel for you. Stay away from Bodum. :) I'm a sucker for good design too. Most of my camping supplies are second generation and quite a few pieces had failed. The first time I saw the Joseph Joseph nesting set, I had to get it. There's no way I'm backpacking at this point, so for car camping and expeditions it's nice to be well supplied, and compact. It has a large bowl, small pouring bowl, sieve, colander and four measuring cups, that all fit together inside the large bowl. These aren't for heavy duty use, or for DW or MW, but easy to find when they fall in the dirt. :)

Ok, I have to admit, I'm one of those who fall for the Williams Sonoma "crap", therefore, the extended pantry to house all the "crap" they peddle. LOL

I have to add, in addition to the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker, (which you get a $25 gift card if purchased through tomorrow :)
The grandkids convinced me on the Zoku Popcicle maker. I have to say, it's the neatest thing ever! We got the holder as well, so we can make extras for quick consumption. Although, the Zoku will make up to nine pops before having to be refrozen. You just leave it in the freezer all the time, so it's ready to go! I highly recommend it to anyone with kids, and it even encourages those finicky eaters to get some good healthy juice!

We have a hot chocolate maker made by Sunbeam. Believe it or not we use it daily!!! My four kids even like it in the summer. It makes the most amazing, frothy hot chocolate you could imagine. Just add milk and Carnation hot chocolate powder and press the button. We don't drink either tea or coffee around here so I guess this is our hot drink fix.

Carol

I guess the most expensive 1-trick-pony I have is the Jura E5 expresso maker.

There are some things I bought at a local kitchen store that went out of business. One of the more useless is a jar opener that looks kinda like Jaws on steroids. I think I've used it once over the years. But it is white, red and chrome so it is pretty.

One thing I picked up and have never used: electric pressure cooker. It was too small so I got a larger one.

Oh, yes: my phone does not keep as good time as my watch. The battery dies much too soon on the phone.

Wanna hear something funny? I was unpacking a few boxes today and found.... a microplane!!!! I never bought it, I vaguely remember someone gave it to me as a gift at Christmas? And I never even took the cover off, didn't know what a gem I had. And, I DID order a microplane yesterday! Maybe I'll give it away as a gift. :)

I forgot to post one of our favorite single purpose kitchen gadgets. We use it very frequently. It is the SodaStream. This gadget makes bubbly water out of our filtered water. That way we do not have to buy bubbly water ever. that means that water, which is very heavy, does not need to be bottled somewhere and then transported to a store and then transported to our house. No bottles to be recycled either. Very good for the environment. The gadget comes with special plastic bottles but they also have pretty glass bottles available. These glass bottles are nice enough to take to the table.

Oh, and just this morning I was reminded of another favorite single use gadget, the apple peeler. Kids LOVE to peel apples with it especially because the apple ends up cored and in a neat spiral. If the apple is organic then I let them eat the peel which is also cool because it comes off in one very long and skinny piece. The one that we have attaches to the counter with a suction mechanism. If I want to make an apple pie I can cut and core the apples so much faster using this gadget than I can with a knife.

Raro - we love our apple slicer/corer/spiral maker too!
AND - we love the Soda Stream ;) It has saved all the storage of the bottles, saving the empties for recycling and the cost is so much less. When a local boat store went under, they happened to carry Soda Stream cartridges and flavors, so my hubby bought out their inventory for a steal. I no longer have to shop the pre-made soda sales and stock up. Carrying in groceries has gotten easier too. Since we got our dedicated filtered drinking faucet at our sink, it has gotten even easier. Another bonus is guests love to see it in action, so it has a cool cachet.

Katkatf, that is too funny!! Did you buy the exact same kind?

Thinking about this thread made me wonder why I'm doing a kitchen renovation at all.

You see, my #1 most used "single purpose gadget" is the smoker. But it's not fair to call it a single purpose gadget. It can make smoked brisket, smoked turkey, smoked chicken, smoked chuck roast, smoked onions, smoked chicken wings, etc. Maybe I should have built an outdoor kitchen.

This garlic chopper is not only single purpose, but fun to use! DH found it.

Raro, I could not survive the holidays and pie baking without my apple peeler that sounds just like yours. Received it as a gift many years ago, the blades are starting to go dull, though, so will have to find a new one.

Although not single purpose really, the mandolin is irreplaceable IMHO!

Lesyeuxbleu, don't even start on the coffeemakers! LOL, in our search for the perfect cup of coffee, I practically use the ones that didn't make the cut to sit on the counter as decorative pieces in my glass front hutch, but one can still be pulled out and appreciated for a special latte or expresso.

Here is a link that might be useful: garlic zoom chopper

Our favorite crab shears easily earned a place in the the new kitchen's utensil drawer. I gave away a host of ineffectual lobster-colored claw crackers, and when we have crab this one tool gets passed round and round the table. (Hmmm, I suppose I should have at least three more...)

The picture in the link below looks like the one I have. Mine simply says "Premax, stainless steel, Italy" on it, and it was a gift so I don't know where it was purchased.

Here is a link that might be useful: lobster/crab shears

plllog - what a wonderful thread! Have been a collector of kitchen tools and gadgets for the past 50 years and was a caterer for 10 of those years. My drawers and cupboards have many of the tools that have been mentioned here. Living on an island most of the year assures that shellfish and fish are staples. The single use gadgets we use the most are lobster crackers and picks, a fish poacher and a fish grilling basket. (I will confess that I have used a lobster cracker to open a tight bottle of club soda!)

My grandmother gave me her apple corer and slicer. It is round with a circle in the middle to core the apple and perfectly spaced blades to slice it. Very handy here in New England during the apple season.

I agree with the others about the microplanes. They are my newest toys - have several. The cheese grater has replaced my antique Mouli grater. My oldest toy is a wooden mushroom that is used to peel and crush garlic. It is also good looking.

My DH enjoys a well made gin and tonic. The essential gadget is the lime/citrus squeezer that I think was mentioned earlier. Again OXO makes a good one. The best one is no longer made....Cannot even find it at the Vermont Country Store which has many oldies but goodies.

Have enjoyed reading all of the above and am inspired to "weed" out the drawers and cupboards to make room for some of those lovely new goodies at Joseph Joseph. After all - acquiring new tools is in a TKO's DNA!!!

Does anyone else watch South Park? In the funny but biting episode about the economy crashing, the symbol used is a Margaritaville maker that Stan's father buys, although they cannot afford it. Talk about a single-use appliance! Stan returns it to a kitchen store with an unpronounceable name that is clearly a takeoff on Sur le Table. When Stan saves the economy and gets everyone back on track, his dad buys the new, improved Margaritaville maker.

Actually, a margarita maker sounds pretty good right now.

Almost forgot....One more single use gadget that gets used all winter- the curved grapefruit knife with serrated edge.

p1110g, the two Microplanes I now have aren't the same, but look like they basically do the same thing. One is labeled Classic Series zester/grater and has a black plastic handle. The other one doesn't say what series it is, but it says it's a zester and has no handle. I think I'll gift one. :)

Yes, the grapefruit knife is worthwhile, but I wanted to add that a cherry pitter is not single purpose -- it also removes pits from olives, which is the main purpose in our house. It also falls into the small enough and inexpensive enough to be justified with one or two specific tasks done well.

I now have the professional series Microplane graters. I had one plastic framed one break and a couple more nearing that point, so DH bought me the set for Christmas. I think it came from Chef's catalog, and since they are all the same size, they kind of "spoon" in my drawer and fit better than the ones I had before.

We have a Jura machine too. It makes enough espresso, cappuccino, coffee, tea, iced coffee, etc for enough people that I don't think of it as single purpose (like an ice cream/sorbet/popsicle prefreeze/frozen drink maker?)-- but it wouldn't matter. It ain't goin' nowhere. ;-)

Waffle makers and pizzelle irons too.

I've been thinking about getting one of those pizza cutters.

But I don't own an electric popcorn popper, a rice cooker, or any other single food cooker that I can think of (pizza, quesadilla, donut, cupcake, etc.).

Lascatx, I think the use of plastic was a poor design choice. My next one will be all stainless like my Kuhn-Rikon julienne peeler (all stainless) that I love.

I thinjk they were trying to make them at a price point where more people would but them, but once you have one break, you realize it's not worth saving a couple of dollars. The all metal wasn't that much more.