A big point that Alton Brown had about "uni-taskers" wasn't necessarily that they didn't do the job better (even though so many don't), but rather that even if they work, you will clog up your kitchen space with the proliferation of these devices and mostly never actually use them. But I think a uni-tasker can make sense if it performs significantly better _and_ does a task that you personally need to do very frequently.
In his first book, he even admitted that he used a green bean frencher, I think it was, bc he ate frenched green beans so frequently that the time and effort savings made it make sense.
I think Alton was being unfair with his classification of uni-taskers. That's because the weird ones get called uni-taskers while the common ones (like toasters, ice cube trays, and melon ballers) just get called kitchen equipment.
@@roeboatwade I can toast more than bread in a toaster-I can toast bagels, toaster pastries, etc. I can freeze egg whites, stock, and other things in an ice cube tray (in addition to holding screws as I take something apart). I can even use a melon baller on cheese. What else can I do with a green bean frencher?
I managed a team of cooks for our Wednesday night dinner at church. We created a salad bar every week a cooked a dozen eggs each week. Without reservation, we all fell in love with our egg cooker. We were all busy with different prep tasks and could never dedicate ourselves to just cooking eggs. We tried several methods but, the most successful was the machine. We absolutely could set it and then answer the bell.
I love my little egg cooker! I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, so it is used frequently. Before getting it, I used a double-decker steamer, which works well, but I let it boil dry a couple of times.
I was recommended those egg cookers by friends of mine who are extra strict for Passover. They hard cook eggs daily that week for large families while multitasking themselves, and these are life savers. I also bought one for my mother because she likes eggs and she can't be trusted with a stove anymore. The automatic shut off means she never burns them.
The cruisin art automatic shut off will restart shortly ofter shutting down if you don't move the lever back to off. And then you'll end up with burned eggs if you're not on top of removing them. Other than that I love mine. "Peeling is easy"
My stove isn't currently working so I bought a 1.8 liter hot pot that boils very well. But, I hear you about hot plates not really heating properly or taking forever.
These are really popular in Europe, but I think they are always smaller. Mostly for three eggs. I think they're made by Braun. That's what I've been using for 25 years!
Portable induction cooktops concern me about EMF radiation, plus eliminating the use of some portion of my cookware. I wanted to buy one but then decided to hold off until I did more research.
I disagree on the egg cooker I use a chefman egg cooker and get Perfect eggs every time it took learning to adjust the water to achieve the best results and I use it all the time,,,,,,Love it
When I got my kitchen remodeled, I had the cabinet maker make me a "tool" drawer section instead of regular drawers and shelves. I told him I knew in his workshop, he had a drawer of chisels, laid out by size and I wanted that kind of thing. So I have 10 shallow drawers, no knobs, no doors, with like use items. My top drawer is beside the stove; it has turners, tongs, and spoons. I have a measuring drawer, a knife drawer, a baking drawer, a serving tool drawer.....it keeps things neat and easy to find, as most are a single layer. Yes, I have some one use tools, but most of them are "specialty" and many are "vintage." Who wouldn't want an egg topper for soft boiled eggs or an egg sectioner for hard boiled eggs? Or a wire cutter that can cut a complete stick of butter into uniform slices? There is no other use for a gnocchi board, is there?
@msr1116 I have good knife skills and don't have one of those. The cutter I have fits a stick of butter. I suppose it could be used for a small, straight banana, but it would be too much to clean.
@@stars15k . Oh, sorry I read too quickly. The egg slicer gadget came to mind when you wrote wire cutter. A Japanese vlogger uses the butter cutter to turn block butter into pats, but a paring knife works just fine for me.
Nope, NEVER giving up our egg cooker! Before it, no one wanted to boil eggs no matter how much everyone loves them. After, everyone makes them, they are now a staple, and always available in the fridge. they are always perfect, and heck I think most of us don't even use the measure anymore since we know where the water comes up to in the bottom. this was just a game changer on how we snack.
I'm not giving up my egg cooker, either. Unfortunately, the best one out there is discontinued - It's an old Oster from the 70s/early 80s. The measuring cup is in the lid, the pin for hard boiled eggs is in the center of the egg stand, and the non-stick in the poaching tray isn't Teflon, and still is in perfect condition on mine even though it's almost half a century old. I even use mine to make mini "souffle" with cheese, ham, and spinach. I don't know how I'd ever live without it.
Egg cooker. No brainer. Most used appliance after the water kettle. Here in Europe they are very common with a measuring cup and timers dictating doneness. Once you do a few test runs to find the perfect combo you’re set for years. Just prick the egg with inset pin on the measuring cup, put in hole up, add the measured small amount of water, cover & start. Timer tells you when it’s done. I’ve never seen a double decker - Perhaps that’s the problem? Our rectangular unit sits flat to the wall & cooks six to perfection. Mandolin the same. Used less, but worth having if you eat raw veg.
The 12 egg cooker is a godsend for the amount of eggs I cook for pet and people members of our family. The 35ml of water is the perfect amount for hardboiled. Saves water and energy and I can’t forget it (senior moments) as it turns off automatically. My Dash and Bella branded cookers have been wonderful (and inexpensive)
My grandkids love their egg cooker. And their mom doesnt have to worry about them using the stove. You can regulate the doneness by the amount of water you use. A small measuring cup provided has indicators to select the amount of water to get the eggs the way you want them.
I find using a Bundt pan useful for stripping corn. Put the pointy end in the hole and use a knife and the kernels fall in the pan. It will save your wrists too, especially if you need to do a lot of cobs
Bundt pans are old school and can be found in second hand stores. I Google gadgets, tools, and other kitchen items to discover uses I wouldn't otherwise have thought of, as well as learning of the drawbacks or criticisms of a product. Very much helps me in making purchase decisions
@@cydkriletich6538 You can also turn a bowl upside down in the center of a larger bowl and use that as a stand for your cob as you cut the kernals off of it.
I don't usually buy natural peanut butter, but I do use tahini fairly frequently. Talk about cement! I think the peanut butter stirrer would work great if I buy the tahini in a standard jar, which isn't always possible. But I really like the self-cleaning feature!
Hydrogenated foods are the worst foods you can buy.. I only buy the unadulterated ones like almond butter and peanut butter WITHOUT salt. Costco and Trader Joe’s always have them in stock,but they never have the stiring mechanism that Lisa showed. I’m going to get a lot of use out of it. If my kids don’t move it around and lose it on me.
I store my natural peanut butter upside down, and then turn it right-side up when I put it in the fridge a day before I'm going to open it (same for tahini). It mixes itself and then stays mixed as long as I store it in the fridge. No need to ever stir!
I gave up on Grandpa Witmer's (sold by Smuckers) large peanut butter stirrer. I could never get all the peanut butter in the large jar properly mixed. (We go through a lot of PB.) Grandpa's small mixer worked great, go figure. And storing the jar upside down doesn't always work. So I empty the whole jar into the bowl of my stand mixer and run it on 1 or 2 for about 30 seconds, scrape down the sides, and run it again for 30-60 seconds. I scrape it all back in the jar, put on the lid, and put the jar in the freezer for 15 minutes (set a timer), then into the fridge. A hassle, to be sure, but this method mixes natural peanut butter better than anything else I've tried. I learned this method from the reader's tips section of either Cook's Illustrated or Cook's Country.
Egg cookers are great. Yeah you can make them in a steamer basket or in water on your hob. Takes 15-25 minutes. Or I use my egg cooker, which does it in 3-5 minutes for far less energy. The amount of water is something you have down pretty quickly, just like Hannah had her timings for stockpot steaming by heart.
Had a good laugh to start, thinking no way I don’t need any of these single use things … until you got to the peanut butter stirrer. Yup, I do need that!
came to the comments to mention my strategy for peanut butter-- might work for you if you haven't already purchased the stirrer! i use my electric hand mixer with only one beater attached. mine comes with a unique spiral shaped beater but i've used regular shaped beaters as well. just sink the beater while slowly turning the machine on and holding the jar steady with your other hand. takes just a few mins and works amazing!
That egg steamer I bought off amazon 5 years ago is amazing. Mine still works perfectly. I also make Korean steamed eggs with the tray the provide. I used to have it in the office at work and we would have eggs for breakfast 😂
As far as the onion goggles go, I ran a google search and like the ones you showed, they were far more spendy than swimmers goggles one can get for about $10. Swimmer's goggles are by design made to be watertight. They should work equally as well.
@@danielviehland I used to work in the kitchen at a ski resort and one of my coworkers would go grab his goggles out of his bag whenever it was time to prep onions. They work great.
What's funny is that yellow onions only bother me about 1 time out of 10, regardless of how fresh they are. Makes me wonder if it's a factor of my eyes already being dry, or ventilation in the kitchen.
@@schex9 the sharpness of your knife makes a big difference, a dull knife crushes the onion a bit and releases/sprays the juices around that make your eyes water. With a sharp knife I can usually dice about 4 onions before it starts to hit me.
I have two favorite single use gadgets. The first one wins for 'I couldn't live without it' award and the second for plain fun. Numero uno my milk frother for morning capuccinos -I need two-. I've tried them all, battery, USB...but the little electric kettle looking one that you put your cold milk in and just press the button does the job just right & easy. Second prize goes to a small acrylic press to make square boiled eggs. I bought it 40 years ago in London. It works really well -one egg at the time. I boil the egg, while still hot I peel it and inside the press it goes, twist the lever until tight and then the press goes in cold water for a minute. You get a perfectly square egg that holds its shape even sliced. The list goes on.
Fun? Seriously, there's a lot of dishes that ask for a half egg boiled egg for garnish. A square half egg gets the conversation going. -and if that's not enough, there's my story about the hen that lives in the attic in the box.@@asdisskagen6487
And yes Lisa, I have Juliane peeler. That kind of knife skill is for people who don't value their fingers as much as I do mine (from long experience). Given a choice between a tool and a skill, the tool wins pretty much every time - not always; avocado tools being a serious counter example. But in general . . .
The thing about avocados is, any tool you use is going to be worse than the heel of a chef's knife for the pit and a spoon for the flesh/peel. The skill for avocados is minimal, while matchsticks are HARD.
I live in Australia and friends were moving back here from the USA. I ordered some Bear Claws to come with their shipment. The shipment was held up in Customs for weeks because it included what they presumed were real preserved Bear Claws! 😂 I felt so bad 😔
I have the same julienne peeler and I love it. Fast, consistent results... I can't remember the last time I discarded a carrot. The biggest benefit (!!!!): my 86 year-old dad has no idea how to sharpen a knife, no idea of to even use a chef's knife, so when I tries to cut up carrots to add to a salad, a soup, or anything, I freaking cringe, after seeing many a slipped knife putting him in the hospital. I got him this peeler a year ago; he still prepares carrots, but hasn't cut himself since. I also love it that it took away some of his feeling of uselessness in the kitchen.. getting old is rough...
Loved my egg cooker. I just got it started and walked away to do my morning stuff. No watching the stove, no remembering the timer. Always done exactly as required when i was ready to eat breakfast.
Save the stress on your wrists by popping the PB jar in the microwave for about 30+ secs (repeated as needed) to warm it up. This makes the PB much, much easier and quicker to stir.
@@gardenhappy4 Step1. Buy regular peanut butter. If you have to eat the "natural" because an ad on tv told you to do so, then store it upside down. Fk the microwave.
We've used a Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 Electric Egg Cooker for the last four years, and this $17 gadget is perfect for hard boiled eggs-anywhere from 1 to 7 at a time. We use it frequently although exclusively for hard boiled eggs. Clean-up is simple and we have NEVER had a cracked, leaky egg which was far more prevalent with the egg-steamer basket. We also have a Julianne peeler that is just gathering dust in our “gadget” drawer. And in my 70-plus years of preparing food for my family, I can unequivocally state that I've never known anyone who stripped kernels from a fresh ear of corn.
I’m a natural peanut butter person. We make our own from store bought jarred unsalted peanuts. We use two cans of 1lb peanuts. Once we make them, we store the peanut butter in the fridge and it never separates. We love it! If natural peanut butter on sale for cheaper than jarred peanuts, then we buy.
A really easy way to mix natural peanut butter that I stumbled upon a few years ago: a hand mixer! If you've got an electric hand mixer, just stick a single beater on it, put the beater all the way in the jar, and mix away. Works great every time, although the beaters I have a little too short to reach all the way to the bottom of the really big jars.
We bought my MiL a cheap Dash egg cooker and it's been great for her. She makes a lot of egg salad and just likes having hard boiled eggs in general, but she tends to boil the life out of them until the yolks are half green and the house smells like a stink bomb went off. So they do have their uses, but if you have a good handle on steaming or steeping eggs you don't really need them. Also the meat claws are a good idea, but they could be better designed. Seems like they were going for "Hey bub I'm Wolverine!" before thinking of ergonomics.
I love my OXO Julienne Peeler. I have given them to friends and family along with a regular peeler. It is great for making salads and all kinds of vegetable dishes. Carrots, celery and broccoli stems make great salad ingredients with a nice texture. You can't go wrong with this tool. IMHO of course.
I think the onion goggles are also great at protecting your eyes while you get a charcoal grill started, or while working on a smoker. keeps all sorts of irritants out of your eyes.
@@marcpeterson1092😂😂😂😂😂! I like your suggestion of swimming goggles. Less expensive and, since some reviewers on Amazon mentioned you need to put the detached strap on the onion peeling goggles to get them to seal tight enough for them to work right, and that the strap can be difficult to get on, it would be better to get swimming goggles, which always come with the strap attached. I think I’d like your aunt, too! 😊
Night before last I was mixing up a jar of Chinese sesame paste to make sesame cold noodles, spilling the oil all over, and thought "Why doesn't someone make a tool to do this?" Low and behold - Grandpa Witmer's Peanut Butter Mixer. Thank you!!!
Egg cookers. When I first saw one, in Belgium in the late 1980's, I thought RIDICULOUS. ⏩ to 15 years ago, bought a second-hand Petra egg cooker from a charity shop after people had eulogised about the Petra egg cooker, which was discontinued even then. Best. Unigadget. Ever. Always accurate. Uses via the detailed (no. of eggs, soft, medium, hard) measure provided, about 2 teaspoons of water to cook 4 eggs soft-boiled. I was so surprised to see the disproportionately large volume amount of water needed to cook eggs in the one slightly recommended. Blimey. Others may not be, mind. Petra? My bright yellow plastic chicken is perfect.
We bought the RSVP when my wife was having dental work done when it was fresh corn season. 10 years later, we still use it and I highly recommend it. Its one flaw is that it is *very* limited regarding the size of the cob. If the cob is too big, the cutter will not pass all the way to the end. We have to be a bit more choosy regarding the size of the corn cobs. But, *wow*, does it ever make short work of skinning the corn. And easy clean up too
In my soap-making world, people use those onion goggles to prevent lye or fresh soap batter from splashing in your eyes. So, definitely useful for more than just cutting onions. :)
My daughter LOVES onions, but is very sensitive to the gas they put out. I bought her a pair of these when they first came out. We (the whole family) laughed at how goofy they look, but now most of us have a pair in our junk drawer for when we slice onions because they absolutely work. 😂The only other unitasker that the cooks in our family find useful is the meat shredding "bear claws." Those are a pretty common item in the kitchen drawers for those of us who do a lot of pork bbq; they make quick work of large chunks of meat, shredding them evenly while the meat is still hot. **edited for grammar.
My old hand mixer came with dough hooks. I put one one the mixer, sticke it in the peanut jar and turn it on low. Peanut butter is stirred in no time. One little hook to clean. (My dog loves to lick it clean for me).
We have a pair of Wolverine paws. They are made from stainless wire welded and sharpened at the tip. They work great for shredding meats. They also work great for lifting meats and birds from the roaster.
No question, the natural peanut butter's are my preference. They just seem to have a more tasty peanutty flavor, that's missing from the no-stir, sugared up brands. I absolutely love Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter😋 I usually turn the jar upside down for a couple days then refrigerate, but I might give that lid cap stirrer a try.
I am a natural almond butter user. I was so happy to find a resolution to the mixing dilemma. I usually avoid one use items, but this seems so worth it for me. I’m heading to the link now!
There are unitaskers that I regularly use, including a Rosle julienne tool, which I've had for years and it still makes short work of carrots for slaw, stir fries, etc. and is also great for zukes and more. More expensive than your pick but built like a tank and beautiful to behold in its stainless-steel splendor.. And since we live in the tropics and have access to fresh pineapple year-round, I get a lot of use out of my tool that slices and cores the pina into uniform slices and is easy to clean. For most efficient use, I try to match the size of the tool to the size of the pina to minimize waste. Finally, I find a good garlic press will always find a home in my cocina. Keep up the excellent work.
alternative for stirring peanut butter-- i use my electric hand mixer with one beater attached. mine comes with a unique spiral shaped beater but i've used regular shaped beaters as well. just sink the beater while slowly turning the machine on and holding the jar steady with your other hand. takes just a few mins and works amazing!
I think a great episode idea would be to talk about future or improved design ideas for kitchen gadgets/tools. Having the hosts talk about what they’ve experienced, maybe what other test kitchen hosts/employees have mentioned. Maybe who has the best design or opportunity to provide what they would like to see.
I am a natural peanut butter guy who has used your stirring device many times. The results were pretty good, but not perfect. I found perfection when I scraped my peanut butter into my KitchenAid stand mixer bowl and whipped it into a smooth creamy mixture. Not only is it beautifully whipped, but the oil stays mixed for a very long time at room temperature. That’s how I eat peanut butter.
Julienne peeler is totally worth it, even if you only need to julienne once in a while. Small, inexpensive, easy to clean, easy to store. Easier than a knife and as easy to clean. (That's always my litmus test.)
@@13Voodoobilly69 You should try it! It’s a super easy ferment and uses what would otherwise be discarded. I like mine with a little tequila and lime or ginger beer and lime for an alcohol-free option
We have the corn shucker and love it for how it works not too bad to clean.. living in the south we absolutely love the claws nothing better for shredding meats especially pork! Great videos as usual.
7:17 If you eat a lot of natural peanut butter, just use an electric mixer with one beater installed. Poke it through some wax paper or parchment paper to act as a lid, and run it on low speed. Works just fine.
I don’t buy many gadgets because there isn’t much storage in the kitchen, but my little Dash egg cooker earns its space! No cracked eggs, perfectly cooked, easy to peel. You’ve reminded me to go make some now.
I am a natural peanut butter person. And the only way I found that I can get it done is to start a couple of weeks ahead of time (estimating from how much is in my jar in use. I turn the jar upside down every day until it’s time to open. And then I wind up, pouring it out in a bowl and mixing it up with a fork. this little gadget looks like it’s worth it!!
I have a set of bear claws and have not used them in over 3 years. Once my pork shoulder has rested, I move it to my shredding pan using latex gloves over thin cotton gloves. The pork shoulder is usually around 160 degrees at this point. I prefer to shred by hand with my gloves already on. I have the flexibility of incorporating any rendered fat into the meat as well as apple cider vinegar, coarse black pepper, cosher salt and red pepper. When I am done just toss the latex gloves and the cotton gloves go into the laundry to be used again.
I found this humorous (in a very nice way). As an engineer, who started out as a mechanic, the idea of having the right tool for the job is almost a point of religion. Uni-Tasker's Rule! Are you going to tell me that Oxo salad spinner is not a uni-tasker, just because it can spin herbs and berries as well as lettuce? Some of my favorites: (a) the Chef'n FreshForce Citrus Squeezer. It can probably squeeze limes as well as lemons, but I don't squeeze limes, so it is a uni-tasker to me. Sure, you can squeeze lemons by hand, but it is just so much more fun to thoroughly CRUSH them it the juicer. (b) Oxo Rice & Grains Washing Colander. Maybe its' not a uni-tasker because it can wash something besides rice. Still, it works like a champ, and I use it all the time. (c) Oxo Good Grips 2-in-1 Salad Servers. The name suggests these are not uni-taskers (maybe that is why they disappeared from the market a long time ago). Still, "Salad Server" is a pretty uni-tasking description to me. I think these work great, and it is too bad they got discontinued.
For cutting onions, I cut mine next to one of my (gas) stove burners. It helps burn up the fumes that the onions give off when you cut them. Helps a lot, because otherwise I'm a teary mess.
Thank you!!! The peanut butter mixer has been a surprising, much needed discovery ❤ I always buy natural peanut butter, and truly it's a pain to try to mix the oil and the solids just "by hand"... I just hope I can buy that gadget from Spain 🙏🏻
My eyes water so much when I cut onions that it's almost dangerous because I can't see. I've tried all the techniques, but nothing really helped enough. My step-brother gave me onion goggles as a "gag gift". I have been using them for about 10 years now! They are such a game changer for me that I even bring them when I travel if I know there is a possibility that I'll be cooking!
I had a luncheon, and everyone was to bring a kitchen gadget. It was so much fun to try and identify their use. Some of the items no one knew what they were used for! Also, some brought old antique ones. It brought a lot of laughter and stories.
Love my electric egg cooker. Makes perfect boiled eggs. Easy to peel & soft to eat. Turn on, then the alarm sounds when ready. Very difficult to get decent runny boiled eggs though.
I do not find Mandoline slicers expensive or dangerous. Not only do they julienne carrots they also thinly slice cucumbers and radishes, make shoe string French fries, thin sliced apples for fruit nachos, dice onions, shave chocolate, and Parmesan cheese. Not a unitasker and a better buy than a peeler.
I have that corn stripper! I absolutely love it! Worth every penny and every square inch of storage. I do a bunch at once, a couple of times per year when local corn is in season, then I have frozen local corn available when I want it.
I have the wooden corn cutter, it takes experience to use it properly. Once you know what you are doing it cuts cleanly and quickly. We husked, blanched, cut, and packaged over 120 pints in under 5 hours with 2 people working.
I love the peanut butter stirrer ! I do think it could be used to mix any thick marinade or dressing, home-made BBQ sauce and so on. Just get an appropriately sized mason jar and away you go!
Airflow is my favorite way to keep onion tears at bay. If you have a window in your kitchen, you can open the window and turn on your vent hood. Then put your cutting board on the counter somewhere between the hood and the window. Air will come in through the window and across the onions, wafting those sulfur fumes off toward the vent hood before they can reach your face.
I have one of those peanut butter stirrers that I used for natural soy butter. It worked pretty well, and then I stopped buying natural soy butter. I still have it, sitting in a drawer. One of the perils of buying a uni-tasker is if you stop needing to do that task.
I have ski goggles with a foam seal similar to those onion glasses except the goggles are impact resistant so it works for the onion cutting and stuff like using power tools (e.g. hedge trimming)... so I heartily recommend that as a 'single task' item that is actually a multi-tasker.
We've used the peanut butter tool and it works great if the peanut butter is soft the oil stirs right in. Today we use a hand mixer and one dough hook, set on low and that stirs hard or soft peanut butter. Remember set it on low or you're wearing the peanut butter.
I have a multi tasker for my onion tears. As I wear glasses most of the time, when I used regular googles I needed to either have contacts on or not see clearly. So I got full size googles and just fill in the small vents (it had 4) and I can wear my glasses and they work great. Best part, got them from the dollar store. (so really $1.25). Also, the bear claws I've seen used at big operation BBQ places to shred lots of pulled pork and brisket.
I bought the oxo version of the corn stripper, and I love it. It takes only a short amount of time to learn how much pressure to use while running it down the cob. But once I figured that out, it became super efficient, a time saver, and made it possible for me to quickly process the kernels for all recipes that don’t need the corn still attached to the cob. I made salads, soups, dips, stir fries and so much more.m with the loose kernels. I think if you don’t use a lot of fresh sweet corn off the cob, you won’t see the benefit. Oh and a warning, the blade is wickedly sharp so be careful if you invest in one.
A wonderful little ol' lady gave me the best tip for natural peanut butter. Before you open it, store it upside down. the oil separates to the bottom of the jar and is WAY easier and less messy to stir.
I seriously wear those exact onion glasses (I really don't feel like they are goggles) every day - I have eyelash extensions and I want to protect them from the steam when I wash dishes, open a hot oven or the air fryer, cook on the stove and of course for chopping onions. They fit me perfectly and are very comfortable but I have a rather small face. Can't live without them!
When you buy Teddy's PB, or any other pure nut butter, tahini etc., just inverting the jar for a couple of days is a big help in integrating the oil. Also, check the jar for oil separation, newer stock has little to no separation visible. I check as I'm passing through the isle, and I'll pick up a jar if it looks good (I go through a large jar of Teddy's in less than 2 weeks). Cheers
The corn scraper you preferred *is my favorite* too; it works best with HOT corn. At that point, it is also safer and easier to use (picture holding a scalding hot 🌽 in one hand while trying to 'peel' it with one of those in-hand gadgets)!
Are the 6:30 and 13 minute times from cold water or from the time the water starts to boil? I'm guessing the later but would prefer not to get it wrong first time.
I love these gadget reviews. One thing I think should be included is the opportunity costs for them. The julienne peeler sold me, becase the cost for buying and storing it is so low in comparison to not having it. Thanks
I only buy natural peanut butter, which I think tastes the best, and have used Grandpa Witmer's Old Fashion Peanut Butter mixer for years. It's a must if you buy natural peanut butter.
I think it is important to analyze how much you would use a unitasker. Would you be more likely to put shredded carrots in your salad? do you regularly julienne items? Or for the bear claws, are you an avid barbecuer? If that is the case, then a well-designed unitasker can be a game changer. However, if you only have pulled pork or chicken once a year, even the great bear claws are a waste of space.
I LOVE natural peanut butter. Not because it's "healthier" or "cleaner" or anything silly like that. I just prefer it. I like to see the oil on top, and I like stirring it in. And I'm totally getting one of those gadgets. 👍
For the onion goggles, just buy a set of DeWalt or other safety goggles. They're impact rated and some are fog resistant... Then you can use them for other things as well.
To mix peanut butter i use my hand mixer with the regular egg beater attachment. You need one that has a low starting speed so the oil won't splash. I have the Cuisinart 9-speed which starts at 240 RPM. Just keep a tight grip on the jar.
What I was told by my mother-in-law, who came from a family of farmers, that the ‘mandolin-type’ device for corn was designed to make creamed corn, not to take whole kernels off the cob. And that is what I use it for. It removes ALL the kernel and the juice from the cob: no waste. I use a large pot (the one I learned on was my MIL’s mother’s. She used it for batch canning of quart mason jars) so the mess (mostly) stays in the pot. Now I use a very tall stock pot. It takes 12 ears of corn to make a quart of creamed corn. I can either freeze it or cook it. When ready to cook, I put (fresh or hard-frozen) creamed corn in a skillet with a bit of butter. [My husband’s family did it at corn harvest & had pickup trucks filled with corn. They baked it in quart batches in the oven, but I don’t make enough at one time to heat an oven in the summer.] Stir & cook until it has the consistency of soft ice cream & tastes like cooked corn. Put it on the table & watch it disappear. I let everyone do their own salt & butter. It’s as delicious as the corn is fresh. If you didn’t throw away that mandolin thing, then maybe try it again at the next corn harvest.
Recently purchased a julienne peeler to make mango salad. Gosh if I only use it for that it will be well worth the small space it takes. I used to have an egg cooker but discovered that I can make perfect eggs just putting eggs in water till covered, once reaches boiling remove from heat, cover and put timer on for 10 minutes then plunge in cold water. Perfect hard boiled and easy to peel every time no matter if 2 or 10 eggs.
I found instructions for making hard cooked eggs in the air fryer several years ago and have been doing them that way every since. I don't make soft cooked eggs at all, so this may work for them by adjusting the time. Preheat air fryer and then cook up to 6 eggs on a wire rack (or the bottom of the cooker) at 250 for 16 to 18 minutes. 18 minutes is perfect in my Cosori.
A big point that Alton Brown had about "uni-taskers" wasn't necessarily that they didn't do the job better (even though so many don't), but rather that even if they work, you will clog up your kitchen space with the proliferation of these devices and mostly never actually use them. But I think a uni-tasker can make sense if it performs significantly better _and_ does a task that you personally need to do very frequently.
I liked how she said “Alton said” & “he hated them” in the past-tense. As in, he’s no longer with us. 😅
In his first book, he even admitted that he used a green bean frencher, I think it was, bc he ate frenched green beans so frequently that the time and effort savings made it make sense.
I think Alton was being unfair with his classification of uni-taskers. That's because the weird ones get called uni-taskers while the common ones (like toasters, ice cube trays, and melon ballers) just get called kitchen equipment.
@@roeboatwade I can toast more than bread in a toaster-I can toast bagels, toaster pastries, etc. I can freeze egg whites, stock, and other things in an ice cube tray (in addition to holding screws as I take something apart). I can even use a melon baller on cheese. What else can I do with a green bean frencher?
@@klfjoatIf I remember correctly, he used it to split a vanilla bean on the milk episode to make dulce de leche
Mom told me in '70's to put onions in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to chop them without tears. I find all these years later it still works for me.
Thanks for the tip!
Easier said than done, but closing my mouth and keeping it closed while chopping onions works for me. No tears!
@@capers72424 Ha, I do the opposite: I breathe through my mouth when I chop onions and it works great
This is a great tip, if you remember 😂
I just wet my knife. Do it 2 or 3 times for one onion and I’m fine.
I managed a team of cooks for our Wednesday night dinner at church. We created a salad bar every week a cooked a dozen eggs each week. Without reservation, we all fell in love with our egg cooker. We were all busy with different prep tasks and could never dedicate ourselves to just cooking eggs. We tried several methods but, the most successful was the machine. We absolutely could set it and then answer the bell.
Totally agree
I love my little egg cooker! I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, so it is used frequently. Before getting it, I used a double-decker steamer, which works well, but I let it boil dry a couple of times.
I was recommended those egg cookers by friends of mine who are extra strict for Passover. They hard cook eggs daily that week for large families while multitasking themselves, and these are life savers.
I also bought one for my mother because she likes eggs and she can't be trusted with a stove anymore. The automatic shut off means she never burns them.
The cruisin art automatic shut off will restart shortly ofter shutting down if you don't move the lever back to off. And then you'll end up with burned eggs if you're not on top of removing them. Other than that I love mine. "Peeling is easy"
@@iceops69 I use the Dash one, which does not start again. It's very like a rice cooker in design.
My egg cooker is amazing! 1-7 eggs always perfect. This appliance was useful when I had no functioning stove, hot plates don’t boil water efficiently!
My stove isn't currently working so I bought a 1.8 liter hot pot that boils very well. But, I hear you about hot plates not really heating properly or taking forever.
A single plug-in induction cooktop is really good for that, though.
These are really popular in Europe, but I think they are always smaller. Mostly for three eggs. I think they're made by Braun. That's what I've been using for 25 years!
i use my instant pot for hard boiled eggs
Portable induction cooktops concern me about EMF radiation, plus eliminating the use of some portion of my cookware. I wanted to buy one but then decided to hold off until I did more research.
I disagree on the egg cooker I use a chefman egg cooker and get Perfect eggs every time it took learning to adjust the water to achieve the best results and I use it all the time,,,,,,Love it
it's like any other thing in the kitchen: you have to learn to use it and then it works for you. But there's no one-size-fits-all kitchen tool.
My dash egg cooker is a best friend. I have none of the issues in the video.
When I got my kitchen remodeled, I had the cabinet maker make me a "tool" drawer section instead of regular drawers and shelves. I told him I knew in his workshop, he had a drawer of chisels, laid out by size and I wanted that kind of thing. So I have 10 shallow drawers, no knobs, no doors, with like use items. My top drawer is beside the stove; it has turners, tongs, and spoons. I have a measuring drawer, a knife drawer, a baking drawer, a serving tool drawer.....it keeps things neat and easy to find, as most are a single layer. Yes, I have some one use tools, but most of them are "specialty" and many are "vintage." Who wouldn't want an egg topper for soft boiled eggs or an egg sectioner for hard boiled eggs? Or a wire cutter that can cut a complete stick of butter into uniform slices? There is no other use for a gnocchi board, is there?
A wire egg slicer can be used for softer foods like kiwi, strawberries, mushrooms and some cheeses
@msr1116 I have good knife skills and don't have one of those. The cutter I have fits a stick of butter. I suppose it could be used for a small, straight banana, but it would be too much to clean.
We all know the wire slicer is used for SPAM more than anything else. 🤣
@@stars15k . Oh, sorry I read too quickly. The egg slicer gadget came to mind when you wrote wire cutter. A Japanese vlogger uses the butter cutter to turn block butter into pats, but a paring knife works just fine for me.
My egg cooker changed my life. It's small. It sits on the countertop because I use it so often. It doesn't need to be stored
You are so right!
My egg cooker was a game changer.
Nope, NEVER giving up our egg cooker! Before it, no one wanted to boil eggs no matter how much everyone loves them. After, everyone makes them, they are now a staple, and always available in the fridge. they are always perfect, and heck I think most of us don't even use the measure anymore since we know where the water comes up to in the bottom. this was just a game changer on how we snack.
I'm not giving up my egg cooker, either. Unfortunately, the best one out there is discontinued - It's an old Oster from the 70s/early 80s. The measuring cup is in the lid, the pin for hard boiled eggs is in the center of the egg stand, and the non-stick in the poaching tray isn't Teflon, and still is in perfect condition on mine even though it's almost half a century old. I even use mine to make mini "souffle" with cheese, ham, and spinach. I don't know how I'd ever live without it.
@laruHetep Same here!
Egg cooker. No brainer. Most used appliance after the water kettle. Here in Europe they are very common with a measuring cup and timers dictating doneness. Once you do a few test runs to find the perfect combo you’re set for years. Just prick the egg with inset pin on the measuring cup, put in hole up, add the measured small amount of water, cover & start. Timer tells you when it’s done. I’ve never seen a double decker - Perhaps that’s the problem? Our rectangular unit sits flat to the wall & cooks six to perfection. Mandolin the same. Used less, but worth having if you eat raw veg.
Love my egg cooker, given them as gifts and the recipients love them
The 12 egg cooker is a godsend for the amount of eggs I cook for pet and people members of our family.
The 35ml of water is the perfect amount for hardboiled.
Saves water and energy and I can’t forget it (senior moments) as it turns off automatically. My Dash and Bella branded cookers have been wonderful (and inexpensive)
@@edruoff1691Fair enough - makes perfect sense then. I stand down. 😂
As a natural peanut butter person, when I found the mixer it changed my life lol
I eat a lot of peanut butter and I could not live without it.
My grandkids love their egg cooker. And their mom doesnt have to worry about them using the stove. You can regulate the doneness by the amount of water you use. A small measuring cup provided has indicators to select the amount of water to get the eggs the way you want them.
I find using a Bundt pan useful for stripping corn. Put the pointy end in the hole and use a knife and the kernels fall in the pan. It will save your wrists too, especially if you need to do a lot of cobs
Excellent idea! Of course, now I have to go buy a Bundt pan! ☺️😉
Bundt pans are old school and can be found in second hand stores. I Google gadgets, tools, and other kitchen items to discover uses I wouldn't otherwise have thought of, as well as learning of the drawbacks or criticisms of a product. Very much helps me in making purchase decisions
@@cydkriletich6538 You can also turn a bowl upside down in the center of a larger bowl and use that as a stand for your cob as you cut the kernals off of it.
I don't usually buy natural peanut butter, but I do use tahini fairly frequently. Talk about cement! I think the peanut butter stirrer would work great if I buy the tahini in a standard jar, which isn't always possible. But I really like the self-cleaning feature!
Hydrogenated foods are the worst foods you can buy.. I only buy the unadulterated ones like almond butter and peanut butter WITHOUT salt. Costco and Trader Joe’s always have them in stock,but they never have the stiring mechanism that Lisa showed. I’m going to get a lot of use out of it. If my kids don’t move it around and lose it on me.
You could save a PB jar and put the tahini in it. Or keep 1 of the tahini lids and drill a hole in it to use the stirrer with.
I store my natural peanut butter upside down, and then turn it right-side up when I put it in the fridge a day before I'm going to open it (same for tahini). It mixes itself and then stays mixed as long as I store it in the fridge.
No need to ever stir!
I gave up on Grandpa Witmer's (sold by Smuckers) large peanut butter stirrer. I could never get all the peanut butter in the large jar properly mixed. (We go through a lot of PB.) Grandpa's small mixer worked great, go figure. And storing the jar upside down doesn't always work. So I empty the whole jar into the bowl of my stand mixer and run it on 1 or 2 for about 30 seconds, scrape down the sides, and run it again for 30-60 seconds. I scrape it all back in the jar, put on the lid, and put the jar in the freezer for 15 minutes (set a timer), then into the fridge. A hassle, to be sure, but this method mixes natural peanut butter better than anything else I've tried. I learned this method from the reader's tips section of either Cook's Illustrated or Cook's Country.
Decant the tahini into an old peanut butter jar and there you go!@@therealninjess
I love my egg cooker.... perfect hard boiled eggs every time. Using the pin holer makes them very easy to peel.
Egg cookers are great. Yeah you can make them in a steamer basket or in water on your hob. Takes 15-25 minutes. Or I use my egg cooker, which does it in 3-5 minutes for far less energy. The amount of water is something you have down pretty quickly, just like Hannah had her timings for stockpot steaming by heart.
Had a good laugh to start, thinking no way I don’t need any of these single use things … until you got to the peanut butter stirrer. Yup, I do need that!
came to the comments to mention my strategy for peanut butter-- might work for you if you haven't already purchased the stirrer! i use my electric hand mixer with only one beater attached. mine comes with a unique spiral shaped beater but i've used regular shaped beaters as well. just sink the beater while slowly turning the machine on and holding the jar steady with your other hand. takes just a few mins and works amazing!
@@abritelight same here. I also add some flax meal as well.
Just buy regular peanut butter....
This is regular peanut butter. You’re buying peanut butter with things added to it, like sugar and palm oil.
@@klindstrom3762 Almost all of it has oil added...
I love my Cuisinart Egg Cooker. Makes great hard cooked and soft cooked eggs. Easy to use and store. Peels easily. Been using this for 15 years.
That egg steamer I bought off amazon 5 years ago is amazing. Mine still works perfectly. I also make Korean steamed eggs with the tray the provide. I used to have it in the office at work and we would have eggs for breakfast 😂
As far as the onion goggles go, I ran a google search and like the ones you showed, they were far more spendy than swimmers goggles one can get for about $10. Swimmer's goggles are by design made to be watertight. They should work equally as well.
I have a pair of old ski goggles and they work great.
@@danielviehland I used to work in the kitchen at a ski resort and one of my coworkers would go grab his goggles out of his bag whenever it was time to prep onions. They work great.
I use swim goggles
What's funny is that yellow onions only bother me about 1 time out of 10, regardless of how fresh they are. Makes me wonder if it's a factor of my eyes already being dry, or ventilation in the kitchen.
@@schex9 the sharpness of your knife makes a big difference, a dull knife crushes the onion a bit and releases/sprays the juices around that make your eyes water. With a sharp knife I can usually dice about 4 onions before it starts to hit me.
I have two favorite single use gadgets.
The first one wins for 'I couldn't live without it' award and the second for plain fun.
Numero uno my milk frother for morning capuccinos -I need two-. I've tried them all, battery, USB...but the little electric kettle looking one that you put your cold milk in and just press the button does the job just right & easy.
Second prize goes to a small acrylic press to make square boiled eggs. I bought it 40 years ago in London. It works really well -one egg at the time. I boil the egg, while still hot I peel it and inside the press it goes, twist the lever until tight and then the press goes in cold water for a minute. You get a perfectly square egg that holds its shape even sliced.
The list goes on.
I .... um .... okay, I'll just ask; what do you need square eggs for?
Fun?
Seriously, there's a lot of dishes that ask for a half egg boiled egg for garnish. A square half egg gets the conversation going.
-and if that's not enough, there's my story about the hen that lives in the attic in the box.@@asdisskagen6487
And yes Lisa, I have Juliane peeler. That kind of knife skill is for people who don't value their fingers as much as I do mine (from long experience). Given a choice between a tool and a skill, the tool wins pretty much every time - not always; avocado tools being a serious counter example. But in general . . .
The thing about avocados is, any tool you use is going to be worse than the heel of a chef's knife for the pit and a spoon for the flesh/peel. The skill for avocados is minimal, while matchsticks are HARD.
If you're constantly cutting yourself you haven't learned basic cutting techniques. Skill wins every time.
I live in Australia and friends were moving back here from the USA. I ordered some Bear Claws to come with their shipment. The shipment was held up in Customs for weeks because it included what they presumed were real preserved Bear Claws! 😂 I felt so bad 😔
😂😂😂😂😂
I have the same julienne peeler and I love it. Fast, consistent results... I can't remember the last time I discarded a carrot. The biggest benefit (!!!!): my 86 year-old dad has no idea how to sharpen a knife, no idea of to even use a chef's knife, so when I tries to cut up carrots to add to a salad, a soup, or anything, I freaking cringe, after seeing many a slipped knife putting him in the hospital. I got him this peeler a year ago; he still prepares carrots, but hasn't cut himself since. I also love it that it took away some of his feeling of uselessness in the kitchen.. getting old is rough...
OXO in general is great for this. Most of their tools are designed to compensate for weak or less mobile hands/wrists.
Loved my egg cooker. I just got it started and walked away to do my morning stuff. No watching the stove, no remembering the timer. Always done exactly as required when i was ready to eat breakfast.
In Germany it’s a normal kitchen appliance 👍
Natural peanut butter. When I buy a jar, I store it upside down until I'm ready to use it. Makes mixing it a bit less messy.
Exactly what I do. Works for tahini and for choco-hazelnut spread (“nutella“). One less gadget in the kitchen.
Oh my goodness a peanut butter crank!! Fantastic and it only had one job, I’m ordering that. At my age my hands/wrist are not what they used to be😂😂
Save the stress on your wrists by popping the PB jar in the microwave for about 30+ secs (repeated as needed) to warm it up. This makes the PB much, much easier and quicker to stir.
@@gardenhappy4 thanks for the suggestion. I can’t find it anywhere for 10.00. Used on Etsy😱
I use my electric hand mixer with one dough hook. Easy.
@@gardenhappy4 Make sure you take off the lid before heating.
@@gardenhappy4 Step1. Buy regular peanut butter.
If you have to eat the "natural" because an ad on tv told you to do so, then store it upside down. Fk the microwave.
We've used a Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 Electric Egg Cooker for the last four years, and this $17 gadget is perfect for hard boiled eggs-anywhere from 1 to 7 at a time. We use it frequently although exclusively for hard boiled eggs. Clean-up is simple and we have NEVER had a cracked, leaky egg which was far more prevalent with the egg-steamer basket.
We also have a Julianne peeler that is just gathering dust in our “gadget” drawer.
And in my 70-plus years of preparing food for my family, I can unequivocally state that I've never known anyone who stripped kernels from a fresh ear of corn.
I’m a natural peanut butter person. We make our own from store bought jarred unsalted peanuts. We use two cans of 1lb peanuts. Once we make them, we store the peanut butter in the fridge and it never separates. We love it!
If natural peanut butter on sale for cheaper than jarred peanuts, then we buy.
A really easy way to mix natural peanut butter that I stumbled upon a few years ago: a hand mixer! If you've got an electric hand mixer, just stick a single beater on it, put the beater all the way in the jar, and mix away. Works great every time, although the beaters I have a little too short to reach all the way to the bottom of the really big jars.
I bet an emulsion mixer would work as it would reach the bottom.
I have a dough hook I put on my hand mixer. Works great, easy to clean.
Less chance of mess using the hooks and the spiral shape helps mix the dense mixture@@LesaBear612
We bought my MiL a cheap Dash egg cooker and it's been great for her. She makes a lot of egg salad and just likes having hard boiled eggs in general, but she tends to boil the life out of them until the yolks are half green and the house smells like a stink bomb went off. So they do have their uses, but if you have a good handle on steaming or steeping eggs you don't really need them.
Also the meat claws are a good idea, but they could be better designed. Seems like they were going for "Hey bub I'm Wolverine!" before thinking of ergonomics.
I love my OXO Julienne Peeler. I have given them to friends and family along with a regular peeler. It is great for making salads and all kinds of vegetable dishes. Carrots, celery and broccoli stems make great salad ingredients with a nice texture. You can't go wrong with this tool. IMHO of course.
I love my egg cooker. It is much easier to use than a sauce pan.
I think the onion goggles are also great at protecting your eyes while you get a charcoal grill started, or while working on a smoker. keeps all sorts of irritants out of your eyes.
Clear swim goggles cost about half as much. That's what I use.
@@marcpeterson1092 but if your aunt bought you the onion goggles you wouldn’t throw them away just to prove a point
@@deemey95I would!
@@deemey95 oh yeah? You should meet my aunt
@@marcpeterson1092😂😂😂😂😂! I like your suggestion of swimming goggles. Less expensive and, since some reviewers on Amazon mentioned you need to put the detached strap on the onion peeling goggles to get them to seal tight enough for them to work right, and that the strap can be difficult to get on, it would be better to get swimming goggles, which always come with the strap attached. I think I’d like your aunt, too! 😊
Night before last I was mixing up a jar of Chinese sesame paste to make sesame cold noodles, spilling the oil all over, and thought "Why doesn't someone make a tool to do this?" Low and behold - Grandpa Witmer's Peanut Butter Mixer. Thank you!!!
Ooh yes, sesame paste! Yum!
Egg cookers. When I first saw one, in Belgium in the late 1980's, I thought RIDICULOUS.
⏩ to 15 years ago, bought a second-hand Petra egg cooker from a charity shop after people had eulogised about the Petra egg cooker, which was discontinued even then. Best. Unigadget. Ever. Always accurate. Uses via the detailed (no. of eggs, soft, medium, hard) measure provided, about 2 teaspoons of water to cook 4 eggs soft-boiled.
I was so surprised to see the disproportionately large volume amount of water needed to cook eggs in the one slightly recommended. Blimey.
Others may not be, mind. Petra? My bright yellow plastic chicken is perfect.
That butter stirrer is priceless. Big fan of almond butter
We bought the RSVP when my wife was having dental work done when it was fresh corn season. 10 years later, we still use it and I highly recommend it. Its one flaw is that it is *very* limited regarding the size of the cob. If the cob is too big, the cutter will not pass all the way to the end. We have to be a bit more choosy regarding the size of the corn cobs. But, *wow*, does it ever make short work of skinning the corn. And easy clean up too
I recently bought a cherry/olive pitter. That's one unitasker I'll be using maybe once or twice a year, but it works so well! 😅
I only need a pitter once a year (during canning season) but every year I'm so glad I bought it!
In my soap-making world, people use those onion goggles to prevent lye or fresh soap batter from splashing in your eyes. So, definitely useful for more than just cutting onions. :)
My daughter LOVES onions, but is very sensitive to the gas they put out. I bought her a pair of these when they first came out. We (the whole family) laughed at how goofy they look, but now most of us have a pair in our junk drawer for when we slice onions because they absolutely work. 😂The only other unitasker that the cooks in our family find useful is the meat shredding "bear claws." Those are a pretty common item in the kitchen drawers for those of us who do a lot of pork bbq; they make quick work of large chunks of meat, shredding them evenly while the meat is still hot. **edited for grammar.
The bear claws are useful for picking up large chunks of hot meat, such as pork butt, turkey, or brisket.
You can buy bags of frozen, pre-chipped onions at the store. I’ve been using them exclusively for years. No tears at all.
we get very nice eggs with 1C of water in the InstaPot and the eggs on a steamer tray. 4 min on and then 8 min release... and they peel so so easy
I am really susceptible to onion tears. I bought a cheapo pair of safety goggles (meant for working with chemicals, etc.). They work great.
I have a really sharp knife and I never cry cutting onions
@@wnoseMaybe your heart is hardened to it anymore.
Safety goggles look good too :)
I’d love to see longer episodes of gear heads with Kate, Lisa, and Hannah when Hannah comes back from maternity leave!
This is the worst video I've seen them make =/
I feel bad even saying that.. but they should feel bad for even posting this.
My old hand mixer came with dough hooks. I put one one the mixer, sticke it in the peanut jar and turn it on low. Peanut butter is stirred in no time. One little hook to clean. (My dog loves to lick it clean for me).
We have a pair of Wolverine paws. They are made from stainless wire welded and sharpened at the tip. They work great for shredding meats. They also work great for lifting meats and birds from the roaster.
wooden mandolin for corn is great for creamed corn. I guess it depends on how you like your corn. Thanks for the reviews!
No question, the natural peanut butter's are my preference. They just seem to have a more tasty peanutty flavor, that's missing from the no-stir, sugared up brands. I absolutely love Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter😋
I usually turn the jar upside down for a couple days then refrigerate, but I might give that lid cap stirrer a try.
That's what we do!
Ah, clever! I should try that. Thanks!
I just dug it out and mixed with honey to be spreadable and saved the peanut oil for cooking.
I am a natural almond butter user. I was so happy to find a resolution to the mixing dilemma. I usually avoid one use items, but this seems so worth it for me. I’m heading to the link now!
Store it upside down, mix a little with knife, but the oil is on the opposite side.
@@Christobevii3 Thank you. I’ll see if that works for me before I buy something!
There are unitaskers that I regularly use, including a Rosle julienne tool, which I've had for years and it still makes short work of carrots for slaw, stir fries, etc. and is also great for zukes and more. More expensive than your pick but built like a tank and beautiful to behold in its stainless-steel splendor.. And since we live in the tropics and have access to fresh pineapple year-round, I get a lot of use out of my tool that slices and cores the pina into uniform slices and is easy to clean. For most efficient use, I try to match the size of the tool to the size of the pina to minimize waste. Finally, I find a good garlic press will always find a home in my cocina. Keep up the excellent work.
I’ll have you know that I’ve used my peanut butter stirrer for tahini as well!
alternative for stirring peanut butter-- i use my electric hand mixer with one beater attached. mine comes with a unique spiral shaped beater but i've used regular shaped beaters as well. just sink the beater while slowly turning the machine on and holding the jar steady with your other hand. takes just a few mins and works amazing!
I've had the PB stirrer for years. I used to put the PB in a mixer to do the job. This gadget is SO much better!
I think a great episode idea would be to talk about future or improved design ideas for kitchen gadgets/tools. Having the hosts talk about what they’ve experienced, maybe what other test kitchen hosts/employees have mentioned. Maybe who has the best design or opportunity to provide what they would like to see.
I am a natural peanut butter guy who has used your stirring device many times. The results were pretty good, but not perfect.
I found perfection when I scraped my peanut butter into my KitchenAid stand mixer bowl and whipped it into a smooth creamy mixture. Not only is it beautifully whipped, but the oil stays mixed for a very long time at room temperature. That’s how I eat peanut butter.
My favorite unitasker is my pineapple corer, but am now considering getting a julienne peeler 🙂
Julienne peeler is totally worth it, even if you only need to julienne once in a while. Small, inexpensive, easy to clean, easy to store. Easier than a knife and as easy to clean. (That's always my litmus test.)
My problem with a pineapple corer is the huge amount of waste, I got rid of it and went back to a knife.
@@13Voodoobilly69 I don't tend to get much waste with the size of pineapples I get, but I usually make tepache with the rinds anyway
@@honeyfromthebee Oh’ well that’s a bonus. 👍. I have fermented lots of foods and love it. Tepache is on my to do list.
@@13Voodoobilly69 You should try it! It’s a super easy ferment and uses what would otherwise be discarded. I like mine with a little tequila and lime or ginger beer and lime for an alcohol-free option
We have the corn shucker and love it for how it works not too bad to clean.. living in the south we absolutely love the claws nothing better for shredding meats especially pork! Great videos as usual.
Good info, as always; although, I do love my Dash egg cookers and works perfectly for me each and every time!
7:17 If you eat a lot of natural peanut butter, just use an electric mixer with one beater installed. Poke it through some wax paper or parchment paper to act as a lid, and run it on low speed. Works just fine.
Could you save a lid from an old jar and poke a hole in the middle of it big enough to push the beater shaft through?
I don’t buy many gadgets because there isn’t much storage in the kitchen, but my little Dash egg cooker earns its space! No cracked eggs, perfectly cooked, easy to peel. You’ve reminded me to go make some now.
I am a natural peanut butter person. And the only way I found that I can get it done is to start a couple of weeks ahead of time (estimating from how much is in my jar in use. I turn the jar upside down every day until it’s time to open. And then I wind up, pouring it out in a bowl and mixing it up with a fork. this little gadget looks like it’s worth it!!
I have a set of bear claws and have not used them in over 3 years. Once my pork shoulder has rested, I move it to my shredding pan using latex gloves over thin cotton gloves. The pork shoulder is usually around 160 degrees at this point. I prefer to shred by hand with my gloves already on. I have the flexibility of incorporating any rendered fat into the meat as well as apple cider vinegar, coarse black pepper, cosher salt and red pepper. When I am done just toss the latex gloves and the cotton gloves go into the laundry to be used again.
That cake!! 😂 I really like Kate, her gentle voice and mellow demeanor and she looks like someone you can laugh a lot together with!
I found this humorous (in a very nice way). As an engineer, who started out as a mechanic, the idea of having the right tool for the job is almost a point of religion. Uni-Tasker's Rule! Are you going to tell me that Oxo salad spinner is not a uni-tasker, just because it can spin herbs and berries as well as lettuce? Some of my favorites: (a) the Chef'n FreshForce Citrus Squeezer. It can probably squeeze limes as well as lemons, but I don't squeeze limes, so it is a uni-tasker to me. Sure, you can squeeze lemons by hand, but it is just so much more fun to thoroughly CRUSH them it the juicer. (b) Oxo Rice & Grains Washing Colander. Maybe its' not a uni-tasker because it can wash something besides rice. Still, it works like a champ, and I use it all the time. (c) Oxo Good Grips 2-in-1 Salad Servers. The name suggests these are not uni-taskers (maybe that is why they disappeared from the market a long time ago). Still, "Salad Server" is a pretty uni-tasking description to me. I think these work great, and it is too bad they got discontinued.
For cutting onions, I cut mine next to one of my (gas) stove burners. It helps burn up the fumes that the onions give off when you cut them. Helps a lot, because otherwise I'm a teary mess.
Thank you!!! The peanut butter mixer has been a surprising, much needed discovery ❤
I always buy natural peanut butter, and truly it's a pain to try to mix the oil and the solids just "by hand"...
I just hope I can buy that gadget from Spain 🙏🏻
My eyes water so much when I cut onions that it's almost dangerous because I can't see. I've tried all the techniques, but nothing really helped enough. My step-brother gave me onion goggles as a "gag gift". I have been using them for about 10 years now! They are such a game changer for me that I even bring them when I travel if I know there is a possibility that I'll be cooking!
I had a luncheon, and everyone was to bring a kitchen gadget. It was so much fun to try and identify their use. Some of the items no one knew what they were used for! Also, some brought old antique ones. It brought a lot of laughter and stories.
Love my electric egg cooker. Makes perfect boiled eggs. Easy to peel & soft to eat. Turn on, then the alarm sounds when ready. Very difficult to get decent runny boiled eggs though.
The best part about the onion goggles is no one is going to borrow them! 💖🌞🌵😷
I do not find Mandoline slicers expensive or dangerous. Not only do they julienne carrots they also thinly slice cucumbers and radishes, make shoe string French fries, thin sliced apples for fruit nachos, dice onions, shave chocolate, and Parmesan cheese. Not a unitasker and a better buy than a peeler.
I have that corn stripper! I absolutely love it! Worth every penny and every square inch of storage. I do a bunch at once, a couple of times per year when local corn is in season, then I have frozen local corn available when I want it.
I have the wooden corn cutter, it takes experience to use it properly. Once you know what you are doing it cuts cleanly and quickly. We husked, blanched, cut, and packaged over 120 pints in under 5 hours with 2 people working.
I buy 80 oz jars of Adams peanut butter. For that size jar a hand mixer works great, I just wish the beaters were about 1 inch longer.
I love the peanut butter stirrer ! I do think it could be used to mix any thick marinade or dressing, home-made BBQ sauce and so on. Just get an appropriately sized mason jar and away you go!
Airflow is my favorite way to keep onion tears at bay. If you have a window in your kitchen, you can open the window and turn on your vent hood. Then put your cutting board on the counter somewhere between the hood and the window. Air will come in through the window and across the onions, wafting those sulfur fumes off toward the vent hood before they can reach your face.
I have one of those peanut butter stirrers that I used for natural soy butter. It worked pretty well, and then I stopped buying natural soy butter. I still have it, sitting in a drawer. One of the perils of buying a uni-tasker is if you stop needing to do that task.
I think the moral of your story is stop eating soy butter. 🤣
I have ski goggles with a foam seal similar to those onion glasses except the goggles are impact resistant so it works for the onion cutting and stuff like using power tools (e.g. hedge trimming)... so I heartily recommend that as a 'single task' item that is actually a multi-tasker.
We've used the peanut butter tool and it works great if the peanut butter is soft the oil stirs right in. Today we use a hand mixer and one dough hook, set on low and that stirs hard or soft peanut butter. Remember set it on low or you're wearing the peanut butter.
I have a multi tasker for my onion tears. As I wear glasses most of the time, when I used regular googles I needed to either have contacts on or not see clearly. So I got full size googles and just fill in the small vents (it had 4) and I can wear my glasses and they work great. Best part, got them from the dollar store. (so really $1.25). Also, the bear claws I've seen used at big operation BBQ places to shred lots of pulled pork and brisket.
I bought the oxo version of the corn stripper, and I love it. It takes only a short amount of time to learn how much pressure to use while running it down the cob. But once I figured that out, it became super efficient, a time saver, and made it possible for me to quickly process the kernels for all recipes that don’t need the corn still attached to the cob. I made salads, soups, dips, stir fries and so much more.m with the loose kernels. I think if you don’t use a lot of fresh sweet corn off the cob, you won’t see the benefit. Oh and a warning, the blade is wickedly sharp so be careful if you invest in one.
A wonderful little ol' lady gave me the best tip for natural peanut butter. Before you open it, store it upside down. the oil separates to the bottom of the jar and is WAY easier and less messy to stir.
I seriously wear those exact onion glasses (I really don't feel like they are goggles) every day - I have eyelash extensions and I want to protect them from the steam when I wash dishes, open a hot oven or the air fryer, cook on the stove and of course for chopping onions. They fit me perfectly and are very comfortable but I have a rather small face. Can't live without them!
When you buy Teddy's PB, or any other pure nut butter, tahini etc., just inverting the jar for a couple of days is a big help in integrating the oil. Also, check the jar for oil separation, newer stock has little to no separation visible. I check as I'm passing through the isle, and I'll pick up a jar if it looks good (I go through a large jar of Teddy's in less than 2 weeks). Cheers
I've had one of those peanut butter stirrers for years. It's the only unitasker in my kitchen. HIGHLY recommended!
I have a Dash egg cooker and it’s perfect. Highly recommend it. :)
Yep used that for almond butter a lot. Works perfect
The corn scraper you preferred *is my favorite* too; it works best with HOT corn. At that point, it is also safer and easier to use (picture holding a scalding hot 🌽 in one hand while trying to 'peel' it with one of those in-hand gadgets)!
Are the 6:30 and 13 minute times from cold water or from the time the water starts to boil? I'm guessing the later but would prefer not to get it wrong first time.
I love these gadget reviews. One thing I think should be included is the opportunity costs for them. The julienne peeler sold me, becase the cost for buying and storing it is so low in comparison to not having it.
Thanks
I only buy natural peanut butter, which I think tastes the best, and have used Grandpa Witmer's Old Fashion Peanut Butter mixer for years. It's a must if you buy natural peanut butter.
I think it is important to analyze how much you would use a unitasker. Would you be more likely to put shredded carrots in your salad? do you regularly julienne items? Or for the bear claws, are you an avid barbecuer? If that is the case, then a well-designed unitasker can be a game changer. However, if you only have pulled pork or chicken once a year, even the great bear claws are a waste of space.
I LOVE natural peanut butter. Not because it's "healthier" or "cleaner" or anything silly like that. I just prefer it. I like to see the oil on top, and I like stirring it in. And I'm totally getting one of those gadgets. 👍
For the onion goggles, just buy a set of DeWalt or other safety goggles. They're impact rated and some are fog resistant... Then you can use them for other things as well.
I've always used the dough hooks on my electric hand mixer to mix up any natural peanut butter if needed.
To mix peanut butter i use my hand mixer with the regular egg beater attachment. You need one that has a low starting speed so the oil won't splash. I have the Cuisinart 9-speed which starts at 240 RPM.
Just keep a tight grip on the jar.
What I was told by my mother-in-law, who came from a family of farmers, that the ‘mandolin-type’ device for corn was designed to make creamed corn, not to take whole kernels off the cob.
And that is what I use it for.
It removes ALL the kernel and the juice from the cob: no waste.
I use a large pot (the one I learned on was my MIL’s mother’s. She used it for batch canning of quart mason jars) so the mess (mostly) stays in the pot. Now I use a very tall stock pot.
It takes 12 ears of corn to make a quart of creamed corn.
I can either freeze it or cook it.
When ready to cook, I put (fresh or hard-frozen) creamed corn in a skillet with a bit of butter.
[My husband’s family did it at corn harvest & had pickup trucks filled with corn. They baked it in quart batches in the oven, but I don’t make enough at one time to heat an oven in the summer.]
Stir & cook until it has the consistency of soft ice cream & tastes like cooked corn.
Put it on the table & watch it disappear.
I let everyone do their own salt & butter.
It’s as delicious as the corn is fresh.
If you didn’t throw away that mandolin thing, then maybe try it again at the next corn harvest.
Recently purchased a julienne peeler to make mango salad. Gosh if I only use it for that it will be well worth the small space it takes. I used to have an egg cooker but discovered that I can make perfect eggs just putting eggs in water till covered, once reaches boiling remove from heat, cover and put timer on for 10 minutes then plunge in cold water. Perfect hard boiled and easy to peel every time no matter if 2 or 10 eggs.
I found instructions for making hard cooked eggs in the air fryer several years ago and have been doing them that way every since. I don't make soft cooked eggs at all, so this may work for them by adjusting the time. Preheat air fryer and then cook up to 6 eggs on a wire rack (or the bottom of the cooker) at 250 for 16 to 18 minutes. 18 minutes is perfect in my Cosori.