9 Kitchen Gadgets Everyone Has but Never Uses ...

Who has time to look for that flimsy bit of silicone when the pan is hot and the oil is smoking? No one! It’s one of those unused kitchen gadgets. That’s why, despite being seduced by the prospect of quick, odor free garlic peeling, everyone who has bought one just ends up smashing the bulbs with the flat of a knife and pulling off the skin.

These cute, corn festooned prongs work excellent in theory. The only problem is that people rarely get to put them into practice. It is a pain to hunt them down when corn on the cob is served, and even then there are usually not enough holders for each guest. They are quite effective at drawing blood in a darkened drawer though.

A step up from the flour dusted apron, the bread maker makes people think this is something they can actually do. Some even come with delays, allowing you to start them long after you’ve filled and forgotten about them. Unfortunately, these devices don’t make more than one loaf of each recipe in the accompanying booklet before being abandoned to the black hole of unused kitchen gadgets.

With outlet stores offering the good life at sub-prime prices, many fondue sets have been snapped up by those with higher, sexier aspirations. In reality, the difficulties in set up and cleanup of this tool conspire to kill the mood, and make this one of most popular kitchen gadgets we never use.

All it takes is one family friendly wedding or set of classmate’s parents to throw an over-the-top birthday and before you even get home, your kids will be begging for the chocolate fountain. Ignoring the fact that marshmallows – not fruit as you tell yourself – are the most popular items for chocolate coating, you buy one, then end up using it just enough to pay the hyperactive results forward before banishing it to the attic.

Once, years ago, you made a cream soup that repulsed everyone with its less than silky texture. On that day, you vowed to get a hand mixer and produce only velveteen soups henceforth. Which you did. One time. When you recovered from the hot splatter burns, you realized your guests should just be grateful you attempted cream soup at all.

Probably around the time the fondue set entered your life, so did your now ignored French press. It’s strong, sexy and French. Despite all this, it’s kind of a pain to wait for coffee to steep, and it’s messy to wash up – just a few reasons why it becomes another in the pile of unused kitchen gadgets. Sure, it produces a superior product, but its Grande dame appeal just can’t compete with today’s reality show speed of life.

If you own one of these, and not a Deli to go with it, you have to ask yourself some serious questions, like, “What about me makes this seem like an appropriate gift?” (or in a case of self-inflicted ownership), “What was I thinking?” More people own one of these than will ever have enough meat in the quantity and form required to make their use practical. If you do happen to own one, do not just deny that it goes unused, deny its very existence.

I must admit, I have one of these and use it quite a lot. I do think, however, that is because I live alone and making a single sandwich is fine. If, however, you have to feed a family, there’s an interminable wait for each sandwich which just makes it completely impractical. It’s great fun when you first get it, but the novelty soon wears off and it soon languishes away, gathering dust. According to a survey by a large insurance company, the toasted sandwich maker is top of the list of least-used kitchen gadgets. The others in the top 10 are food processor, slow cooker, George Foreman type grill, blender, kitchen scales, juicer, breadmaker, hand blender, and coffee machine.

Time to own up – how many of these unused kitchen gadgets are in your cupboards? Or do you have them and actually use them?