by Mirthell Onyx
While I do enjoy cooking up meals, I sometimes find myself frustrated when I do not have access to the right tools. Kitchen gadgets can be more helpful than you realize – especially once you have used a specific gadget for the first time.
My kitchen is equipped with a versatile range of gadgets – and I find that I can never have too many tools to use while cooking. If you’re still not sure which gadgets your kitchen needs, then these are the perfect starting point for your cooking station.
Thawt Defrosting Tray
“I forgot to take some chicken thighs out of the freezer until the morning of the day I wanted to cook them. I unwrapped them and placed the bare meat on the tray, and in just a few hours (maybe 3 or 4) they were thawed. The tray stayed cold so I didn’t have to worry about keeping the meat out at room temperature for that long. Clean up was a breeze! There was no water or meat juices running off the tray onto my counter and I just threw it in the sink with soapy water! It’s a win-win in my book!!” — Amazon Customer
Garlic Twister
“I cook a lot, and I need minced garlic frequently. But I hate mincing it with a knife. My knife skills aren’t great, but mainly I wanted to avoid smelly hands from cutting garlic. This Twister works exactly as described and makes the job a breeze. As recommended, I always rinse it before any garlic bits dry on it. Then I wash it on the top rack of the dishwasher. My only regret is that I didn’t know about this a long time ago. I highly recommend it.” — Penny Eubank
Pancake Batter Dispenser
“We used this pancake dispenser for the first time at an RV rally this week. One of my concerns was if it would hold enough batter for each batch. It easily made 6-8 good-sized pancakes at a time which was all our club’s skillet could handle to allow for easy flipping anyway. You might want a larger one if you were working with one of the larger skillets that some rally kitchens supply.”
“For our group, our host easily refilled the dispenser from a plastic spouted pitcher while the current batch was cooking so he was always ready for the next batch. The pancakes turned out great. Many were impressed that he was able to get such a consistent size. This was so much better than dribbling batter out of a bowl with a ladle. I’m going to try using it for making eggs in a muffin tin next. By the way, for more control, squeeze near the top of the handle and the hole opens halfway. Squeezing near the bottom allows more batter to flow for a larger pancake. It was a big hit.” — Jan D.
Fullstar Vegetable Chopper
“This thing really works, and the extra tools a bonus. Very sharp! I have problems chopping vegetables and peeling anything. I have a muscular dystrophy disease. I was able to accomplish in a 1/4 of a time. Cleaning is a little extra, but they give you the tools for that too. Finally a gadget I didn’t waste my money on. Time and strength saver.” — Amazon Customer
Finger Guard for Cutting
“This came quickly. I’m so glad it did. After shredding my finger for the last time, I found this handy little item, that has made shredding carrots SO MUCH easier! It allows me to have a good enough grip on the carrot while running it across the box grater. Because of where to ‘hold’ the carrot, there will be a minimal piece, about 1 inch, that won’t get shredded. I wish I found this sooner!” — Amazon Customer
OXO Scraper & Chopper
“I had never even heard of a bench scraper until I took a cooking class but now I grab for it every time I cut up garlic, onions or other veggies (scoops up diced and minced items much faster than doing multiple trips balancing chopped veggies on the flat side of the knife). It also helps separate the discard cuts from the ‘keep’ pile as you go along, and is great for quickly salvaging spilled herbs from the counter top. Note: the edge is chamfered to an edge but is not sharp like a knife, which is ideal for scooping and gathering without worrying about cutting yourself with it.” — Amazon Customer
Onion Holder for Slicing
“I teach special needs people how to cook. The Onion Slicer works for so many more things; like carrots, mushrooms, zucchini and tomatoes. Not only does it protect my students from cutting themselves, they can use it to make much more accurate slices. Everybody loves it!” — Amazon Customer
3-in-1 Avocado Slicer
“Avocado? Yes, Please! This tool is awesome. Easy to cut open the fruit. Pit remover works well, just push onto the pit and give it a twist, and the pit pops right out. The best part is the slicer. Makes beautiful slices for a great presentation (see attached photo of slices, ok, one side came out perfect, I kind of gummed up the other side). The tool can then be used to scrape any remaining fruit out of the skin. Really happy I bought this tool!” — Amazon Customer
Egg Separator
“I use this just about every day. I had a health scare a while back and decided I needed to eat better, so I’ve switched to eating egg whites instead of whole eggs most of the time (among other things). Separating the eggs without some kind of appliance was a nightmare, and I ended up wasting a lot of eggs that way. This little thing makes it so much easier. And it’s super easy to clean too. A little hot water and some soap and you’re good to go. I don’t remember if it’s dishwasher safe because I don’t have a dishwasher, but it’s a matter of a few seconds to wash it in the sink so it’s easy either way. It stands up to daily use really well. I couldn’t be happier with it.” — A. Slack
Dough Press Set
“I made three batches of pierogis and this tool made it quite easy to do. (I already had a circle cutter the exact size). Filling and sealing were simple and I made meat and ricotta, cheesy potato and sauerkraut. I also made fruit filled pies using pre-made pie dough (middle pic). By the last pic, you can see they hold up perfectly after boiling then pan frying.” — Lynn Marie