[Judy]

I'm sure we have had this discussion before, but I have just read an interesting article in the LA Times Food & Drink section about food experts' ideas of least-essential kitchen items. It's a good read.

My least-used (ie, never-used) kitchen item is a little orange plastic citrus juicer thingy that I got for free at the Puyallup State Fair - a few of you will know where that is, and may even have been to it. I was there in 1995 and saw the Neville Brothers.

But I digress...

What is the most useless thing in your kitchen, and why is it still there?
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[cocoaloco]

Definitely the garlic press-extruder thingie. Such a disappointing purchase. A knife is so much better. And why is it still in the kitchen drawer? Oh, probably because I hope even useless items will be rehabilitated. Next trip to Goodwill and it's going bye-bye.
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[Deste]

Not sure if this counts, but even if I never use it, I love a stocking stuffer I once received.

It's metal, hollow and shaped like a bar of soap. After you chop onions and brush them into the pot, you're supposed to wash your hands with it under a running faucet to remove all traces of the smell of onions!

[Judy]

Stainless steel soap! I love that. We have a bar of it sitting by our kitchen sink, and we do actually use it. Greg heard about it on a radio science program and I went straight out and bought some. There's a scientific reason why it works, but I can't remember what it is.
_________________
Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

www.cupcakerecipebook.com.au

[Barbara]

The garlic peeler - a round tube, put the clove of garlic, roll it between your hands and it skins the garlic. I have no idea why I bought it. I binned it after I decided it was taking up space in my drawer.
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Barbara

[Erin]

I will second the garlic peeler. We got one as a wedding present and used it once, found it a waste of time and chucked it.

The olive pitter is my most useless gadget. The stupid thing sort of removes the pit and totally mangles the olive.

Judy,
I grew up going to the Puyallup Fair! Fisher scones with raspberry jam......Mmm! I was kicked by a horse there once.
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Franca]

A garlic peeler does sound unneccessary, but a press is useful, and I use my cirtrus juicer a LOT (I'm currently looking forward to Valencia orange season, and am enjoying tangerine season now).

Most useless: A tie between cheap give-away wine openers, and an odd gift from a friend, a honey spoon. During those rare times I use honey, I just use a regular spoon.
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[David]

Most useless kitchen thingy? definitely decorative corks for corking left over wine-----who has ever had left over wine??
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[bacchus]

I'm going to second the vote for the garlic press. My kids love to play with it, but I also prefer to use my knife to crush and chop.

After using my large knife to chop garlic, I rinse it under cool running water and I rub the tips of my fingers (carefully) over the flat side to neutralize the garlic or onion smell. I read about the trick years ago and it works, although the steel soap sounds a lot safer!
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Drink deeply from the cup of life!

[Erin]

I use my garlic press to extract juice from ginger and to crack nuts. I never, ever use it for garlic. A knife peeles and smashes all in one easy step!
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[birgit]

oh, I must admit I use my elastic garlic peeler tube quite often, but only when I have to peel a lot of garlic. Then I put 3-4 garlic cloves into it at once and that really accelerates the peeling process.
But I never use the garlic press (although ... it sounds really useful for ginger, hm ...).

For leftover wine friends of mine discovered something very useful: a thingie called vacu vin. I couldn't believe it, but it really makes a difference (of course only with non-sparkling wine).

Completely useless I think is a thingie for cooked eggs called something like egg decapitator (?), and that serrated honey spoon mentioned above ... in general all those silly breakfast help-utensils you fight with while still half asleep ...

[Erin]

Egg decapitator? Is that what Gemma Jones was stumping in 'Bridget Jones's Diary'?
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Chicago Bear]

Some will throw up their hands--and lunches--in disgust at this revelation, but for me it's the nice espresso machine that we got years ago. It always took a lot of work to make coffee that wasn't as good as Starbucks, and the machine would sit accusingly on our counter mocking us for being so bad at making coffee. I'd try again, same result. The machine has been in the basement for awhile now, but it still makes me feel inadequate.
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The goal is to fit it all in.

[clotilde]

I use my garlic press all the time, and my potato-shaped potato brush to clean it afterwards.

As for my least used kitchen gadget, I don't even know what it's for or what it's called, but I keep it anyway. It's a sort of plier thing with a curved part and a pointy part: I got it from Maxence's grandparents when they had to sell their country house and handed down a big box of kitchen stuff to me, as none of their grandkids really cook. I guess I could just ask his grandmother about it, but I kind of like the idea of having this mysterious antiquated tool in my drawer.

[woodstocker]

Clotilde, I hesitate to disrupt the aura surrounding your unknown gadget, but maybe it's a lobster cracker? (esp for the claws?)
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