Professional chefs understand the value of Cooking real estate Like neoyorcan people understand rent: each square inches is better than weight. Walk through the balancing doors of most restaurant kitchens and probably do not find a avover Slicer or dedicated egg kitchen around. No, each tool has a job and, if it is not won, it is through the door faster than the seafood not sold last week.
That is why chefs are the definitive authority on which kitchen appliances should get the boot, especially when the counter space in the kitchen is as scarce as hen teeth.
To compile this list, I asked five professional chefs about useless and overvalued cooking tools and what they recommend using them. Some on the list are hit to simply occupy too much space to justify the purchase, while others have a failed note to be a bit attractive.
This is what they said.
Masaharu Morimoto
Celebrity chef, restauranteur
Masaharu Morimoto shared his choice for the most overrated cooking tool.
1. Mandolin
Chef Morimoto encourages reinforcing his knife skills to make thin and uniform vegetable slices.
Why: “While providing good slices, mastering the right knife skills gives you more control, precision and safety in the long run.The mandolins can be bulky, difficult to clean and risky if you are not very careful. Trust you too much in a mandolin, or tools like a two-apple cutter of two in one or a tomato chorer can hold you from developing a real technique. sharpened or a Japanese leaf.
What to try instead: 8 -inch MAC Japanese chef knife.
Eric Rowse
Chef’s main instructor Institute of Culinary EducationLos Angeles
Culinary instructor Eric Rowse meets a Gimmicky kitchen tool when he sees one.
2. Onion holders
Because: “ This looks like a weapon for Wolverine Wannabes; it is intended to help you hold an entire onion and “ chop it ”. Instead, cut the onion in half to create a flat surface so that it does not roll. If you try to cut rings, save $ 14 and paste a fork to the root and keep your fork.
What to try instead: Learn to Properly cut an onion The old manner.
3. Onion goggles
Save your money (and a little dignity) and jump on the onion glasses.
Why: “A loss of money because they do not form a big stamp around the eyes to prevent sulfur compounds from reaching the eyes and make you cry. Keep the sharp knife and open a window or start a fan Instead. “”
What to try instead: Peter Cnet’s CNA Share Tips for cutting onions without crying.
4. Metal, glass, stone and acrylic cut boards
Glass, stone and metal tables are fine to serve, but when it comes to cutting and cutting, the wood is the way to go.
Why: “Cut hard surfaces is Bad for your knives; Instead, go for wood or poly. “
What to try instead: Our list of the best cutting boards It has many safe options of knives.
5. Chicken shredder
Why: “I can’t think of anyone who needs a tool dedicated to crushing chicken out of a restaurant and even restaurants do not use it. This article has only one purpose, so I would jump.”
What to try instead: Two forks.
6. Herb Stripper
Why: “I love thyme, but I hate to strip it.
What to try instead: For more heart herbs Like rosemary and thyme, just use your fingers to slide the stem, opposed to how the leaves grow.
7. Wireless Sonda Thermometer Bluetooth
Instant reading meat probes work rapidly and do not need Bluetooth connection.
Because: “This is a great tool, but it can be very expensive. I can see myself lose, break, fall, throw accidentally or drop it on the embers.”
What to try: Thermopro’s Lightning Instant Thermometer
Peter as
Author of cooking book and lifestyle expert
The author of the cookbook Peter Som did not retain when asked about his less favorite cooking tools.
8. Electric can open
A manual workshop is cheaper, it works very well and is less likely to break.
Why: “Most of us grew up with an electric opening definitely parked on the kitchen desk, as if it were a vital apparatus. But, in fact, they are more nostalgia than the need. They put room, they can be a discomfort to clean, and they often fight with irregular cans.
What to try: By opening Oxo’s soft hands.
Richard Ingraham
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union personal chef and author of Love: My love expressed through food
Richard Ingraham avoids some cooking tools when they cook for celebrities like Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union.
9. Avocada Slicer
Why: “A knife and a spoon do the job with the same ease and the specialized tool rarely adjusts to all avocado sizes correctly. It is a unique horse that nails the drawers.”
What to try: A good knife like This $ 35 wusthof.
10. Egg separator
Separating an egg by hand is not so difficult to require hardware.
Why: “A tool only to separate the yolks is not necessary for most domestic chefs.” The only exception can be thisAnd even this is only for yolks. Err, I mean IUCS.
What to try: Crack an egg and use the halves of the shell or the fingers also works.
11. Garlic Peeling Tube
Why: “Rolling garlic cloves in a silicone tube can work but requires storing a one -purpose gadget.”
What to try: The break of the garlic cloves with a chef knife is faster and more reliable.
12. Pizza Tissors
Chef Ingraham says you jump on the scissors on Pizza Night.
Why: “A pizza or knife cutting works better and faster. These scissors are annoying, uncomfortable for cleaning and occupying more space than worth it.”
What to try: Kitcheneaid stainless steel pizza wheel.
13. Herb Tissors
Why: “They are difficult to clean and do not offer a huge advantage over a sharp knife. In addition, they usually crush the delicate herbs rather than cut -them.”
What to try: Made 8 -inch chef knife.
14.
Why: “The boiling eggs in a pot are simple and flexible. The electrical version only adds a disorder unless it is constantly boiling eggs and hate with a stove.”
What to try instead: This Hack of 1 minute To make eggs shot in the microwave.
15. Butter cutter and dispenser
A good butter knife also works and requires less space and maintenance.
Why: “Butter bites in patts … but why? A knife works instantly and you don’t have to load and clean a plastic gadget.”
What to try: Williams Sonoma Breakfast Butter Blade.
16. Pasta meter
Why: “It is a plastic disk with holes to say -you are the amount of spaghetti to cook. Only the eyeball or learn the hard weight of experience. It is not worth the space of the drawer.”
What to try instead: A Kitchen For precise measures.
17. Oil sir
Why: “It is often obstructed, unevenly runs and requires constant cleaning. A small spoon or brush does the work with less frustration.”
What to try: Cruel of olive oil from the world market.
18. Potato electric peelier
A sharp vegetable peeler is all you need to peel a lot of potatoes.
Why: “It takes an amazing amount of space and skins slower than a regular peeler. In addition, it is excessive unless peeing dozens of potatoes at once.”
What to try: The oxo rotating peeler.
19. Bagel Guillotina
Why: “Sold as a safer way to cut bagels, but it occupies a lot of space and is uncomfortable to clean. A mountain range does the job well.”
What to try: The 8 -inch breadcrod of opinion.
Jackie meatsi
Executive chef, Kellogg’s restaurant
Jackie meatsi
20. Mitts of the oven
There is a reason why professional chefs do not use the half in the oven.
Because: “The oven is the most useless article in a domestic kitchen! A robust cooking towel does the same job, and more likely, it is more likely to be washed regularly. I do not know many people who wash their oven in the frequency … many have considered that they have considered it an element that does not guarantee regular cleaning.”
What to try: kitchen towels.