The Best Kitchen Unitaskers That Are Worth It
It's time to give the garlic press some much needed love
If you grew up on a Good Eats education, then aside from committing the acronym GBD to memory, you are probably quite familiar with Alton Brown's heavy disdain for space-hogging unitaskers, or kitchen gadgets that serve only single purposes.
And while some of them—from the infamous banana slicer to machines that burp out cylinders of hard-boiled egg—are hilariously, er, "unique," not all unitaskers deserve flak. Here are our seven guilty pleasure, definitely not multipurpose gadgets we unashamedly keep for their very particular sets of skills.
Pasta Machine
Anyone who's ever tried working with a sheet of semolina dough can attest to the forearm strength that's required. Unfortunately, not all of us have the stamina of a sprightly Italian nonna, which is why we turn to a pasta machine whenever we're craving velvety, homemade fettuccine (which turns out to be often).
surlatable.com, $80
Photo: Sur La Table
Garlic Press
For an ingredient we use every day, garlic is an annoyingly sticky (and smelly) thing to chop. As long as you know what you're getting into with a garlic press (using a press yields harsher and more pungent garlic than using a knife), it's the convenient, speedy solution to getting Monday-night dinner on the table.
amazon.com, $16
Photo: Zyliss
Apple Corer
If you're honest with yourself, homemade apple pie is at most a once-a-year expedition, usually taking place during flannel season. But the time saved using this clever tool over a paring knife (and the small amount of space it takes up) is more than enough to justify its yearly outing from your utensil drawer.
surlatable.com, $11
Photo: Sur La Table
Citrus Hand Juicer
The only difference between a pitcher of lemonade made using the laws of physics and a pitcher that's literally hand squeezed is a set of very cramped fingers. Trust us when we say you probably won't enjoy the latter.
wayfair.com, $20
Photo: Wayfair
Salad Spinner
When it comes time to dry a head of romaine, you could go through an entire roll of paper towels, or you could take this gadget for a—wait for it—spin.
surlatable.com, $35
Photo: Sur La Table
Citrus Zester
We guess you could reach for the jack-of-all-trades that is a Microplane, but then you'd be missing out on all the elegant, cocktail-friendly spirals your citrus is capable of producing.
amazon.com, $8
Photo: OXO
Fire Extinguisher
Hey, even Brown approves of this unitasker, which is a good enough reason as any for us to keep one around our kitchens. (Though, we guess you could use it as an obnoxiously oversize rolling pin in a pinch.)
amazon.com, $45
Photo: Kidde