Usefulness
Usefulness
In a recent blog entry, one of my favorite writers, Michael Ruhlman, raised the issue of favorite kitchen gadgets. It's a great question, particularly for those of us in love with gadgets.
Ruhlman writes, "I’m not the first to suggest that a tool that has only a single use is just as useful in the garbage as it is in your drawer. A mango slicer, please. An egg separater — Jesus, an egg separator! We are born with the perfect egg separators, right at the end of our arms! Why would anyone be moved to invent one?" And he's right, Alton Brown has been lecturing for years on avoiding specialty tools, what he calls, "single-use gadgets."
It seems to me that a knife is a single-use gadget — it's only good for cutting things. Yes, it can cut multiple things, but then my deep-fat fryer will fry multiple things. And sure, I could open cans using my paring knife but it would be hard on the knife and wouldn't work very well, instead I turn to a can-opener, a device only good for opening cans. Admittedly I could make coffee in a skillet, but I'm also sure I'm happier with the single-purpose coffee maker I use every day.
This brings up what I think is the real issue: ubiquity. My coffee maker is essential because it's ubiquitous — I use it every day. And my coffee maker is perfectly designed to do its one job supremely well. I also use my chef's knife every day, but only use my paring knife perhaps once every three weeks. I use my can opener every two weeks or so, but what else would I open a can with?
I've moved seven times in the last 12 years and I've been ruthless about pairing down books, gee-gaws, and kitchen gadgets with each move. Nevertheless, I still have a 15" by 20" roasting pan that I only use about three times a year. The problem is, when I need to roast two large pork loins or cook a dozen crème brulees I have to have it. So although it's not ubiquitous, it is essential.
At the moment I own (in order of purchase) an electric hand mixer (the original was replaced in 1988), a Cuisinart food processor (1977), a Krups mini food processor (a Christmas gift from my mother, circa 1987), a 1960 Oster blender (given to me around 1990 by my mother when my parents moved), a Kitchen Aid stand mixer (1996), and a KA immersion blender (2004).
That's a lot of tools that do the same thing: chopping and mixing. On my next move I'll get rid of the hand mixer (the stand mixer is great for big jobs and the immersion blender for small ones), the mini food processor, and the blender (again, the immersion blender can replace them). But note that both the KA stand mixer and immersion blender are new tools for me and are designed to perform multiple tasks — and because of that they have become ubiquitous and essential.
As for the deep-fat fryer, I'm reserving my decision on it. I use it no more than twice a year, but it works well, is easy to clean up, and minimizes the frying odors that are so appetizing when fresh and so unpleasant when stale. And I do love my yearly allotment of perfect fries, potato skins, and homemade fish and chips.
In a recent blog entry, one of my favorite writers, Michael Ruhlman, raised the issue of favorite kitchen gadgets. It's a great question, particularly for those of us in love with gadgets.
Ruhlman writes, "I’m not the first to suggest that a tool that has only a single use is just as useful in the garbage as it is in your drawer. A mango slicer, please. An egg separater — Jesus, an egg separator! We are born with the perfect egg separators, right at the end of our arms! Why would anyone be moved to invent one?" And he's right, Alton Brown has been lecturing for years on avoiding specialty tools, what he calls, "single-use gadgets."
This brings up what I think is the real issue: ubiquity.
But there is something that has been bothering me about this philosophy for a long time and, as he often does, Ruhlman managed to cast the issue in way that illuminated what I had problems with.It seems to me that a knife is a single-use gadget — it's only good for cutting things. Yes, it can cut multiple things, but then my deep-fat fryer will fry multiple things. And sure, I could open cans using my paring knife but it would be hard on the knife and wouldn't work very well, instead I turn to a can-opener, a device only good for opening cans. Admittedly I could make coffee in a skillet, but I'm also sure I'm happier with the single-purpose coffee maker I use every day.
This brings up what I think is the real issue: ubiquity. My coffee maker is essential because it's ubiquitous — I use it every day. And my coffee maker is perfectly designed to do its one job supremely well. I also use my chef's knife every day, but only use my paring knife perhaps once every three weeks. I use my can opener every two weeks or so, but what else would I open a can with?
I've moved seven times in the last 12 years and I've been ruthless about pairing down books, gee-gaws, and kitchen gadgets with each move. Nevertheless, I still have a 15" by 20" roasting pan that I only use about three times a year. The problem is, when I need to roast two large pork loins or cook a dozen crème brulees I have to have it. So although it's not ubiquitous, it is essential.
At the moment I own (in order of purchase) an electric hand mixer (the original was replaced in 1988), a Cuisinart food processor (1977), a Krups mini food processor (a Christmas gift from my mother, circa 1987), a 1960 Oster blender (given to me around 1990 by my mother when my parents moved), a Kitchen Aid stand mixer (1996), and a KA immersion blender (2004).
That's a lot of tools that do the same thing: chopping and mixing. On my next move I'll get rid of the hand mixer (the stand mixer is great for big jobs and the immersion blender for small ones), the mini food processor, and the blender (again, the immersion blender can replace them). But note that both the KA stand mixer and immersion blender are new tools for me and are designed to perform multiple tasks — and because of that they have become ubiquitous and essential.
As for the deep-fat fryer, I'm reserving my decision on it. I use it no more than twice a year, but it works well, is easy to clean up, and minimizes the frying odors that are so appetizing when fresh and so unpleasant when stale. And I do love my yearly allotment of perfect fries, potato skins, and homemade fish and chips.
