This 'n That Thursdays: Amusingly Unnecessary Kitchen Gadgets

From Foodista

I admit it -- I have a fascination with gadgets.  Several of our kitchen drawers and pantry shelves are filled with interesting devices that rarely get any use.  The microwaveable pasta-cooking jar, the plastic tomato slicer, the garlic press, juicers of various sorts, a strawberry huller and a cherry pitter, hamburger patty shaper (we don't even eat hamburgers!) -- you name it and I probably have it.  Some have proved to be quite useful (I love my Kuhn Rikon Spill STOP Silicone Lid), but most just sit around gathering dust and I really should get rid of them.  But how can I when they are just so fascinating?  In fact, here are a few more that I am trying my best to avoid adding to my collection:

1) Egg Cuber Square Egg Press

From The Green Head

Why would anyone want to cube an egg, you ask?  Well, for those with OCD like me, the idea of uniformly shaped hard-boiled egg slices as opposed to the haphazard ones from a typical ovoid egg is quite appealing.  Look at how nicely a square slice fits on a Triscuit cracker:

From Everything Eggs

Is that not perfect?  The Egg Cuber Square Egg Press is an essential gadget for obsessive-compulsive types.  Now if only it could slice as well as square the egg, it would be perfect!

2) Obsessive Chef Cutting Board

From Uncommon Goods

Another gadget for the OCD individual -- the Obsessive Chef Cutting Board!  Uniform size when chopping food is a necessity for someone with this propensity (affliction?) and a graphic cutting board with measurements will assure precise control of size when cutting up recipe ingredients.  Seriously, it is all I can do not to order this gadget right now!

3) Condiment Gun

From Kitchen Contraptions

Now here is a gadget for those who like to play with their food.  Whether you prefer catsup or mustard, the Condiment Gun is ready -- it comes with a cartridge for each:

From Gadgets and Gear

Better order two of them, one for each condiment.  That way you can let the condiments battle it out at the dinner table!

4) Pizza Scissors with Server

From Geek Alerts

For anyone who has trouble slicing and serving pizza (is that possible?), the Sagaform Pizza Scissors with Server is there for you.  It ensures that you cut all the way through the crust, and the server means that you can lift each slice without touching it:

From Givetu

If you want one of these, act now, because they are getting harder to find and eBay only has ten left!

5) Candy Sorting Machine

From Dornob

I think this has to be the most uselessly amusing gadget out there -- it is a Candy Sorting Machine!  If you absolutely detest your assorted-color candies (M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, Skittles, etc.) all mixed together, this sophisticated contraption senses and sorts them by color:

Before

After (from Egenriether)

I am not sure that this device is even available for purchase, but if not that is probably a good thing.  I don't know how I would ever explain the (probably considerable) expense of this gadget to my husband should I ever get the chance to buy one!

These gadgets are only a few of the ingenious but totally superfluous devices available to those of us who have absolutely no will power to resist them.  I may still be waiting for my flying car (weren't we promised this invention decades ago?), but at least in my kitchen I can rest assured in the knowledge that if I want to serve square egg slices with precisely cubed veggies and perfect pizza slices, all slathered with shots of catsup and mustard and accompanied by color-sorted candies, then I am covered!