These Professional Chefs Revealed the Most Useless Kitchen Items

Get Rid of This Bear Paw Meat Shredder

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

If you have ever had to make pulled pork or shred chicken breast one time too many and have begun to think to yourself that there must be a better way of doing this, then the Bear Paw Meat Shredder might just be the gadget for you. Shaped to look like a bear paw, this pair of meat shredders have six fairly sharp, pointed tines to quickly pull the meat apart to shreds. It is heavy-duty and is said to be melt-proof, making it possible to work right at the grill. While this may be a dream tool for some, professional chefs might disagree that it can even be considered necessary. For one, the same job can be performed with a pair of forks, a fork and a knife combo, or even your bare or gloved hands.

Granted, two extra tines on each side are an advantage. It isn’t much if you think about the number of times you actually make pulled pork or shredded chicken breast. If the answer isn’t every day, then you can put those bear paws down and put it away because a fork is always within reach, and if the difference between the two isn’t significant, then I hate to say it, but those bear paws just aren’t as helpful as you think they are. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Diversify Your Skillets

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

Sure, I get it. You probably got that non-stick cookware set as a wedding gift, and it seems to be doing the job just fine. Why fix what’s not broken, right? Plus, points for not having to scrape off leftovers stuck to the pan and spending more time scrubbing your cookware than actually cooking or even eating. I get that non-stick is just so easy to have around that you don’t mind taking it to brunch every day, and then coffee after, maybe even dinner and drinks before taking them home and then spending the rest of your life with them. But if low maintenance is the only reason you’re keeping them around, then you’re definitely missing out on better cookware that will seriously take your dishes to another level.

Professional chefs recommend diversifying your pots and pans and adding cast iron or stainless steel. Cast iron is perfect for cooking with high heat, while an excellent stainless-steel pan can give your food the perfect sear. So, ditch a non-stick pot or two and live a little. Your tastebuds will thank you for it. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Ditch the Citrus Juicer

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

Juices are my favorite thing, and anytime I can get them fresh, I’d jump at the chance, which is why I personally love these citrus juicers! They’re so neat and handy and easy to use that I just had to have one – except, now that I have one, I find I’m barely using them. They used to sit on my counter gathering dust because I didn’t have time to disassemble, clean, and then reassemble them every time. When it came down, the time it took to maintain a specialty item like this in the kitchen just wasn’t worth having a fresh cup of juice every morning.

That is especially true when it’s easier to grab one from a juice shop on the way to work or even just settle for keeping a store-bought bottle in the fridge. And let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t feel like having juice, so this ends up not being used because making juice is the only thing it does. Think about it, if you have a juicer at home, when the last time you used it was? Right? Okay, now time to find it and clear that space in your kitchen cabinet. You’re welcome.

Don’t Get the Multipurpose Slicer and Dicer

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

If you’ve ever felt enticed by that 20-in-1 kitchen gadget you saw on late-night TV, there is no need to panic. You’re not alone. Many amateur chefs have fallen prey to the allure of a do-it-all kitchen item sold as the answer to all your cooking problems. They are designed to make you look like a professional who’s been doing this for ages. Reality check: these things won’t make your cooking any better, nor will they make slicing and dicing easier. Professional chefs agree that there’s nothing a good quality knife (or two) can’t do better than these all-in-one slice-and-dicers. The truth is that there is no substitute for knife skills.

If you really want to get better at cooking, something like this won’t do the trick. Spend time practicing different cutting techniques. At some point in our lives, we’ll be faced with the need to slice, dice, chop, mince, julienne, pare and grate – among others. It’s easier to find a knife in a pinch than to have this tool with you all the time. Not to mention that this looks like a pain to set up and clean. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Throw Out Your Microwave

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

If there’s anything that could be polarizing in the kitchen, it has to be this: do you need a microwave or not? The answer is most likely a resounding yes if you ask the average American. Have you seen the frozen food section in an American grocery store? If you haven’t, it’s practically three full aisles of freezers stuffed to the brim with everything from frozen pizza to frozen chicken pot pie – and most of these come to life in minutes in a microwave. But if you were to pose the same question to a professional chef, the answer would be the opposite.

Most chefs agree that anything you can cook in a microwave can be cooked through an alternative heat source. Pop that pizza in the oven. Heat that leftover soup in a pot on the stove. The fact that microwave ovens, especially the older models, can sometimes be a safety concern is also something to consider. Although, in general, microwave ovens are safe, if misused, they can pose a health hazard that, in the long run, might not be worth the convenience they offer.

Say Goodbye to the Veggie Spiralizer

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

I’ll have to admit it’ll be hard to defend this one because look at it! Aren’t those veggie spirals just too darn cute? Wouldn’t it be the coolest thing to serve zucchini like noodles? I bet your kids will be clamoring for more veggies once they see this, and you’ll finally be rid of all the mom guilt you’ve been dragging around for letting them eat pizza and chicken nuggets every day. Okay, I might have overstepped a little on the mom guilt, but you can’t agree that it’s cute. Sure, we all could use a little novelty in the kitchen.

However, professional chefs don’t seem to agree that this will be any use beyond the first few times you use it out of excitement. The truth is, what this little gadget can do, your knife can do as well, and it’s a much more convenient and useful tool than a one-and-done veggie spiralizer. So do yourself a favor and remove it from your shopping cart. I’m pretty sure you’ll regret buying it more than taking it off your cart. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Never Waste Money on a Meat Slicer

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

Unless you operate a deli, I don’t see why anyone would want to own a meat slicer in their home kitchen. While a convenient tool for anyone who has to slice a lot of meat precisely in as little time as possible, this contraption might not be the best investment at home. For one thing, it is heavy, bulky, and takes up a lot of counter space. Unless you use it every day, it shouldn’t have any business occupying a spot on your kitchen counter. For another, it looks like it’s just a lot of work to maintain and keep clean if you only have to use it a couple of times a month or if you only use it to make a handful of meat slices.

Also, doesn’t that thing just look scary? It seems like it could gobble up an unsuspecting hand if you’re not careful. While meat slicers aren’t exclusively for meats, they work best with meats, and if you don’t see yourself making cold cuts every day, then perhaps you can leave the meat slicer in the store and save yourself the countertop space as well as the hundred-dollar price tag. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Nix the Knife Block

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

What’s a knife set without a knife block, right? Those big wooden knife holders are practically staples in the kitchen, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any modern home without one. But if you think that knife block is indispensable, you’ve got another thing coming. Professional chefs don’t actually use knife blocks anymore because they are big and bulky and take up precious space on your kitchen counter. They also hide the knife blade, making it challenging to figure out which knife is which. Imagine the pain of owning 12 different knives and pulling each one out to find the one you need right when you’re in a pinch and pressed for time! Que horror!

Instead, professional chefs first recommend ditching the knife set. They point out that sets often come with knives we don’t even use, which could be replaced by one quality knife that can do the job of two or three. And then, when we’re down to a few knives, they recommend using a magnetic knife rack instead of the block. This improves knife visibility and saves you some counter space. Now, why didn’t I think of that?! Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Part Ways with Plastic

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

If you’re anything like me in the kitchen, you probably have a plastic spoon or spatula tucked away somewhere, unused and gathering dust. But if you’re like most people who actually cook in their kitchens, those plastic utensils are probably getting a lot more mileage than mine – and if so, then good for you! You’re getting your dollars’ worth out of that burger flipper. However, suppose you’re ready for an upgrade. In that case, professional chefs say that you might want to put that plastic utensil down and trade it in for its sturdy metal counterpart.

While plastic isn’t so bad in the kitchen and might even have its own place, especially when baking (Hello plastic spatula! Hello plastic spoon!), there’s nothing better than a metal turner or stirring spoon to do the job and do it right. Even that plastic whisk could be chucked into the bin and replaced with a stainless steel one. Those could give you a little extra push, especially when you’re tackling an exceptionally thick and heavy batter, and who knows, your arms might even thank you for the upgrade.

Stop Spending on the Thermomix

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

The latest kitchen sensation to hit American kitchen countertops, the Thermomix is a powerhouse cooking appliance straight out of Europe. Like most things from across the pond, the Thermomix is a sophisticated piece of equipment designed to do it all. It can chop, grind, steam, sauté, stir, weigh and measure, and it can even guide you through the whole cooking process step by step. That’s right, the Thermomix, with its built-in recipes, can be heaven-sent for the uninitiated in the kitchen. Who doesn’t want one machine to do it all for them, especially when time is precious, and we just can’t be bothered to do the slow, often laborious cooking task?

But while the Thermomix does sound sensational to the average home cook, professionals often see this item as more of a luxury and not a necessity. While its price tag – an eye-popping $1349 – could justify all the ways you can use a Thermomix, the question is, do home cooks use it? Most of the time, the answer is no. At best, it’s a kitchen trophy and, at worst, an expensive paperweight. You might as well take that cash and buy the best kitchen tools you need and actually use. At this rate, you might even have some money left over for a nice restaurant dinner for two.

Let’s Not Get Started with a Lemon Squeezer

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

In line with the citrus juicer, the lemon squeezer is another kitchen gadget that is more novelty than essential. Why? Because, let’s face it, anything that exists to do one job that doesn’t need to be done every day and can actually be done by another tool is just redundant. And we know what happens to redundant tasks, right? Exactly, they are terminated. So, whether you love yourself a good glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice or you own a lemon squeezer that you bust out on occasion just so you won’t feel guilty about its existence in your kitchen drawer, I’m here to tell you now – it’s okay to let it go.

You will survive on the strength of your hands alone. If you don’t believe me, then listen to the professionals because if you ask a chef, who, by the way, probably handles more lemons that need squeezing than you do in your own home kitchen, a lemon squeezer just isn’t valuable enough to take up space in your already cluttered countertop. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Never Purchase a Vegetable Peeler

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

I know I’ve got a vegetable peeler somewhere in the kitchen. I just don’t know where it is anymore. Why? Because to be honest, the last time I peeled a vegetable was so long ago. It was enough time to stop thinking about the peeler. So, yeah, I completely forget about it. That doesn’t mean I eat the skins with my carrots and potatoes (although I probably should) or just let my squashes be. Most of the time, these veggies can be peeled with a knife, something that I have handy on the kitchen counter and doesn’t have to be put away and only brought out occasionally.

I mean, if you ask a professional chef if they use a vegetable peeler, they will probably say yes, on occasion. They can be useful to make cute stripes out of a vegetable or little chocolate curls, but if it were a matter of necessity, then the answer is simply no. If you aren’t looking for your veggie peeler every day so you can use it, it’s definitely dispensable. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Skip the Tuna Squish

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

I’ll start with the pros: the thing is pretty darn cute, but apart from that – and its pretty catchy name – there isn’t a lot going for the Tuna Squish because, as far as I can tell, it’s good for just one thing – squishing an open can of tuna to drain the liquid inside. While this may be a game changer for some (this thing actually has different brands on Amazon and has about 14 reviews), any professional chef would raise their eyebrow at you if you happened to say out loud that you needed one or already owned one.

So, if that’s what’s going through your head, you might want to keep it to yourself or consider the cons: you’ll be paying, on average, $20 for a gadget that does what you can do easily without it. All you need to do to accomplish the same thing a Tuna Squish does is to simply press the open lid down and squeeze as you separate the liquid from the fish. Something as simple as that does not need a separate gadget, and you don’t need a professional chef to tell you that.

Stop Using Herb Scissors

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

Advertised as the easiest way to cut up your herbs, this pair of scissors, unfortunately, is just that – a pair of scissors. This means any pair of scissors lying around in your house, provided they’re clean and well-kept, could probably do the same job as this one. Of course, they have the added advantage of already being available as opposed to these specialty herb scissors, which you would have to shell out at least $15 for.

While this isn’t technically a lot of money, one could argue that any money spent on something you don’t actually need is just a waste of resources. And if you end up using them, also consider that there is more than one way of preparing your herbs. Aside from cutting them up, you can also pick off leaves, crush, grind or tear them. But if cutting is how you usually prep them, then a knife could do the trick just as well, if not better. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

You Don’t Need an Egg and Muffin Toaster

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

At first glance, this egg and muffin toaster might actually look like a good idea. Since it’s the first meal of the day, breakfast is one of those things that you need to whip up fast without sacrificing quality so that you set a good tone for the rest of the day. So, I understand if this kind of appliance has market appeal. It looks like it could make me an entire muffin without breaking a sweat. And while it probably does that, the question is, does it need to be a separate appliance, or do you already own something in your kitchen that can do the same thing?

This is where your stove comes in. You’ve met your stove, right? It’s where you’ve always made those eggs and muffins before you even dreamed about owning this egg and muffin toaster. While there’s nothing wrong with having this toaster occupy a spot on your counter in the hierarchy of useful things in the kitchen, this one is not high up there and probably wouldn’t make the cut. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of! 

Throw Away These Taco Holders

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

Unless you’re having a Taco Tuesday party at the office for a group of 12 and you’ve decided you want to flex your mastery of Mexican cooking and make your own, then you have absolutely no business needing to buy this set of taco holders, even if they were a steal at $9 a pop. Because first of all, who makes their own tacos to bring to a party? Dollar tacos are a thing, so there’s really no need to go overboard.

And second, if you do make your own tacos at home, wouldn’t it be easier and make more sense to fill up the taco shells as you finish each taco and not fill them all up at once? That is unless you secretly like your tacos soggy and falling apart. Ask a professional chef: if you’re not serving tacos at a restaurant, chances are, those taco holders will be used once and then packed away to gather dust in some forgotten corner of your kitchen. You can thank me later.

Please Put Away the Pickle Picker

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

If you don’t mind dropping a few dollars on fancy little kitchen things that are fun for a bit but don’t really improve your life, then I guess you wouldn’t mind having a pickle picker or two in your kitchen drawer. If you choose to have one, this device will take the place of your fork as you fish a pickle out of a jar. Pickle lovers must feel the pain of clumsily pulling out a pickle and finally bringing it to the top, only to have it fall off that inadequate little fork. The pickle picker makes sure you never feel this way again, with its syringe-like retracting and expanding prong tips that reach out and securely grab that precious pickle, lifting it out with the confidence that only a pickle picker can inspire.

In addition, it may be called a pickle picker, but it could also work on olives and other juicy condiments, so at least it’s not entirely useless, and pickle lovers would definitely get a kick out of this. But if you don’t see yourself fishing condiments out of a jar daily, save yourself the trouble and skip the pickle picker. Keep reading for more use kitchen items that professional chefs beg you to get rid of!  

Toss Out the Strawberry Stem Remover

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

When faced with what seems like a complex riddle, the answer is often so simple that when you hear it, you often wonder why you didn’t think of it in the first place. It seems the same is true with our seemingly complex problems in the kitchen. We try to find ways to solve them that end up making things more complicated when there is an easy solution just sitting right under our noses. Take this strawberry stem remover, for example. Someone must have thought it a pain to remove the stems off strawberries and took the time to invent such a device even when a simple tool in the kitchen already exists that can do the same thing.

And yet how many times a year do you think you’ll be taking the stems off strawberries? At most, you can do this every day during the summer, but when the season for this fruit passes, that stem remover will just sit unused in your kitchen drawer. Surprisingly, many seem to agree that this tool has a place in their kitchen. It has a 4.8 rating on Amazon and about 263 user reviews. Then again, maybe all these people don’t mind shelling ten bucks for a novelty item. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Curate Your Coffee Station

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

While a few kitchen items are universally underutilized, there are specialty items that only make sense to people who seem to have found a niche in their cooking. A professional chef once commented on the simple yet powerful tools in this kitchen’s coffee station, noting that while not everyone has an electric kettle, it can be something that many people could use more in their kitchen. But a curated station doesn’t have to be just for coffee. Professional chefs recommend digging deeper into your interests in the kitchen and learning more about what tools will take that interest to a whole new level. If you are a coffee lover, a good electric kettle, grinder, and espresso maker are necessary to brew that perfect cup. 

Do you love cooking meat? Then, by all means, get that grill, smoker, or slow cooker. Does baking rock your world? Then, buy those baking sheets, cake trays, or macaron holders. Your kitchen is a reflection of you and your cooking personality. In the same way that professional chefs have their own specialties, you get to choose what is useful or useless in your own kitchen because you are the one who cooks in it.

Sources:

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chef-photos-kitchen-counters-37192770

https://www.goodfood.com.au/good-living/chefs-kitchens/chefs-reveal-the-most-useless-kitchen-gadgets-20170221-guhprh

https://www.therecipe.com/useless-kitchen-gadgets-waste-money-essential

https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/tools-products/cookware-bakeware/skillets-guide#:~:text=A%20well-equipped%20kitchen%20contains%20several%20different%20varieties%20of,too%2C%20like%20a%20saucepan%20or%20heavy%20bottomed%20pot%29.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microwave-ovens-and-health#bottom-line

https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/kitchen/what-is-thermomix

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cleaning-and-preparing-herbs

https://bearpawdistribution.com/products/copy-of-the-original-bear-paws-meat-shredders