Kitchen Gadgets, Why So Many?    

 I remember exploring the kitchen as a kid, opening different drawers and cupboards and discovering the world that belonged to my mother. One drawer in particular stood out. That drawer was  packed full of wooden and metal spoons, strange knives, rolling pins and a crazy assortment of handheld gadgets some of them looking like bizarre torture implements. The kitchen tools I discovered in that drawer over 40 years ago are dwarfed by the amount of gadgets available to consumers today. But are they all really necessary? Will you be a better cook owning them?

Some of these new gadgets actually are very useful and will make you a better cook, but many are just gimmicks that will be used once or twice then left to rust away hidden in your kitchen. My favorite “new kitchen gadget” is this laser digital thermometer. I use this digital thermometer mostly for checking the temperature of oil when I fry. French fries need an oil temp. of 350*F but the oil temp for falafel is better at 340*F. Oil temp is so important. For example if you fry potatoes at too low of a temp, the potatoes will absorb oil, they will cook but will be very greasy. Conversely if you fry falafel at to high of a temp, the outside will cook but the inside remains uncooked.

Please comment and let me know what your favorite or most useful kitchen gadget is.