Gadget is the One For Me

I bought two pounds of strawberries at Wilson Farms yesterday, and I wanted to make sure I prepped them as soon as possible so that they wouldn't rot in my fridge as so many of my more impulsive fruit and vegetable purchases do.

"Where's my strawberry huller?" I thought as I hurriedly looked through the drawers in my kitchen cabinets. Dammit. I know I have a strawberry huller! Doesn't everybody? Shouldn't everybody? My search revealed that not only do I have one strawberry huller, I have TWO
strawberry hullers.

If you don't have a strawberry huller, you may want to get one (or I'll give you one of mine). It's a silly little gadget but a very satisfying one. You see, if you prefer fresh strawberries to those frozen in a plastic bag, you know that they come with a little green leaf and stem which need to be removed. A strawberry huller is a little piece of metal with rounded tips that completes this process in the most efficient way. The huller lifts up the leaves and pinches the stem. In one motion, you insert it and twist, pulling out the leaves and stem while keeping the rest of the strawberry in tact.

Now, you could always cut the green leaf and stem off with a knife, but you can lose quite a bit of strawberry or end up slitting the strawberry or worse, your finger, with that method. Years ago, I remember being down the Cape at my friend Beth's, and her mom put us to work hulling and cutting strawberries for shortcake. Mrs. Wells was adamant that we not waste any of the top of the strawberry in cutting off the leaves and removing the stems. We were hindered by paring knives, though, and unfortunately for our efforts, it was a task more easily bossed than done.

As a former employee of Crate and Barrel, I've had many opportunities to sample (or be seduced into buying) various kitchen gadgets, some of them wonderful, some of them useless. In any case, over the last two-plus decades since the day I first set foot in one of their stores, I've tried them all, and here is my Best and Worst Gadget List.

For the record, my favorite brand is Oxo and it's also worth nothing that the vast majority of my gadgets are plain and untrendy (no terra cotta-colored spatulas to coordinate with my kitchen rug, thanks). There are no gadgets in my kitchen drawers that I don't use.

"Wait'll you see my gadgets! You'll want'em for your valentines…"

Apple corer – A couple of years ago, my friend Deborah gave me two ceramic apple bakers as a gift. I love them (and recommend them both for oven and microwave use) but to use them you need to core an apple. Have you ever tried coring an apple with a knife? Don't. Use an apple corer instead.

Box grater – If you are Italian, this is "your grandmother's cheese grater." It stands upright in a rectangle shape with different grating options on each side. I like it for grating large amounts of cheese (a better consistency than using a food processor) or for grating zucchini or carrots. Rather than try to soften brown sugar that's hardened into a lump, I just grate it. I actually think it's quicker that way, and the sugar becomes refined and smooth.

Cake and cookie decorating accessories – If you like to bake, even if only occasionally like me, using an inexpensive cake decorating kit or cookie cutters can make a lovely, if sometimes subtle, difference. Fun for kids and adults, even the littlest decoration can make you look like an Ace of Cakes. BTW, piping bags are great for neatly stuffing cherry tomatoes, celery or mini quiches with filling.

Immersion blender – A phallic, metal "mixer" that purees soup right in the pot. No pouring a gallon of hot liquid into a food processor any more! I know it's not really a gadget, but I had to give it a mention. This is my new favorite kitchen item, and I wish I'd invented it. What a time saver and my soups are perfect! (And like many gadgets, it's got kind of a sexy vibe to it. ;)

Knives, knives, knives – OK, again, not gadgets, but invest in your knives and keep them sharp. (There's no such thing as a quality knife that never needs sharpening. That is hype.) Good knives can do everything and cut down (get it? Cut down?) on the need for silly gadgets.

Lemon reamer – My second favorite thing about this gadget is its dirty name. If you like lots of citrus flavor and a little pulp mixed in with your lemon or lime juice, this is the gadget for you. Simply cut the lemon or lime in half, insert the pointy end of the reamer into the flesh and squeeze and twist. Lots of juicy, pulpy mush and a bit more innuendo. Yummm.

(Lemon) zester – Some recipes call for a little bit of the colored part of a lemon, orange or lime peel to provide that extra bit of "zing." It's important when zesting to only zest the colored part of the peel, not the white. I prefer the zester to the small grater because there's rarely a risk that you'll go too far deep into the white of the peel. I also enjoy dragging it across the lemon or orange and seeing the little curlicues. It's a slower process but somehow more satisfying.

Narrow spatula – I love spatulas, but the long, narrow one can make all the difference if you're trying to get that last little drop of mustard out of the jar because it's all you have left and you need one more teaspoon for that salad dressing recipe and the company will be here any minute!

Paddle grater – Ah, the paddle grater. Just hold it over the food and grate the cheese. No fuss, no muss. It's also easy to clean and takes up very little space.

Pastry wheel – If you like making pastry, this little gadget will make even your poorest effort look pretty. Spray a bit of Pam on the wheel and spin, and the dough will be less likely to stick as you "wheel" it. (Thanks, Martha, for that tip.)

Stainless garlic press – After having bought and disliked several types of trendy garlic presses during my lifetime, I returned years ago to the stainless steel, one-piece garlic press – just like Nonna used to use. If it's all one piece, it will never warp, and the press part will never break off (as one of my trendier models did once). Your garlic press doesn't need to be pretty, just effective.

Vacu Vin – The best!! This is also called a wine saver, but the brand I've had and loved forever is Vacu Vin so hence the plug. If you haven't finished a bottle of red wine (Haven't finished? What?!?), you can insert the little plastic plug into the bottle and pump, pump, pump the air out with the Vacu Vin. This will keep the wine from oxygenating any further and keep it available to you for a few more days.

Gadgets that seemed like a good idea at the time but just don't do it for me:

Cheese plane – Maybe you'll eat less cheese by scraping this across the top of the brick, but the slices are too long and thin. Ultimately your pretty cheese and crackers display will have this warped, bowed hunk of cheese in the center. Slice the cheese in advance and fan it out to make things easier and less awkward for your guests.

Citrus peeler – This is a $.75 waste of time. It's a small plastic stylus that cuts through citrus to make peels. Don't let the name fool you; you still have to peel your own orange...with the fingers God gave you. (And even if you don't have fingers, this gadget still isn't going to help you.)

Corn picks – Maybe these are helpful for kids, but when I was little all I remember about using corn picks was that I'd go to bite into the corn and one pick would come out, or be at an angle, or wouldn't go into the ear. By the time you get settled with the corn picks, the corn is cool enough to pick up with your hands.

Egg separator – Um, yeah, it's also called the 'shell of the egg' and it's free. Crack the egg over a bowl and pour it egg back and forth while allowing the whites to fall over the shell. The yolk remains inside. It ain't brain surgery.

Honey dipper – What a mess! It should be called a honey dripper. Just buy honey in a squeeze bottle and you'll be good to go.

Horizontal peelers (They look like cheese planes.) – These simply do not peel as well as peelers on which the blade runs vertically.

Lettuce knife – If you must cut your lettuce, any serrated knife will do. You don't need one specifically designated for lettuce. How about tearing your lettuce by hand? Or grating it on your Box Grater? Or buying salad-in-a-bag? Seriously. Get a life.

Mini tongs – Unless you still have a toaster in which the toast repeatedly gets caught, I'm not sure why anyone would ever need mini tongs. If you do find you have a need for them, go with wooden ones.

Mortar & pestle – My sister loved her mortar and pestle in the 80's although I hardly know what she was grinding with it. Unless you're a doctor/barber circa 1450 or a practicing witch, there is no need to give up counter space for this heavy item.

Mouli grater – I used to love the Mouli grater when it was all the rage in the late 80s/mid 90s. This grater allows you to insert a wedge of cheese which is then grated by a rolling grater inside. It's not as convenient as it may seem though. First, you have to slice off a piece of the larger hunk of cheese to insert into the grater. The cheese often remains inside the barrel, forcing you to tap or hit it until it falls out in a lump onto the plate. Also, when you're done grating, there's that little piece of Parmesan left over which is too small to be grated; too big to throw away. This grater also requires two hands, so it wouldn't be of any help to a person with arthritis or other "grasp issues" either.

Tea bag squeezer – Ah, yes, another naughty name... If you're drinking tea brewed from a bag, there's no need for a "fancy" tea bag squeezer. Just pick the bag up with your teaspoon, wrap the string around it and squeeze the liquid into your tea cup.

Tea infuser – I've never met a tea infuser that didn't leak loose leaf tea into the cup! Arrgh! My former Crate and Barrel co-worker, Mary, who was off-the-boat-from-Ireland finally helped me solve my problem when she said, "Just hold a small strainer over the cup and pour the tea through it. That's what we do in Dublin." So I did and still do – with nary a loose leaf in me cuppa.

Wine openers – Again, unless you have arthritis, these are a complete waste of counter space. I was given an upright bottle opener for my last birthday (clearly a re-gift from the now defunct Linens 'N Things, which is in my car awaiting donation to the Salvation Army.

You can have it, along with my second strawberry huller.