[0 - 2] - [Producer] Is there anything else you can use these for?
[3 - 7] - (laughs) Just looking cool, mainly.
[7 - 14] You won't cry until you see yourself wearing them. (laughs) (producer laughs) (upbeat music)
[16 - 18] - In a world of kitchen gadgets,
[18 - 20] there are hundreds of items
[20 - 22] that are designed to do just one task.
[22 - 25] Alton Brown called them unitaskers.
[26 - 29] - But can some unitaskers actually do their job better
[29 - 32] than cobbling together gear you already have in your house?
[32 - 34] - Kate and I are gonna give you the full rundown
[34 - 35] of some of our favorite
[35 - 38] and least favorite single function tools
[38 - 40] so you can decide if they're worth it.
[40 - 42] - But first, we have a book coming out!
[42 - 45] It's called "Kitchen Gear, the Ultimate Owner's Manual."
[45 - 47] - The two of us have 30 years
[47 - 49] of combined experience testing kitchen gear,
[49 - 51] and we've packed all of our favorite tips
[51 - 52] and tricks into this book.
[52 - 54] - We give you our unbiased take
[54 - 56] on what's worth buying and what's not.
[56 - 59] Plus, you'll find over a hundred ATK recipes
[59 - 60] that bring out the best in your gear.
[60 - 61] - Get your copy of
[61 - 64] "Kitchen Gear: The Ultimate Owner's Manual," today.
[64 - 70] - First up, Lisa, with her picks. (upbeat music)
[70 - 72] - First up, julienne peelers.
[72 - 75] Now, julienne is a classic knife technique
[75 - 77] where you cut food into matchsticks,
[77 - 80] long, very thin, rectangular pieces.
[80 - 85] They're perfect for salads and slaws, garnishes, stir fries.
[85 - 87] You can make vegetable noodles.
[87 - 89] The julienne peeler promises
[89 - 91] to make it super easy to make julienne cuts,
[91 - 92] but is it worth it?
[93 - 95] There are a few ways to make julienne.
[95 - 97] First, obviously chef knife and cutting board.
[97 - 99] It takes a little time and it does take skill
[99 - 101] to really make them perfect.
[101 - 102] You can also use a mandolin.
[102 - 104] Now we have a winning mandolin.
[104 - 105] It works well.
[105 - 106] You can use that when you wanna make
[106 - 108] a big quantity of julienne.
[108 - 109] If you're just doing a little bit,
[109 - 111] you don't really need to set up that whole thing,
[111 - 113] and if you don't own a mandolin,
[113 - 115] no reason to really go and buy one
[115 - 116] just for this kind of task.
[116 - 117] They're kind of pricey
[117 - 120] and honestly, they can be slightly dangerous to use.
[120 - 121] You have to be careful.
[121 - 123] And mandolins are also a little bit of a pain to clean
[123 - 126] compared to a chef's knife or just this little gadget.
[126 - 129] I tested a full lineup of julienne peelers
[129 - 131] and some of them are actually pretty good.
[131 - 134] Compared to a mandolin or a chef's knife, they're compact,
[134 - 136] they're really inexpensive,
[136 - 138] they're super easy to clean,
[138 - 139] and while they're a little bit slower
[139 - 142] to produce big quantities than a mandolin,
[142 - 144] they're great if you just want to pick it up, use it,
[144 - 146] clean it, put it away, and move on.
[146 - 148] So to use these, you peel the produce first
[148 - 150] with a regular vegetable peeler,
[150 - 151] which you're gonna have to do anyway
[151 - 153] whether you're using a mandolin or chef knife
[153 - 154] or one of these.
[154 - 156] And then you just draw it across the produce
[156 - 157] and as you do it,
[157 - 159] it cuts it into perfect little matchsticks.
[159 - 160] This is our winner by Oxo.
[160 - 162] Once again, not sponsored.
[162 - 163] They just nailed this thing.
[163 - 164] It has a few key features
[164 - 166] that you want in any julienne peeler.
[166 - 168] First, super sharp blades.
[168 - 169] Now, obviously, right,
[169 - 171] you want it to be able to cut cleanly and neatly,
[171 - 173] but some of them were not that sharp
[173 - 175] and they started to dull noticeably
[175 - 176] by the end of testing.
[176 - 178] This one stayed sharp throughout.
[178 - 180] You also want a nice handle that is really comfortable
[180 - 182] to use and gives you good leverage.
[182 - 183] We like this short handle
[183 - 185] and it's got this sort of grippy surface
[185 - 187] so when your hands are wet or whatever,
[187 - 188] it's not slipping around
[188 - 190] and it's very easy to get good leverage
[190 - 192] and control with this and get beautiful matchsticks.
[192 - 195] We also found that when there was more space
[195 - 197] between the blades, food didn't get stuck
[197 - 199] and it cut more nicely into squares
[199 - 201] rather than little flat, rectangular noodles.
[201 - 204] We also really liked that the head was nice and wide
[204 - 205] and it had lots of teeth.
[205 - 207] So every time you put this on food,
[207 - 209] you're cutting a bunch of it at once.
[209 - 211] You don't have to keep going over areas.
[211 - 213] Is a julienne peeler worth it?
[214 - 215] Of all the ways you can make julienne
[215 - 219] from mandolin to chef's knife to this, this is the easiest,
[219 - 221] it is the quickest to set up and use
[221 - 223] and it's probably the least wasteful.
[223 - 225] Do you have a julienne peeler?
[225 - 227] Do you love it? Do you hate it?
[227 - 228] Let me know in the comments below.
[228 - 230] Next up, corn strippers.
[230 - 233] Now, cutting corn off the cob can be a real pain. We know.
[233 - 234] You got the knife there.
[234 - 237] The kernels are popping all over the kitchen.
[237 - 240] You can cut too deep and get some of the hard cob.
[240 - 241] You can cut too shallow
[241 - 244] and lose some of that sweet corn you're trying to have.
[245 - 246] Enter corn strippers.
[246 - 248] These specialized gadgets promise
[248 - 253] to make the whole process easier, safer, and less messy.
[253 - 254] Are they worth it?
[254 - 257] We tested seven different models of corn stripper,
[257 - 260] and while all of them technically got the corn off the cob,
[260 - 261] we didn't like most of them.
[261 - 264] There were a few vegetable peeler style options
[264 - 267] that technically worked but were really hard to control.
[267 - 269] It was hard to cut at the right depth.
[269 - 272] You might as well just use your chef's knife at that point.
[272 - 274] We also tested one that was shaped like a ring,
[274 - 277] unless the corn was perfectly straight, it didn't work
[277 - 279] and it was very hard on our wrists.
[279 - 282] Another one was shaped like a wooden mandolin
[282 - 285] and that was just a mess.
[285 - 286] It mashed up the corn.
[286 - 288] It was not good.
[288 - 290] So the only one we kind of recommended was this one
[291 - 293] by RSVP International.
[293 - 294] You basically open the top,
[294 - 297] put the corn in on these little prongs on the bottom
[297 - 299] and put this little core on top
[299 - 302] and press down and turn.
[302 - 304] And it cuts the corn off the cob
[304 - 307] and contains all the cut kernels in this tube,
[307 - 310] and then you can just pull this top off and pour them out.
[310 - 313] Now the only thing that we didn't love about this
[313 - 315] is that it has a bunch of parts to clean.
[315 - 317] One, two, three, four, five pieces
[317 - 318] you have to wash and dry,
[318 - 320] which is a lot more than just your knife and cutting board.
[320 - 323] But if you really hate cutting corn off the cob
[324 - 326] with your chef's knife, this might be your best bet.
[326 - 330] Next up on my list, the peanut butter stirrer.
[330 - 332] If you buy natural peanut butter,
[332 - 335] you know that it's not gonna be this smooth,
[335 - 337] uniform consistency when you open the jar.
[337 - 340] The bottom layer is the cement like sludge,
[340 - 342] that is the peanut solids,
[342 - 344] and then it has the oils sitting on top.
[344 - 345] They separate as they sit.
[345 - 348] That's because they don't contain hydrogenated fats,
[348 - 351] which keep all that oil in the emulsion.
[351 - 354] So if you've ever really tried to mix natural peanut butter
[354 - 356] with the solids and the oil on top,
[356 - 357] you know what a mess it is.
[357 - 359] It's really hard to do without splashing the oil out,
[359 - 361] and that oil is really important
[361 - 362] to the flavor and the texture.
[362 - 363] You want it mixed together.
[363 - 364] So we found this gadget.
[364 - 366] It's called Grandpa Witmer's
[366 - 367] Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Mixer.
[367 - 370] It costs about 10 bucks, so we decided to try it out.
[370 - 371] It's basically a lid,
[371 - 374] and this fits all standard 16 ounce jars of peanut butter.
[374 - 376] They also make one that fits a 12 ounce jar
[376 - 378] and they make these massive industrial-sized ones,
[378 - 380] depending on what you need.
[380 - 381] It has a couple real simple parts.
[381 - 383] There's a lid and there's a little crank,
[383 - 388] and inside the lid there is a little silicone gasket.
[388 - 390] So you just unscrew the lid of the peanut butter,
[390 - 392] put this on with the gasket
[392 - 394] and the little holder in place,
[394 - 397] and you're just gonna put the crank right through.
[397 - 400] You are gonna put it right into the jar, turn the crank,
[400 - 402] as you pull it back out through the lid,
[402 - 403] that silicone gasket
[403 - 405] actually wipes the crank clean.
[405 - 406] Absolutely no mess.
[406 - 408] Then you just take this lid off,
[408 - 410] put your lid of the jar back on,
[410 - 413] and that peanut butter is fully mixed and ready to use.
[413 - 415] If you keep it in the refrigerator,
[415 - 416] it won't separate out again,
[416 - 418] but if it does, just stick this back on,
[418 - 421] give it a couple cranks and it's fully remixed.
[421 - 423] You do have to hand wash these parts,
[423 - 424] but there's only a couple of them
[424 - 425] and it really isn't hard,
[425 - 428] especially since it cleans itself as you're using it.
[428 - 431] This is probably the ultimate unitasker.
[431 - 433] It just does this one thing,
[433 - 435] but it does that one thing perfectly.
[435 - 437] And if you eat a lot of natural peanut butter,
[438 - 439] it is a game changer.
[439 - 441] Are you a natural peanut butter person
[441 - 443] or are you someone who wants your peanut butter
[443 - 445] to come out of that jar ready to go?
[445 - 446] Let me know in the comments.
[446 - 447] I really wanna know.
[447 - 449] Here's my final unitasker,
[449 - 450] the burger press.
[450 - 453] Now this thing is supposed to make patties,
[453 - 456] and the problem is you're pressing down that meat,
[456 - 457] you're squashing it,
[457 - 459] and every time you work the hamburger,
[459 - 461] what happens is it becomes more like sausage.
[461 - 464] The fibers of the meat kind of knit together
[464 - 466] and you get this chewy, tough consistency.
[466 - 468] This is one of the ones we tested.
[468 - 469] It's by Weber.
[469 - 470] You think they'd know better.
[470 - 472] I'm sorry, Weber.
[472 - 473] You should not have gotten into this.
[473 - 475] It has two platforms,
[475 - 476] one side for half pound burgers,
[477 - 478] one side for quarter pound.
[478 - 481] You put the meat on and then you press the dome down
[481 - 485] and it will only go as far down as that amount of meat
[485 - 488] to shape it into a big or small disc.
[489 - 490] In theory, sounds great,
[490 - 492] but you're gonna compress that hamburger
[492 - 495] in a way that is not gonna be good for your final product.
[495 - 498] Don't buy a burger press, ever.
[498 - 499] Here's what you do instead.
[499 - 502] You wanna separate the meat very, very gently.
[502 - 503] I like to do four ounce burgers
[503 - 506] and then very, very, very gently
[506 - 508] like you're patting a baby on the head,
[508 - 510] just shape it into the shape of a patty
[510 - 512] and then put a little dimple in the middle
[512 - 514] and that helps it not puff up.
[514 - 515] And that's it.
[515 - 516] That's all you have to do.
[516 - 519] Just let it cook, leave it alone, don't press it.
[519 - 523] So those are my recommendations and warnings.
[523 - 528] Now here's Kate with some more gadgets. (upbeat music)
[529 - 532] - Cutting up a watermelon can be intimidating.
[532 - 534] So watermelon slicers
[534 - 537] are a really popular alternative to using a knife.
[537 - 540] The way it works is you cut the watermelon in half,
[540 - 542] then you drag it through the watermelon like that,
[542 - 545] flip them over and they become sort of tongs.
[546 - 548] So you can reach into the watermelon and pull out a slice.
[548 - 550] The alternative is just using a knife,
[550 - 553] flip it cut side down and you just make slices.
[553 - 556] So was this as good as a knife?
[556 - 558] No, it was not.
[558 - 560] We tested these with a ton of watermelons
[560 - 562] and the results were super clear
[562 - 563] and also very disappointing.
[563 - 567] First, the watermelons released just as much juice with this
[567 - 568] as they do when you use a knife.
[568 - 571] Also, these were actually surprisingly hard to control.
[571 - 573] When you drag them through the watermelon,
[573 - 577] it's really hard to position them exactly against the rind.
[577 - 579] You end up leaving behind a lot of fruit,
[579 - 581] which is super annoying.
[581 - 583] Also, you have to be really careful.
[583 - 584] Every time you make a slice,
[584 - 586] you want to line up this blade
[586 - 589] with the slice you just made.
[589 - 591] So in order to get the most out of it,
[591 - 594] you have to be really careful and it's really hard to do.
[594 - 596] Because it's really hard to tell
[596 - 598] how far you're slicing into the watermelon,
[598 - 602] we found that we either cut too deep or we cut too shallow,
[602 - 603] and it was especially disappointing
[603 - 605] when we didn't cut deep enough
[605 - 608] because then we'd remove a slice, look in the watermelon
[608 - 610] and realized we'd left a ton of fruit behind.
[610 - 613] Though the slices were pretty uniform in thickness,
[613 - 615] they were really jagged
[615 - 618] and kind of erratically cut on the bottom side,
[618 - 621] so we really didn't get pretty slices or cubes.
[621 - 622] Okay, I have to be honest,
[622 - 625] the manufacturer says this is not a unitasker.
[625 - 628] They say that it can also be used to cut cake.
[628 - 631] Very intriguing. So we tried it.
[631 - 633] And the results were just as bad.
[633 - 635] So do not use this for watermelon.
[635 - 637] Do not use this for cake.
[637 - 638] If you buy a whole watermelon,
[638 - 641] you have to cut it in half anyway with a serrated knife.
[641 - 643] So in our opinion,
[643 - 645] just use the serrated knife knife the whole time.
[645 - 647] Next, electric egg cookers.
[647 - 649] I eat a ton of hard and soft cooked eggs
[649 - 651] and these promise to make the process
[651 - 653] of cooking them much easier.
[653 - 655] A lot of them can also make poached eggs
[655 - 658] and some even have little trays so you can make omelets too.
[658 - 661] These sound super intriguing and people swear by them,
[661 - 663] but at ATK, we have a tried
[663 - 665] and true method for cooking eggs.
[665 - 668] Usually, we use a sauce pan and a steamer basket.
[668 - 670] Are these better than a steamer basket
[670 - 673] and a sauce pan of water? Not really.
[673 - 676] These are basically tiny steamers.
[676 - 679] The problem is most of them really don't work very well.
[679 - 681] For the most part, they did okay with hard cooked eggs,
[681 - 684] but soft eggs, medium eggs, and poached eggs,
[684 - 686] these models really faltered.
[686 - 688] They either undercooked the eggs or overcooked the eggs,
[688 - 690] and it was especially noticeable
[690 - 692] when we didn't fill the models to capacity,
[692 - 694] which means that you're always
[694 - 696] gonna have to cook six or 10 eggs.
[696 - 698] The problem is really due
[698 - 700] to the amount of water you add to these.
[700 - 704] The measurement tools that companies gave were imprecise,
[704 - 706] they were vague, they left us guessing.
[706 - 709] The way these work is, you add water and they steam,
[709 - 712] and when all that water has evaporated,
[712 - 713] then the egg cooker says it's done,
[713 - 716] it gives you an alert, you eat your eggs.
[716 - 718] That means that if you don't have the right amount of water,
[718 - 721] your eggs are either gonna cook too long and be overcooked
[721 - 723] or they're not gonna cook long enough
[723 - 725] and they'll be runnier than you want.
[725 - 728] The best way to cook hard cooked or soft cooked eggs
[728 - 731] is to put a little bit of water in a sauce pan
[731 - 732] about an inch and a half,
[732 - 735] which is enough that the water won't all evaporate,
[735 - 737] but not so high that it fills the steamer basket with water.
[737 - 739] Put the eggs in a steamer basket
[739 - 742] and cook for six and a half minutes for soft cook,
[742 - 744] or 13 minutes for hard cooked.
[744 - 745] I do this all the time.
[745 - 747] I have those times memorized
[747 - 749] and they work every single time.
[749 - 752] If you still really want an electric egg cooker,
[752 - 755] this is the one we recommend with some reservations.
[755 - 756] It's from Cuisinart.
[756 - 759] Once you sort of experiment with the amount of water to add,
[759 - 760] you learn how it works.
[760 - 762] It does produce pretty good results,
[762 - 764] but we really think you're best off
[764 - 768] just learning to use a sauce pan and a steamer basket.
[768 - 770] This appliance was a little bit faster,
[770 - 773] shaved about four minutes off the 13 minutes
[773 - 774] it usually takes to cook eggs.
[774 - 776] But it's not fail proof,
[776 - 778] it's not that convenient,
[778 - 780] and ultimately it's one more appliance you have to buy
[780 - 783] and store and clean and take care of.
[783 - 785] You really don't need an electric egg cooker
[785 - 787] and we think you should skip it.
[787 - 789] What product am I talking about now?
[789 - 791] Oh, onion goggles.
[791 - 795] As silly as these look, these are super popular
[795 - 797] and there's a really good reason for them.
[797 - 799] When you cut onions, you cry.
[799 - 801] So there's some real science here.
[801 - 803] Onions contain acid and enzymes,
[803 - 806] and when those two things combine as onions are cut,
[806 - 808] they release an irritating gas.
[808 - 810] When that gas makes its way to your eye,
[810 - 812] your eye has a built-in defense mechanism
[812 - 814] and it releases tears to flush it out.
[814 - 815] When I cut onions,
[815 - 819] I have been known to have tears streaming down my face.
[819 - 821] We were curious, so we tried them.
[821 - 824] This might sound surprising, but they worked really well.
[824 - 827] The onion goggles have a little bit of foam around the back
[827 - 829] that is comfortable and they really do prevent
[829 - 831] that gas from reaching your eyes.
[831 - 833] Don't try to use regular sunglasses here.
[833 - 836] The fumes can go under and around the lenses.
[836 - 840] If you cook a lot at home and slice or dice a lot of onions
[840 - 842] and you're one of those people who cry because of it,
[842 - 846] you might really benefit from this pair of onion goggles.
[846 - 848] - [Producer] Is there anything else you can use these for?
[849 - 852] - (laughs) Just looking cool, mainly.
[852 - 858] You won't cry until you see yourself wearing them. (laughs) (producer laughs)
[858 - 859] The last gadget I'm gonna talk about today
[859 - 863] are these bear paws, which we tested as part of our review
[863 - 865] of meat shredding gloves.
[865 - 867] Sort of a funny sounding topic,
[867 - 868] but there's a real use for these.
[868 - 871] Picture, you've just roasted a pork butt,
[871 - 872] something like that.
[872 - 874] You're taking it off the grill or out of the oven,
[874 - 877] and you need to shred that meat while it's still hot.
[877 - 880] Tongs and forks are one option you can use,
[880 - 883] but these are a really nice alternative.
[883 - 885] They're actually really well designed.
[885 - 887] So first of all, the handles stay cool.
[887 - 890] Also, the tines are spread out pretty far,
[890 - 891] so you don't get food stuck there.
[891 - 893] You can work really quickly and efficiently,
[893 - 895] and also they're pretty sharp.
[895 - 897] You actually do have to be a little careful here,
[897 - 900] but when you kind of anchor a piece of meat with this one
[900 - 902] and kind of pull and shred like this,
[902 - 905] it comes apart really quickly and really easily.
[905 - 907] We also tested a pair
[907 - 911] of fleece-lined silicone gloves meant for shredding meat.
[911 - 913] They were a little bulky and awkward to use.
[913 - 915] The gloves were too big for a lot of people.
[915 - 917] Also, the material was pretty rigid,
[917 - 918] so we had a hard time
[918 - 920] really shredding that meat effectively.
[920 - 923] Some people who have also reviewed these
[923 - 925] haven't been as big a fans as we are,
[925 - 929] but we think there's a real reason to consider them. They're efficient,
[929 - 931] they're faster than the other alternative,
[931 - 932] and they work really well.
[932 - 936] Also, I think we can all agree that they look really cool.
[936 - 940] At ATK, we generally believe that single function items
[940 - 943] really are worth getting if they save you time,
[943 - 945] ease of use, they're easier to clean,
[945 - 947] or if they simply just do their job better
[947 - 949] than the other alternatives would.
[949 - 951] So hopefully with my picks and Lisa's,
[951 - 953] you feel a little better equipped
[953 - 955] to decide which of these single function items
[955 - 957] are worth your money.
[957 - 958] - For more information
[958 - 959] on all the gear we talked about today,
[959 - 960] check out the links below
[960 - 963] or go to americastestkitchen.com.
[963 - 964] - Have you ever bought a unitasker,
[964 - 968] gotten home and said, "What on Earth did I just buy?"
[968 - 969] Let us know in the comments.
[969 - 971] Also, be sure to like this video and subscribe
[971 - 976] so you never miss an episode. (upbeat music)