These Kitchen Gadgets Have One Job. Are They Worth it? | Gear Heads

Lisa and Kate break down what 'Unitaskers' are and which are worth buying.

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[SargonDragon]

A big point that Alton Brown had about "uni-taskers" wasn't necessarily that they didn't do the job better (even though so many don't), but rather that even if they work, you will clog up your kitchen space with the proliferation of these devices and mostly never actually use them. But I think a uni-tasker can make sense if it performs significantly better _and_ does a task that you personally need to do very frequently.

[jacobdugan]

Mom told me in '70's to put onions in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to chop them without tears. I find all these years later it still works for me.

[stellaz]

I love my little egg cooker! I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, so it is used frequently. Before getting it, I used a double-decker steamer, which works well, but I let it boil dry a couple of times.

[jakermans]

I managed a team of cooks for our Wednesday night dinner at church. We created a salad bar every week a cooked a dozen eggs each week. Without reservation, we all fell in love with our egg cooker. We were all busy with different prep tasks and could never dedicate ourselves to just cooking eggs. We tried several methods but, the most successful was the machine. We absolutely could set it and then answer the bell.

[klindstrom]

Had a good laugh to start, thinking no way I don’t need any of these single use things … until you got to the peanut butter stirrer. Yup, I do need that!

[starsk]

When I got my kitchen remodeled, I had the cabinet maker make me a "tool" drawer section instead of regular drawers and shelves. I told him I knew in his workshop, he had a drawer of chisels, laid out by size and I wanted that kind of thing. So I have 10 shallow drawers, no knobs, no doors, with like use items. My top drawer is beside the stove; it has turners, tongs, and spoons. I have a measuring drawer, a knife drawer, a baking drawer, a serving tool keeps things neat and easy to find, as most are a single layer. Yes, I have some one use tools, but most of them are "specialty" and many are "vintage." Who wouldn't want an egg topper for soft boiled eggs or an egg sectioner for hard boiled eggs? Or a wire cutter that can cut a complete stick of butter into uniform slices? There is no other use for a gnocchi board, is there?

[dayveo]

My egg cooker changed my life. It's small. It sits on the countertop because I use it so often. It doesn't need to be stored

[ntheobsn]

My egg cooker is amazing! 1-7 eggs always perfect. This appliance was useful when I had no functioning stove, hot plates don’t boil water efficiently!

[mamadeb]

I was recommended those egg cookers by friends of mine who are extra strict for Passover. They hard cook eggs daily that week for large families while multitasking themselves, and these are life savers.

I also bought one for my mother because she likes eggs and she can't be trusted with a stove anymore. The automatic shut off means she never burns them.

[dancook]

I disagree on the egg cooker I use a chefman egg cooker and get Perfect eggs every time it took learning to adjust the water to achieve the best results and I use it all the it

[IaruHetep]

Nope, NEVER giving up our egg cooker! Before it, no one wanted to boil eggs no matter how much everyone loves them. After, everyone makes them, they are now a staple, and always available in the fridge. they are always perfect, and heck I think most of us don't even use the measure anymore since we know where the water comes up to in the bottom. this was just a game changer on how we snack.

[jawsch]

As a natural peanut butter person, when I found the mixer it changed my life lol

I eat a lot of peanut butter and I could not live without it.

[DebiSimons]

I don't usually buy natural peanut butter, but I do use tahini fairly frequently. Talk about cement! I think the peanut butter stirrer would work great if I buy the tahini in a standard jar, which isn't always possible. But I really like the self-cleaning feature!

[Jon-sytx]

I find using a Bundt pan useful for stripping corn. Put the pointy end in the hole and use a knife and the kernels fall in the pan. It will save your wrists too, especially if you need to do a lot of cobs

[SN-szkw]

Egg cooker. No brainer. Most used appliance after the water kettle. Here in Europe they are very common with a measuring cup and timers dictating doneness. Once you do a few test runs to find the perfect combo you’re set for years. Just prick the egg with inset pin on the measuring cup, put in hole up, add the measured small amount of water, cover & start. Timer tells you when it’s done. I’ve never seen a double decker - Perhaps that’s the problem? Our rectangular unit sits flat to the wall & cooks six to perfection. Mandolin the same. Used less, but worth having if you eat raw veg.

[willtopper]

I love my egg cooker.... perfect hard boiled eggs every time. Using the pin holer makes them very easy to peel.

[katydidiy]

My grandkids love their egg cooker. And their mom doesnt have to worry about them using the stove. You can regulate the doneness by the amount of water you use. A small measuring cup provided has indicators to select the amount of water to get the eggs the way you want them.

[wendelynyoung]

Oh my goodness a peanut butter crank!! Fantastic and it only had one job, I’m ordering that. At my age my hands/wrist are not what they used to be😂😂

[jcstrabo]

Egg cookers are great. Yeah you can make them in a steamer basket or in water on your hob. Takes 15-25 minutes. Or I use my egg cooker, which does it in 3-5 minutes for far less energy. The amount of water is something you have down pretty quickly, just like Hannah had her timings for stockpot steaming by heart.

[millisample]

I love my Cuisinart Egg Cooker. Makes great hard cooked and soft cooked eggs. Easy to use and store. Peels easily. Been using this for 15 years.