Peelers and blenders and whisks, oh my!

I'm as big a gadget-holic as the next cook. I have been known to stand mesmerized in front of the giant gadget wall (giant wall of gadgets, not wall of giant gadgets) at Bed, Bath and Beyond, contemplating the latest labor-saving devices from OXO.

I love my colorful whisk from Kuhn-Rikon, who also makes great paring knives. I can't live without my lime reamer (especially when preparing ceviche), and don't even think about getting between me and my Unicorn pepper mill.

Same goes for small kitchen appliances. I can't make a pot of soup without my Bamix immersion blender (well, I could, but why would I want to?). I use my electric tea kettle daily, and I am finally convinced that grinding coffee beans fresh in my little Black & Decker grinder does, indeed, make for a better cup of coffee. I am even considering upgrading my grinding apparatus with one of these. 

As much as I appreciate a useful kitchen gadget or small appliance, I have noticed a trend among certain retailers toward gizmos that are highly specialized, very expensive, and large. It's one thing to have a gadget that does only one thing, such as extract juice from a lime, when it's cheap and easy to store in the gadget drawer. It's an altogether different proposition to have a gadget that does one thing, such as extract juice from an orange, when it costs $499.95 and requires its own garage.

My favorite new gadget for the over-accessorized cook is the Breville Pie Maker. With a price tag of $79.95, its sole purpose is to make cute little pies. It's a close relative of another head-scratcher, the Ebelskiver Pancake Pan. I'm also bemused by the Raclette Pan. I don't know what raclette is, much less why I would need to spend $139.95 for a special pan to prepare it. And how about that Sous Vide Professional Immersion Circulator? For a cool $799.99, you, too, can cook like Michael Voltaggio.

I confess that I secretly long for the classic Kitchen-Aid stand mixer (in red) and the mighty Magimix 5200XL food processor that comes with about a zillion attachments. Only two things save me from myself: I would have to enclose my balcony to provide a home for these behemoths, and I don't bake or cook for enough people to justify their size or price.

So I will be content with my favorite new gadget this year: the VeggieChop. Powered by my own brute strength, small enough to tuck inside a soup pot for storage, and coming in under $30, it gets the job done (very well, in fact) and it's cute.

What more can you ask from your culinary toys tools?