Don't Be Duped! 15 Kitchen Gadgets That Just Waste Your Money!

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In a world where convenience is king, the kitchen gadget market is growing by the minute. With shiny new tools advertised as the tools to make cooking easier, simplify our lives, or change the way we cook, we’re inundated. However, let’s be fair, which of these products actually ends up forgotten in the drawer or cluttering the counter top? A lot of them are all great in theory but in reality they’re just overpriced clutter.

Not all kitchen gadgets live up to the hype. Some products are overpriced gimmicks and some do meet their promises. Of course, you can get sucked into using another new tool here, another new tool there, but your hard earned money could be put to better use. If you’re sick and tired of being seduced by the flash but can’t seem to get it together to make good food choices, read on for 15 kitchen gadgets you should never buy.

Butter Spreader

You’ve probably seen those butter spreaders in the store. In theory, they promise to make it easy to evenly distribute your butter, but in practice they’re just a pain. When you do a little poking around, you’ll probably discover that a standard butter knife does the trick quite well, and is far more useful. Skip this extra gadget and save your cash; it adds nothing to your butter experience.

Electric Can Opener

There are a dime a dozen can openers, but an electric one? Not so much. The idea of effortless can opening with the push of a button is tempting, but these gadgets rarely live up to it. The first problem is that they are bulky, they take up a lot of counter space, and if you aren’t careful they will break down over time. You can just as easily get the job done with a manual can opener, without all the hassle.

Kitchen Drawer Organizers

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It’s nice to have an organized kitchen drawer, but fancy drawer organizers for utensils often do more harm than good. They can be big, hard to maneuver, and sometimes don’t hold as much as you need. Rather than paying for these, try rearranging your kitchen using low cost dividers or just being creative with what you already have.

Microwave Pasta Cooker

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Perhaps you remember back when someone was selling a microwave pasta cooker on an infomercial. Easy, mess free cooking pasta in the microwave is promised. Really, cooking pasta in a pot of boiling water on the stove works just as well, if not better. Don’t get sucked into the microwave gadget trap of there being some magic here.

Watermelon Slicer

Watermelon slicers are another gadget that does very little, other than taking up space. Watermelon is easy to cut and you don’t need a trick tool to get it all perfectly sliced. You can use a big, sharp knife, too. Don’t waste your money on a watermelon slicer – there are better uses for your money in the kitchen.

Juice Extractor

Juice extractors might seem like a great way to get fresh juice at home but they’re typically expensive and a pain to clean. And they also leave a lot of waste. A citrus squeezer or your blender can get you fresh juice just as easily. It’s not worth saving your money for something like that.

Tomato Slicer

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The tomato slicer is yet another single use gadget that is completely unnecessary. Yes, it will cut you perfectly uniform slices, but why bother when a sharp knife can also do the same thing with little effort? And these slicers can be a pain to clean. It’s best to use a regular knife and achieve the same results, with a lot less fuss.

Pineapple Corer

At first, pineapple corers may seem like a great idea. They claim to turn peeling and coring pineapples into a breeze. In practice, though, they don’t save you much time and they are a pain to clean. Instead of the corer, it’s better to use a good sharp knife to cut the pineapple into slices or wedges. It’s also faster and you get to enjoy more of the fruit without any waste.

Egg Separator

They are a pretty clever little tool that seems to separate yolks from whites, but they aren’t necessary. If you can tear a paper then chances are you can separate an egg using your hands, or a simple kitchen knife or spoon or just the shell itself. It is a one use item that eats up valuable space in your pack for no good reason. This is nothing compared to traditional methods, you’ll save money in the long run and it is quicker and easier.

Banana Slicer

Do you love bananas? Of course, you do. Do you really need a gadget made just for slicing them? The banana slicer will do the job with perfectly even slices being the promise, but so will a simple knife. Also, you don’t require additional room for a gadget that does only one thing. So, don’t spend your money, stick with the old knife method.

Strawberry Huller

If you had a strawberry huller to remove the stem of strawberries, you would think it would come in handy, but it’s just a waste of money. Using a paring knife or even your fingers will do a much better job. These things are usually hard to clean and don’t work nearly as well as they say they do.

Lettuce Spinner

Lettuce spinners are sold as the ultimate in salad greens drying, but they don’t do any better a job than patting your greens dry with a towel. In fact, many people feel that the spinner is simply too bulky, too difficult to store, and too complicated for such a basic job. Save the space for something that’s actually useful, and stick with the classic towel method.

Avocado Slicer

Avocados are yummy, but an avocado slicer? This is not something you need to add to your collection. Cutting and pitting an avocado is as simple as using a regular knife. Let’s be honest: The perfectly sliced bit is overrated anyway, sometimes a little mess in your guacamole adds character. Not only that, but these slicers are usually hard to clean and, taking up drawer space for no reason.

Egg Cooker

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Boiling eggs is not as easy as egg cooker brands would have you believe. Why add another appliance to your kitchen when most people can cook eggs just fine in a pot of boiling water? What’s more, they tend to use up valuable space and need regular cleaning. The stove is faster, more reliable, and frees up your counter for something a little more useful.

Spaghetti Measuring Tool

There’s no denying that cooking the perfect amount of pasta is important, but a spaghetti measuring tool? Not really necessary. It takes just a little practice to eyeball how much pasta you need. If you really don’t know, just use a standard measuring cup. Spaghetti measuring tool is just another kitchen gadget you don’t need.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.