|
Three
years ago I purchased a chocolate fountain at BJ's for $19.95.
Why? I like a little flair at family to-dos, and $20 seemed like
a steal of a deal. I gifted Mo-Sup with it for Christmas.
She, lacking my love of gadgetry, rolled her eyes. And, after
reading that you couldn't just toss a bag a Nestle chocolate chips into
the thing, but had to buy special pellets, and the 6 hour cleanup after
each use, I asked the kids who wanted a free chocolate fountain?
No takers, only jeers. So I secreted it in the back of Ro's
car. A few week's later I found it in the back of my van, so at
first opportunity it went into Greeps's car, and then everyone's car
after being bounced back. Ro even got it a second time. I
thought about using it once and throwing it out, but have never seen
those special chocolate pellets. I also considered a mushroom
soup fountain, but too much trouble. It sits yet in the garage,
unpacked. I mention this because the chocolate fountain is first on
this list of 20 Utterly Pointless Kitchen Appliances.
Note: Aside from the turkey baster and electric knife, both of which
I've found useful, I'm in total agreement with this list.
|
|
Why don'tcha just put water in it and place it in the back yard as a bird bath/waterer? In the Summertime of course.
ReplyDeleteA friend had a device with a stiff wire sticking up from a base. The 1 1/2 inch wire had a bend on the end. You pushed a raw egg onto it and it spun around and scrambled it in the shell. The single most useless invention I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteTim
That contraption has a heater. DUH. Use it during the winter for the birds.
ReplyDeleteAh that I could, in which case it would be a Manhattan fountain. It uses a screw-auger mechanism to distribute the chocolate, so a certain viscosity must be maintained.
ReplyDeleteBut wait Don! I have a little pump that would be perfect for the job. I'll try it.
ReplyDeleteWe just won one of those, I look forward to dismantling it for interesting parts. The turkey baster is a needed tool everywhere BUT the kitchen, I use it for sucking up liquids like overfilled brake fluid and the last water out of a toilet before removal.
ReplyDeleteAlso useless: we dropped $50 on a juicer this summer, used it twice, it's now in storage.
I recently spotted a used popcorn machine and was seriously tempted. The kids were with me but Mrs. Annoyed was very much not, space being her main objection. I let that one go because of the price, but if I see a good deal I'll face her objection and get it. Fun for parties, and while microwave is good, there's nothing like popcorn made in a real machine!
AWM
If you wan to make great popcorn, get a Whirly-Pop (I might have that name wrong) stovetop popper. Faster than microwaving a bag and it leaves maybe 2 kernels unpopped.
ReplyDeleteThe electric knife is not useless. They are excellent for cutting thick sheets of foam when you're making a custom made headboard for your bed! Of course, with any luck you only need to do that one time!
ReplyDeleteI got my electric knife at a Goodwill store for that purpose, used it and then re-donated it! I hate clutter!
and to further bust your balloon; those pellets...
ReplyDeletenot real chocolate.
not real food, actually.
Can't wait to see the bird bath/skating rink!
; >
e~C
Bread machine...love mine. Use it often to make pizza dough also for calzones. Winter day slow cooker and bread cooker. House smells great, taste great, time saver.
ReplyDeleteElectric knife is used on turkey breast and thick foam padding for various projects. ditto Gayle Miller.
Juice
If you have too much life insurance and don't trust your wife, get her an electric knife, and take away the others. She can't kill you with it beyond the length of the cord.
ReplyDeleteSee, silver linings everywhere!
—DougM
Use regular dark chocolate.
ReplyDeleteHeat the chocolate and crisco into a soggy mess in a microwave. Not too hot, but pourable.
Turn on the fountain, put in the greasy chocolate, and you don't need (or want) their fake chocolate pellets.
Things on that list I've found useful:
ReplyDeleteElectric Knife
Bread Maker
Fondue Pot (although I generally use a slow cooker for the same applications nowadays)
Electric Pasta Maker (I suppose not so useful if you don't make pasta regularly, though)
Never used a turkey baster, myself, but I certainly see the applications.
And, hey, it's not like the author of this piece's list of '37 Kitchen Gadgets that Every Geek Should Own' (link found on the side of that article) isn't full of things that should be on this list.
That said, I agree with a number of the things on the list, but in some cases it's only 'useless' if you don't use it.
I'm surprised that nobody ID'ed the wrestlers as Peter and Paul. I mean, look at the chocolate covered MOUNDS! \smirk_
ReplyDeleteKelly in Mesquite
Heck, I have a whole oven in my kitchen that I've never used.
ReplyDeleteTuring word: "fringurn". Weren't they a minor tribe in Lord of the Rings? But then, any random ASCII string has a 30% chance of being in Lord of the Rings.