http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-hipster-cooking-gizmos-are-killing-cooking-1479831681
This piece was discussed today on Morning Edition, but you need to be a subscriber to access it.
I can’t read the article but if anyone has a back door in , let me know.
I will comment about gadgets. There are so many that you can waste your money on. I’m very selective. I think today it would be very easy to accumulate a kitchen full of useless, single function items.
Here’s a link to the audio on NPR (which isn’t posted yet, but it will be later). It was a pretty stupid segment, if you ask me. There’s nothing inherently “hipster” about kitchen gadgets, unless my egg topper is suddenly of-the-moment. Blanchard offered the example of a cake pop maker, which he saw as a problem because it allows people to consume cake without putting it on a plate and sitting down together at a table. I was under the impression that plates are portable and can be carried from the table at will - kind of like a cake pop - but what do I know.
We all need one of these – the Banana Surprise Yumstation
Best question from the comments section:
“How is this gadget not called the Bananarammer?”
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Google the title of the article and click on the link from there, should get you around the paywall.
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On one hand, people rely on unitaskers more than they need. On the other hand, one person’s unitasker maybe someone else essential tools.
At the end of the day, as much as we think gizmos can be unnecessary or even useless, they cannot be blamed for “killing cooking”
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You’re so right, but every so often something comes along that’s so dumb you just have to buy it. I’m not saying.
Hey, how bout this uni tasker ?
I thought it was a uniTUSKER …
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I was thinking about this post the other day, while I was ordering a home centrifuge…
Okay, I’ll say it. I’ve bought both a hamdogger and an octodog. Never used them, I just wanted to see what they looked like in person. Also, I like to be able to say that I had them. My perverse nature.
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I need a cherry pitter. I don’t care that I only use it a few months a year.
And my spaetzle maker.
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I use my cherry pitter for olives, so it’s a bi-tasker. And I make spaetzle with my potato ricer.
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That is brilliant.
If you try it, let me know how it works out for you. Olives are tougher than cherries, so you have to bear down pretty hard. I’ve sent more than one pit flying across the kitchen like a bullet.
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Oh you mean a salad spinner? 
What do you do with a home centrifuge?
This…
https://blog.modernistpantry.com/spinzall/
Some high end cocktail bars use centrifuges to clarify fruit juices for drinks, but the commercial/lab ones are very expensive and out of reach for most home users. I can think of a few culinary uses but I mainly backed the project because I think people will find all sorts of uses once it gets in the wild. Even though they didn’t reach 100% funding they’re going to go ahead with production, so I guess I’ll find out later this year if I can find ways to use it in the kitchen.
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“Oh gods, he’s pitting olives again- RUN FOR IT!”
That sounds like it could be fun, like flipping bottles caps at your friends, but with olive pits.
