Alton Brown hates your dumb kitchen gadgets

The only reason I knew it was an AreoPress was because the original URL to the image was hosted at aeropress’s website before Discouse gobbled it up for polite self-hosting. I didn’t know what it was either.

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I’ve always tried to heed his advice about unitaskers but then I remember the olives episode where the dentist recommended an olive pitter after Alton broke his tooth.

So clearly even he believes there are exceptions besides the fire extinguisher.

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If you like this kind of thing I heartily recommend the Inspect A Gadget series in the UK Guardian newspaper. Rhik Samadder who writes it is a genius for the put down.

His Christmas collaboration with a proper cook (and her dog Wilf) was splendid as well.

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I love Adam’s stuff. He has a great aesthetic. I’m a little confused about why he adds water after pressing the coffee- doesn’t that water it down? Why would you want to do that?
As far as sensual coffee demos, I like this one:


Stick with it until the end. That stir? Oh yes.

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If you need those “bear claws” for your pulled pork, you’re cooking the pork the wrong way…

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Depends on what type of egg you’re cooking. For scrambled or omelet, you want the pan large enough that the layer of egg is VERY thin.

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I would have! And I’d have replied from “W”.

I have a cherry pitter. Works on olives, too! So it’s not a unitasker! :slight_smile:

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Funny: we were given the egg sandwich maker as a Christmas gift and were horrified by it (mostly, how do we respond? Was is supposed to be a joke? It looks kind of expensive for a joke). Sat under our cabinet for a month or so while we tried to decide if it was unethical to give it to Goodwill.

Then, out of curiosity, we decided to see how it worked, got some English muffins, eggs, Canadian bacon and sliced cheese. Know what? They were great! It’s pretty clear that Brown has never actually used it. Takes about three minutes to warm up, four per sandwich. Wipes down to clean, although the non-stick is starting to wear out a bit; heavy use over two years. And we do use it damn near every other day, not hyperbole. We get the Catholic-family size English muffins bag every time we go to Costco now. It’s absolutely best, if budget is no issue, with smoked Gouda and Meyer Ranch Canadian bacon, but real English muffins are critical: that horrid crap they sell at TJs (“British muffins”) is as bad with it as they are used any other way. It’s also probably added five pounds to each of us, so there’s that.

But it gets better, we have the Vaegetti as well! And love it. I did buy it from the “As Seen On TV” display shelf at Walgreens, so I believe I should get bonus points. I think we’ve only used it on zucchini and the occasional carrot, but zucchini “pasta” is fun and tastes great and the device seems to work really well, although obviously not of the sturdiest construction, so I guess I’ll be checking my zucchinetti for metal teeth in the future. Otherwise I’d call it a must-have for anyone doing a low-carb diet.

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He has gone on record in the past as not being against unitaskers as long as you use them. For example, he likes frenched green beans so he has a tool that literally only does that, the key being that it has to get used, not end up in the drawer for six years.

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Based on the pricing of the crapgadgets in the BB store (about 100% markup, or more, compared to the various Chinese online stores like Gearbest), if they sold the Aeropress on the BB store it would have to sell for about $75. Not that they have a choice what they sell on there any way, it’s just StackSocial.com rebranded with a BoingBoing skin.

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Since unitaskers were brought up…

I only have a few, but the few I have I use and love.

  • Electric kettle. I thought I would never use it. Now I have two :smile:
  • Ice cream maker. For, you know, the kids
  • Sausage stuffer.

Of course I don’t count the cheese making or beer/wine making equipment. Cause those are important.

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I bought mine on Amazon for $25 I think.

That was my point - based on StackSocial’s pricing model, if they sold the Aeropress they’d be selling it for significantly more than you can get it most other places.

I routinely use a micro rasp for zesting citrus. Umm… Garlic press. Aero press. Electric kettle for tea water. Tortilla press. Pizza wheel. Greek yogurt strainer. Rice cooker. Can’t think of any special cutting devices; I use knives, typically. I do have my eye on a tarte Tatin pan set, tho :wink:

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His stuff is very his, and influential for a reason. I tend to like it just fine.

That one I know. What you end up with in the cup (in both the standard method shown and the popular inverted variant) is a fairly concentrated brew. The Aeropress being invented by an American, the instructions then suggest watering that down into a more familiar form.

Preferring to drink it straight might be a symptom of closet Italianness. I don’t judge.

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I routinely use a micro rasp for zesting citrus.

Angle grinder from the shop.

Umm… Garlic press.

Hydrolic press from the shop.

Aero press.

Coffee is for the weak.

Electric kettle for tea water.

Well, we must have a touch of civilization, musnt we?

Tortilla press.

Gettin’ a lot of use out of that press.

Pizza wheel.

Back to the angle grinder.

Greek yogurt strainer.

Old tshirt, not too many holes.

Rice cooker.

His name is Japhroaig.

Can’t think of any special cutting devices; I use knives, typically. I do have my eye on a tarte Tatin pan set, tho :wink:

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Thank you for that. I’ve only skimmed the headlines and already can tell these are good reads. “He’s gently urinating in my cuppa” told me all I had to know.

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You sir, sound like a proper bloke. Here’s few more suggestions of manly, resourceful kitchen #McGuyverism I think you might enjoy. Classics, really.


And of course, the myriad ways of cooking with power tools. (2)

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Penis pump.

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