If you grew up on a Good Eats education, then aside from committing the acronym GBD to memory, you are probably quite familiar with Alton Brown's heavy disdain for space-hogging unitaskers, or kitchen gadgets that serve only single purposes.
And while some of them—from the infamous banana slicer to machines that burp out cylinders of hard-boiled egg—are hilariously, er, "unique," not all unitaskers deserve flak. Here are our seven guilty pleasure, definitely not multipurpose gadgets we unashamedly keep for their very particular sets of skills.
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Pasta Machine
Anyone who's ever tried working with a sheet of semolina dough can attest to the forearm strength that's required. Unfortunately, not all of us have the stamina of a sprightly Italian nonna, which is why we turn to a pasta machine whenever we're craving velvety, homemade fettuccine (which turns out to be often).
surlatable.com, $80
Photo: Sur La Table
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Garlic Press
For an ingredient we use every day, garlic is an annoyingly sticky (and smelly) thing to chop. As long as you know what you're getting into with a garlic press (using a press yields harsher and more pungent garlic than using a knife), it's the convenient, speedy solution to getting Monday-night dinner on the table.
amazon.com, $16
Photo: Zyliss
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Apple Corer
If you're honest with yourself, homemade apple pie is at most a once-a-year expedition, usually taking place during flannel season. But the time saved using this clever tool over a paring knife (and the small amount of space it takes up) is more than enough to justify its yearly outing from your utensil drawer.
surlatable.com, $11
Photo: Sur La Table
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Citrus Hand Juicer
The only difference between a pitcher of lemonade made using the laws of physics and a pitcher that's literally hand squeezed is a set of very cramped fingers. Trust us when we say you probably won't enjoy the latter.
wayfair.com, $20
Photo: Wayfair
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Salad Spinner
When it comes time to dry a head of romaine, you could go through an entire roll of paper towels, or you could take this gadget for a—wait for it—spin.
surlatable.com, $35
Photo: Sur La Table
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Citrus Zester
We guess you could reach for the jack-of-all-trades that is a Microplane, but then you'd be missing out on all the elegant, cocktail-friendly spirals your citrus is capable of producing.
amazon.com, $8
Photo: OXO
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Fire Extinguisher
Hey, even Brown approves of this unitasker, which is a good enough reason as any for us to keep one around our kitchens. (Though, we guess you could use it as an obnoxiously oversize rolling pin in a pinch.)
amazon.com, $45
Photo: Kidde
