5 Seemingly Superfluous Kitchen Items That Will Improve Your Quality Of Life

Super-functional, utilitarian kitchens seem to be all the rage these days, with un-needed “single-function” appliances being shunned by the home cook. But “need” is a weird concept, and sometimes a seemingly silly culinary tool can make cooking and eating easier, tastier, and just a bit more whimsical. Here are some of my favourite kitchen items I didn’t even know I needed (or maybe just wanted real bad).

Photo via Amazon.

• This Seemingly Pretentious Storage Item: When I first heard of the butter keeper, I scoffed. Adding water to a butter dish seemed to needlessly complicate a simple storage system, until I thought about that thin ring of strangeness that sometimes forms around a stick if I don’t consume it fast enough.

  It turns out the water in the base of the butter keeper creates an airtight seal, helping keep your favourite dairy spread nice and soft.

• The One That Got Away: I used to have a salad spinner. Now I do not. I used to eat a lot of salad. Now I do not. Correlation does not equal causation, but based on how much I loathe drying lettuce without one, I think I need to get a new salad spinner.
• The Prepper Helper: Laziness can not only prevent you from eating salad, but cooked greens as well. It can also keep you from enjoying the splendour of fresh herbs, which is sad.

  While I know that there are these things called “knives” and that you can supposedly cut up anything with them, that doesn’t negate the fact that a greens and herb stripper will make breaking down cabbages or broccoli a whole lot easier.

• The Best Side Piece: If you don’t have room for a side table next to your couch, you may often be faced with the horrible task of “holding a drink” or worse, setting it on the coffee table, only to have to move yourself from your comfy spot whenever you become parched.

  Luckily, this nightmare scenario is rendered extinct with a couch arm tray, which fits around pretty much any couch arm, save for wooden rail-types.

• A Better Brownie Pan: If you are the type of brownie eater that goes straight for the centre of the pan, then skip to the bottom of this article, for this bulleted item is not for you.

  But! If you know the joy of that perfect, chocolatey, chewy and gooey, yet slightly crispy edge piece, then I have the pan for you. This pan holds the same amount of batter as your 22 x 33cm, only all of that batter gets transformed into glorious edge pieces.

Also, if you want to get really whimsical, there is this pan that makes your cakes look like sandwiches and this little tool that makes your radishes look like mushrooms. Are these necessary? Not at all. Will they make you happier? Probably.