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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

the price for the most useless household item goes to...

279 replies

greenelephantscarf · 28/02/2019 17:40

... the gravy boat

  • always drips
  • never big enough
  • alwas at the wrong end of the table
  • a pain in the drawer as it's not stackable

I'm moving house. gravy boat will stay behind.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
FizzyGreenWater · 01/03/2019 23:41

Surely the egg slicer is just for playing little tunes and never for slicing actual eggs!

It's actually called the egg harp in this house.

Clevs · 01/03/2019 23:57

My mum always buys me kitchen gadgets 'as it will be useful to have'. Amongst them are

  • A strawberry huller - an oversized pair of tweezers (what's wrong with a knife?).
  • A strawberry hulling chopping board - approx 5cm x 5cm - the most impractical chopping board ever.
  • A cake tester - a thin metal skewer for testing if cakes are cooked in the middle ((I do actually use this but could manage without).

@MaybeitsMaybelline
You question the point of a tea bag plate.... This is something else my mum bought me. My parents are retired and look to save money where they can. So they use their plate for putting tea bags on in case they want a second cup of tea and they can reuse the same tea bag. I don't even drink tea but my mum thought one of these would be useful and bought me one. Whenever they're round she curses me for throwing tea bags away because she might want a second cup and I could reuse the first teabag if I used the little plate she bought me!

Clevs · 01/03/2019 23:58

Not sure why there's random bits of bold text in my post, sorry!

BasiliskStare · 02/03/2019 00:39

Oh @Angel169 - I have one of those things which let you take the fat off the gravy. - V useful. But that is not the same as a gravy boat.

I cannot say how much I have never met a garlic press that works ( and I have had many) - Just bash the cloves with the back end of a spoon or the end of a marble rolling pin.

I'm still up for adopting an insulted gravy boat who I can coax back into enjoying its life Grin

GreenOliveOrBlackOlive · 02/03/2019 00:55

My cheap Ikea garlic press is brilliant, the best I’ve used. Better than the expensive one I have.

Don’t ever use my vax steam cleaner.

George Forman grill is a pain to clean, so that doesn’t come out much either.

PregnantSea · 02/03/2019 03:08

A ceramic mug works well - can be used for custard as well. Any pourable sauces really...

RoboticSealpup · 02/03/2019 03:18

DH bought a Le Creuset terrine with press seven years ago because it was a pretty colour and has never even given it a sideways glance since. Maybe one day he will make me a surprise paté!

BasiliskStare · 02/03/2019 04:43

@roboticsealpup - If not being used could you put a plant in it Blush especially if a pretty colour.

I used to long for Le Creuset but since nerve damage to one arm , I fear their weight. I do have a couple Morso casserole type dishes with lids and would like more, but apparently they just make woodburners now and not kitchen stuff.

@GreenOliveorBlackOlive - It is very good to hear that there is a garlic press that works. Unfortunately I have got to an age where I have tried many & now our garlic crushing method of choice in this house is putting the cloves on a chopping board and either 1) just crushing them with marble rolling pin - vertically held or 2) heaviest person available leans down over them with the back of a spoon.

I did some years ago chuck out a George Forman grill ( kindly given to me by my MIL - who was nice and kind ) because it wasn't worth the effort.

@Fizzygreenwater - I used to have an egg slicer - got rid of it - useless , but I am now minded for nostalgic reasons and for the sake of having an "egg harp" to get another Grin Do you think those things which are meant to take half an avocado out and slice it at the same time could be referred to an an avocado banjo? I may still have one of those ( once used - easier to just deal with avocados manually in my experience) . Perhaps we could form a band. It would be slightly out there with a harp and a banjo but what else are we going to do with these kitchen implements. I may be able to throw in a bit of skiffle with a micro grater ( actually used ) played with an olive wood olive scooper with a small hole for draining the olive oil from one olive ( not used )

BrizzleMint · 02/03/2019 06:45

Sandwich toasters and soup makers gather dust here.

poundoflard · 02/03/2019 07:46

I was once given a melon baller.
For those times when I might need to waste hours make fancy starters its not the 70s MIL

Pestle and mortar. only used by kids to make potions of random crap.

One of those ceramic baking trays from Pampered Chef. Never made a decent biscuit or pizza. (because we eat so many we just like buy them in packets ready made from the shops.)
And they weigh a bleedin tonne.

However my garlic crush is the best! It has spikes on the other side of the crush bit, so after crushing you flip the handle 360 deg and the spikes push the stuck bits back out. Nothing wasted, nothing stuck and easy to wash. Its a bloody marvel!

anniehm · 02/03/2019 07:53

I use them for formal occasions, doesn't drip but it's too small so I have two

MadauntofA · 02/03/2019 07:54

I have a butter dish that looks very pretty but is useless and has therefore been empty for the last 3 years. I'm thinking about getting an insulated dish - anyone got one? will this sit on the side with too soft/ rancid butter after a day too??

poundoflard · 02/03/2019 08:06

I never understood the butter dish, who desires warm, if not liquid butter that's slightly off , if not rancid as @MadauntofA suggests ?
We all know butter is meant to be a solid lump from which you carve thick slices off, rather like cheese :) I bloody loves butter.

Roussette · 02/03/2019 08:06

I use a butter dish and leave my butter in it all the time, never in the fridge. I've never had rancid butter!

wowfudge · 02/03/2019 08:20

I inherited an egg slicer and I do use it periodically. I rather like it. I agree that electric steamers are a waste of time - all the charity shops I ever go into always have several for sale.

Bluelonerose · 02/03/2019 08:28

How can anyone not love silicone baking stuff Shock my entire bake wear is silicone.

I received a fancy new rolling pin for Xmas that you can pick the desired thickness to make it easier to get an even bake. I love it so much it's amazing.
I do love my kitchen gadgets though and use most of them.

The wok that bastard can fuck right off. Takes up too much space in the cupboard have to take EVERYTHING out to get to it.
It takes up almost the entire hob Angry
I don't understand why I can't use my massive saucepan instead?

greenelephantscarf · 02/03/2019 08:32

the best thing about silicon bake things is that you put them in the washing mashine to get clean.

OP posts:
UnaOfStormhold · 02/03/2019 08:48

Our butter lives out in a dish most of the year which generally keeps it soft enough to spread - in the summer it goes in the fridge to stop it getting too soft. Doesn't have time to go rancid in our house...

Gth1234 · 02/03/2019 08:48

Look

Damask table cloth, table napkins, place mats, gravy boat, nice cutlery, best china, and elegant crystal wine glasses is a must in any civilised household.

Especially so, when entertaining, but also when you just want to dine as a family, rather than eating in front of the TV.

I bet some think a milk jug is a useless frippery as well. :)

Ringsender2 · 02/03/2019 09:11

@ZaZathecat I had to Google a sushi bazooka. Shock

BiglyBadgers · 02/03/2019 09:36

I just use my frying pan Blue I'm a rebel like that and my kitchen it too tiny to house single purpose pans.

I recently discovered glass saucepans. They are quite heavy but they are flipping awesome.

steppemum · 02/03/2019 10:36

the most useless thing is the one personally you don't use.

I know that sounds obvious, but I cook stir fries about once a fortnight, so use a wok all the time, even my large frying pan isn't big enough for a mixed stir fry for 5. Dh makes nasi goreng and fried noodles in it too, and you need something deep.
But if you don't cook them or can fit it in your frying pan, why would you need a wok? (and why would anyone need an electric wok - that is a bizarre concept)

I use a pestle and mortar all the time, because I make a certain type of curry which needs the spices grinding.

I use a garlic press pretty much every day, I clean it with a brush, the dishwasher never works.

We were given a waffle maker, which we use because my kids love waffles, but I did need to get a recipe that worked from a friend who uses one.

But I never, ever make home made soup. Well, maybe once a year. And if I do, I make a large batch and stick it through the food processor, rather than use a stick blender. (and freeze the rest)
So a soup maker and a stick blender are completely useless to me, but my friend uses her soups maker at least once a week, for a small pan of soup for her and dh.

The moral of my story is, clear out your cupboards of things other people thought you would find useful!

But, just to be controversial, my most useless item is my slow cooker. I have tried, many time, and it is never as nice as just as food cooker in a real oven

StoppinBy · 02/03/2019 11:28

A set of 'eversharp' knives that my DH got conned into spending a pretty penny on.

They have been renamed the 'neversharp' knives lol.

We also serve gravy from the pot it is made in or if being fancy the pyrex jug will do Grin

pictish · 02/03/2019 11:32

The steam cleaner. Was quite an expensive one too. Waste of time and money...a total faff for the same cleaning power as a cloth and a basin.
Used twice then stored for two years before being ditched.

StoppinBy · 02/03/2019 11:32

@clevs - I think you win with the strawberry chopping board lol.

I do use my cake skewer a lot though.