The best (and worst) culinary discoveries
The staff at The Daily Meal apparently got together and brainstormed the best food- and drink-related inventions and discoveries of all time, and their list of the top 50, ranked in order of importance, is pretty entertaining.
Editor Colman Andrews writes, “What we ended up with is a list of things that we, yes, simply couldn’t cook — or eat and/or drink — without. As usual with such compendiums, we have been both selective and subjective. We’ve probably missed some obvious and vital items, and we have frankly allowed ourselves to have a little fun here and there.”
So, they know we aren’t going to agree with all of them (drink tabs? Well, they are number 50) and will probably be able to come up with a few we would have added if we’d been sitting around that table. The one I question most, besides drink tabs, is teflon ( No. 43). The one I would’ve had a hard time disqualifying is electricity. A bit broad, yes, but if you’re going to include fire on the list, and a bunch of appliances run by electricity, then maybe electricity.
However, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed their “10 Food and Drink Inventions We Didn’t Need” list better than the Top 50. Possibly because I like snark, but also because who hasn’t purchased or taken an appliance or gadget we think is going to be really useful, only to later realize it’s a huge waste of space? Usually these items are relegated to shelves in the basement for a while, then to the yard sale pile, before I get rid of them completely.
At the moment, I have a special tray just for serving jellied cranberry sauce in the basement, for example.
I agree with 9 out of the 10 useless inventions. Personally, I like having a wine stopper on hand because some wine corks – particularly those plastic ones – can be devilish to get back in the bottle. Also, I love my combination wine stopper/pourer.
What would you add to or subtract from either of these lists?
March 16, 2011 - 7:06 AM
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Aw, I really like my quesadilla maker! I’m sad to see it made the list of unnecessaries.
It is great for a quick dinner after work and easy to clean. I never would have attempted quesadillas without it.
I do use a wine stopper, but absolutely can’t live without my garlic press! So I agree with 8 out of 10.
You can have my spork, that I use when backpacking, and my silicone Poach Pods when you pry them from my cold dead hands.
You know what we don’t need, The Daily Meal? Slideshows.
I’m not sure how important liquid nitrogen has been in my culinary life, but I love my Weber grill, so I’ll reach out my hand in compromise. I’m a giver. I give.
Nitrogen? Really? Lots of GeeWow! factor but not on my best list. No Teflon either. That only benefited DuPont. And where is sugar or honey?
OTOH, I’m in total agreement with you on the usefulness of a wine stopper.
@Joel, HA! Don’t worry, I won’t go near your spork.
Nitrogen is obviously a nod to, for lack of a better phrase, “molecular gastronomy.” And I also wonder about it hitting the top 50. At first I wondered about the bain-marie for the same reason, but that’s been around for a long time, before sous vide got to be a hot description on restaurant menus. I believe it was invented for custards and similar dishes.
The thing about the quesadilla maker is that it *only* makes quesadillas. If you’re going to spend money on a bulky electric grill press, at least get something with modular grill plates that can do more than one thing.
As for wine stoppers, the regular ones might be superfluous, but the vacuum-valve type are quite useful for preserving wine. I can get an extra day or two out of a bottle of red just by sucking the air out.
And I’m with Joel; nobody messes with my titanium spork! Perfect for camping or any other situation where you don’t want to deal with multiple utensils.
Yeah, what would be really useful is an appliance that could make quesadillas, paninis, waffles, sandwich pockets, and whatever else they could make interchangeable plates for. A quick search turned up no such thing, and I am wondering if no such thing exists because appliance manufacturers want to charge us separately for every different one of those things! If such a tool exists, please post.
Breville makes a panini, griddle, floor wax, dessert topping kind of thing. It’s a “sandwich press”, or some such, but it has a plate you can flip to get panini grill marks while the opposite side is a flat griddle. If you like square quesadillas then it could be a winner winner grilled cheese dinner!
http://salestores.com/blackd08.html
The 4-in-1 grill press! Gotta love Black & Decker, they make great stuff.
As for the useless list, we don’t own any of them. Well, ok, we do have egg poaching equipment that came with our pot/pan set, but we actually use them for several things.
THe one device we have in our kitchen that has never been used is a cast-iron pancake puff maker. Mainly, because as soon as we bought it, we found we had gluten problems, then egg issues, and now with us also excluding dairy…we’ve been working to find/develop a recipe that avoids all 3 and still makes a decent pancake first. We may have one finally stumbled onto one, but I want to try it a couple more times first…
I can’t open the list on my work computer. I’ll have to wait until I get home. I use my wine stopper all the time. It’s easier than trying to get the cork back in.
I have bought unnecessary items over the years, like a tomato slicer. It’s supposed to cut several even slices at once. I always forgot about it and used a knife. I finally put it and a couple other things I never used, on a shelf in my apt bldg, that people use to put things they no longer want on. The theory being, you don’t want it, but someone else might.
I had something many years ago that made waffles and you could turn the plates over for a flat grill. That is as close as I know and not sure they even still make them. Unfortunately, Mine went in a yard sale sometime. Wish I had it now!
I have a quesadilla maker…my cast iron griddle!! Made great quesadillas last week with it! I think the appliance definitely qualifies as what Alton Brown calls a uni-tasker, which I try to avoid in the kitchen.
The garlic press – to quote Joel, they’re gonna have to pry that from my cold dead hands.
Joel – do the silicone poach pods work well? I love poached eggs but can never seem to get them right when I make them at home. My whites usually go crazy, and I do add vinegar to the water.
Yay, Black & Decker!
@Lori– I love my poach pods, thus my death grip on them. They are a cinch to set up (no need for vinegar or boiling whirlpools) and clean easily. I am guilty of purchasing a lot of single purpose crap that I never use, but my pods have proven themselves worthy.
Amazon r.e. the Black and Decker 4-in-1: “Currently unavailable.” I guess my waffleninidilla idea will have to wait.
What do you all think about salt as the No. 1 pick?
Salt is definitely #1. Since salt is necessary for the body to function and the body doesn’t produce salt it must get it from outside sources. In earliest times that meant getting it from the meat of animals (who got it from naturally occurring salt deposits) and plants. Later it’s preservative qualities were discovered enabling people to create and save all kinds of food; dairy into cheese, vegetables and fruits into pickles and ferments, meats and fish into hams, jerkies, etc., enabling them to get through periods of little fresh foods, take longer journeys, trade foodstuffs, and explore. Salt itself was a highly valued and traded commodity, as well as finding it’s way into ceremonies and rituals of many religions. It’s importance can be seen in common phrases like “salt of the earth” denoting someone of sound values and common sense or “above the salt” indicating a person’s societal position of wealth and power. In many ways the development of civilization and society was salt-centric allowing us to be here today to discuss the merits of salt as the #1 culinary discovery.
Well said, Rebecca.
I agree with salt being #1, aside from the preservative qualities that Rebecca mentions, it is so important for bringing out/enhancing the flavor of foods. That’s why even dessert recipes call for a little salt.