If you had a kitchen robot, what one task would you program it to do?
Let Rosie do it!
As I stood over my sink peeling apples the other day, I thought about how little I enjoy the chore of peeling fruits and vegetables. I don’t know what it is about it – perhaps it’s because my hand cramps sometimes, particularly when I’m peeling a whole pile of potatoes.
As much as we all love to cook, I thought, we probably all have a few tasks in the kitchen that we would happily hand over to someone else if we could. This started my mind down a bizarre path (not an uncommon occurrence) and I decided to ask you guys, if you were given a kitchen robot that could only do one task, what would you have it programmed to do?
Here’s what makes it a tougher decision: dishes don’t count. Yes, I can hear some of you saying “That’s not faaaiir!” but that would just be too easy. Besides, that’s what dishwashers are for.
So, would your robot be a raw chicken handler? A pie crust-maker? A stove top cleaner? A dish-drain emptier?
I have given this a great deal of thought, and I don’t think I’d program my robot to peel fruits and vegetables after all. I think I’d program mine to clean the microwave, because cleaning microwaves makes me want to gag.
Let’s have a little fun – tell me what one kitchen task you would happily hand off to a kitchen helper.
December 20, 2011 - 5:03 AM
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I’d have to go with peeling and deveining shrimp. Particularly the little ones. It just seems like to takes forever, and by the time you get a rhythm going, you’re about done.
Chopping the onions. The older I get, the worse they get me.
Definitely handling raw meat – I hate it! Especially for sausage balls – where you have to get in there and mash around. I usually make my husband do it, because he is the one requesting all of the meaty foods.
I never understood why people peeled potatoes. I’ve never encountered a potato recipe that was better without peels than it was with them.
My robot would read new recipes to me, knowing exactly when to move on to the next ingredient. “1 cup chopped onions,” it would say. “Don’t forget to preheat the oven to 350,” it would remind me. “Turn down the heat under that garlic,” it would gently admonish.
Good ones, all. I like the instruction-reading robot, Tass. I have often thought that someone ought to invent an app for that – unless there already is one.
I will have to respectfully disagree with you about the peeling potatoes, though. For some recipes, definitely, I like the skin on – french fries, hash browns, etc. Red-skinned and Yukon gold potatoes with their thin skins are good unpeeled in dishes. But those tough Idaho and russet skins have got to come off for things like mashed potatoes, potato cakes, latkes, croquettes, etc. in my opinion.
I would have a robot to clean all those messy pots and pans, and to keep all of my tupperware/plastic containers organized in the pantry!!!
I would love to have one to clean my oven. The stove in my apt does not have a self-cleaning oven and it’s a task I hate.
I love salad, but I hate how long it takes to wash, peel, and slice everything. I would want a robot that took care of all these steps for me – I know I would eat a lot healthier!
A robot to serve the food after I’ve cooked it would be what just what I need in the house. I don’t mind cooking, per se, but I get completely nuts when it comes time to serve. Sadly, this is even true with take out food. I just worry it won’t look presentable or be messy or break apart. So much so, that I will never have people over for dinner. Needless to say, we go out to eat…ALOT!
My wife says that her robot would clean the kitchen floor.
I think that mine would keep the fridge organized, and would get out/put away items too and from the fridge as needed.
Oh…agreed on the onions! I hate those. But if I had to pick just one, I think I’d go with cleaning the oven or scrubbing out the stuck-on stuff after one of those nice 8+ hour recipes in the slow cooker…that’s a real bummer.
What I wouldn’t be willing to give for a Rosie to clean the cabinets!!! With damaged legs and back it’s so hard to clean them -they’re too high or too low and it’s almost impossible for me to do it.
Lindsey, you can clean your microwave by filling a glass or bowl with water and lemon juice and let it rip for 20 minutes on high. It will spray all over and you just wipe down afterwards. Be careful removing the bowl or glass, as it will be hot!
To clean my microwave I take a cloth and wet it then spray cleaner on it. I put it in the microwave, nuke it for 20 seconds, then use the hot rag to clean the (now softened) gunk inside. It works well, but the cloth will be hot and wet so be prepared for that.
I’ll go a step (or a few) further than Vickie – I want a robot to paint our cabinets and install new hardware! Installation of a new countertop would also be a plus!
Kristen, thanks for the microwave cleaning tip!
Carolyn had a good tip, too. Thanks, ladies!