4 overdone kitchen tools you should toss immediately, and what to replace them with

Prices start at $7.

Smart Kitchen Tool Upgrades

• Bourdain-Approved: Global 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, $119
• Versatile Tool: Mueller Austria Mandoline Slicer, $35
• Knife-Friendly: John Boos Chop-N-Slice Maple Cutting Board, $87
• Kitchen MVP: Gorilla Grip Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs, Set of 2, $10, originally $20

It’s time to ditch the kitchen tools that aren’t serving you and replace them with functional gear that you can use every day. This means you shouldn’t waste your precious drawer space on unitaskers like a garlic press or vegetable spiralizers. Instead, you should grab a sharp chef’s knife you can trust, sturdy kitchen tongs that won’t break, and a wooden cutting board that won’t dull your knives. For more of the tools that are best left in the past, and the 26 products to get instead, read on.         

Don’t Buy: A Garlic Press

Instead, Buy: A Sharp Chef’s Knife 

“Garlic that has been tragically smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting,” wrote the late Anthony Bourdain in his memoir “Kitchen Confidential.” He despised this single-use gadget, disliking its redundancy and the taste of the garlic after a trip through the press. After all, a great chef’s knife can do the same thing without adding more clutter to your kitchen drawers. Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent knives available at Amazon, including Bourdain’s preferred model. 

• Global 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, $119
• Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, $190
• Henckels Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, $56, originally $80
• Mercer Culinary Renaissance Chef’s Knife, $55
• Wüsthof Classic 6-Inch Chef’s Knife, $135
• Farberware Edgekeeper 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, $16
• Miyabi Kaizen II 8-inch Chef’s Knife, $190  

Don’t Buy: A Vegetable Spiralizer

Instead, Buy: A Mandoline Slicer 

If you make zoodles at least twice a week, a vegetable spiralizer is probably worth the money. If not, a mandoline slicer is a smarter, more practical purchase. Imagine, if you will, that you’re making French onion soup for a crowd. As you contemplate the dozens of onions in front of you, you know your next half hour will be tear-filled and smelly. There’s nothing to do except soldier on — unless you have a mandoline. This tool does the hard work on your behalf, slicing the mountain of onions more evenly and quickly than you ever could. Since some models, like the Mueller Mandoline Slicer, include attachments for grating and shredding, you can also break down cheese and carrots with ease. 

If you’re hesitant to take the plunge because you’ve heard the horror stories about sliced fingers and trips to the Emergency Room, grab cut-resistant gloves for an added layer of protection.   

• Mueller Austria Mandoline Slicer, $35           
• OXO Good Grips Handheld Mandoline Slicer, $19, originally $22 
• Dash Safe Slice Mandoline, $32, originally $40
• Once for All Safe Mandoline Slicer Plus, $42, originally $50
• Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer, $47
• Gramercy Adjustable Mandoline Food Slicer, $40

Don’t Buy: A Glass Cutting Board 

Instead, Buy: A Wooden Cutting Board 

A Reddit thread revealed that shoppers detest glass cutting boards. One dubbed them “the great destroyer of chef’s knives,” while a second said they’re still “haunted by the sound of metal on glass” from their teenage years. Wooden cutting boards, on the other hand, are blessedly quiet, gentle on your knives, and beautiful to boot. If you have the storage space, it’s a good idea to get a big board to accommodate many ingredients at once, but we included smaller options below, as well. 

• John Boos Chop-N-Slice Maple Cutting Board, $87     
• Teakhaus Carving Board, $110
• Made In Cookware Butcher Block, $129
• Caraway Wood Cutting Boards, Set of 3, $225
• John Boos R-Board Series Maple Cutting Board, $95, originally $111
• Sonder Los Angeles Winsome Acacia Wood Cutting Board, $50, originally $60
• Shun Cutlery Small Hinoki Cutting Board, $35

Don’t Buy: A Spaghetti Spoon 

Instead, Buy: Kitchen Tongs

Another loathed kitchen gadget, according to Redditors on the same thread? The spaghetti spoon. One shopper can’t stand this tool, preferring kitchen tongs instead. We can’t help but agree, since kitchen tongs are useful for so much more than just fishing cooked pasta out of boiling water. We use our tongs to turn skewers on the grill, toss salads, flip bacon strips, and more. Truthfully, there’s very little we don’t use our kitchen tongs for. 

• Gorilla Grip Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs, Set of 2, $10, originally $20
• KitchenAid Stainless Steel Utility Tongs, $11, originally $17
• OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Tongs, $14, originally $17
• Hotec Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs, Set of 3, $10, originally $13
• Winco Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs, $8, originally $9
• Farberware Mini Kitchen Tongs, Set of 2, $7

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