As Seen on TV Culinary Gadget Peddlers.

Bentley Green · 08-10-2008, 12:37 PM

Has anyone seen any of these culinary crap gadgets that people are pushing during the commercial breaks from your favorite Food Network show?

1. First off, we got the Queen of Culinary Crap Gadgets Kathy Mitchell (the one who pushed Grip N' Flip) who is now pushing this oval-shaped plastic product that allows you to cook pasta in the microwave, then drain it and make whatever pasta salad you want right in the container.

2. Next, there's Chef Tony (the one who was pushing the knives) who is now pushing a set of plastic "vacuum-style" lids that you just place onto any type of food cantainer or bowl and simply push down on the center of the lids to form a vacuum seal that is supposed to push out the air and keep it out, supposedly preventing food spoilage of the container's contents.

3. Now we got Billy Mays (the one who pushes the Oxi-Clean commercial) the loud-mouth jerk who is now pushing a cooking gadget that allows you to press and form up to about four burgers in it and cook them right in the unit!

Have any of you bought any of this stuff?

Seems to me like the stuff is very questionable, has I'm wondering if any of it really works like they say it will in the commercials.

I DID however, buy the Grip N' Flip utensils and one of those chopper / dicer thingys.

Note how they always throw in an extra set of something to entice you even more and offer a "double-your-money-back guanrantee if the stuff does not perform the way they say it will. And it's often only $19.95 or something like that.

If I bought all this stuff, I could possibly open up a gadget store myself!

Then there are also those imfommercials or paid programs which I HATE with a passion!! They also are pushing stuff like turbo Convection Ovens, Rocket-type cooking gadgets and appliances that I already own, wasting up and monopolizing, as well as hijacking, spamming & trolling up hours and hours of precious TV airtime!!! Just exactly who comes up with this stuff? Who is the brain child behind all of this?

Food Network Fan · 08-10-2008, 12:41 PM

No I never buy them. Shortcuts take away from the flavor or texture I am going for. I guess if you lived in a dorm room or something like that and HAD to cook pasta in a microwave because that's all you have and they won't allow hot plates the microwave gadgets would be helpful. But it's really not that hard or that much quicker than to just cook on the stove.

Bentley Green · 08-10-2008, 01:10 PM

Agreed! Most of the time, I like to chop, dice and slice things with a Chef's of French Knife, as they call it, or the Chinese cleaver.

Guess I'm old school - too used to the old-fashioned way of doing it. We've done it that way for years. I spent $80.00 on an Emerilware 8-qt Stainless Steel Stockpot with Pasta Strainer, which I truly enjoy using and always wanted, so it makes no sense to me, to buy this new-fad pasta crap gadget that lets you cook pasta in the microwave.

I remember there was this other pasta crap gadget that you pour boiling water in to supposedly cook the pasta in the container. Well. my God, since the pasta still needs boiling water to cook it anyway, just exactly what amount of time is being saved by using one of these money-grubbing-sponser crap gadgets?

Put simply, I'm all for things that help save hard time-consuming labor and help get you out of the kitchen in record time from start to finish, but that's mainly what the mixer and food processor are for.

Those chopping / slicing crap gadgets are only cheap & flimsily-made versions of what the food processor has been doing for years. The mixer also, has been around forever.

bakerman · 08-10-2008, 01:14 PM

Yeah, when i saw that, I thought "is boiling pasta really that hard?" I don't really see the shortcut here, you still have a container to clean!

I love how certain commercials like the Magic Bullet, show a counter top full of appliances like a kitchenaid mixer, a food processor, ect.. and they say how this product replaces all of them!:yb676:ummmm... yeah right! I have heard that the magic bullet is handy for blended drinks and smoothies though, but I have a good blender for that and can make more than one serving at a time.

Other things that irritate me are people like Billy Mays, I don't appreciate watching TV and having him coming on yelling about his latest miracle product, but some research shows that he is a very effective pitch man, he seems more like a used car salesman to me. The other is having a pitch man with either a British or Australian accent, or saying how this is a European product, I guess there is a segment of the population that is dumb enough to believe that everything from Europe is top quaility and that they don't make any crappy stuff at all.

I actually find most of these infomercials a bit insulting.

Ok I'm done ranting now!

MAC

BerryBaby · 08-10-2008, 01:40 PM

Why do they think they have YELL their commercial? Drives me crazy!

The Today Show did a review of many "As Seen On TV" products to see which ones worked and which ones didn't. The only one I recall them saying was any good was the Vegetable Dicer. Still I would rather just use a knife...how hard is that?

Just give the basic utensils and I'm happy. Plus, a lot less clutter.

Bentley Green · 08-10-2008, 01:41 PM

Ranting & raving about these annoying and often insulting commercials and their products is a good way to say that you are not easily persuaded to try any of them. In other words, you could say; Don't believe the hype!

And your'e right about their claims that the Magic Bullet supposedly replaces a countertop full of appliances!

And since one can't make bread dough, cake batter, frosting or pie fillings, or even slice veggies with the Magic Bullet, then what else are they supposed to use? About the only thing that I find that useful for is to grind or coursely chop black peppercorns in, which I've done.

Billy Mays is also pushing a gadget that attacthes to your drill that supposedly alows you to dig small holes in your garden to make planting easier. Yeah, and his loud yelling IS annoying!!!

And I also have a regular blender AND a stick blender, so what else can any new-fangled fancy gadget do that I haven't been able to do with these?

Food Network Fan · 08-10-2008, 01:43 PM

I noticed Billy Mays is even selling insurance now. I don't think he has a normal speaking voice he yells all the time.

BerryBaby · 08-10-2008, 01:44 PM

I can't imagine living in the same house with him....I'd have a constant headache.

Bentley Green · 08-10-2008, 01:49 PM

Seems as though in EVERY ONE OF THOSE commercials he does, he's screaming at the top of his lungs!! Does it take THAT much yelling for him to supposedly get his point across to millions?

Maybe the ones he's in are done on the planet Pluto and he has to yell as loud as he can so that his words can be translated trough the Solar System to us hunanoids back here on earth so that we can hear him. Haha!!

Food Network Fan · 08-10-2008, 01:51 PM

He's like R Lee Ermey. But he was a gunnery Sergent and it probably damaged his hearing. Plus they yell a lot to get their point across. I joke with my husband that his wife is probably a nervous wreck. Can you imagine peacefully working in the kitchen and he comes up behind you.. CAN I HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE!!!! :str:

I guess you would get used to it though. They say you can get use to anything.