Professional chefs know the value of space in a drawer or on a countertop better than anyone. Stroll through the swinging doors of any restaurant kitchen worth its salt, and you won't find an excess of single-function gadgets collecting dust. Every instrument and piece of cookware serves a purpose, earning the real estate -- however small -- it occupies.
That's what makes career chefs the perfect people to ask about all the kitchen tools that don't belong in your kitchen, especially when space is at a premium.
To compile this list, I asked five professional chefs about the most useless and overrated kitchen tools and what they recommend using instead. Some on the list get knocked for simply taking up too much space to justify buying, while others get a failing grade for being downright gimmicky.
Here's what they said.
Masaharu Morimoto
Celebrity chef, restauranteur
Masaharu Morimoto shared his pick for the most overrated kitchen tool. Dave Kotinsky/Stringer/Getty
1. Mandolin
Chef Morimoto encourages beefing up your knife skills to make thin and uniform vegetable slices. Milk Street
Why: "While it brings good slices, mastering proper knife skills gives you more control, precision and safety in the long run. Mandolins can be bulky, hard to clean and risky if you're not extremely careful. Relying too much on a mandolin, or tools like a two-in-one apple cutter or a tomato corer can hold you back from developing real technique. Taking the time to learn how to handle a sharp chef's knife or Japanese blade will help you in almost every recipe."
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