Onion Goggles and More

America’s Test Kitchen TV
Season 9, Episode 3: “Dinner with a Spanish Accent”
Snippet: Crazy Kitchen Gadgets

Christopher Kimball: [wearing goggles] Over the years here in the test kitchen, we test lots of gadgets, and sometimes we come across stuff we really like, but they’re one of a kind, not part of a bigger category. So today Adam has his favorite one-of-a-kind kitchen gadgets, including these extremely fashionable onion goggles.

[flashback overlay: CPK strapping on ski goggles while cutting onions]

Adam Ried: Chris, do you remember a couple of seasons back when we were discussing the science behind why onions make you cry, and you Shanghaied my favorite ski goggles, because we discovered that protecting your eyes was really the key?

CPK: But these are better looking. [adjusts goggles]

AR: There’s a manufacturer who was listening to us. Those are the RSVP onion goggles. They seal to your face, they’re $20, they’re a great gadget for cutting onions and not crying.

CPK: [removes goggles, throws them on table] There you have them.

AR: Check out that peeler. I know that you like this peeler. This is the Prepara Trio three-blade peeler. We like serrated blade peelers for soft items like peaches or tomatoes. [CPK retracts blade] You have to have a regular plain blade peeler for everything else.

CPK: They’re serrated.

AR: And you can get julienne peeler to make small strips of, say, carrot or daikon or radish, things like that. This has all three blades in a single peeler. [CPK loads and retracts the blades in sequence] It’s $15. It’s a little bulky in the hand, but three different peelers are bulkier than that.

CPK: [impressed] Okay.

AR: So we like that gadget. This is the Baker’s Edge baking pan. This is for the people who want to live on the edge. The idea is that because of these three bars that extend to the middle of the pan, you get two of those really chewy edges on your brownies, your bar cookies, whatever it is you’re cooking in the Baker’s Edge Pan. Also, they claim that it will even out the cooking for items like lasagna, say, that don’t cook evenly all the time. And in our tests it did, although we had to cut the noodles to fit. But still, for edge freaks, we like the Baker’s Edge.

CPK: This would be like lasagna for two, though. That would be a little small. Okay, you’re two out of three. What about this?

AR: This, speaking of edges [presents double-crust pie with one slice missing], we have the [dramatic, loud] Progressive International pie gate. [CPK laughs] You know, when you have leftover pie–not a problem I face that often personally, but some people do–it doesn’t take long for the edges to go kind of soft and mushy and grody and nasty. This is an adjustable silicone gate that you can push right up against the cut edge of the pie to keep it pristine and looking perfect for presentation the next day.

CPK: I think Adam needs a vacation.

AR: Hey, man, it was only seven dollars. It’s cool.

CPK: All right, all right. [points] What’s next?

AR: The mini versions. We have our favorite pepper mill, the Unicorn Magnum. [picks up tiny red mill] Look at that! This is great. This is the Unicorn Mini Mill! It comes in its own little velvet pouch. It’s only three inches high, $17.50, [CPK takes it from AR suspiciously] and you have fresh ground pepper wherever you go–the pizzeria, the Thai place, wherever you don’t have fresh pepper on the table.

CPK: And airport security?

AR: I haven’t been through airport security. You want to send me on a trip? I’ll try it.

CPK: Does it work? [starts grinding]

AR: It works great. It cranks out pepper.

CPK: Yeah. I like that.

AR: Okay. Good. We won you over with the Mini Mill. The last one is the universal knife block. You know, anyone who’s a cook is going to accumulate an oddball selection of knives. They’ll end up throwing them in a drawer, trashing the edges on all the knives. It’s much better to keep things in a block like this where it’s accessible and the edges are protected. This is the iGo Kapoosh Universal Knife Block. [CPK raises eyebrows, is impressed] It’s 30 bucks, but it holds ten different tools. If it’s a blade a little longer than eight inches, it may stick out some, but we tested the sharpness after keeping them in here and putting in and out. The sharpness was fine, and it keeps our tools nice and organized.

CPK: So this has preset slots, or is it just…

AR: There are no preset slots. [removes one knife] You can see that there are all kinds of little plastic wires in there.

CPK: That is…

AR: Packed in there.

CPK: As one of my kids would say, way cool.

AR: Way cool. Love this. [slides knife back]

CPK: So there you have it. We have a few of Adam’s favorite things, and my favorite still is the very fashionable onion goggles. [puts goggles back on]

AR: Excellent.

CPK: Adam likes them, too.

View the full report on Onion Goggles and other equipment reviews

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH

Tune into America’s Test Kitchen every week! Find the stations and air times in your area.