Gadget v. appliance

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MostlyWater

Sous Chef
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
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If a gadget is a one-trick-pony, then I guess a blender is a gadget. My sandwich machine with its removable plates to also make waffles,must be an appliance.

Did I get it right ?
 
If a gadget is a one-trick-pony, then I guess a blender is a gadget. My sandwich machine with its removable plates to also make waffles,must be an appliance.

Did I get it right ?


Your machine is a small appliance.

So is a blender. It can be used to crush ice, puree soft foods, emulsify oil and vinegar for dressings, chop veggies, etc.
 
Potato peelers, zesters, garlic presses, lemon reamers etc. are considered gadgets. If they have a motor or an electrical cord, I consider them appliances.
 
I think so things with motors could be gadgets too though. Something like the magic bullet I would consider a gadget even though it is similar to a blender.
 
Sure a blender blends but it's not a one-trick pony. That's like saying a knife is a one-trick pony because all it does is "cut". As mentioned, your blender can chop, puree, crush, make vinaigrettes, etc. That stupid orange peeler thing that is supposed to make an orange easier to peel???? One trick pony and a gadget - useless!!! The blue egg separator - one trick pony and a gadget. It doesn't get the job done faster or easier...one trick pony and gadget. But that's just my take on it.

Gadget and tool...which is which. I don't know, really. I'm not going to look those definitions up anywhere either...I have to make up my own mind. While my lemon/lime reamer might be a gadget to some it is a tool to me...it gets the job done easier and essential (which means it helps make things easier and gets things done faster) to my cooking. My zester is a tool - gets the job done faster and more efficiently than a knife. Everything DQ listed I consider a tool...they are useful to me in my kitchen and make cooking easier. So...it's just a matter of perception on what those two words (gadget and tool) mean to you. A gadget is something that I have around and really wish I hadn't bought! :LOL: i.e., that silly orange peeler thing and the egg separator to name two.

Sure, your sandwich maker is a small appliance...as well as your blender. I think they are essential tools to have. A tool can be electrical or not. I consider my blender wand an essential tool...even though it is a small appliance. A tool is something that helps get the job done...electrical or not. A knife is an essential tool.

When it comes to a question like this remember...it's opinions you will get. My opinion is not wrong, DQ's opinion is not wrong, GB's opinion is not wrong...the world will not stop turning because one of us thinks a reamer is a gadget and the other thinks it is a tool...good food will still come out of our kitchens. :chef:
 
I believe it is a matter of one's own opinion of what is considered a gadget or appliance or tool. What I consider useful in my kitchen, you may not need or find useful.
 
I believe it is a matter of one's own opinion of what is considered a gadget or appliance or tool. What I consider useful in my kitchen, you may not need or find useful.

Right on. I see gadgets and tools as being the same thing. What I consider gadgets are also my tools and find them useful and valuable. What I may find a useful tool others may find a waste. The word "gadget" doesn't mean it's useless. I was siting the difference between an appliance and a gadget/tool.
 
MW - I had to delete your post because it was a copy and paste from a copyrighted source. BUT, it basically states what we have been saying. It said something like a gadget was a useful tool...or something like that.

I think we are pretty much all on the same page here.
 
I found one that fits my definition - an interesting but basically useless and unnecessary object.

That pretty much nails it on the head in my eyes! :LOL:

Now that you've googled it I guess the issue is solved! :chef: :clap:
 
I found one that fits my definition - an interesting but basically useless and unnecessary object.

That pretty much nails it on the head in my eyes! :LOL:

Now that you've googled it I guess the issue is solved! :chef: :clap:
That's my definition of a gadget. Something that is used by lots and used frequently, i.e. a blender, George Forman grill, is not a gadget. As opposed to something that comes out, lots of people rush to buy one, and then it quickly goes away and those that didn't get it don't regret not getting it, like the Magic Bullet, that's a gadget.

I used to think a food processor was a gadget until I started watching the Food Network, now I know it's an appliance I really want and am sure I couldn't live without if I finally got one.
 
I think it is the way an item is marketted as to which category it falls in, but it also has to make life easier, even if only for one specific purpose, and also be able to take the place of something else you already have. I think there is a lot of overlapping areas.

I don't consider that hand-hammered wok of the eighties as a gadget, but it was certainly marketted like one. It's a wok, which is different than a fry pan and basically has its own use and place in cooking.

I do consider the GF grill as a gadget. It was marketted like one and it doesn't do anything differently than a stovetop grill or even outdoor grill, except cook on both sides at the same time. Why do we need that? And what do I care if the grease drips into a tray? The food isn't cooking in grease on either of the other two items I mentioned. I had one and gave it away, then my parents brought me over theirs one day, and I gave that one away, too, then my sister asked me if I wanted hers.... The novelty had worn off and we all went back to our original methods of cooking and grilling. That, while a gadget to me and those I personally know, is obviously not a gadget to some of you who actually used your more than a couple months.

That stick blender I just ordered; I don't consider that a gadget because I do not have a food processor or a mixer and I don't know where my blender is, so lets say I don't have one of those either. It is going to be a useful tool...... Until that time when I do have a FP and a mixer and I find it easier to leave the stick blender sitting in the drawer. And there was quit a few infomercials out on these a while back, so I think it could easily fall into the gadget category if I let it.

Hmmm, food saver vs handi-vac.... I don't even want to touch that one. I use my handi-vac all the time and my FS collects dust, but if you were looking at both of them side by side, you'd almost have to say the handi-vac was the gadget.

Hey GB, what about that pot that does nothing but boil water? :wacko:
:LOL:
 
What about the GF Grill with the interchangeable plates? Ribbed for making panini and cooking meats, pocketed for waffles and smooth for pancakes, eggs, etc. Gadget or appliance?

We could discuss this topic ad infinitum with no clear resolution!
 
What about the GF Grill with the interchangeable plates? Ribbed for making panini and cooking meats, pocketed for waffles and smooth for pancakes, eggs, etc. Gadget or appliance?

We could discuss this topic ad infinitum with no clear resolution!
Considering how often I use my small GF Grill, the interchangeable plates one is definitely an appliance. Infinite possibilities.
 
Hey GB, what about that pot that does nothing but boil water? :wacko:
:LOL:
You must mean the stove top kettle :LOL:

Seriously though, would you consider the stove top kettle a tool, but the electric kettle a gadget? They both do the exact same thing just with different heat sources.
 
Here's my take:

A gadget is something that completes a task with little or no skill required and usually has only one function.

Tool...and the corresponding Gadget .... and another Gadget.
 
Jeekinz, a blender completes a task with little or no skill required and had only one function (albeit different degrees). Would you consider a blender a gadget?
 
Jeekinz, a blender completes a task with little or no skill required and had only one function (albeit different degrees). Would you consider a blender a gadget?

No. You can't crush ice with a garlic press.
 
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