Have you ever used a spork? The word spork, recorded in 1909, is a combination of spoon and fork. However, some models of sporks have been described as convenient three-in-one eating utensils with the lower edge serving as a knife.
‘Spork’ was registered as a brand name more than once and was even the subject of a 1999 lawsuit. That said, this did little to boost its popularity quotient in the modern kitchen: its prongs are too short for the diner to tuck properly into solids and it is too shallow to make do for soup.
On the other hand, lovers of baked beans, coleslaw and mashed potatoes vouch for its superiority when it comes to eating these in-between types of food.
The spork is a relatively innocuous curiosity. It is cheap. It does not take up space. One of the downsides of kitchen gadgets is that you can easily end up with too many of them, especially when they appear so ingenuous at first sight.
When it comes to the cooking and dining department, in fact, there will always be a substantial number of people willing to put their money on the latest gadgets, however weird, unnecessary or useless they sometimes are.
Take, for example, the Saeco Etienne Louis espresso machine which is the creation of Swiss designer Carlo Borer. It is made of aluminium and steel and its most distinguishing feature are the scary-looking spikes which cover the sphere-shaped part into which the water goes.
Its appearance had a gadget reviewer on Wired online referring to it as ‘The Coffee Monster’ because it looks like a giant medieval mace. At about €1,500, it is one of those limited designer edition gadgets which are notoriously difficult to get hold of.
Tea drinkers need not despair. Coffee fans are not the only ones who can wake up to a gory sight first thing in the morning. For those dedicated fans who remain addicted to their cuppa in summer, Pablo Matteoda has come up with something reminiscent of Amity Island beach.
According to the promotional blurb, his ‘Shark Tea Infuser’ adds interest to the five or so minutes of waiting for your tea to be ready. When the infuser is placed in a tea cup, it floats upright thanks to an air chamber found at the top of the fin.
As the tea leaves in the infuser expand and breathe, they let out a trail of colour. Use red leaf tea for a more dramatic impact... and get the impression that the tiny shark skimming the surface is leaving a trail of blood.
People who prefer ice-cold drinks can look to the Gin and Titonic ice-cube tray set by Fred and Friends. It makes four ocean liners and four icebergs. The same manufacturers have also given us the ‘Bone Chiller’ set of skulls and crossbones and the ‘Frozen Smiles’ set.
It does give a weird feeling to see a pair of frozen teeth dropped in your glass because they almost look like a pair of dentures getting their nightly soak.
For hosts in search of the perfect ice ‘cube’, there is nothing cooler than the Japanese ice-mould machine which freezes water in a spherical shape. The idea behind making ice-balls rather than cubes is that the smaller surface area means that they melt slower than the standard cube.
Having brought up the subject of cubes versus spheres, what nature can do, manufacturers of gimmicks can supposedly do even better. Just imagine the shape of a hard-boiled egg and ask yourself if you would want it in any other shape.
Well, the Chickenborg egg cuber is one of those weird commerical proposals which manage to find their way into people’s kitchens.
If you want to make cube-shaped hard-boiled eggs, this is the thing for you. If, on the other hand, you just need to crack and separate white from yolk, you might want to consider an egg-cracker and the Peter Petrie egg separator.
Egg-crackers apparently guarantee cracking eggs perfectly every time. With the cracking so niftily done, you can try out the egg separator. It is a hand-crafted ceramic jar in the shape of a head with a very large nose from which the egg white dribbles down. In other words, it is not a pleasant sight although it does get the job done.
Probably the worst offenders of all, however, are those bulkier kitchen gadgets, like the pasta maker, which promise to have you churning out fabulous home-made food in minutes.
If you have any of these gadgets and use them on a regular basis, they are earning their keep.
If, however, there is a kitchen cupboard with gadgets which lost their appeal after being used once or twice, it might be time for a clear-out.
All things considered, the spork doesn’t seem so outrageous, after all.