I am not a person who likes clutter, and my dislike of clutter certainly extends to my kitchen. Unitaskers are not my favorite thing. At all.
But the two I’m going to tell you about today have definitely earned their place in my cabinet!
And if you’d like to see me demonstrate them, here’s a YouTube video for you.
Item #1: Lekue Silicone Stretch Lid
(AKA a watermelon cover!)
This clear, stretchy lid is not meant to be a unitasker (you can stretch it over all sorts of round items, like bowls), but I mainly use it for one thing: covering half a watermelon.
I almost always end up cutting just half a watermelon and storing the other half to cut up later.
Before I owned the Lekue lid, I stored the uncut half upside down on a plate (not ideal because the liquid can make a mess).
Or I covered it with plastic wrap (not ideal because the wrap doesn’t really stick, and you have to throw it away after a single use.)
But now I use the Lekue, and my goodness, I think it’s SO great. Here’s why:
- it fits pretty much every watermelon I’ve ever bought
- it doesn’t leave a leaky mess in my fridge
- the lid is easy to wash, store, and reuse over and over
Even if this thing didn’t multi-task as a lid for a bowl, I would still consider it to be utterly worth the price.
I’ve had it for several years now, and I still feel a happy thrill every time I use it to cover a watermelon!
Where to Buy
These lids come in multiple sizes; the one that fits watermelons is the 10.2 inch size.
Amazon
Amazon sells the 10.2 lid by itself, but if you want the three smaller sizes (for smaller melons, mason jars, etc.), the set of three is a good deal.
Amazon’s price on the 10.2 inch lid is not the best I’ve found, but you do get free shipping.
Mighty Nest
Mighty Nest has the cheapest price I’ve found, but you may have to pay shipping.
(If you’re not a MightyFix member, you can try the MightyFix for only $3 and get a set of Tidy Dish Cloths as your first month with promo code TIDYSET3. You may be able to add the Lekue lid to your first order to take advantage of the free shipping!)
Item #2: The Frywall
(I did a super quick review of this right after I bought it last year. But I thought it could use another mention, a year into ownership.)
The Frywall really IS a unitasker, but I don’t even care because it does its job so well.
It’s basically a big silicone ring that fits right on the edge of your skillet.
What does a Frywall do?
It’s job: to shield your stove/counters/floor from spatter.
I don’t do much actual frying of foods, but I still find the Frywall to be seriously useful.
To get a nice flavorful browning on foods, usually you have to heat up some fat until it’s shimmering and then add in whatever you’re cooking (chicken, asparagus, onions, shrimp….)
The browning this produces is great, but it makes a spattery, greasy mess all over my stovetop (and sometimes the floor in front of the stove!)
With the Frywall in place, though, all the spattering is nicely contained.
The Frywall works way better than the old-fashioned flat metal spatter screens, AND you can still stir/flip your food with the Frywall in place (you have to move the spatter screens to access the food).
Does the frywall sit in the hot fat?
Nope! It’s designed to sit a little ways up the side of the pan, so unless you have a very full pan of oil/fat, the Frywall will sit above it all.
How do you clean a Frywall?
It’s dishwasher safe, but it’s so huge, I never put it in the dishwasher. I just wash it in a sink of hot, soapy water with the rest of my hand-washed dishes.
Once it’s dry, I fold it up and store it in the cabinet. It becomes quite compact; a great feature if your kitchen, like mine, isn’t long on storage.
Does it fit into any skillet?
The Frywall comes in multiple sizes; I have the one designed for 12-inch skillets, since that’s the main size I use.
You can also get a 10-inch size and an 8-inch size.
Just make sure you measure the size of your skillet so you know you’re ordering the correct one. If you get the wrong size, it won’t work properly!
Where to buy a Frywall
I got mine on Amazon (all 3 sizes are available there).
Is there a weird unitasker kitchen item you love?
Molly says
I adore my Zulay metal lemon/lime squeezer that was popular a couple of years ago. It is metal with holes to juice half of a lemon at a time with minimal effort and no seeds slipping into my food/drink! It only works for lemons, limes, and small clementines/oranges but it is so worth it for the amount of time, frustration, and mess it saves me.
I also adore a good garlic mincer press! I can never mince fresh garlic as finely as the press, and especially not as fast.
Linda says
Hmm may have to order those 2. I always put a cookie sheet against the back of the stove when I cook anything that can spatter. It saves me from trying to get grease off the touch controls. Trained the family to do this so that helps.
Helen D says
Stainless steel taco holders I purchased on Amazon on a lark, but I now highly recommend them! My husband LOVES tacos and the holders have made filling & serving tacos so simple. Plus they clean up easily in the dishwasher. We already ate a lot of tacos, but we definitely eat more because of them
Kristen says
Anything that helps you eat more tacos is a win in my book.
Barb says
I love my silicone microwave popcorn popper. I got it from Amazon, there are many different brands. It folds down to take up very little space & makes the best popcorn! You just put a quarter cup or so of kernels in, put it in the microwave, cover with the silicone cover & it takes about 2 minutes. The brand I use is Lekue.
Sabine Farr says
I use my round potato masher to press down cookie dough, especially peanut butter dough instead of using a fork and having to touch each cookie twice. It makes sugar cookies, gingersnaps and snickerdoodles crispy on top and tender underneath. I use my ricer for potatoes but also for butternut and acorn squash, and it’s great for egg yolks when you want a smooth filling for deviled eggs.
Chrissy says
My ice cream spade is the one unitasker I could not do without. It is heavy enough to go through the most frozen ice cream. I got it from Schwans as a buyer of their products several years ago.
Marianne says
Not uni-taskers but multi-taskers.
Fat Daddio pan, fits in IP, use as mixing bowl, cooking in oven, pyrex lid fits it. It is used so much it stays on my stove top.
A burger press my son got me. You can make stuffed, sliders or regular size burgs.
My old Rachel Ray Pastry scraper. it has sides so you can scoop up cut veggies with it or cut dough.
Linda Sand says
24ct Silicone Mini Muffin Pan – Trudeau Maison
Metal framework means no flopping around while moving it. Silicone cups means you can push up from the bottom to pop out anything. I use it to make fat bombs in my freezer.
Some Targets and Michael’s sell them. $12.99 at Target.
Maureen says
I bought a 3 pack of silicone lids from Aldi. I only use 1 – the smallest one for the dog food can. I wish they would sell a 3 pack of silicone can covers.
Becca says
My essential uni-tasker is a salad spinner. I use it practically every day to, you guessed it, spin-dry salads. It takes up space in rte cabinet, but has totally earned it’s keep.
WilliamB says
We have some interesting definitions of unitaskers, you know. It’s supposed to be a gadget that can do only one thing. We have, in our infinite ingenuity, turned this into a post about other uses for so-called unitaskers.
Can someone give me ideas for what else to make in my ice cream maker?
Darlene says
Frozen lemonade and frozen hot chocolate. It’s been a while since I made either–the ice cream maker died–but I think each took 15 to 20 minutes.
Jen says
My silicone sushi mat! So much easier to clean than the old bamboo ones. We don’t make sushi that often but I have also been using it to roll summer salad wraps in big collard leaves.
I also like the lids, but I use the smaller ones more for covering bowls. They are great when I prep dinner ingredients the night before or in the morning.
Connie says
My silicone baking mat. I never dreamed I’d use it so often. Perfect for rolling dough- but also for cooling home made Chex mix and granola. Drop no bake cookies. Keeping any mess contained on the counter. Making holiday candies, truffles.
Kris says
I love mine, too! The name-brand expensive one was given to me as a gift. I bought a second one at Aldi (Crofton brand, I think) and it performs just as well as the Silpat, in case anyone out there is wondering–AND it only cost me $5 or $6.
Karen. says
It’s interesting to read these comments.
I also have a potato masher; it’s because my husband really doesn’t like mashed potatoes made with a hand mixer. There’s an angel food cake pan in the cupboard because I love angel food cake, even though I make it maaaaaaybe once a year.
The wok falls into this category. I would get rid of it but I haven’t figured out how to do egg fried rice without it. All the other Chinese-like food I make, I can do without a wok.
In the category of husband and unitasker items: Sweet corn buttering trays and cob-pokey-thingy-handles. I would SO VERY throw these out if my husband didn’t require them for the one and only task of serving sweet corn on the cob. Massive hassle for the one who does the dishes.
The mental inventory of my cupboards reveals that I could probably get rid of the ramekins I’ve used twice in 16 years. lol.
Anne says
Yes, I think I had ramekins given me 50 years ago when first married. Never used, never missed. But then I’m a pretty plain cook.
Lindsey says
We use our ramekins constantly. They hold individual portions of dipping sauces, a small serving of ice cream (for me, a serving is whatever fits into a bowl. On a bad day, I have been known to use a deep soup bowl for one serving of ice cream), a snack serving of nuts. I have used them for baking only a few times but they are so useful so many other times.
Kris says
I use ours fairly frequently, too, and in a similar way. Once or twice a year I get super fancy and make individual souffles in them (not as hard as it sounds, and they are so stinkin’ cute!).
Kristin W says
We use ours all the time too, though almost never in the oven with something baked inside, ha! My kids are more likely to eat fruit if I call it fruit salad and put in a ramekin! I lived with my new husband and in-laws for about 6 months and they are big eaters and had no small dishes. They would eat ice cream and snacks out of soup bowls which was shocking to me! My MIL had some ramekins and I used them all the time to help with portion control. When we finally moved out she got me my own set, which I added to my extensive small bowl collection!
Darlene says
My favorite uni-tasker is my quiche pan which I use for everything except quiche. I also like our hand blender which I was certain we’d never use.
Heidi Louise says
I use the rolling pizza cutter for things other than pizza, like slicing sandwich meat into smaller pieces and other sort-of-chopping motions for produce. A bad pizza cutter is beyond useless, and cutting pizza with a knife really doesn’t work for me. With my hand on the handle, I probably won’t ever cut myself, either.
WilliamB says
Hah! I use my rolling pizza cutter for several things but not for pizza. The pizza cutter is for, for example, brownies. I use scissors for cutting pizza.
Bobi says
I cut pizza with scissors too! And I thought I was the only one.
Kristin W says
My kids call our kitchen scissors “pizza pliers”
Kristen says
Aww, that is so cute.
BJS says
Egg slicer. It really goes against my nature since I don’t like gadget-y items either, but I love that thing! I guess it speaks to how much egg salad I make.
WilliamB says
I use mine for strawberries, bananas, and mushrooms. I’ve never used it for eggs – maybe I should try it?
Diane C says
Don’t forget olives. Perfect for your homemade pizza!
Bobi says
I make my egg salad with a pastry cutter. Rarely make pastry with it, though.
Barb Ferguson says
I use my pastry cutter to mash up eggs for egg salad, and mashing bananas for banana bread. And can’t roll pastry on anything but the bread board that was my mom’s and was homemade by my Dad, I think. It’s got to be pushing 60 years or more. Might have been a school shop project for him.
Sarah G says
yes – when mine broke I replaced it
Kris says
I love my bench scraper and my silicone bowl scraper. Both items are for baking bread but you can also use a bench scraper to cut bar cookies in super straight lines, thereby amazing your friends with your precision. You can also use it to smooth the frosting on the top of a cake. My third kitchen item is a rubber scraper shaped like a long skinny spoon–SO nice for getting the last drips out of bottles.
I’m intrigued by both of your items, Kristen. I did have a beeswax sheet to cover food but I think someone used hot water to clean it and it got weird and I had to pitch it.
Heidi Louise says
I got my husband those two scrapers (as a “set”) for our wedding anniversary this week. He has been teaching himself to make bread and doesn’t have a bench scraper or a bowl scraper that fits in his hand.
We rarely buy each other gifts because we don’t really need anything, and I am looking forward to surprising him with them. Cost only about 2-3x what a card would if I had sprung for one, and will last much longer.
Kris says
Happy anniversary! I hope he is enjoying his new bread making hobby.
Heidi Louise says
Thank you much! He is doing less with it in the summer heat, but is enjoying improving his creations.
Kate says
These two openers are almost my only unitaskers – the more ways I can think to use something the more I love it. Don’t get me started on binder clips!
I am often home alone when cooking so there’s no one else to help get jars open. I have never had great hand strength, but completely unnecessary and unwelcome osteoarthritis beginning in my 30’s has made these gadgets welcome additions in my kitchen.
https://trudeau.com/us_en/twist-jar-opener-0999025.html
http://www.brixdesign.com/388/jarkey-jar-opener
Becca says
I too dislike unitasker items. But I do love my waffle maker. Having homemade waffles is so fun on a Sunday morning. It’s a yummy treat and I don’t regret buying one.
Shirley says
My waffle iron has reversible grids so it’s used more for grilled cheese sandwiches than waffles or pancakes. Also good for paninis, but I’ve heard some people make paninis in their waffle iron anyway.
Lindsey says
Also good for making crispy slabs of stuffing the day after Thanksgiving. Add an egg to make it hold together, unless you have very wet stuffing.
Sara Wiedeman says
OMG. This sounds like the most amazing thing – I have to remember to try this! Thank you for sharing! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I’m always looking for fun ways to repurpose the leftovers into something different/exciting!
Jeanne says
I use my waffle maker to make hashbrowns
WilliamB says
Not weird in the sense of unusual, but I use my waffle iron a lot. There’s nothing like waffles – don’t start me on pancakes, they’re flabby and I don’t like them – and nothing can make a waffle other than a waffle iron. Someday I may buy a “Can it waffle?” cookbook and see if my waffle iron and grow beyond a unitasker.
For the record, I do not consider the silicone cover to be a unitasker, even if it is a bit weird. Another benefit to using it instead of a plate: plates take up more room in the fridge.
Kristen says
Yep, the silicone cover definitely saves fridge space!
It’s not really a unitasker; I just use it as a unitasker. Heh.
Carol says
Pastry cutter. I still use it when I make pie crust since that’s the way Grandma taught me
Stephanie says
Rice cooker. Perfect every time. I use it only to cook rice. I do not have or want an insta pot!
WilliamB says
But it can do so many other things! It’s not the poor rice cookers fault that use it as a unitasker.
I love mine. I resisted getting one because I make great rice on the stove, thankyouverymuch. Why I caved is a long story involving running, but I’m glad I did. Having something that turns itself on and turns itself off is a game changer. I also make dinner in it and my roommate loves mock paella (yellow rice and cans of many different seafoods and olives). I gave one to my SIL, who lives on a boat. She even bakes cakes in hers.
Carol says
You can also steam veggies with your rice cooker
Cathy in NJ says
I love my rice cooker for steel cut oatmeal every weekday morning. I use the porridge setting and set it up the night before. It comes out perfect. It makes fabulous rice too
Darlene says
I never thought of using the rice cooker for oatmeal. I’m going to try that.
Kristin says
They’re not silicone, but my two favorite unitaskers are my mango splitter and my pineapple slicer.
I am certain the mango splitter has kept me out of urgent care. The pineapple slicer has kept many pineapples out of the compost.
Kristen says
I had never heard of a mango splitter, but now I googled and wow, that looks so handy!
Which brand do you have?
Kristin says
I have an OXO. Love it!
Kristen says
Do you ever have trouble with the opening not being large enough for the pit in your mangoes? I saw some people complaining about that and saying they need to be careful to buy small mangoes.
Kathleen Ready says
Mango splitter is my favorite too! I have one but not an apple slicer, because I dislike unitaskers and stay picky about them haha. I’ve never had much trouble with the mangoes being too big. Sometimes I have to use more force if it’s big, sometimes the mango sort of shifts and rolls itself through the cutter. That seems like such a terrible description. Rolling isn’t exactly what it does, but it gets itself through with it’s particular little quirks and I just have to push down on it haha. Mine is also OXO.
Jean says
Re: The frywall. I wonder if it would work with my mixer to help me keep the flour inside the mixing bowl? My mixer shield doesn’t work greatly. Then it makes it a little more than a unitasker.
Kristen says
Hmm, that’s an interesting thought!
I’m thinking it probably wouldn’t, because the frywall has too much vertical height. It would need to have some kind of cutout for where the mixer head attaches to the mixer body.
Someone should make a silicone cover for this purpose, though. My mixer shield is so useless, I don’t even bother with it. I resign myself to cleaning up flour spray.
WilliamB says
I use a kitchen towel to keep the flour from flying out. I add the flour, wrap the towel around the bowl holding in place by hand, and turn the mixer on. My mixer came with a plastic shield to do this; I found it finicky to use and a space-eater, so I gave it away.
SandyH says
If you’ve ever noticed, it’s when using the paddle attachment on your mixer that causes the most airborne ingredients. The paddle kind of “slaps” the batter and sends it everywhere before mixing it in. Using the wire whisk attachment greatly reduces this effect, as the whisk cuts through the ingredients to mix them in. Just my observation!
Carol says
Ha ha. I thought it was just me. I didn’t find any benefit to the shield. Just one more thing to clean and store. I tossed it.
Lindsey says
ditto.
Dar H says
Me too!
PD says
I use a kitchen towel for exactly this purpose too
kristin @ going country says
A handheld potato masher. In addition to using it for mashed potatoes, I mash eggs for egg salad; avocados for guacamole; beans for refried beans; tomatoes for marinara sauce . . .
Rejena says
I use my potato masher all the time too! I see a lot of people complain about them as being useless, but I’m with you! They hold a great place in my kitchen! In addition to the things you mentioned, I also use it to cut butter into flour for biscuits or pie crusts.
Kara says
I love, and use, my potato masher too. But I did grow up in England where it is a necessity. When we moved to California, we moved to rice growing country, and I despise rice! I have learned to tolerate it. But mashed potatoes-nothing beats them, especially with Bisto gravy!
Lauren says
Hmm. I love my Pampered Chef zester. I also have a dedicated meatloaf pan with a drainer bottom, because I cannot abide soggy meatloaf.
J says
My Mom taught me to shape the meatloaf in a bread loaf tin, then invert it into a flattish baking dish to bake. All the sides get brown and crisp and the fat drain to the sides so you can spoon or blot or suction it out. But since I don’t want to wash ANY extra stuff, I skip the loaf plan for shaping. I make the meat mixture into a big football or oval and sometimes use a rack. Everyone fights over the end pieces.