Kitchen tools that you never knew you needed (and probably still don't)

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Some time ago I found myself in Kingston upon Thames (a town in Greater London, south of Richmond). The high street is known for its wide range of shops and there are a few indoor malls too. I come here occasionally to browse through the usual high street brands in a more relaxed atmosphere than the mad rush that is witnessed on Oxford Street on weekends.

On one such visit I wandered down to a well-known department store (Bentalls). I soon found myself gravitating towards the 'kitchen' section. This was much to my dismay as I remember not long ago (or so it feels!) I was being dragged by my mum through household goods shops when all I wanted to look at was dolls or books.

Most of us grow up to be our parents they say, but in this case, I bet even my mum doesn't know what she's missing in her kitchen. So for the avid homemaker, or rather someone with a big kitchen in London (who?!)  here is a list of 'essential' items I saw being sold:

- Honey spoon
- Grapefruit and melon spoon   (what about watermelon spoon?)
- Jam spoon    (and a separate marmalade spoon I presume)
- Mustard spoon  (Umm.. just use a regular spoon?)
- Bean slicer      (Okay- if you want to impress at dinner)
- Egg slicer       (for gourmet salads?)
- Avocado slicer (My South American friends never needed one...)
- Orange peeler  (How about using fingers?)
- Apple corer   (One of those things people buy and never really use)
- Speed peeler   (Don't peel the fingers off)
- Normal peeler  (Yup this would be my 'Health & Safety' choice)
- Julienne slicer   (Not a French girl but the thin slices)
- Safe slice finger guard (essential for the speed peeler)
- Nutmeg grater (okay possibly useful)
- Onion holder (bizarre)
- Strawberry stem remover  (Some one actually invented a tool for this?)
- Steel soap to remove odour (looked suspicious but maybe it works..)

And that wasn't the whole set, but enough to make me think I'd need to convert my bedroom to a second kitchen to hold these kitchen tools (that I didn't need anyway).

Just thinking about most of the global population here - they seem to get by quite well with one good quality knife and a couple of regular spoons. So I have coined a new phrase for the list above: 'FWN' or First World Needs.  Just like the George Foreman Grill and the smoothie maker. I sense another list building up for my next post. Soon.



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