15 Cool Kitchen Gadgets

If you think the modern kitchen has everything you could ever need, think again. We’ve already featured the Froot Guard, and now we’ve found 15 more of the strangest, coolest, and most clever kitchen gadgets ever conceived. From battery-shaped salt shakers to chopsticks that dispense sauce, these unusual designs prove there’s always room for one more ridiculous invention in the kitchen. Some were real products, while others were concepts that never made it beyond the drawing board. Either way, we’d love to get our hands on a few of them.

D-Cell Battery Salt & Pepper Shakers

Give your meals a boost with D-Cell Battery Salt & Pepper Shakers! Created by Antrepo Design, these clever little containers look just like oversized batteries, complete with power indicator panels that show how much salt or pepper you have left. When the seasoning runs low, it’s time to recharge. The original design featured red and turquoise or black and white color combinations. Sadly, when these first appeared in 2009, they were still a design concept. Guess we’ll have to keep powering our dinners the old-fashioned way.

Smokey the Silencer

Sure, you can blame the oven, but we both know the kitchen fills with smoke every time you cook because you’re just that bad at it. Rather than blaming the smoke detector for doing its job, designer Beth Fuller came up with Smokey the Silencer, a kitchen timer concept that could temporarily hush a compatible smoke alarm remotely. The idea involved wireless communication between Smokey and the detector, with a built-in timer for everyday cooking. Of course, an actual fire alarm is something you should never ignore. Smokey can’t fix your cooking skills, but the concept was certainly creative.

Spice-Leaf Book

If your spice rack can’t take another jar of paprika, maybe it’s time to rethink your seasoning storage. The Spice-Leaf Book was a clever concept that packed spices into the pages of a little book. Need some extra flavor in your soup? Just tear off a page of spice-infused edible paper and add it to the pot, where it was intended to dissolve into the food. Designed as a space-saving alternative to bulky spice jars, it was never an ordinary cookbook. Unfortunately, it was only a concept, but we’d still love to see this tasty little library in our kitchen.

Roll n Roll Chopsticks

Who knew chopsticks needed so many other jobs? The Roll n’ Roll concept combined chopsticks, a straw, and a ring-like holder into one flexible design. Created by Jacky Wu Tung Chih, the idea was to roll a thin sheet of stainless steel into different shapes depending on what you needed. Chopsticks for dinner, a straw for drinks, and a ring when you’re finished. Whether you’d actually want to wear your eating utensils around your wrist is another question, but we’ve got to admire the creativity.

Portable Toasters

We imagine the only way to guarantee perfectly crisp toast is to toast your bread manually. That’s where the Portable Toaster concept came in. Instead of dropping your bread into a traditional toaster, the proposed handheld device would let you toast it directly. Imagine warm toast whenever you want it, whether you’re rushing to work or stuck somewhere without a proper kitchen. Sounds pretty convenient, although carrying a hot toaster in your bag probably isn’t the greatest idea. Still, as far as unusual kitchen concepts go, this one deserves a little attention.

Sharky Tea Infuser

A creative twist on your average mesh-ball tea infuser, Sharky Tea Infuser brings a little excitement to tea time. Designed by Pablo Matteoda, this shark-inspired infuser was created to float in your cup while your loose tea steeps in hot water. Add some jasmine or oolong, sit back, and imagine a tiny predator circling your drink. It could only be better if it included a little speaker that played the JAWS theme. We’d probably spend more time watching the tea than drinking it.

Salad Plant Flower Pot

At first glance, the Salad Plant Flower Pot looks like a simple decorative plant sitting on the dining table. But surprise! Its leaves double as salad servers, while the pot provides a place for dressing. When dinner is ready, just pluck the utensils from the plant and start tossing your salad. It’s a clever way to keep serving tools within reach without leaving ordinary spoons scattered across the table. Your dinner guests might wonder why you’re dismantling the centerpiece, but that’s part of the fun.

Zing Spring Spoons

If you’ve ever competed with your siblings to see who could launch a piece of broccoli the farthest, Zing Spring Spoons were practically made for you. These playful utensils use a spring-loaded design to turn ordinary food into flying ammunition. Just pull back the handle and let the food fight begin. Sure, your parents probably told you not to play with your food, but they never mentioned anything about specially designed launching spoons. Suddenly, finishing your vegetables seems a lot more entertaining.

Sauce Dispensing Chopsticks

It’s hard enough getting food from your plate to your mouth without adding an extra trip to the sauce dish. Sauce Dispensing Chopsticks were designed to make the whole process a little easier. The idea is simple: keep your sauce inside the chopsticks and squeeze the end to release a little onto your food. No more awkward dipping, dripping, or accidentally sending a piece of sushi swimming in soy sauce. Now if only someone could invent chopsticks that actually stop us from dropping everything.

Condiment Gun

Combat boring hot dogs with the Condiment Gun. Load it up with your favorite ammunition, aka ketchup or mustard, take aim, and fire away. Why settle for squeezing a plain old bottle when you can turn lunch into a dramatic showdown? Get two of these things and you can dual-wield ketchup and mustard like the quickest draw at the picnic. We’re not saying this is the most practical way to prepare a hot dog, but it definitely sounds like one of the more entertaining ones.

Spinning Spaghetti Fork

There are all kinds of kitchen gadgets that make cooking easier, so why not make eating easier too? The Spinning Spaghetti Fork does the hard work of winding pasta around the fork for you. Instead of twisting your wrist over and over, you let the gadget spin your spaghetti into a neat little bundle. It’s a ridiculously convenient solution to a problem most of us didn’t even realize we had. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t help you chew or swallow, so you’ll have to handle those exhausting tasks yourself.

Computer Cursor Oven Mitts

If you spend so much time at your computer that you’ve forgotten how to function in the kitchen, these oven mitts might help. Designed to resemble computer cursor pointers, they bring a little digital humor to cooking. Just “click” on your pots and pans and “drag” them across the stove. Okay, they don’t actually control anything, but that’s probably for the best. Just make sure your food doesn’t overheat, or your entire meal might crash. Unfortunately, there’s no undo button for burnt dinner.

Double Sided Peanut Butter and Jelly Spreader

If you only use jelly for PB&Js, you might not realize that whoever uses the jelly after you probably doesn’t appreciate the peanut butter you left behind. Be a little more considerate with the Double Sided Peanut Butter and Jelly Spreader. The idea is to give peanut butter and jelly their own spreading surfaces, so you don’t have to grab another knife every time you make a sandwich. It’s even color-coded, meaning you’ve got absolutely no excuse for leaving peanut butter in the jam jar.

Calf and Half

Here’s a kitchen product that’s udderly delightful. Calf and Half puts a funny twist on an ordinary milk jug with a design inspired by a cow. It’s the kind of kitchen accessory that makes pouring milk a little more entertaining than it has any right to be. If you’re not a fan of cow puns, hopefully this unusual jug will put you in a better moooooood. Seriously, we’re done now. We’ll just shut up and drink our milk.

Titanium Spork

The Titanium Spork takes an already fantastic invention and makes it even better. Sporks are pretty high up on the list of mankind’s greatest eating achievements, so it seems like a shame to toss one away after a single meal. This reusable titanium version combines the convenience of a spoon and fork in one sturdy little utensil. Whether you’re eating lunch at work or taking it along on an outdoor adventure, the Spork of the Gods is ready for action. Fight hunger with your weapon of choice!