Ann Reardon

Clever or Never? 6 kitchen gadgets put to the test

 
Six kitchen gadgets put to the test. Have you ever seen something in the shop and thought ‘that looks awesome’ but when you got it home, you discovered the gadget didn’t work as you envisioned? The Clever or Never series is here to help – let us know what kitchen and baking gadgets you’d like reviewed. Today we’ve got 6 to try, a few of them are definitely ‘clever’ and others were ‘never’.
 


 

#1 Soda Dispenser
soda dispenser review ann reardon
This looks like it should work, which is why Dave bought it. But unfortunately it was a bit of a flop (at least for us). Lots of people have asked if we should have pierced the bottle to relieve pressure insire? We actually tried that (off camera) but it still didn’t work. Others suggested shaking the bottle to make MORE pressure but that just resulted in Coke spraying out from the dispenser everywhere. It’s sad because it actually looked like it would be good.

Source: eBay

#2 Melon Cutter
melon cutter review ann reardon
I had high hopes for this melon cutter but it was also a bust. I’ve found out since that apparently you are supposed to cut the top off the melon before using this device. My question is … if I have to use a knife to cut off the top, then why wouldn’t I just keep going and use that same knife to simply cut the melon? It’s also definitely too small for the watermelons that grow here in Australia.

Source: eBay

#3 Easy Sealer
easy sealer review ann reardon
This one is a winner, it actually works and totally reseals the bag. Great for keeping things fresh AND for helping you resist the urge to eat a whole bag of snacks – just reseal it the bag put it away.

Source: Dave bought this at Diaso in Singapore but you can also get it online here: Handy Sealer Easy Sealer

#4 Printable Chocolate Transfer Sheets
Source: I purchased them here in Australia , but there are other websites that stock them: inkables, UK.
For elsewhere just search for printable chocolate transfer sheets in your country.

#5 Chocolate Lollipop Mold
chocolate lollipop mold review
Source: I was sent mine as a ‘free gift’ when I purchased a printer in Australia, but again you can find them elsewhere like the U.S. They are professional molds so they are pricey. Definitely easy to use, so if you are looking into running chocolate shop it would be worthwhile.

#6 Cookie Cutter Roller
cookie roller gadget review
Yes you can roll cookies with this if you get your dough to the right thickness and flour it well. But the downside is they are very close together so you have to move them onto a baking sheet. I prefer to cut out my cookies on baking paper and then move the spare dough. That way they don’t get mis-shapen. The dough also tended to get stuck in the roller, even after it had been floured. For that reason I’d rather use separate cookie cutters.

Source: Dave bought this in Singapore but he’s not sure exactly where from. Try as I might, I can’t find this one online.

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

19 Comments View Comments

  1. Rating: 5

    Those were so cool, please do more!!!!!!

  2. Rating: 5

    No no you don’t want you back then then I get back next week and then I get you a little ???

  3. Rating: 4.5

    On the #5can you use a regular printer ? I love you soooo much I loved the one ☝️ were you do wonder woman that was sooo ?.have a gears day .

    • Hi Samantha, You need a Printer designed to print edible images plus edible inks and transfer paper.

  4. Ann, I just wanted to let you know I saw this video on Facebook and they didn’t give you credit. https:

    • Thanks for letting us know Pam. We will report it. I have removed the link above.

  5. I have this melon cutter and what you need to do is cut off the ends of the melon first

    • Great tip!

  6. Rating: 5

    Hey I love your channel. I was wondering if you have tee shirts for people to buy?

  7. I thought that gadgets 3 through 5 were clever.

  8. Whoops, it wasn’t a checkerboard. It was a different rainbow cake, maybe the one with the unicorn except we didn’t use the unicorn

  9. Maybe with the cutter you could try it on an apple or try taking the skin of the melon first also it might work with a round loaf of bread or a peach/fruit without a stone

  10. Rating: 4.5

    Btw that was my first comment on any you tuber ever! Usually I don’t comment but I love Ann’s channel so much. I don’t have Instagram or a YouTube account so I never really comment!?

  11. Rating: 5

    I love HowToCookThat! I want to thank Ann for being such a huge inspiration to me and getting me into baking! My favourite gadget was probably 3, but number 5 was also really cool. I have attempted quite a few of your bakes, including the rainbow checkerboard cake. That one turned out okay but my other attempts are still presentable but aren’t very good despite my best efforts. You always seem so organised in your videos. Could you perhaps do a troubleshooting video? Love the channel!

    • That is great to hear PumpkinPi. Ann has a few trouble shooting videos and yes they are really helpful.

  12. The melon cutter works if you cut a little bit off top mine said to do that and it didn’t break the sealer is great the printer and candy things are great and cookie cutter. Cute. The cokes thing don’t think I use

  13. The last one – IKEA used to sell equivalent and may still 🙂

  14. Rating: 4.5

    Many greetings from Plätzchen country!!!
    Cookie monster says: “KEEEEKSE”….

    Lots of love Sandra

    • Greetings to you Sandra!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*

ADD JPEG TO YOUR COMMENT