Though you may not have a need for any of these inventive and somewhat revolutionary food utensils, it’s cool to know they’re out there.
Flavored Fork
If in order to stomach vegetables, you need them prepared in a way that makes them not taste like actual vegetables, the Aroma R-evolution Kit might be for you. This kit sells for $58.95 on molecule-r.com and makes it possible for your vegetables taste like bubblegum, passion fruit, coffee or one of the other 21 flavors offered. The flavor changing effect is achieved by using liquid scents on your fork that make you smell your desired flavor, which in turn tricks your brain into thinking you are tasting that scent. I initially deemed this product as unnecessary but when I saw flavors like butter and olive oil were offered, I reconsidered. Think of all the calories you could save by substituting real butter and olive oil for the just the “taste” of it.
Ramen Spork
Photo by Laura Palladino
This product is quite literally a spoon with four prongs attached to it. The ramen spork was designed by Masami Takahashi, the owner of a ramen noodle restaurant in Japan. The ramen spork makes it possible to pick up your ramen noodles with the prongs, and then enjoy the broth from a spoon. This $16 spork is available on Amazon and uncommongoods.com, though quantities are limited. If you’re living in a dorm and eating ramen on a weekly basis, this product may be worth the investment.
Temperature Controlled Ice Cream Scooper
Photo by Katherine Carroll
Nothing slows your ice cream eating down faster than not being able to scoop it out of the carton. While microwaving your ice cream speeds up the process, it is a step that I would prefer skipping. Naoki Terada, an architect known for making unusual toys, accessories and housewares, has created the 15.0% Ice Cream Spoon. It uses the heat from your hands on the handle to warm the scoop itself. This allows the scooper to smoothly dig into your ice cream, making scooping a breeze. There are different shaped scoopers for different ice cream flavors, as well as one designed for sorbet. The “vanilla” ice cream spoon ranges in price depending on where you buy it, but sells for $55.60 (with free shipping) on Amazon. While this is a very cool product, I think one could achieve a similar effect by running a traditional ice cream scooper under hot water. If you’re into kitchen gadgets, this is still a cool one.
Be sure to check out these other kitchen related articles:
10 Hilarious Kitchen Utensils You Definitely Do(n’t) Need
Kitchen Hacks: New Ways To Use 9 Common Kitchen Tools
The 10 Weirdest Kitchen Gadgets You’ll Probably Never Need