My Top 3 is a weekly post where I countdown three things I love in a random category. This week, we’re looking at my favorite kitchen unitaskers.

Unitaskers are, by definition, objects that only do one thing. As a person who has mostly lived with small kitchens, I am anti-unitaskers. I don’t like objects taking up space in my cabinets or drawers unless they serve multiple purposes.

When it comes to unitaskers, I don’t count objects that serve one vital purpose (see: drip coffee maker, dish drying rack, or the all important corkscrew). I count unitaskers as something where another item could perform the task just as well - if not better - than the unitasker itself.

Sometimes, however, you just gotta buy the thing that makes one task a little bit easier.

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Cookie Scoop (OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop)

I love baking cookies. I hate getting the dough onto the baking pan. Enter, the cookie scoop. It’s a specialized spoon with a spring-loaded handle to help release the dough. Sure, two regular spoons or a small measuring cup could get you the same result, but the cookie scoop is so much easier.

I have one, medium-sized cookie scoop that makes perfectly portioned sweets (and the occasional oreo truffle and meatball). I don’t have to worry about my cookies baking irregularly because they’re all different sizes. The cookie scoop takes out all of the guess work. It’s also a great way to pre-portion dough for chilling or freezing. Which, as science has found, makes tastier cookies.

I love this device - even if it is a pain to clean.

Garlic Rocker (Joseph Joseph Garlic Rocker)

I hate traditional squeeze garlic presses. They smash more than they mince, the garlic smushes up over the crushing device, and you have to dig out every clove with the tip of a butter knife. When I was stocking my own kitchen for the first time, I refused to buy a garlic press.

I minced all my garlic by hand. For years. It was annoying. Yes, the garlic ended up exactly how I needed it, but I found the task bothersome.

One day, I was flipping through an Uncommon Goods catalog and saw this garlic rocker. Since it was cheap, I figured I had nothing to lose. I bought one and never looked back.

Does mincing by hand work better? Yes. 100% yes. Do I enjoy my garlic rocker more? Also, yes. It’s quick, effective, and produces good enough results without any of the aggravation of a traditional garlic press.

Tofu Press (Tofuture’s Tofu Press)

This is the newest unitasker addition to our kitchen. A few months ago, we started eating tofu more regularly. Since pressed tofu makes for better tofu, we found ourselves building contraptions out of several pans and soda cans. What resulted was unevenly pressed tofu that was hard to cut evenly. Plus, we also had to be worried about upsetting the jury-rigged press in the fridge and spilling tofu liquid everything.

There are tons of tofu presses available, but this one looked the best for our needs. And it is glorious. It’s three, easy-to-clean pieces that offer different strengths of pressing. The tofu comes out even and the liquid is easy to pour off.

Plus, it’s compact. I no longer second guess putting tofu in our meal plan because I have to consider if our Rube Goldberg press will fit in the fridge.

Words are interesting. Words are fun. Next week, we’re going to look at my top three fake curse words.

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This post is a part of the free preview. My Top 3 will go behind a paywall on September 1, 2022.