Worst As Seen on TV Kitchen Gadgets (And What to Buy Instead)
Late-night infomercials have been lying to you since the 1980s. That enthusiastic host making everything look revolutionary? They also made $19.99 look like a deal for a plastic device that breaks before you finish your first meal. Here are the six worst offenders - and what you should actually spend your money on.
The Roasts
1. Rotato Express Peeler
A motorized potato peeler. Because apparently using your hands is too 2019. This thing spins your potato on a spike while a blade supposedly removes the skin in one continuous peel. What actually happens: the potato flies off the spike, the blade jams, and you spend 10 minutes cleaning potato shrapnel off your ceiling. The motor sounds like a dying printer. One Amazon reviewer wrote "I have peeled three potatoes and the motor already smells like burning." A regular peeler costs $3 and has never electrocuted anyone.
Verdict: Solving a problem that a $3 peeler already solved, but with electricity and frustration.
OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler - ~$10
Sharp, comfortable, lasts years. The soft grip handle works for arthritis sufferers too. No motor. No batteries. No potato shrapnel.
View on Amazon →2. Egg Sitter Gel Cushion
The commercial showed someone sitting on eggs without breaking them. Cool demo. Completely irrelevant to actual comfort. The gel cushion is thin, sweaty, and redistributes your weight in a way that somehow makes every chair worse. After a week, the gel cells start collapsing and you are sitting on a flat rubber mat. The "breathable" design means cold air hits your butt in winter and heat pools in summer. You literally cannot win. Several reviewers reported the cushion splitting and leaking blue gel onto their car seats. Permanent blue gel. On white leather.
Verdict: An egg can survive it. Your dignity cannot.
Purple Royal Seat Cushion - ~$50
Actual pressure-relief technology. The hyper-elastic polymer grid actually distributes weight. Machine-washable cover. Used by people who sit 8+ hours a day and need real support, not an infomercial gimmick.
View on Amazon →3. Red Copper Pan
"Nothing sticks!" they screamed on TV while sliding a fried egg across the surface like a hockey puck. And for exactly three uses, it is true. By week two, eggs are welded to the surface like they have been soldered there. The "copper-infused ceramic" coating peels off in flakes that end up in your food. The handle gets hot enough to brand cattle. One reviewer tested it with a thermal camera and the handle hit 350F. The same reviewer also noted that the "non-stick" surface required butter by day four. Congratulations, you have a pan that requires butter. Like every other pan. Except this one also poisons you with ceramic flakes.
Verdict: Non-stick for 72 hours. Then it is a liability.
T-fal E93808 Professional Nonstick Pan - ~$30
Actual quality non-stick that lasts years. Thermo-spot indicator tells you when it is preheated. Dishwasher safe. Riveted handle that stays cool. Boring? Yes. Functional? Absolutely.
View on Amazon →4. Perfect Cooker
A "set it and forget it" rice cooker that costs $20 and looks like it. The lid does not seal properly, so steam escapes sideways and fogs up your entire kitchen. The non-stick coating inside started flaking on first use for multiple reviewers. The "perfect" rice it produces is either crunchy or paste, depending on which side of the cooker your rice happened to settle on. The measuring cup that comes with it is not a standard cup measurement, so following any recipe produces chaos. Also, the cord is 18 inches long. Eighteen. Inches.
Verdict: Produces "perfect" rice the way a broken clock shows "perfect" time. Occasionally. By accident.
Aroma Housewares Rice Cooker (8-Cup) - ~$30
Makes perfect rice every time. Steams vegetables too. Delay timer, keep warm function, actual seal on the lid. Over 50K positive reviews from people who eat rice regularly.
View on Amazon →5. Robostir
A battery-powered stirring arm you drop into your pot. It has three legs and spins in circles like a confused robot insect. The problem: it does not actually stir. It sits in one spot and rotates, creating a small whirlpool that affects approximately 15% of your pot's contents. The legs are too short for deep pots and too long for shallow pans. The batteries die mid-stir, leaving you with a plastic tripod floating in your soup. Multiple reviewers reported the legs melting. MELTING. In food. They marketed this as a kitchen tool and the legs melt in hot food.
Verdict: A spoon costs nothing and has never melted into your dinner.
OXO Good Grips Silicone Spoon - ~$10
Heat resistant to 600F. Will not melt, scratch, or require batteries. The slightly flexible edge scrapes the bottom of pots. Revolutionary technology known as "a good spoon."
View on Amazon →6. Rapid Ramen Cooker
A microwave bowl shaped to fit a ramen brick. That is the entire product. A bowl. With a specific shape. You can already make ramen in any bowl in your microwave. This product adds nothing except a unitasker that takes up drawer space and costs $8 for injection-molded plastic worth approximately $0.12. The reviews are a mix of people who genuinely did not know you could microwave ramen in a regular bowl and people who bought it as a joke gift. Both groups give it 3 stars, which feels generous for a bowl.
Verdict: You already own a bowl. Probably several.
Japanese Ceramic Ramen Bowl Set - ~$22
If you are going to eat ramen, eat it from a proper bowl. Large capacity, comes with chopsticks, works for ramen and everything else. Also beautiful. Your instant ramen deserves at least a little dignity.
View on Amazon →The Pattern
Every As Seen on TV gadget follows the same formula: show a problem that barely exists, make the "old way" look comically difficult, then sell a plastic solution that breaks before you can return it. The shipping is always more than the product is worth, and the "But wait, there is more!" bonus items go straight in the trash.
Save your money. Buy one good version of each kitchen tool. It will last decades.