Sometimes it feels like companies try a little too hard to reinvent products that didn’t really need reinventing. In today’s review, I’m testing out three kitchen gadgets I’ve seen circulating online: a strange-looking apple peeler, a combo Oreo and Ritz container, and a USB-rechargeable heated ice cream scoop. All three claim to update familiar tools, but do they actually improve on the originals?
WHERE TO PURCHASE
Below you can find links to the Amazon listings where to purchase these products.
EASY PEELER
This unusual-looking apple peeler was sent to me by a viewer after seeing it going around online. The version I bought had only one Amazon review, but I saw similar styles online that were hit or miss with users. The concept is that you mount the apple between two rotating arms and drag a blade up and down the fruit’s surface.
The blade is supposed to work in both directions, but in practice it only seemed to work well moving upward, and even then it sometimes left behind large patches of peel. Trying to hold the apple in place while rotating it and controlling the blade took more hand strength than I expected, and the entire experience just felt way too overcomplicated. I did manage to peel a few apples after adjusting my technique a bit, but none of them came out cleanly, and my hands were sore by the end. A traditional handheld peeler is faster, easier, and far less frustrating.
COOKIE KEEPER
This is a plastic container designed to hold three stacks of round cookies or crackers like Oreos or Ritz crackers. I’d seen it making the rounds on Instagram in recent months, so I picked one up for $14. It claims to be airtight, travel-friendly, and space-saving.
Technically, it does hold a pack of Oreos (especially if you leave them in their original sleeve and slide the entire thing inside), and it does close securely. The design, however, is clunky, primarily due to the placement of the lid. If you try to remove the packaging and stack the cookies or crackers directly into the container (as shown online and in their Amazon listing), everything topples over. There are small interior dividers, but they don’t do much to hold items in place. Also, the side-hinged lid makes it hard to load, especially if your hands are on the larger side. If they had made the top open from above or added a sliding drawer, it could’ve been much more useful. As-is, it’s functional, but only if you work around its design flaws.
HEATED ICE CREAM SCOOP
This was the most promising of the bunch: a sleek, USB-rechargeable scoop that heats up to supposedly cut through rock-solid ice cream. It heats automatically when you grip it, and there’s an LED display showing the current temperature and battery level.
My first scoops seemed pretty impressive. It really did glide through a fresh tub of ice cream like butter. But there’s a catch: the heat drops off quickly after each scoop, and the battery drained fast (from 61% to 10% in one session). You have to pause between scoops to let it heat back up, which slows the entire process. After charging for about two hours, I ran another test and got similar results. The first scoop is great, the second is okay, and then it becomes just a cold metal scoop.
Is it better than a traditional scoop dipped in hot water? Maybe slightly, but probably not enough to justify the $30 price tag, especially with the short battery life and lack of an on/off switch. A regular scoop and some hot water might still be the best combo.
CONCLUSION
Each of these gadgets offers a modern twist on something simple, but in every case I found the original versions to be more efficient. The peeler is more effort than it’s worth, the container only works if you leave the packaging intact, and the heated scoop is only briefly better than a traditional model. If you’re into kitchen novelty and don’t mind a little extra hassle, you might enjoy experimenting with them. But if you’re looking for convenience and speed, the classics are tough to beat.
VIDEO REVIEW
You can watch my full video below.