At first glance, the idea of tongs dedicated to toaster use seems about as vital as having a separate set of spoons for caviar. But if, like me, (a) you have a partner who loves crumpets, and (b) said partner has a habit of fishing in the toaster for said crumpets with a fork, and (c) you really like your partner, this little wooden gadget starts to sound a lot more valuable.
When I picked up these tongs, they were intended to be a funny Valentine's Day gift for my significantly significant other, who is well aware of my horror each and every time he pulls his tempt-the-fates crumpet-fishing maneuver. Then I realized there were several more days till Valentine's Day, and not wanting to tempt the fates myself, I gave him his gift early.
We've kept the tongs right next to the toaster ever since, and they've actually proven quite handy. Whoever designed this gadget actually gave some thought as to how a proper toast-grabbing implement should perform. The tongs are small and lightweight, with just the right amount of give, and the wide, flat blades let you get a solid hold on your toast or whathaveyou without denting or tearing it.
All in all, what started off as something of a novelty gift has morphed into a great little daily-use gadget. And I no longer have to suffer a series of small heart attacks every morning.
• Find it: Toaster Tongs, $6.95 at Amazon
Related: The Top 10 Most Useful Kitchen Gadgets
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer, and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf.
(Image: Cuisinart)
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A million years ago (roughly), a friend invited me to a Pampered Chef party. I wanted to support her, but I was really broke at the time, so I ended up buying one of the cheapest things I could find...small bamboo tongs for just a few dollars. Toast lover that I am, those tongs are one of the best kitchen purchases I've ever made. They are well used and well loved. They come in especially handy when I toast english muffins...man, those are wiley little critters. They always want to slide down and hide from me at the bottom of the toaster!
I always just unplug the toaster before I go fishing with a knife or fork. Works well enough for me, but I'm not a frequent toaster user, so I can see where these might come in handy!
Bamboo tongs are 2 bucks at Bed Bath and Beyond. Which means they exist for cheaper elsewhere. But 2 bucks is already an improvement over this $6.95 one at Amazon...
I just unplug my toaster...
I use a wooden skewer to ...well, skewer, the errant toast, muffin, what have you. Said skewer also works well as a cake tester.
I love my toast tongs - just cheap ones from who knows where but they are great if a big chunk falls off or just the end of the loaf when it's edge gets stuck under the rim.
I really hope this doesn't mean I'm on the verge of getting a banana hanger....
Chopsticks work too.
I recently bought a cheap toaster, and it came with plastic tongs! I kind of laughed at the time, but they have turned out to be really handy, especially for thick slices of toast that always seem to get stuck.
I personally just unplug the toaster.
However, I know my husband wouldn't, so I can see where these would come in handy.
definitely wooden chopsticks. don't use ones that might get melty if they hit the heating element though. trust me on that one. :)
Or you could just unplug your toaster and save the drawer space.
toaster oven, anyone? we ditched the separate toaster, and many times we save energy by just roasting or baking in the smaller toaster oven. bonus: you can ALWAYS get your toast out.
even if the toaster is unplugged, you can still damage the inside by inserting a knife or fork... if something is stuck, i unplug, go through the crumb catcher, and give it a poke with the end of a wooden spoon.
I bought bamboo ones at a country store for $1. But they don't say Cuisinart on the side ;)
I bought a pair of similar ones from someone having a pampered chef party. While I don't like pampered chef products, I heart these tongs!
Oh my gosh - seeing this tool literally brought a tear to my eye. My grandfather, who passed away just over a year ago, made a set of these for me when I must have been 8 years old. I bet I still have those "tongs" laying around somewhere at my parents' house! How funny...and how ahead of the times!
Cool idea, but definitely a unitasker. Wooden chopsticks work great!
Mine were my grandmother's and they have a nifty little magnet on the backside so you can stick it to your fridge or even the side of the toaster. Love it! It's blue with a stencil of a whale on it. Way better than the word cuisinart.
Why buy another item that needs to be stored? I use a wooden skewer, that takes little room to store, is nonconductive and works to get the toast out of the toaster. After the toast is out and place on the plate, I'm sorry, I'm just not that picky that I need to have tongs to move it any where else. I also don't have that much extra storage space for these unneeded tongs.