Dan is the only reason why I'm subbed to this channel, though they only let him out of his cage once a month to do a video. I wish this was a weekly series.

As a disabled person with dexterity issues, I really appreciate the left hand with oil test because it does really simulate how it might be difficult for someone without much dexterity or strength.

I think it is so great to see all of the people coming out of the woodwork to defend the Pickle Lifter

Since people always ask about items Dan's designed: Dan helped design the OXO Good Grips kitchen tools. He also worked on the Smartgauge instrument cluster for Ford hybrids and the Sirius XM radio interface.

That "Pickle Lifter" is originally Tupperware and has been around since the 70s. It's meant for sliced / small things. In Australia they are usually used for pickled beetroot (national delicacy) - which comes in a can, and that answers why you need to transfer it to another container. I think you missed the brief on this one! The modern tupperware ones come in smaller versions and can be used for olives / pickled onions etc.

He's getting tired of oiling his hands and having to wash them over and over. Choosing to opt out of the oil test as much as possible. XD

I have always thought those clip strainers are rather for steaming than cooking. That would make actually more sense like cooking pasta in pot and steaming some veggie clipped on side to save energy/another dish to wash

I think you missed a test on the pickle lifter that is mobility related. Opening a pickle jar is rough for some people with arthritis or other mobility/strength issues in their hands. The pickle lifter would absolutely be easier for someone with those issues than having to open a pickle jar every time. Food for thought.

My family actually had one of those pickle lifter things from tupperware when i was little, it didnt have the plastic tongs though. We used it for sliced pickles not whole ones. It made it much easier for us as little kids to get all the pickle slices we wanted for sandwiches snacking etc without the risk of dropping a glass jar and shattering it. After we all reached an age and size where us handling large glass jars wasnt a risk of broken glass the lifter vanished into a cupboard and this is the first time ive seen one since then. Because of this i would argue it does have a small niche for small kids but its not something most able bodied people need.

For those who eat tofu, tofu press is far superior to items in your house. I have mine done in about 15 minutes. No worry about breaking items or having them off balance and falling. I also find mine does a really good job getting all the water out. I use the EZ Tofu Press.

The pickle lifter is really useful (5/5) for sliced pickles, especially for storing pickles that come in a tin like sliced pickled beetroot does here. Even if you had a spare jar to store the tinned beetroot, try getting the last slice from the bottom of a jar full of red liquid that you can barely see through. The pickle strainer makes it effortless to lift the slices up out of the liquid so you can easily see and pick the size slice you want or get to the slices when there's only one or two remaining.

We used the “pickle lifter” for sliced carrots before baby carrots were ubiquitous. We called it the “carrot elevator,” and getting to play with it genuinely encouraged me to eat more vegetables as a kid.

I wonder if there should be a test on these products' shelf life. Like how long will they last or how many times they can be used before breaking down and losing their intended function?

we use what you call the pickle lifter for the metal cans of pickled jalapenos and carrots just store it into the fridge because they come in big cans and they're used at every meal. That contraption is typically found at just about any Hispanic store in the US. I have no idea that people used it for pickles

The teafu thingy is a "modern" take on a tea infuser, which has been around for a long time now; the original one has a metal mesh basket and wire handles and is designed to stir while in the cup to circulate water (eliminating the bitterness from squeezed tea). I have several old tea infusers (some quite ornate) and love them all.

I love how he's so much more honest in the newer videos, and explains things a lot more in depth than he used to

Tofu press: I attended a sushi class by a master chef. To press the tofu, he placed the block on a baking sheet, put the sheet at a slight angle, put a plate over the tofu, and a heavy weight (cast iron skillet, cans, heavy books will work). The water drains away from the tofu block. I’ve also found that freezing the tofu, straight from the store, then thawing, rinsing, then pressing, leads to a much denser, chewier tofu.

I actually have the Clip Strainers! Though when I bought them they were sold for steaming stuff :D I wonder if they were meant for boiling at all, but for steaming they work well when making small portions :)

I had no idea the pickle lifter was still made. Those things were a staple of tupperware parties back in the 80's. I loved that thing when I was a kid. Its effectiveness really came through with sliced pickles. Instead of reaching way down into the jar to get those last few pickle slices, you just lift them up with no problem.

my mum had the pickle lifted back in the 90's. Had one for pickles, one for pickled onions and another for tinned beetroot. Love all three to this day thanks in part to the fun of that silly little contraption

This man is brilliant. The facial expressions, his tone and slight sillyness. im not interested in kitchen gadgets at all but i could watch this for hours

The tea squeezer at the end was so that you could squeeze any liquid left in the tea leaves once you lift it out of the tea, kind of like squeezing a teabag once it’s done steeping

The pickle lifter is somewhat present in Europe as it is often integrated into picke jars themselves (they just have a little lift you can use to pull the picke up)

Dan, once again being the greatest thing to bless KZfaq and doing it so effortlessly.

The inception reference with the trombone noise is everything 😂

I might actually get the Spina. I don't have a salad spinner because it's a huge unitasker, but the fact that it also works as a regular colander really ups its value.

The pickle lifter is great for pickled onions or cornichons. Those huge dill pickles don't really need help getting them out the jar.

Dan, I would love to see you test jar openers. My tricks are no longer working on large jars, especially those with plastic lids.

So I grew up with a pickle lifter in the house. The pickle lifter is not for whole pickles but sliced sandwich pickles. Like having a bunch of burgers for the family is makes it less clean up grabbing pickles

Used to have a job a hospital kitchen that had metal versions of the clip strainers. It was great for cooking multiple portions of veggies/pasta/etc. without having to use more than one pot of boiling water. And the food could go straight from the pot to the plate when it was done. And on top of that, it was way easier to keep track of individual portions of food

Epicurious needs to go back through all of Dan's videos and read the comments on gadgets he may have used incorrectly and have him retry them !!!!!! Who else is with me?!

Love this series! The technical engineering side of food gear is endlessly fascinating… and informative when making decisions on what to buy! Keep up the great work.

That Dan-ception ending though..

Can we have a video of Dan's kitchen inventions , from his 40 years of work ?

Missed Dan so much! Love seeing this series ❤️❤️❤️

One of the best series on epicurious 🤝

Whenever I see a gadget video from Dan it brings a smile on my face 😊 Thanks Dan!

My mother had a pickle lifter. It worked great and was on the table for any gathering. To use it better, Throw away the tongs.

My family has had a pickle lifter like that for probably around 10 years now. Personally I find its worth in getting pickles (especially chips) out without needing tongs or getting your hand stuck in a jar.

I think those were steamer baskets, not boiling baskets. I still question how useful they are, since those looked like really tiny holes, but they might not be as desperately bad as they seemed.

To be fair to the pickle lifter, it’s much more appropriate for tinned foods, rather than jars. We use them for sliced beetroot.

“✨sPinAH✨” “…Spina” “Sorry, I’m from New Jersey…” Absolutely floored me 😂

Clip strainer: if you have to almost fill the pot with water, it’s going to be very dangerous to move a heavy pot filled with boiling hot water off the stove to drain. Either that, or it will take time to scoop out boiling hot water to get the level down to where it’s comfortable to move the pot.

In México, maybe in the 80s my mom bought something similar to the "pickle lifter" (Tupperware), but the seller told her that it was a gadget for getting stiff-peaks from egg whites... The results are really amazing, I still have it.

the pickle lifter is excellent for hamburger slices. Tupperware made them back in the ‘70s and I know because I have an olive drab one I love.

I remember I use to see this videos and skip them. Now I’m obsessed with them and Dan! 😁

Hey Dan, I see that you are using the same oil bottle I used to have but I always found it greasy after some time because some oil would inevitably end up on the bottle. I recommend Tescoma Vitamino bottles, if you can find one. Their cap is cleverly designed and will hold the oil away from the glass.

I’m addicted to these videos, i wish we had a video with Dan’s own creations

16:55 Side-note for anyone trying to buy tea infusers: Bigger holes are excellent for circulation when using the infuser to stir, but can be undesirable depending on the type of tea you drink. Certain types of tea can excessively "escape" if the holes are too big. - Especially Rooibos and Honeybush are well known for escaping through the holes in many infusers making them often frustrating teas to prepare. - I am yet to find an infuser that doesn't give me a cup full of loose rooibos/honeybush needles, and I am really not a fan of using disposable teabags due to the flavour they tend to leave behind. It's ironic, I may decide to check out the Teafu exactly because of one of the "areas of improvement" that made Dan un-recommend it. *Edit: Ouch, that is one expensive tea infuser, especially if you need to pay for shipping when you don't buy inordinate amounts of stuff from the people who make it. Nope, not happening.*

The pickle lifter is good for tinned beetroot & pineapple and is can be used to dunk sponge cake when making lamingtons. 😋

That salad spinner reminds me of them old school toys, they worked in the exact same way. Push it down and it spins :D

I love this man... I searched this channel just for his video. Really enjoy watching him testing those gadgets.

We had a pickle container when I was growing up and it's actually fantastic, especially for sliced pickles. Still love watching this guy!

I would add a suction cup to the bottom of the spinner to gain better control. It slipped around quite a bit. I still liked it, though. And I wonder what Dan would say to the turnable pickle jar that is the latest TT craze.

I'd remove another half point for usability for the clip strainer because it forces you to work short-handled clips directly next to boiling water, which introduces a potential for injury that's normally avoided.

The pickle lifter is actually great for small pickles, like onions or gerkins, that are really hard to grab from an almost empty jar of brine

I want to see the left handed oil test on the pickle jar

The inception at the end! 🤣🤣🤣

With the pickel lifter. My mum had one in the 80s. For things like pickled onions, olives, and sliced gkerkins etc its good as it is.

I feel like the clip strainers were made by someone who looked at a multi-layer steaming basket, and a deep fryer basket, and said "Hey what if we made something like that for boiling, except worse?" I think I might actually buy the tofu press though... I eat a lot of tofu, and that takes up way less space than stacking my heavy kitchenware on a plate.

16:36 That drawing uhhh.... Looks interesting 😂

We had a pickle lifter thing when I was a kid, it was great for pickle chips not whole pickles.

My mom had a Tupperware pickle lifter in the 80s. It didn't have the tong thing though. It was convenient for hamburger sliced dills. It eliminated chasing the slices around in a mostly empty jar with a fork.

Always nice to see good ole Dan!!🫶🏼

Regarding the saladspinner, i dont think its useful. My sink at home is wider than the container they used, but only 3/4 as deep, and Dan already had water splashing everywhere. Let alone in something that isn't deep enough, you'll be changing your shirt every time you use it, meaning you'll use it once

My mom uses these pickle lifter stuff for jalapeno and carrots because if you have any cuts the jalapeno water hurts and since they are smaller pieces it kind of works as a strainer. it's nice that way

We had a pickle lifter but for feta cheese in brine. It worked great for us!

My tofu press solves the pulling issue by not having bands at all, but instead putting a spring on the bottom, and you just push down the whole tofu holding bit and flip clips on the side up.

I will vouch for the clip on strainers that keep all your pasta in while you pour out the water. Those things are amazing.

For the pickle strainer, we have a similar gadget at work, it's round and taller but fundamentally works the same way. But instead we use it for quail eggs. We cook them ourselves and fill the container with water and salt, put the eggs in there and throw it in the fridge. It is actually very useful in this context cause we don't have to wet our hands or struggle with a spoon to get the tiny eggs out.

Love Dan lol cheers from your biggest fan in Colombia amigos!

The pickle lifter is great for pickled jalapeños which are sold in a can. Best thing I ever bought from Tupperware.

I love the nod to Inception at the end. x)

I think the pickles drainer is for homemade pickles, not store bought. I don't know if the plastic container can handle the heat of the pickling liquid though

i love this guy, id watch him talk about anything

I love this guy, more, please. :)

I always used the "pickle lifter" type things for stuff like pre-chopped jalapeño

the "pickle" lifter is great for small picked things, like olives, now you don't need to fish them with a fork every time you want to get them, just lift them up a lil bit and get as many as you like

i think Chinese restaurants and Ramen shops have been using a better version of those Clip Strainers for ages; basically a metal or bamboo basket with small holes, with a long handle that has one or two hooks to hold it on the pot rim, in which they place dry noodles, plunge it into boiling water, and a few minutes later the noodles come out fully cooked

I was watching the video and my husband said “Oh, you’re watching the oily hands guy” hahaha

Wowowowo Dan, keep it cool with the pickle lifter, here in México we use that thing for canned jalapeños.

The Pickle Lifter is just a redesign of a similar design for cutlery from Tupperware. We used to have those as a kid and I am now in my 30's.

We use the pickle lifter for pickled jalapeños, which normally come in a can.

Loved the Inception reference at the end!

Lots of other people have said it, but the pickle lifter really shines for sliced pickles. The tongs are new / not necessary. The selling point is not needing a fork to get to those bottom-of-the-jar pickles (especially if they're sweet pickles that make the fork all sticky!)

Yay another one of these videos

Alright, I'm a fan of channel, and I love pickles. Two things about that pickle lifter... try it with small pickles. I think it would be easier to retrieve the last few pickles with the device if those pickles were smaller. The smaller the pickle, the more value the pickle left would have. The second issue is the guides.They do have a reason. If you had small pickles in the device, and no rails on the lifter, the lifter would be able to tilt and you would lose small pickles to the bottom. I believe the pickle lifter deserves a revisit, after all, it's somebody's dream.

Well from my pov I think the pickler can be useful if you like to pickle things at home like pickled onions, radishes, jalapenos etc But for normal cucumber pickles I think thats a bit redundant

Y’all really got ol’buddy out here drawing glizzys 😂

weve got a salad spinner, but its a lot simpler and less bulky that that one. its really handy and stores really well

as a person that owns the spinah...the only thing that is bad for me is the little suction cup at the bottom. if you have an actual flat surface like the box he was using it in...it's great. if you use it in a sink...you might have slipping issues due to the angle of ur sink once you really start spinning the stuff. It is definitely only something you want to get if you have a deep kitchen sink; Preferably a farm house sink. Overall I'm happy with it. It helps me dry off not just leafy stuff but things like fruits, cherry tomatoes, canned beans, etc. Not as much drying off is needed as if I were to wash my stuff under water then dry it with towels or whatever. Also...it doubles as just a plain old strainer so you don't need as many bulky things in your kitchen.

I feel like Dan has never had to chase the last pickle around a jar of baby dills. ;-)

I need him to do the pickle lifter again thinking about mobility issues with a jar and using smaller pickled things

Pickle lifter. Make the lifter part slide with one ot the sides so you don't have to reach around the handles. Also give the tongs a few small spikes to keep the pickle for alipping.

i'm livid he didnt rate the pickle lifter higher. I have one that I use for sliced pickles and it's one of the most useful things I have in my fridge. I dont even know why you'd use one of these for full unsliced pickles. That was just a major L to me.

That was a perfectly good soft-boiled egg!

i had no idea that lifter thing was for pickles, had one in my family since as far as i can remember and we only ever used it for beetroot.

The watched pot segment was hilarious 🤣🤣🤣

I’ve been waiting for a new video!!!! FINALLYYYYYY

no left hand oil test for the gadgets that don't deserve it! Great episode!