This Kitchen Tool Might Be Unnecessary, But I Can’t Live Without It

Toast is just delicious, right? The ease of popping your favorite bread into a toaster, and, within a minute or two, bam! The perfect snack or meal. It’s warm, satisfying, crispy, and, oh, the topping options—the joy of toast is bountiful and endless.

But with that simple joy can come frustration and pain. How so? Burnt fingers from grabbing the hot bread. Broken toast from fragile bread. Who knew something so simple could be so troubled? It’s practically an overacted infomercial at times—you, fumbling the hot bread; it, breaking as you carry the very tip of it from toaster to plate.

Which is where my new favorite kitchen gadget comes in. I denied myself this simple tool for years, seeing it as frivolous or ridiculous, but after continuous use, I can no longer deny the genius of… toaster tongs.

Toaster tongs, which normally come in a wooden or bamboo material, hit the sweet spot of size and shape. They’re like large tweezers, or small kitchen tongs. The perfect size to briskly—yet gently—grab a hot-from-the-toaster slice and transport it directly to your plate for dressing with butter or jam or peanut butter (you do you; not telling you how to live your toast life).

Guys, I seriously cannot overstate how much my life has improved in small, but significant ways since grabbing a $5 toaster tong. While I don’t eat toast on the daily, it tends to be a late breakfast on the weekends. I mainly use it as an excuse to accessorize with crazy toppings. And when you want to accessorize your toast, you usually need it hot enough to melt butter or jam quickly. And when you want it hot, you gotta grab it fresh out of the toaster, usually sacrificing the tips of your fingers in the name of freshness. No more, no longer. $5 to $10 will now buy you civility and peace (of mind); and damnit, it just feels fancy to hold a pair of tongs in your hand while your toast politely pops up.

Can’t recommend it enough. Here are a couple that I’m a huge fan of. Get ’em while they’re hot (or at least, while the toast is).

Bamboo Toast Tongs with Magnet, Crate and Barrel, $4.95; RuiLing 2-Pack Bamboo Toast Tongs, Amazon, $10.99

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