My cousin loves gadgets. I have never seen anyone who buys more worthless inventions than he does. It seems like every time a new kitchen appliance comes out, he is the first one in line. He must watch the home shopping channel all night! I bet he has learned to replace sleep with infomercials.
His latest toy is a hot chocolate maker that he ordered online. Now both of us love hot chocolate. We have been trading recipes for hot chocolate back and forth for years. We have made chocolate the traditional Western way, we have made it like the Aztecs did – pepper and no sugar – and have even invented original chocolate recipes that no one else has ever thought of. We love mocha lattes, chocolate covered espresso beans, and all other things chocolate. Therefore, when he got a hot chocolate maker, I thought that there might be something to it. Could hot chocolate makers really make better hot chocolate? Would they be able to somehow steam the milk better, or keep the temperature just right? I wouldn't have been the first one to buy a hot chocolate maker, but now that he had it, I was a bit curious.
Let me tell you, the hot chocolate maker was a complete disappointment. Don't get me wrong – if you have no idea how to make hot chocolate, hot chocolate makers can help. They keep the chocolate moving around, preventing it from sticking to the bottom. Nonetheless, if you are an experience chocolate connoisseur like myself and not someone who just throws in a mix, there really is no point. A hot chocolate maker, like a rice cooker, is just another useless toy for amateurs who don't know how to cook. I think it is always better to learn how to do things the right way than to buy some new gadget to do them for you.
Don't get me wrong, there are some gadgets that are great. For example, I've always found that espresso comes out better when made with an espresso maker. And just try steaming milk without a steamer – it is almost impossible. Nonetheless, having too many gadgets takes all the fun out of cooking. In my opinion, you should be able to do almost everything with a few simple tools. You don't need a hot chocolate maker. All you need to make hot chocolate is a measuring cup, a whisk, a ladle, and a pot.
