I lose my keys. I lose my wallet. I lose my gloves. This list could take up the entire page. I can’t seem to remember anything. So why do I remember with unnatural clarity the first time I ever saw an apple slicer/peeler/corer in action some 35 years ago? (There ought to be a better name for this tool – L.L. Bean sells it as the “Apple Peeling Gizmo.”) It was at Philadelphia’s beloved, now long-gone Commissary cafe, where I worked as a young woman. The sturdy cast-iron tool clamped onto the counter and pierced each apple with three prongs to hold it firmly. A prep cook then turned the handle, and as the apple rotated, it was sliced, peeled and cored, easily 10 times as quickly as we could have done the same task by hand. In a cramped and often frenzied restaurant kitchen, the tool earned its keep. The “Gizmo” had the look of a 19th-century farmhouse appliance (they are often painted barnyard red) but the efficiency of a modern high-tech tool. Apple slices piled up. Strands of peel formed an edible confetti. Rat tat tat – apple pies were constructed and apple muffins made. Recently, I stumbled on this tool at a Portland thrift store for $2.50; they typically sell for $25 to $35. Did I need it? No. I don’t make 20 pies or 36 dozen muffins in a morning, as we used to at the Commissary. Did I buy it? Yes.

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