Posted by Lisa Waddle

After a year and a half as FC's equipment editor, I remain an optimistic soul. This can be tough when you consider the number of new kitchen gadgets introduced each month, and how many of them don’t do what they promise, don’t perform any better than an existing tool, or just plain don’t work.

So imagine my delight when I heard of the DoneRight Timer, which claimed to keep track of five different cooking times at once. Wow, I thought. I’ve seen plenty of dual timers, and even some that let you keep track of three different times. But five? If it isn’t hard to operate, or difficult to figure out, this could be a winner. So I asked the manufacturer to send me a sample.

When it arrived, I popped in the batteries and was excited to see how easy it was to set.
“Isn’t this great,” I said as I showed it to my fellow editors and office mates, waving around the oven-shaped timer.
“It’s a bit bulky,” one said.
“I would never put that on my counter,” said another.
But I was not to be deterred. I liked this timer and was happy it did what it promised. Our equipment department is about function, not looks.

But then I realized: When have I EVER had five dishes cooking at once that I needed to time? Even at Thanksgiving, I never need to keep tabs on five things cooking all at once. In fact, if I ever did, the beep of a timer going off would probably be the thing to push me over the edge.

So there you have it, a product that does exactly what it promises. Unfortunately, I don't think it's a need many home cooks have. Of course, I could be wrong. If you think you'd use the DoneRight Timer, post a comment and let us know--and you can order one online (for $29.99) at DoneRightTimer.com, or at Target or Amazon.