3 tools you don't need in your kitchen

There are a lot of things you need in a well-stocked kitchen: a metal colander large enough to hold a baby, at least three shapes of pasta, Genever, some romantic dish soap and maybe a clip-on light or two (optional: bay leaves).

But Cal Peternell, author of Twelve Recipes and restaurant chef at Chez Panisse, says there are at least three kitchen tools you don't need. "There are a few things that just puzzle me," he says.

1. A glass cutting board

Photo: Laura Kaliebe

I don't even know why it's called a cutting board. It's a piece of glass on little feet. Sometimes it's even pebbled on the surface. It's not useful as a cutting board in any way.

2. A serrated chef's knife

Photo: George Doyle / Stockbyte / Thinkstock

Another one that's quite popular that I don't quite get is the whole set of knives that are all different shapes -- a chef's knife, a paring knife -- but they're all serrated. One serrated knife is great for bread or maybe cutting tomatoes. But a chef's knife, which is the most commonly used knife, you don't want that to be serrated. That just does not work.

3. A garlic press

Photo: Jill Battaglia / iStock / Thinkstock

It makes the garlic too mashed up for sauteing and not really mashed up enough to use raw. I guess I just don't really get the point of it.

[More: Cal Peternell's advice to his sons]