Would you pay $20 for a garbage bowl?

[alliegator]

Maybe this belongs in Cookware or Media, but to me it seems pretty general...
While picking up a soup ladel at the big red circle store, I stumbled across something that really got me thinking. 'Twas the Rachael Ray garbage bowl. It's plastic, not too pretty, and really overpriced.
I spent the rest of that Target run wondering about celeb endorsements for products, be it food or cookware.
So, I wonder... what do you 'hounds think about slapping a name on something and jacking up the price? In this case it's just a junky bowl, but have you ever been influenced by anything like this?

[DuffyH]

I would not. I did, however, happily shell out $10 each for a pair of recycled blue speckled melamine mixing/serving/popcorn bowls that were mis-labelled "garbage bowl". What makes it a really good mixing bowl is the ribbed rubbery gasket in the foot.

I use them for a LOT of things, but garbage isn't one of them. They're awfully big for that.

[fldhkybnva]

I wouldn't but my mom would, in fact, she did twice and I now have 2 of them. I actually find it really useful but wouldn't buy it myself. The concept is good, if I realized it before I would just use a bowl in the cabinet already.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I am sure it is useful. Sometime I use a bowl too (like 10-20% of the time), but I think the concern here is the price.

One would think that a $1-5 plastic bowl (without celebrity) endorsement will work just fine. That being said, maybe the $1-5 ones are not as good looking.

I have seen many garbage can in stores. You have the $10 garbage can, and you have the $100+ garbage can. There was no celebrity endorsement there, and the $100 garbage can does look a lot better. Will it actually function better as a garbage can? Probably a little, but certainly not a whole lot.

[fldhkybnva]

Yea, well if people buy it for $20 it's worth $20.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Agree.

[GIOny]

No way! I use plastic bags that my fruit or veggies come in as my "garbage bowl". I'll peel my potatoes, clean out seeds from melons, throw egg shells on it, you name it, it all goes onto my free plastic bag and I wrap it up and toss it. I would just be throwing out those bags anyway, now they have a purpose. I've got to give Rachel credit, that is some gimmick. Now can I interest anyone in some plastic bags at a dollar a pop??

[Jeff C]

UGH ! ... I wouldn't even spend YOUR money on it. .... Not even if Ray-Ray brought it over in person !

[JayL]

My garbage "bowl" is usually the sink. It is there and ready to go at all times. It is big. It is easy to clean. It does not take up extra space on the counter or get in the way under my feet.

[CindyJ]

You have just given me the best idea ever, JayL -- kind of like an "AHA" moment. I have a double sink. The smaller one has a plastic insert with drainage holes on the bottom. For as long as I've had this sink I've used the smaller sink only for draining and air-drying hand-washed pots, pans, etc. But it would also make a perfect receptacle for kitchen scraps. Easy to empty, easy to clean and extremely convenient. Why-oh-why has this never occurred to me before?

[sunshine842]

the hitch comes in transferring it from the sink to wherever it goes after that -- drips, lost pieces, etc., somehow end up all over the kitchen and the floor, whether it's going out to the compost heap or into the garbage.

[CindyJ]

True enough. And come to think of it, that's exactly why I've been using the countertop "schmutz bucket" I wrote about in my earlier post. Oh well, it sounded like a great idea.

[sunshine842]

of course at my house, it's generally not an enormous issue, as the Hooverhound generally snuffs it into his greedy face before it ever hits the floor....

Unless it's REALLY sloppy and messy...then I get the fun of cleaning it up.

[deet13]

<What do you 'hounds think about slapping a name on something and jacking up the price?>

If it's your money to blow, then by all means, burn $20 on a bowl. I don't care.

<have you ever been influenced by anything like this?>

Back in the day I had a thing for buying Levis, Chuck Taylor's, and Dr. Marten's boots. The primary reason I bought them was because I liked the product.

[timpani_mimi]

I've seen only a few of RR's shows (the 30 minute one), and I always thought the garbage bowl thing was a concept - a tip or a suggestion rather than a product. That is, always have a big receptacle ready for your prep waste - and she has a specific designated garbage bowl that she has on standby, it saves us time and is cleaner too. Like others have said, just grab some receptacle - a medium bin, a big old ice cream tub (thats what I use), or just have an open plastic bag ready. As practical suggestions go, it's good. But I'm sure a lot of us already did this before she suggested it. But to sell actual bowl for kitchen prep waste? (and expect us to buy it) That's like contrary to the whole point of this suggestion, IMO.

[Chemicalkinetics]

< (and expect us to buy it)>

In all fairness, it is a good concept as you have stated. I find nothing really wrong to sell this product. Yes, the idea that one needs to buy a specific garbage bowl and pay $20 for it seems unnecessary, but ultimately it is the consumers' decision. Given that (a) there were people wanting to get this bowl, (b) the bowl has been on the market for 5 years or more, and (c) the sale price has been gradually going up in this 5 years, all evidences point to this being a profitable product.

So the expectation is not wrong.

[DuchessNukem]

Every time I see this thread pop up, I think how sad it is that we think of compostable peelings as "garbage". I know everyone's not in a position to compost but those scraps are fuzzy, moldy, decomposing gold. Mine go into a large plastic salad clamshell (plastic! irony! lol) until out to the tumbler every day or two; I cover it with a towel since the Duke is sensitive to looking at rotting things after a couple of my fridge experiments.

("Hello, my name is Duchess and I like to dig in my compost.")

That all said, iffen I were all famous and stuff, I wouldn't have a product with my picture under the word "GARBAGE". Guess it works for her though. ;)

[kaleokahu]

That's hilarious. She's actually IN the bowl, an image reinforced by the circular photo. Too funny.

[sunshine842]

I compost when the temperatures are above freezing -- but now? Fugeddaboudit -- it all just piles up and becomes a slimy nasty mess when things finally thaw.

[DuchessNukem]

I hear ya. That's why I said, not everyone can compost. But I'd love it if everyone thought of those scraps as something valuable. :)

[alliegator]

I wish I could. But since the people that run my building rejected my idea of letting people create an urban garden in a useless patch of land on the property, I'm sure composting would be out :p

[JerryMe]

I remember the first time I saw Rachel Ray using a garbage bowl and I was like "Huh?" I drag the actual garbage can over to where I'm chopping or else the trimmings go into a plastic bag on the counter. I've never been tempted by a cookware item that I don't see a practical use for. DS was tempted and got the George Foreman grill however.

[kaleokahu]

Hi, allie:

A separate and disctinct "product" for this? Any 'ol pail or tub with a lid works for holding compostables until you tote it out to the bin or pit.

And seriously, how hard is it, really, to grub parings, etc. out of the sink and strainer, as opposed to out of a "garbage bowl"?

For anyone tempted, I have available a limited number of my signature golf helmets, skydiving anvils and prosthetic tails.

Aloha,
Kaleo

[Violatp]

Maybe if there was a $20 bill taped to the inside.

[breadchick]

LOL! But, the bowl is still pretty ughs - better make it $40.

[GH1618]

A "celebrity" endorsement drives me away. I would never buy any RR, MS, etc. product.

[Chemicalkinetics]

What about Emeril? I heard good things about Emerilware by All Clad.

[Bacardi1]

And "Emerilware", as opposed to regular "All Clad" cookware, is different in exactly what way(s)?

[GH1618]

Emirilware is made in China. And his pasta sauce is full of sugar.

[John Francis]

I can't believe it's actually called a "garbage bowl" but yes it is. And that's what it's for. "Stop running back and forth to the garbage can! Save time in the kitchen by tossing your food scraps, wrappers and other waste in Rachael Ray's handy Garbage Bowl. Keep it next to your cutting board while you chop and you'll be sitting down to eat in no time!" (from the blurb on amazon.com)

I wouldn't pay a nickel for a garbage bowl. If I needed a 4-quart mixing bowl, the Pyrex Prepware 4-Quart Rimmed Mixing Bowl lists for $40 and is discounted to $30 on amazon.com. The Rachael Ray brand name wouldn't influence me, not positively anyway, but Pyrex would.

[CindyJ]

I have a round 3.5 quart container that I bought for $2 at a restaurant supply store that has become my "schmutz bucket." I stash my produce bags in there and when I'm prepping meals I take out a bag, drape it around the edges of the container and toss in veggie scraps, egg shells, potato peels, lemon rinds, etc. I find that having the schmutz bucket on the counter keeps my kitchen floor cleaner because I'm less likely to drop stuff intended for the trash can. When the bag is full I remove it from the container, tie a knot on the top of the bag and toss it in the trash.

[alliegator]

I use a similar system, my bowl is just one that came from a cheap-o Wally World pack of plastic bowls with lids. I like having the food rejects tied up in the trash, keeps everything less sloppy.

[Bacardi1]

Ugh. The "Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl" is just that. Garbage. It's truly amazing how celebrities sleep at night slapping their names on this sh*t; equally amazing at how many folks are willing to line other pockets buying it.

My "garbage bowl"? An old mixing bowl I already own that cost me pennies &/or any old small plastic grocery or produce bag I have kicking around.

Works for me. Sorry I can't add to your $$ empire Rachael.

[EWSflash]

I got it because it was less than $20, and it was pretty and I needed a cheering up in the kitchen, I hadn't bought anything new in a long time. And I don't use it for garbage, I use it for keeping things in on the counter, where I can see its cheerfulness..

[wyogal]

no.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Hey, this topic has been discussed before. Yeah, I think at the time people just don't understand how a bowl like this worth >$20.

<what do you 'hounds think about slapping a name on something and jacking up the price?>

I think it is normal.

<In this case it's just a junky bowl, but have you ever been influenced by anything like this?>

In all fairness, there is a history behind this. It isn't just that Rachel Ray slapped her name on an unknown bowl. The real reason why this bowl is being sold for $20 is because she regularly used it in her show, and tons of people started to want to know where they can get it. In other words, it was the viewers who wanted this before Rachel Ray and her sponsors realize there is a market for it.

Her relationship with the Furi knives are kind of like this. It started as a very innocent recommendation which then turned into a business partnership with full blown line of knives and cookware.

People ask about these all the time. It was just a few days ago which someone asked about the salt cellar which Alton Brown used in his show:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/890708

Rachel Ray's cutting mat:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/742599

Let's face it, there are plenty Chowhounders who also follow celebrity chef's preference.

People ask about what Julie Child used or what Bobby Flay wore.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/506605#3569753

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/518466#3686245

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5634...

...etc.

[alliegator]

Thanks for the links---this all has escaped my attention. Interesting stuff.

[sunshine842]

I own a stainless bench knife that used to have Graham Kerr's name on it (he used to be the Galloping Gourmet before he got healthy in the early 90s)

[monfrancisco]

I have that exact item! The blade is marked in inches, although one would have to trust me on that since the marks are now all but invisible. I believe I bought it in the late '70s. To coin a phrase, small world.

[sunshine842]

yeah, the markings didn't last nearly as long as the tool itself.

I still use it for all kinds of things -- chopping, as a bench knife, scraping, smashing garlic (it's a little bent as witness...) transporting chopped things to bowls or cooking vessels...

[walker]

Yes, I have one too, in perfect condition. Still has all the marks and I've been using it to measure pie crust that I roll out. I also have a dark green, thin metal small casserole bowl that goes in the oven. Oh, also have a nice Galloping Gourmet big chef's knife that I don't use that much (I prefer my Sanroku) but my daughter loves it.

[John E.]

We have the same bench knife/scraper. I probably use it more for smashing garlic than I do for general scraping. I remember watching his Galloping Gourmet show with my mother when I was a young child...speaking of which, I don't remember watching Julia Child with my mother. Both were on PBS so I guess my mother just didn't watch her show.

[CanadaGirl]

I haven't seen it, and would never spend $20 on a bowl of that description. But, the capitalist in me has no problem with someone trying (and apparently succeeding) to sell it!

[miss_belle]

Just when I thought she could not go any lower. So now we have a plastic $20 garbage bowl for sale. Thanks for the laugh..:-)

[sunshine842]

this has been around for at least 7-8 years. I had a friend who was really proud of herself for having bought one.

Me? I'll use the produce bag, a paper towel, the carton from cherry tomatoes/mushrooms/strawberries, any of the half-dozen stainless or plastic bowls that seem to migrate to my worktops (out of closed cupboards) under their own power...whatever's to hand, and I don't have to buy any of it.

[juliejulez]

No. You can go to the dollar store and get plastic bowls of that size for, well, a dollar. In fact, I use one to hold my onions and garlic in my pantry.

But, I could see someone like my SO's mother, who lives in a small town, who would be all over something like this. She already has an orange set of Rachael Ray cookware. They only have KMart, WalMart, and JC Penney to buy housewares at, so it's not surprising that that's all she knows.

[nofunlatte]

I got one of these as a gift last year from my BF. Pricier than the RR garbage bowl, but cooler! It's nice if I have a lot of smelly stuff (and no, I don't compost). FYI, I used to use a regular bowl before this.

http://www.plydea.com/plydeas/wasteno...

[John E.]

Our kitchen trash container is just the right size for those bags. It would seem that it would not be large enough for a family but the trash container in our attached garage is a mere 10 feet from the kitchen sink. I hate have the larger trash bags sit on the kitchen floor in front of the sink while it gets 'filled up'.

[John E.]

I'm still trying to figure out why a 'garbage bowl' is even needed. I just take the plastic bag lined trash container from under the sink and put it in front of the sink next to where I am standing and prepping vegetables and other food.

[Veggo]

Exactly. It's because you are a man, and men don't create extra work. We don't have to wash a garbage bowl, because we don't own one. We don't stack used dinner plates on top of each other, because then you have to wash both sides.

[John E.]

I laughed out loud reading your post because I have a reputation of not stacking plates that have to be hand washed. Our dishwasher broke down last year and we didn't replace it for a few months and you're right, if you don't get maple syrup on the bottom of a plate, you don't have to wash it off.

[arashall]

I'm a woman, but I still hate the double-stacking thing. Not because I don't intend to wash both sides, but because you have two sides that are unecessarily yucky.

[pine time]

Another woman who peels, chops directly into the trash can. On the very rare occasions I use a bowl, I'll grab a dirty one already in the dishwasher--why dirty a clean bowl for peelings?

[DGresh]

because I have a distinction between "trash" and "compost". One goes in the trash bag, and the other, eventually, goes in the compost bucket under the sink, and once or twice a week, out to the compost bin. Ray's "garbage bowl" for me, is really a "compost bowl"

[John E.]

We used to use an ice cream bucket for the compostable stuff. Since we moved we don't have a compost pile. I've been thinking about getting one of those plastic compost things that are round and you can roll around to mix the compost up. I wonder if they work?

[DGresh]

A relative gave us one of those. we don't use it. It's too heavy to roll, so you don't, and it kind of fell apart. We just use an old fashioned bin that has a hole in the bottom.

[coll]

I have a tumbler I bought last year at BJs, after my loose pile showed zero promise; at one point during early fall it was looking mighty good, but now that it's been frozen for a month or so, who know what's happening in there. It's good exercise turning it around, the magic seven times that they recommend. There are always things growing right in there (since I'm lazy about tossing stuff in, seeds and all) so hoping it will be a nice addition to my garden this spring. I did buy a bag of manure to augment (chicken, horse and goat mix) in the fall, this is my first time using a tumbler so hoping I didn't waste all my time and money thus far! But I am sort of obsessive about composting everything and anything right now.

To answer the original question! I use old 3 lb deli containers that I got from the supermarket, nice tight lids and they can handle the amount of peelings you would get from a typical meal, then just pop the top on and try to get out back in the next day or two.

[breadchick]

I actually spread out the plastic bag the produce came in and peel right over it. Put the chopped bits in there, and grab it up and dump it. Nothing to wash.

Gargbage bowl. When I first heard that from RR I KNEW it was just a matter of time before she had a boat load of stuff to market.

In her day, my mother called hers a colander.

[wyogal]

I do the same, using the produce bags.

[KrumTx]

Me, three. Produce bags. Sometimes I'll line up a couple if I'm doing lots of peeling for the wayward peels that go flying.

[breadchick]

Same here. I'll go so far as split them open!

[Hobbert]

Yep, that's what I do.

[512window]

I used to do that, but then inherited a cat at the same time that my city implemented a ban on plastic bags. Now every plastic bag is reserved for litterbox debris.

I just stick the compost into whatever is handy then take it out to the bin.

[twyst]

512window, is that the inside of the frost bank tower in your pic?

[twyst]

Plastic bags are a thing of the past for some of us. I used to do the same thing, but cant get plastic bags anymore because we have a local disposable bag ban.

[John E.]

Are you in California someplace? So far, there has not even been much of a hint on a ban of plastic shopping bags in Minnesota, at least none which I have seen. I have noticed far fewer plastic bags blowing around Minnesota compared to the Phoenix area. I believe a large part of why it is that way is because the major grocery chains in the Twin Cities (Walmart and Target are exceptions) do not have employees bag the groceries for the customer, it's mostly 'bag your own'. Many people use paper grocery sacks, fewer bring their own bags. We use plastic bags for the household trash receptacles and cleaning up after the pets. We recycle many plastic bags and I do not understand why others do not.

[twyst]

Nope, Im in Austin Texas. Its a pretty green city, but I suspect the bag ban will be spreading soon.

[John E.]

I wouldn't be surprised. I think the problem lies with the checkout clerks more than anything. They put just a few items into a single bag so a customer usually has at least two or three times more bags than are really needed. I went to Walgreen's to buy some cold medication and they started to put it into a plastic bag. I always decline the bag in that situation but most others seemingly do not.

[DGresh]

It's pretty funny, isn't it? Personally, I just grab whatever bowl of an appropriate size is sitting on my drying rack. I more or less know ahead of time if I'm going to have a lot, or a little, stuff to throw in the compost, so I choose a good bowl for the job. I will admit that it took me a long time (way too long) to realize that it was far easier to grab a bowl to put my peelings in to dump in the compost, than it is to peel into the sink and them pull stuff out with my hands to put in the compost. Yes, I'm a slow learner.

[pollymerase]

I have this bowl. My grandma bought one each for my sister and I from QVC and had them mailed to us (along with several other Rachael Ray products. Would I have bought it myself? Probably not, especially at that price. However, I know it makes her happy to share cooking supplies with us now that we have grown-up, moved away, and don't get to cook with her very often anymore. She also has started to send us all of her old casserole dishes, bowls, flatware, etc. She gave me a very nice set of china when I was home over Christmas. She enjoys watching RR and finding recipes that she thinks her young-professional granddaughters with busy lives can make at home in a short time frame. She's doing quite alright financial, so I don't begrudge her the least for purchasing this for me.

For the record, I've never actually used it for a garbage bowl. I have used it for a large mixing bowl, a salad bowl, a bowl to display fruit in, serving bowl for chips, etc. Mine is a dark red color and I actually like the look of it quite a bit and have had lots of compliments on it.

[alliegator]

That's really nice of your grandma to share her cooking supplies and buy new ones for you :) It shows she's thinking of you and considers your needs when cooking, so I give her purchase of the bowl a thumbs up!

[coll]

I agree!

[kengk]

I guess if you liked the way it looks $20 is not too dear.
I use an old tupperware bowl. It never leaves it's spot on the back of the counter next to the sink.

[melpy]

This is purely marketing to the masses who don't know any better. I am appalled. I do use a "garbage bowl" on occasion and had heard of this product but 20 dollars is highway robbery.

[alliegator]

Melpy, I know you to be a fellow central PA-er and perhaps it's the sense of practicality that's in our blood that makes us shocked at the price, haha!

[alwayshungrygal]

That practicality in your blood isn't confined to regions. I'm an ex-NYer (actually Brooklyn) residing in Northern California. I wouldn't pay $1 dollar for a "garbage bowl" as I could probably repurpose something I've already got in my kitchen.

Then again, anything endorsed by Rachel Ray (and I know she has her fans tho not likely here) is probably overpriced.

[pinehurst]

It's funny you should ask this. I was looking for a cheapo bowl to transport a big salad to a party; I wanted to let the host keep it and reuse/regift. I got a HUGE glass bowl (mind you, glass, not Waterford, but not plastic either) in Walmart for 1.86.

So I might see something like that and say "Cool", but then I'd look for it in a cheaper generic model.