Hooray for the Olivator!

an olive stuffer extraordinaire

The Olivator

I recently received a terrific little gift.  It is the perfect thing for the person who has everything, or for somebody who likes to play with her food.  This product is a good example of the added value that you can achieve with excellent design.  The Style dimension of this product really sells it!

This little gadget  lets you insert your own stuffing into pitted olives.  (It doesn’t pit the olives; just stuffs them).  It comes with a little instruction sheet, but you can tell just by looking, how to use this gadget.  The leaflet did suggest a filling that I wouldn’t have thought possible: cocktail onions.

The few minutes of spare time I spent experimenting with various stuffings was entertaining, and gave me ideas for some other things I’m going to try.   Various cheeses work well.  Even peanuts were tasty and different when inserted in the olives. I plan to try some meat pates and maybe different nuts.

I rated the Olivator using the CPSS, and got the following results.

Surprising: I was surprised by several elements of the Olivator, reflected in the high score of 6.0.  The first was the fact that a little cleaning brush was hidden under the red cap of the plunger.  Another was the sharpness of the cutting tube.  It is possible to take samples from harder or tougher foods than I expected.

Original: Although there are other olive stuffers available, this one has been given more attention to detail, and seems much cleverer.  It’s score on this facet was 6.25.

Logical: At a score of 6.5, it is easy to use, intuitive, and meets expectations for how to use it.

Useful: This is the strongest aspect of the Olivator, rated at a perfect 7.  It solves the problem of stuffing olives in a fun and easy way.

Valuable: At a score of 4.6, this is the lowest rating for this product.  It is just a kitchen gadget, after all, but for products in that category it is a real winner.

Understandable: With a score of 6.2, this is an easy to understand product.  The physical design of the product tells you what it is for.

Organic: A score of 6.6 is a very high one.  The Olivator’s parts all function well and smoothly together and this gives an integrated, harmonious appearance.

Well-Crafted: Another very high score, at 6.4.  The Olivator has so many clever details, as well as a well-crafted appearance.  There is something solid and sturdy about the gadget that gives the impression of quality.

Elegant: At 5.8, this score is a little lower than I would have expected.  It is a high score, for a good product.  Elegance refers to a simplicity that is an indicator of refinement.  Perhaps the added details of its design made the score a little lower.

Comments

2 Responses to “Hooray for the Olivator!”

  1. Marcia Balicki on August 24th, 2011 11:30 am

    While on vacation in Canada, I recently purchased a one egg poacher from Bradshaw’s in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. This was to be the ideal poacher for my 87 year old mother. Little did I know that the description of “nonstick egg cup” was false. We have made a poached egg three times in this item and every time the egg stuck to the cup and was difficult to get out. I was very disappointed and upset. I noticed that the item is manufactured in China. Now I’m wondering what the Chinese are using in place of teflon, or what quality of teflon is being used. I will not purchase any items made by R.S.V.P. in the future and will tell my friends of my experience and my doubt of the quality of the items.

  2. admin on August 24th, 2011 12:58 pm

    Thanks for your comment. Products can’t be just novel. They have to work and be attractive, too.