You may or may not be aware of it, but there is a heated debate in certain internet circles about the usefulness of batter dispensers. Things go to such extremes that some participants call into question the very reason d’être of this inoffensive kitchen tool.

That, of course, was reason enough for me to delve into the matter and weigh the pros and cons before reaching a final verdict, thus saving you a sleepless night or two. Read on for full disclosure!

First, let’s examine the subject (or is it the object?) of our scrutiny.

What is a batter dispenser?

The answer is pretty obvious: it’s a kitchen tool designed specifically for dispensing batter, e. g. when making pancakes, waffles, muffins or cupcakes.  It is usually shaped like a jug, but with a hole at the bottom. This hole opens when the handle is squeezed, to squirt just the right amount of the batter.

However, in the opinion of what I’ll call the batter dispenser detractors, batter lends itself to dispensing quite well without the dispenser, rendering the tool utterly dispensable. (Or something to that effect.) The strong disapproval of the anti-dispenser camp can be summed up in the following short statements:

1. Are you serious?
2. Ladle and spoon not good enough for you?
3. Nobody needs those!
4. A waste of space in the kitchen cupboard!
5. More stuff to wash!
6. No, really, are you serious?

I don’t know about you, but at this point in my research I was ready to throw my hands up, raise a while flag, roll on my back and humbly ask forgiveness for ever even allowing my imagination to flirt with the idea of a batter dispenser.

But then I heard (figuratively speaking) the other side… and my anti-dispenserism began to falter. Here are the main arguments of the batter dispenser defenders:

1. Used it last night for dinner. Mmm…
2. Fast and easy to use.
3. A song to clean!
4. Never looked back!
5. Used it this morning for breakfast. Mmm…
6. Got to go make pancakes. Mmm…

Ah, all those mmms! They almost got me to join the pro camp. At the last moment, I pulled from the edge as I remembered that I owe it to you to maintain my impartiality.

So, what is my final verdict? Is a batter dispenser worth the cupboard space?

Well, that depends.

You do not need a batter dispenser:

• If pancakes, muffins and similar delicacies are rare phenomena in your kitchen.
• If you are able to make pancakes, muffins et al. without making a mess of it all.
• If you always make a mess when making pancakes or muffins, but do not care about it.

You do need a batter dispenser:

• If you’d rather face a firing squad than serve cupcakes or muffins that are less than perfect.
• If the sight of batter leaks around the cupcake liners reduces you to a nervous wreck.
• If your kid regularly volunteers you to make muffins for school functions.

Since you made it thus far through this post, my guess is that you belong to the do need a batter dispenser personality type. There remains only to list what to look for in a batter dispenser. The ideal one must be easy to use and easier to clean. It should also be able to accommodate small berries, chocolate chips and other delicacies you may want to add to your batter.

Mmm!