Are kitchen devices really useful? More importantly, are they worth the money? To find out, we picked a few being heavily hawked by kitchen-supply retailers this holiday season, and put them to the test preparing a Thanksgiving feast.

Among other things, we tried a device that fits over the top of a saucepan and automatically does the stirring for you, the increasingly popular turkey fryer (which can cook a 15-pound bird in about an hour), and various silicone-coated items -- including oven mitts so heat resistant that you can dunk your hands into a pot of boiling water to retrieve potatoes. We also tested a remote cooking thermometer that lets you check the temperature of meat in your oven from anywhere in the house

To help with the test, I drafted my partner, an accomplished cook who is dubious about kitchen shortcuts that sound too good to be true. In many cases, his instincts proved correct. Still, some of the timesavers turned out to be surprisingly innovative and effective.

That was certainly the case with a remote digital thermometer we used to cook a beef roast. We found the unit performed beautifully. Once your stick a metal probe into the meat, it transmits the temperature readings to a remote receiver that can be carried around the house. You can set the device to various settings, by temperature, meat type and desired doneness. The remote even read the temperature from outside the house. As the roast approached doneness, the device beeped a warning. We got another alert when the cooking was complete.

We used a version sold under the Redi-Chek name, but there's an increasing range on sale at most retailers. For the $50 or so these devices cost, it's surely a discretionary item, but ours did save time by freeing us from oven monitoring.

Less successful was the StirChef "Hands-Free" Saucepan Stirrer, a gadget that came out this past year. Even at a high retail price of $29.95, it seems like a laudable concept -- no more boring stirring. With an adjustable trio of clips to fit pans of varying sizes, the battery-operated unit has several lengths of paddles that attach to it and turn either continually or occasionally.

But while the mechanics of it all worked well, its usefulness was questionable in several respects. For one thing, it stirred far too slowly when set on the constant setting, and speed isn't adjustable. Thus, we were unable to stir our gravy vigorously enough to break up lumps of flour. In addition, the unit covers the pot almost completely, leaving no room to see what's going on in there, or to stick in a regular spoon to fix the situation. For the most part, it saved no time.

We were thrilled with several silicone-based items we tried. From nonstick baking sheets to trivets to spatulas, the material is showing up more frequently in kitchens because of its heat-resistant properties. Particularly impressive was the Orka brand silicone oven mitt, a long glove that not only can handle temperatures of up to 500 degrees, but also washes up quickly when you're all done. Even at $19.95, the mitt was worth it. We wore a pair to pull potatoes quickly out of boiling water and skin them by hand without discomfort. In fact, we were so confident with the gloves, we also yanked the fried turkey out of a vat of peanut oil without worry.

Happily, most of the remaining timesavers were worthwhile. Kudos, for example, go to the Peel Away Peeler, a handsome metal version of the old-fashioned crank apple and potato corer, made by Back to Basics and selling for about $28. It cored and sliced with ease and speed, and was entertaining, too.

The same was true for a glazed ceramic "Butter Bell" made by L. Tremain. For about $30, it allows you to keep butter at room temperature for 30 days by keeping it submerged in water upside down. Thus, zero waiting for the butter to soften.