[Photograph: Target.com]

Last week's gadget got everyone chatting about the role of unitaskers in their kitchens, a theme I kept coming back to as I tested Taylor's Digital Scale with Measuring Cup. I'd been meaning to add a digital scale to my gadget lineup for a while, but wanted something with a little edge—maybe something more versatile that would encourage me to use it more often. In retrospect, I was looking for anything that wasn't just a unitasker.

The Taylor model I finally settled on is part digital scale, part measuring cup, which I found to be a convenient package deal at a very fair price—just $30 at Target. But was it worth it?

I've had a hard time deciding. Here's the thing: I'd rather use my OXO liquid measuring cup, whose angled markings help me clearly read the content measurements without crouching to tabletop height. And as for the digital scale component, I find that many things I'd like to measure don't fit conveniently into a measuring cup. Why, for instance, would I ever want to weigh my proteins in a measuring cup? I definitely don't. Plus, cleaning is a pain, since the bottom of the cup which houses the electronic components isn't supposed to get wet.

So why do I still think the Taylor Scale/Cup might still be worth purchasing—even if only for certain kinds of home cooks? It still does everything it's supposed to do. You can change the scale measurement unit from pounds to ounces to grams, cups, fluid ounces, or even milliliters. The tare function allows you to reset the weight despite what's already in there, which means you can create marinades in one container or set a plate on top to weigh those unwieldy proteins.

If you're seriously, seriously against unitaskers, this might be worth a shot for you; but if you, like me, would rather spend your cash on gadgets that do their job with ease and finesse—the occasional unitasker included—consider sitting this one out.