With promises of time savings and less work, many kitchen gadgets seem like a chef's dream. But many of those amazing toys, like a crinkle cutter for veggies or goggles for cutting onions, end up straight in the junk drawer.

Consumer Reports tested 40 kitchen gadgets — peelers, graters, zesters, garlic presses, can openers and more — and found several that live up to their promises and others that don't.

"We asked our Facebook fans which gadgets they rely on and use, then we narrowed down the list and had our testers check them out," said Dan DiClerico of Consumer Reports.

The list of essentials included can openers, graters, garlic presses and peelers.

Consumer Reports' expert sensory panellists tried out traditional versions of these handy helpers along with ones that offer a twist.

But, new-fangled doesn't necessarily mean "improved."

Testers liked the Oxo Good Grips Box Grater ($18). It even has a compartment with measurement markings for your grated cheese.

"More often than not our testers preferred tried-and-true designs," DiClerico said.

The Oxo Good Grips garlic press ($16) has a large chamber and a built-in cleaner.

And the Oxo Magnetic Locking Can Opener ($20) was a lock, with its cushioned grip and magnetic arm that keeps the lid from falling into the can.

Other winners were the Kyocera ceramic peeler ($18) and the Better Blade ZestNest ($15).

Three gadgets made testers scratch their heads, when they weren't worrying about scraping their knuckles:

1) The Joseph 3-in-1 Design Rotary Peeler ($12) offers a straight, serrated, or julienne blade with a twist of the dial. Unfortunately, holding the 2½-inch diameter tool was awkward for larger handed testers, and peels collected in the blades.

2) The Chef'n GarlicZoom XL ($15) has spinning blades that mince cloves with a few easy rolls. But testers had trouble removing all the garlic from the chopping chamber and had to avoid pointy blades.

3) KitchenAid's Cup Grater ($15) has grating blades that don't lock onto the base, so you have to hold both parts with one hand or they can separate.

Check out these cool kitchen gadgets tonight on CTV News with a full report from Lynda Steele…