Kitchen Gadgets

Looks can be deceiving. The basic simplicity found in a tortilla in no way conveys its potential. Not until ingredients have been added does the humble tortilla reveal its genius. Whether they are folded or wrapped up, corn and flour tortillas can transform anything and everything into delicious tacos and burritos. Yet despite all this versatility, tortillas can do even more; it just takes a little prodding.

Coaxing new forms out of ingredients is nothing new, nor is it even new for tortillas. The Nostalgia Electrics TSM100 Tortilla Bowl Maker ($19.99) says that it lets you "make perfect … Read more

A refrigerator pretty much has one job. Well, make that two: to keep food cold and colder. Even with the oncoming eventuality of smart appliances dominating the kitchen, the basic task of the fridge is in regard to food storage. Somewhere along the way, a logical extension of the refrigerator's responsibilities resulted in the creation of water and ice dispensers; a welcome addition, as a nice, cool drink of water is impossible to beat. Unless maybe you wanted hot water.

The GE Cafe Series CFE29TSDSS French Door Refrigerator with Hot Water ($3,099) incorporates a water dispenser that delivers … Read more

The beer drinking experience is already fairly interactive. You open bottles, clink them against your friends' bottles, and dress them up in little cozies to keep them cold. Apparently, all that wasn't enough for Heineken, which unveiled a prototype of its new Heineken Ignite bottle last week at Milan Design Week.

The bottles incorporate LEDs, micro-sensors, and wireless networking. The technology can detect when the bottle is just sitting there, when a person is drinking, and when it's used for cheering. Various actions are set to trigger the light effects, or it can be remotely activated to flash in time with music.… Read more

Mornings are the worst time to think. At least, that very early first part of morning. We settle into routines as a matter of practicality: with the brain not yet firing on all cylinders, we can at least semiconsciously stumble through a set of actions that has been furrowed into our gray matter simply by repetition. However, even though the morning routine may guide us from the coffee grinder through to the toaster, occasionally a wrench gets thrown into the plan. When these deviations occur, it can set up a domino effect that derails the whole system.

Setting out to … Read more

Isn't it tedious to crack open your morning eggs, beat them, and then scramble them? It's messy and taxing enough to make your life look like a bad infomercial GIF.

Fortunately you can now scramble eggs in their shell, and it doesn't involve spinning them in a shirt or plastic tubes like those tricks on YouTube.

A company called Hikari Tec Hong Kong recently showed off an egg-spinning machine that helps scramble the whites and yolks without breaking the shell. Once spun enough, and after some boiling, the contents of the egg come out of the shell as a semisolid, creamy pudding. Check out the demo below. … Read more

Sous vide cooking is a relatively new phenomenon and even newer for the home market. While professional restaurants have been cooking food in a water bath for quite some time (say, pulling out a steak and giving it a quick sear before plating), the home kitchen has not until recently joined in on the party. Recent advancements are making the method of cooking food in a precisely controlled heated water bath an easy reality for home consumers.

The Viante Home Products CUC-09SV Sous Vide Cooker is a countertop appliance that will further the prospects of this exciting cooking method becoming … Read more

When I pour a beer, I'm always aiming to minimize the mound of foam on top. Apparently, there are people who covet that foam, who can't get enough. Those are the same people who can't wait to buy the $40 Sonic Hour, a new gadget that ramps up the foam factor at the push of a button.

Sonic Hour appears to be the work of the same people who created the Professional Beer Foam Making Mug. They've just gone a little more high-tech this time. While the mug used a little hammer to physically excite the beer bubbles, Sonic Hour uses the power of ultrasonic oscillation.… Read more

Cooking is a balancing act, but don't tell that to the appliances. As a cook runs from pot to oven, oven to fridge, and then back again, the coordination required to bring the cacophony of activity to a satisfying (and tasty) conclusion is not something that's easy to do. Trained professionals may attack this puzzle each and every day with relish and zeal, but the home cook doesn't have the benefit of a sous chef or prep cook (usually). They can however, have the Intellisteam.

Set to become available in July 2013, the Viante Home Products CUC-30ST … Read more

Apparently, there are times when brewing an entire pot of coffee is not desired. Perhaps this occurs while running late or just trying to get out of the house. (Certainly there can be no other sane reason why just one cup will satisfy.) In any event, for those rare times when just a cup will do, one countertop coffeemaker is ready to provide. In less than 60 seconds, thankfully.

The Capresso a la Carte Cup-to-Carafe Coffee & Tea Maker ($179.95) not only understands that time is of the essence when waiting for coffee, but that a nice cup of … Read more