Appliances and Kitchen Gadgets

Making sport of Hong Kong-based Brando is something of a popular pastime here at Crave (can you blame us?), but we should give the company its due respect in the latest of its wares. Unlike so many other of its products, its USB cup warmer actually incorporates some useful functions and doesn't look like it came free with a 12-pack of Charmin.

In addition to heating your chai latte, it has a USB hub that includes four ports and even has a small LCD clock that indicates the temperature. That could be either good or bad, depending on your … Read more

Something for the tea lover and gadgeteer in your life that won't break your holiday budget.

The Tea Stick from Chiasso for $20 is a stainless steel spring-loaded stick and sieve. You use the tiny shovel to scoop loose tea and load it in the stick. The stick is completely enclosed when dunking.

Sur La Table announced on Tuesday a new line of specialized utensils based on classic tools like the butter curler, melon baller, turning fork, and grapefruit knife.

The new line, called Things Cooks Love, consists of several dozen utensils with solid wooden handles and an old-timey style. For inspiration, the company looked for vintage kitchen tools here and abroad to find those that have withstood the test of time and remain useful, despite being highly specialized in some cases. The "tomato shark," made for expertly removing the tops of tomatoes or strawberries, was a new one to me. … Read more

Amazon.com announced on Monday a new celebrity chef section of its Web site. The Celebrity Chef Blog will feature recipes and tips from celebrities including Dinner Impossible's Robert Irvine, Helen Chen, and Mollie Katzen, as well as gift suggestions from a handful of Amazon's section editors.

The blogs will have places for reader comments, too, so if Irvine's recipe for oyster stuffing isn't all he said it would be, you can let him know about it.

It's not the first time Amazon has used original content to spice up its product offerings. It launched … Read more

Yes, I know, this is Train Wreck: Dysfunctional corporate behavior. But hey, there's a time and a place for everything. And the holidays aren't about blogs, they're about family, friends, food, and of course, drink.

Wine is a complex subject that can be intimidating for novices. It takes years to really know what you're doing just with American wines, let alone those from France, Italy, Australia, and everywhere else. If you want to learn enough to buy or order good wine but don't know where to start, you're in the right place.

Years ago I wrote a column called Tobak's great wine for techies. It's timeless stuff. Click on this link and you can read the archives. You'll find articles that will teach you everything you need to know to get started with wine.… Read more

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, the holiday season is near. For some, it's a time to begin taking stock of the past year. For example, did you stick to your New Year's resolutions? (Eat more chocolate? Check!)

For others--namely, holiday bakers--it's a time to take stock of what's in the pantry. You want to be sure that pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon sauce is going to turn out just right. So, you open the pantry, upend all the baking staples and check the "best by" dates.

You save the spices for last … Read more

Not everyone can afford the luxury of having a TV built into the fridge, microwave, or even the range hood. And that's nothing short of a crime at this time of year, in the thick of football, basketball, and hockey. But for some reason, we hear that some finicky spouses frown on the idea of a 50-inch plasma mounted above the sink.

There's one possible compromise in this stainless-steel LCD TV, a set designed to fit in with the rest of the kitchen appliances. It's only 20 inches, but that's massive compared with anything that'll … Read more

In preparation of the gastronomic orgy that will take place in a just a few days, Crave continues its beverage-oriented theme for professional imbibers and teetotalers alike. In today's installment, we cater to the oenophiles among us.

What's special about this latest appliance isn't that it chills your favorite vintage to order--we've seen plenty of those--but it can control the temperature of two bottles at once, according to Product Dose. The "Coldmate EF-8780 Thermocool" actually bills itself as a digital warmer as well as a cooler, which strikes us as a bit odd. … Read more

Lest our gentle readers get the impression that we consume only alcoholic beverages at Crave, we feel obligated to feature an appliance for this holiday season's designated drivers as well. And just because it's non-alcoholic, that doesn't mean it can't look good.

The "Sirena" is an espresso machine from the drafting boards of BMW Design Works created for Starbucks, according to Uber-Review. As addicted as we are to the bean, however, we can't see spending $600 for one of these even if it does have a "commercial-quality portafilter and patented back-pressure adapter … Read more