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Sometimes it's the simple things that make the biggest difference. Ever used a chip clip on a bag and been disappointed to find that your chips are stale anyway? Next time, try the Banana Seal, which essentially turns any bag into a zip-top resealable bag.
Press a tube into the sealer on the opposite side of the bag to seal in freshness, even in the freezer. The clip is virtually unbreakable and creates an airtight seal for bags of snacks, crackers, frozen foods, brown sugar, and so on. It's particularly useful for anyone with dexterity issues, because it's much easier to use than a chip clip.
If you find yourself with lots of holiday leftovers, pick one up so none of your food goes to waste! Find a package of 18 seals at retailers nationwide or online for around $20.
The Rihanna kitchen scale from ADE Germany includes an iPod dock and integrated speaker.
(Credit: ADE Germany)Do you love listening to music as much as you love to precisely measure cooking ingredients? Of course you don't. But that's not going to stop ADE Germany from slapping an iPod dock onto a kitchen scale early next year, with an expected asking price of $103.
The scale, which is curiously dubbed "Rihanna," includes an LCD that measures 1.7 inches by less than an inch and an integrated iPod speaker that plays beneath the glass measuring area.
The scale itself handles loads of up to 11 pounds, graduated in .04-ounce steps. It cannot, however, distinguish between kush or schwagg.
(Via Gizmag)
As we enter the holiday season, many of us are planning menus, prepping kitchens, and getting ready to spend at least a day cooking up a feast. With all that cooking inevitably comes a bit of chopping, and if you're not an experienced chef, you may be bit worried about the safety of your fingers.
Proper chopping technique has your finders bent and pressed up against the knife so you can't slice off a fingertip, but if you're unpracticed, the position feels unnatural. The Safe Slice uses a protective shield that grips food tightly and keeps your fingers out of harm's way while you chop, slice, and dice.
At around $6, it's cheap security, and it comes in pink, purple, and green.
Ready to go.
(Credit: Hammacher Schlemmer)The chaos of the morning can be a time-crunching affair. We fall out of bed, slam the alarm clock off, and proceed to get ready for the day. Most people enjoy a set routine and stumble through it on autopilot. Anything that shaves a moment or two off the routine gets us out the door that much sooner. (In theory, at least; in reality it just translates to extra time in bed.) Instead of waiting for the coffee to be ready, you can save a couple of minutes by taking it with you and have it when you're ready.
The French Press Commuter Cup is a 16-ounce travel mug that also happens to brew your morning beverage. Add freshly ground coffee or loose-leaf tea to the bottom of the mug, pour in hot water, and head out the door. Sometime down the road, hit the plunger and the grounds are separated from the resulting brew. The double wall construction along with an incorporated rubber grip ensures that it is easy to grab this beverage cup while on the go.
Everybody needs a time-saver in the morning, and one that helps us to grab our coffee to go is an added bonus. No added parts are necessary, as the plunger features a built-in screen, so getting out the door becomes a breeze. At the end of the day, you're going to want to wash this commuter contraption by hand, unless of course you want to add it to your morning routine.
Ice cream is a staple of my diet. And with five kids in the house, we serve up a fair amount of the good stuff 'round these parts. But even with a lot of practice, I've never been good at packing ice cream into a cone. I often wind up smushing the cone, which leads to many tears and much whining. And then the kids start complaining!
But seriously, folks, this ice cream scoop and stack tool from Cuispro is a neat little kitchen gadget that lets you create an attractive presentation with very little effort. Its simple twist-and-lift action can cut through even the hardest ice cream, and the push-button release drops your cylindrical block of ice cream right into your cone--no smushing required.
You can also plate your ice cream for easy decorating and classier styling. Each scoop holds 3.75oz of ice cream, and the scoop is top-rack dishwasher safe. It costs about $15, and you can choose the color that best complements your favorite flavor.
As awesome as the kitchen is, sometimes you have to leave it. And if you've invested in a great home coffeemaker, you've got a cup of great coffee ready to go with you--but perhaps your hands are too full to carry your joe. What do you do?
Whip out your Beverage CADDi, of course, and off you go. The CADDi is a fun new gadget that does one thing really well: it lets you hold onto a drink with one finger.
Here's how it works: instead of the thick cardboard sleeve the coffee shop places on your cup to let you carry it without scalding your hand, the CADDi is a sleeve made from soft vinyl, with nylon strings secured to it. You slip the sleeve onto any tapered coffee cup, all the way up to the rim, and slip the strings over your finger, as shown.
Choose from 10 designs, and snag one for just $5.50.
Ever sit around with your friends talking about how great the world would be if only someone would invent your supercool and totally useful widget? The community at quirky is based on the idea that everyone has a product idea. It's a social product development company. Would-be inventors submit ideas, the community works on them, voting, making suggestions, and so on, and one product each week is chosen to move onto development.
During the development phase, community members continue to exert their influence, and eventually products are offered for presale. When a product has a certain number of committed buyers, it's moved into production, credit cards are charged, and the product ships.
The latest community collaboration is the StashCan, a kitchen garbage bin with a built-in storage compartment that holds a supply of trash bags.
Step on the foot pedal to open the lid, and toss your trash. When the bag is full, remove it--along with the lightweight, plastic liner if necessary. Then--and this is the part you're paying the big bucks for--replace the bag from a spare located in the separate (but attached) trash bag compartment.
How much would you pay for such a bin? $8? $10? Well, if you order it from quirky, you can pay $54--and maybe the design will go into production and you'll actually get one. You won't be charged unless the product is built and shipped, but I think I'll just stick to my under-the-sink bag storage solution.
Fun for kids and parents alike.
(Credit: Williams-Sonoma)The leaves may be turning and the clocks fallen back, but that doesn't mean good frozen treats have to go away. Especially frozen pops that are homemade. When you make them yourself, you can control exactly what goes in there, allowing you to make them as healthy (or not) as you desire. All you need is a mold of some sort, your favorite juice, and a freezer. Except now, you don't even need a freezer.
OK, a freezer is still necessary to make frozen pops, but you don't need to make them in the freezer. The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is a handy little device that makes frozen treats right on the countertop. Without using electricity, ingredients freeze in the cast-aluminum molds, as a proprietary solution sealed inside the base does its magic. The contraption needs to be prechilled for about 24-hours to do its thing, but once put to use, it can make several rounds of frozen pops at a time.
The whole process is perfect for kids, especially those with a mad scientist streak in them. Parents should like that they have complete control over the ingredients. From juices to yogurt and even fruits, the homemade pops are a clever way to keep celebrating summer all year round.
A hallmark of smart kitchen design is a properly calibrated work triangle--that's your sink, your fridge, and your cooktop. The idea is to minimize the steps you need to take to move between these three areas to make you as efficient as possible.
In a small kitchen, creating an effective work triangle can be tricky. In my galley kitchen back in L.A., we couldn't open the fridge and the dishwasher at the same time, which is more of a problem than you'd think.
But what if you could move the legs of your triangle around? Why be locked into a cooktop that's fixed in one location? Why not give yourself the freedom and flexibility to cook right next to the sink one night, and near the open window the next?
Designers David Barry and Laurence Finnegan have come up with a concept design for Lotus, "a wireless cooking system that offers an elegant alternative to the conventional static hob." The various pieces in the set are designed for different cooking styles, such as grilling, wok-style sauteing, induction heating, and so on. Power comes from resonant induction via transmission coils in the counter tops and receiving coils in each piece. When the cooking is done, each piece can go straight to a sink full of water for simple cleanup.
The pieces are also cool to the touch, so you'll have far fewer kitchen safety issues than with a traditional hob. It's a cool concept, and one I'd like to see realized. According to designer David Barry, "the only new technology applied is the wireless power." Even though the system seems to be "powered by pixie dust...it is actually quite feasible," he says.
You just finished frying up your dinner, and now you have a pan full of cooking grease and oil. You could dump it down the drain, but that could clog your drain and the sewer line, plus it has the potential to add to waterway pollution. To encourage the environmentally responsible disposal of cooking grease and oil, and to prevent those pesky drain clogs, Archer Castle Investments came up with the dubiously named g-Spout.
This food grade silicone removable spout/strainer easily attaches to a skillet, double boiler, bowl, or can so that you can strain your grease into disposable containers. But wait, there's more! You can also use it to make cupcakes, muffins, and pancakes without drips or baked on batter. Drizzle chocolate from a double boiler, strain your soups, refill your saltshaker, or pour your paint back into bottles.
The g-Spout can withstand temperatures up to 450 degrees and is microwave- and dishwasher-safe. Priced at $13.
