Appliances & Kitchen Gadgets

Makes evenly cooked food from edge to edge.

(Credit: Sur La Table)

How we cook food is always changing. Gone are the days (mostly) of cooking over an open fire, with little more than a stick to act as a "kitchen gadget." Though nothing can replicate the taste created by fire on food, new methods of cooking have always inspired chefs to take their recipes to the next level. From the hearth to the microwave oven, this journey has not been fraught with peril. (For every worthwhile kitchen gadget, there seems to be a dozen that aren't.) However, every once in a while, the home cook is faced with a new challenge (cooking method) from which to build upon and grow.

Sous vide literally translates to "under vacuum" in French, but that's only half the story when it comes to sous vide cooking. Using a water bath as the cooking medium, the method requires consistent temperatures over a long period of time. While most people will skip the recipes that take two days to complete (yes, a very long time to wait for dinner), most recipes do not require so much forethought. What has been a growing trend in professional kitchens is now available at home.

Enter the SousVide Supreme Water Oven.

The countertop unit works in tandem with a vacuum sealer. Simply seal your food in a bag, and then pop it in the water bath. The machine regulates the temperature of the water to a 1-degree accuracy. The food cooks evenly from edge to edge. This is the main difference between this method and others. Consider chicken, fish, beef, or pork: when cooked by traditional methods, the inside is never cooked exactly as the outside. With sous vide cooking, food has no other option but to heat consistently; the temperature never rises above a set point.

Good things never go out of style; as proficient as sous vide cooking may be, the final results still benefit from a quick sear over an open fire to give it added taste and flavor. There's something comforting in the fact that no matter how far we progress in cooking technology, we still always come back to fire.

Here comes the soup.

(Credit: Irawoods.com)

This time of year, there's a lot of cooking going on. While roasts, turkeys, hams, and side dishes galore mean lots of food on the table, they also mean there will be lots of leftovers in the refrigerator. When faced with a well-picked-over turkey or ham, one final dish comes to mind: soup. By using the leftover protein to make a stock or broth, a flavorful base is created that can be taken in any direction. However, to get that smooth consistency to which you can later add veggies, meat, or noodles, first you are going to need to puree it.

This Viking Hand Blender (VHB300SG) features a powerful 300-watt motor that makes it easy to create soup from all your leftovers. With the ability to blend directly in the cooking vessel, there is no need to work in batches using a blender of food processor. The ergonomic design incorporates a no-slip handle, assuring a firm grip as you blend your soup to preferred consistency.

While soup-making may be its highlight, the blender features attachments allowing it to be used for other tasks. A chopper attachment makes quick work of fruits and vegetables (perfect for adding to soup). Additionally, a stainless-steel whisking attachment is also available--just in case you get tired of all that soup.

TrueCookPlus on a Kenmore microwave oven.

(Credit: TrueCookPlus)

The microwave oven is no doubt one of the most popular kitchen appliances available. But before its ubiquity, people had to get used to the idea that a few button presses (or physical dial turn as the case may have been) could produce a hot meal with seemingly little work. Then reality sunk in as this common phrase started to hit home: "Cooking time in your microwave oven may vary." While microwave ovens did not prove to be the easy answer to a properly cooked meal, the promise was certainly still there.

Fast-forward to now, and the promise of the microwave as the gateway to properly cooked quick meals has begun once again. The TrueCookPlus code system for microwave cooking is a simple-to-use numeric code that people punch into their microwave ovens to assure proper cooking time and power level depending on what item they are cooking. More than just a convenient code calibrated to the wattage of a particular brand of microwave, the parameters adjust for your microwave oven.

The code system takes into consideration such factors as voltage, wattage, oven age, hot or cold oven, power levels, and even elevation. (A simple one-time input of your zip code handles that.) Of course, food type, size, and weight are also considerations.

The software used in the TrueCookPlus code system works in conjunction with food manufacturers' test kitchens, so don't expect it to know exactly how to reheat your leftovers just yet. The system works in tandem with a traditional microwave (it will still heat those leftovers just as it does now), so consider this a feature to look for in upcoming microwaves. Currently, the feature is available on LG and Kenmore models with many food manufacturers, such as General Mills and Weight Watchers supplying codes for food products.

Together, forever.

(Credit: Amazon)

Salt and pepper seem to have a lot of superstition attached to their existence. For example, there's that whole thing about throwing salt over one's shoulder after spilling it. Another one is that apparently, salt and pepper need to be kept together at all times. What happens if your throwing arm goes out, or if you are on a salt-reduced diet, I'll leave for other brave souls to test out, but when it comes to the world's most common spices, there is no end to how we keep them at the ready.

Not only is it important where and how we keep the salt and pepper, but what we do with them, too. The Cuisinart SP-2 Stainless-Steel Rechargeable Salt and Pepper Mills answers all these questions. The pair of mills stand atop of a base station, silently recharging in place as they wait to be put into use. When the time comes, the mills can each be adjusted to a fine or course grind, while equipped LED lights illuminate the target food.

The low-profile recharging station assures the pair are kept together. With the ability to grind out 15-20 minutes of continuous use, the mills offer a long-lasting charge, capable of getting through even the longest of dinners--just be sure to keep them together while passing them around the table.

(Credit: Unica Home)

Ramen makes for a quick and cheap meal, so much so that some of us may rely on it as a mainstay of our meal planning. If you fall into that category, the Ramen Spoon + Fork was designed with you in mind. The utensil is meant specifically for eating ramen, with tines you can twirl noodles around and a spoon that allows you to scoop up broth. It isn't a traditional spork, although it does combine the functions of both spoon and fork, but the fork tines are significantly longer than those on the typical spork. Of course, it would be useful for eating many other dishes, too, especially any kind of hearty soup.

The Ramen Spoon + Fork was created in Japan in the hope of eliminating waste by reducing the number of disposable chopsticks used at the Sugakiya Ramen Noodle restaurant chain. It was designed by Masami Takahashi. The utensil is made from stainless steel and can be safely washed in in the dishwasher. It is 7.75 inches long, which is pretty standard and should fit in well with the flatware you already have. The Ramen Spoon + Fork is available for $14 from Unica Home.

Fondue from one room to another.

(Credit: Williams-Sonoma)

It's not hard to throw together a fondue party. All you need are a few friends, some easy-melting ingredients, and bread, fruit, or something of the like to dip in it. Oh, there's one more thing that would make the evening go down as easy as a vat of melted cheese or chocolate: the fondue pot. Even if you have such a device, creating the velvety centerpiece would probably require the use of a saucepan on the stovetop. That is, unless you have a fondue pot that does double duty.

The All-Clad Fondue Pot with Cast Aluminum Insert saves a step in the fondue-making process by including a stovetop-safe cast-aluminum insert. Made from 18/10 stainless steel with an aluminum base, the set includes eight color-coded stainless-steel dipping forks. For additional versatility beyond just cheese and chocolate, the fondue pot is capable of cooking meat in hot oil; just remove the insert.

What makes this fondue pot really shine is the fact that it goes from stovetop to tabletop with ease. While the presentation of a good-looking fondue pot bubbling away over a flame is most comforting, the convenience of quickly setting the mood cannot be beat. Except, of course, the entrance you make at your own party, carrying in the fondue from the stove.

Keep the good times rolling.

(Credit: Bed Bath & Beyond)

The World Series may have come and gone (for some reason earlier this month), but that doesn't mean the real national pastime has to roll over. In fact, "rolling over" is exactly what this particular pastime excels at. While baseball may not be the same without hot dogs, you can take them away from the game and enjoy them throughout the long cold winter. Of course, if you want that authentic flavor that can only be had from uncountable revolutions on the heat source, you are going to need something special.

The Nostalgia Electrics Retro Series 50s Style Hot Dog Roller keeps the good times rolling all year 'round. Featuring classic styling reminiscent of a bygone era, the candy-red 15-inch-by-9.5-inch (it measures 15 inches tall) roller is sure to elicit interesting conversations (and demands for demonstrations). The two large dials on the front of the machine are for power and an adjustable heat control. For easy cleaning, the rollers are removable, as is an included drip tray.

With five nonstick stainless-steel rollers, perpetually cooking eight hot dogs (or 12 breakfast sausages) at a time, the hot dog cooker is sure to keep the party going. Hot dogs may be the flavor of baseball, but they taste just as good during football season--as long as you don't use the same ones, that is.

Set it, but don't forget it.

(Credit: Rüegg)

Backyard parties are always a lot of fun. Friends and family get together to eat and drink and share talltales and gossip. But, mostly eat. Plans have to be made for the grill, what to put on it, how to marinate it, and finally how to cook it. Which means, somebody has to be in charge of the grill. While it may be rewarding to oversee a landscape of cooking meats and vegetables, the reality is with responsibility, sacrifices must be made. While all your friends are over there laughing and having fun, you're stuck making sure their food doesn't burn.

What could end up being a bitter tasting barbecue can be avoided if the meats and vegetables would just cook themselves. At least when it comes to shish kabobs, the Valigrill by Ruegg lets that happen. The electrically operated grill features a set of automatically rotating skewers to keep meat slowly spinning over the fire without burning. A combustion bar feeds oxygen to the charcoal grill, ensuring even and continual burning. The grill is mounted on wheels for easy portability. For good old-fashioned grilling, a standard grill grate is included, that is if you want to stand over a hot fire while all your friends are having fun.

(Via Appliancist)

Calorie counter.

(Credit: Cooking.com)

Scales are handy little things to have around the kitchen. One can weigh ingredients for baking and always be assured of the exact amount. Flour is notorious for volumetric trickery, so for baking, weight-based measurements are the way to go. The same can be said about a whole host of other ingredients, but when it comes to the actual scale, there is no reason they can't do a little more.

The Cesto by Escali is a scale that brings more to the table. In fact it brings more to wherever you would like it to go. Dubbed a "Portable Nutritional Tracker," the thin device measures 8.75 inches by 6.25-inches across. While the portability of anything larger than a phone may be debatable, the scale does have functions for measuring a variety of nutritional information including: calories, sodium, protein, fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol or fiber.

Knowing how much something weighs and what's in it is a pretty good way to keep track of multiple aspects of a diet. With an easy-to-use interface and an uncluttered design, the usefulness of this scale is apparent. Add a modern styling and the scale becomes even more attractive--no matter where you decide to use it.