Cooking

The search for pizza never ends. But unlike other quests, hunting for the perfect slice is not fraught with peril and possible despair; instead the path is lined with deliciousness. Occasionally, a truly unremarkable specimen may foil us, but the possibility for the restoration of hope is always only but a bite away. With so many trials and tribulations along the way, a clear picture of common pitfalls starts to emerge. No, it's not what is in clear view on top of the pizza, but rather, what lurks underneath. Pizza is all about the crust.

If the crust fails … Read more

You know the toaster oven: it gives forth deliciousness every day. The familiarity afforded by the device invites versatility; as food cooks inside, a glance or two may lead to inspiration. The blank canvas that is a slice of toast or a bagel practically begs for additional ingredients to be piled on. Sooner or later, it's going to happen; all that is needed is to get to the food.

The Hamilton Beach 31334 Easy-Reach 4-Slice Toaster Oven ($49.99) makes it easy to access whatever happens to be on the menu. With bake, broil, and toast settings, the countertop … Read more

Cooking starts with heat. Everybody knows that; it is the way in which that heat is applied to food where things get complicated. This, of course, is a good thing. The range of modern cuisine is so widely varied, thanks in great part to all the different cooking methods that are readily available at one's fingertips. With a press of a button or a twist of a dial, meals can be created that range from instantly recognizable to outlandishly strange. Sometimes, even with the same appliance.

From minestrone soup to a good old-fashioned fish fry, the Deni 9135 five-quart Multi Cooker … 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

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

The act of grilling brings a unique sense of anticipation -- as well as a crowd. Perhaps it is because seared meats and vegetables cook so tantalizingly close. Consider in contrast, the oven: a small viewing window and the need to do calisthenics (or at least two deep knee bends) to get food in to and out of the cooking chamber just doesn't create the same sense of excitement. With grilling, the food is right there within easy grabbing distance. Especially when the grill is on the kitchen countertop.

The Hamilton Beach 25360 Searing Grill ($89.99) mimics the … Read more

A kitchen appliance or gadget that does anything and everything is only useful if it actually gets used. Sure, the device in question may chop, slice, and dice with the best of them, but if for one reason or another it is uncomfortable to the user, then it will end up not being used. Through no fault of its own, the kitchen tool gets shunned and ignored, doomed to live out an unproductive life tucked away in the back of the cupboard. It doesn't have to be this way.

The food processor is a tried-and-true addition to any kitchen … Read more

Dutch designer Scott van Haastrecht has come up with an innovative way to spice up his mornings. His invention, the Image Toaster, searches Google Images and proceeds to toast the day's latest images on bread at at 6x6 pixels.

Meant as a school project for a Creative Technology course, the Image Toaster is currently still a prototype and needs to be tethered to a computer to work. The creator explains that his final product will work on Wi-Fi and only needs a power cord to function. … Read more