Eating

Waffle evolution has had a long and twisty course. First, there was the waffle iron; somebody poured batter in it and all was well. Eventually somebody took a freshly cooked waffle and rolled it up, inventing the ice cream cone. After that, not much happened until one enterprising fellow ruined his wife's waffle maker and changed athletic footwear forever. Now, there is a new course set for the home kitchen with upside-down, inside-out waffles.

The CucinaPro Bubble Waffler (around $45) offers a fun take on traditional breakfast waffles. Modeled after the street food, eggettes, or even their cousin, ebleskivers, … Read more

The indoor smart garden continues to grow. Click & Grow announced today availability of its new Grow Light ($49). Available as an optional add-on to its Smart Flower Pot, the light picks up where the company's previous Kickstarter campaign (covered here) left off. Now, anyone can accessorize their current gardens -- and add a new plant cartridge.

In addition to the new light, Click & Grow announced the addition of a Sugar Leaf refill to its growing product lineup. The natural sweetener sprouts within two weeks of activating the cartridge and has a lifespan that can reach a year … Read more

All the cool kids are getting their munchies by air these days.

South African music fans are getting beer from the sky. A research group developed and tested the Burrito Bomber. Domino's UK drafted an octocopter to deliver a couple of pepperoni pizzas. Now, all we need is sushi in flight to make this a bona fide trend. Looks like our order is up, up, and away.

Sushi chain YO! Sushi has introduced a "burger" made with rice patties and sushi-style ingredients like prawn, tofu katsu, and nori seaweed. The chain's London restaurant in the Soho district decided the delivery method needed to be just as unusual as the food. Thus the "iTray" was invented. It's a flying waiter outfitted with a special food tray and controlled by an iPad.… Read more

Supermarkets are labyrinthine behemoths laid out in a convenient linear fashion. So where's the maze? On the supermarket shelves, of course. Food products galore stare back at us, silently appealing to our penchants for sugar, salt, and fat. We pick and choose, knowing full well what we are getting into. But it's the hidden components that are increasingly becoming a salient issue.

If supermarket shelves are overwhelming due to the sheer diversity of items, imagine the corporate structure behind the packaging. Or don't; just let your phone do it. Scan any bar code (UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN8, EAN13...) with your phone and the free Buycott app (for iOS; a previously available Android version is now "Coming soon") will display the product's corporate family tree on the screen. The app takes knowing where your food comes from further, telling you not only what brand belongs to what company, but what that company does with your dollars.… Read more

The inside of the refrigerator is no place for fast food. Aside from the fridge gnome who turns the light on and off when the door is opened and closed, it is pretty slow in there. Of course, this is exactly how we want it; it's nice to be able to look inside and find the dairy and the lunch meat where you left it (not counting housemate intervention). Zoku, of quick-pop-maker fame, understands that sometimes it's OK to slow down.

The Zoku Mini Pop Molds ($16.99) are part of Zoku's "Slow Pops" line. (… Read more

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

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

There is no denying that fresh herbs and spices make a difference while cooking. There is, however, always the lingering possibility that they do not get used in time; freshly cut herbs don't last long. Of course, the optimal solution is to have them fresh, alive, and always at the ready.

Having a stock of growing herbs doesn't have to mean digging around in the garden. In fact, it doesn't have to even mean having a garden to dig around in (at least in the traditional sense). The Click & Grow Smart Herb Garden moves the outdoors … Read more