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An opener for everybody.
(Credit: Hamilton Beach)Machines that open cans have always confused me. Sure, I understand that for some people opening canned goods can be physically challenging, but as a common kitchen item, its popularity escapes me. For me, it's just quicker and easier to use the handheld can opener. Granted, it's not always easy to find the handheld opener, but when you train yourself to always put it somewhere specific (like car keys), it's the quickest, most efficient tool available. Other than acting as a hard-to-misplace anchor, a can opener weighed down by a motor seems to me to be frivolous--unless, of course, you pile on additional openers.
The Hamilton Beach OpenStation Can Opener is a well-named contrivance designed to facilitate all your opening needs in one location. Not content to stop at cans, the opener supplies the means to open jars, bottles, cans and even those frustrating hard, clear plastic blister packs that so many gadgets come in. By integrating a removable multiuse tool (along with a jar opener) into the design, the can opener extends its usefulness and encourages users to go to one particular spot for all of their opening needs. Just be sure to put those removable tools back where they belong when finished.
The Hamilton Beach OpenStation Can Opener can be found online for about $25.
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For real couch potatoes.
(Credit: Keita Watanabe & Shota Matsuda)You know how, during the two minutes or so that you're waiting for your microwave popcorn to pop, you find yourself thinking, "If only I could be watching a video on YouTube right now"? No? Oh. Well, if you ever do find yourself wanting to take advatage of those few moments of forced waiting, you'll love the idea behind the CastOven.
From the developers' Web site: "Watching movies, playing video games, and browsing Web pages are fun, but all of them require a certain amount of time of us to spare." To solve this problem, this future microwave oven with the 10.4-inch LCD display plays YouTube clips that fit your cooking time.
The concept machine looks ridiculously cool, and you can even watch a demonstration video, in case you're having a hard time understanding how you can cook food and watch videos simultaneously. Props for the design and the presentation, but I'm just not sure there's a real need for this product.
Whistle (along) while you work.
(Credit: Electrolux)Cleaning is no fun. Making a mess is sure fun, but the aftermath can be a downer. But, regardless of the state of the house, the cleaning simply has to (at some point) get done. Cleaning while listening to music is one way to make the chores go by in a more enjoyable manner. However, sooner or later you're going to have to put down that duster and plug in the vacuum cleaner--and there goes the music. Unless of course, you have a vacuum cleaner that also plays music.
The Electrolux UltraSilencer Music Edition Amplified iPod Vacuum is a concept machine designed to make the chore of vacuuming as pleasant and efficient as possible. The musical vacuum cleaner not only features an iPod dock, but also--thanks to exceptionally silent operation--comes complete with two integrated speakers.
Backed up by data (click here for a PDF of the data, or here to watch a video), Electrolux has figured out that the best way to clean is to listen to music. And yes, it depends what type of music. Measuring such variables as Precision, Efficiency, Mood, and Fortitude, the test concluded that "overall, classical music was the best music style for vacuum cleaning." As an added bonus, no matter what type of music you prefer, the results determined that in all cases, the chore was less stressful and even burned more calories than vacuuming without music.
(Via Appliancist)
About a year ago, we shared with you the miBook, an innovative, interactive cookbook. Just in time for the holidays, the miBook has been upgraded, and the price has dropped.
The miBook is like an e-book reader on steroids. Instead of pages of plain text, miBook offers video and audio clips. So when you pull up a recipe, instead of an instruction like "cut up your chicken," you get a video clip with narration: "Slice your chicken tenders into bite-size chunks." You can see the knife being used and the size of the pieces. And the player's key feature remains: it automatically pauses after each step, to give you time to complete your task. When you're ready to move on, hit play on the included remote.
When you take the miBook out of the box, you're up and running in seconds. Plug in the AC adapter and turn it on. Grab the remote and scroll through menus. The process is intuitive, and the included instruction booklet explains anything you don't immediately know how to do. The upgraded screen resolution gives you sharper images on the 7-inch screen so you can see exactly what you need to do, every step of the way.
The list of available titles for miBook has been expanded, and the cards themselves load faster than ever. As soon as I loaded a card into the player, its contents were instantly available. I could call up recipes and scroll through menus with no lag time. Each recipe book features 150 recipes sorted by ingredient, time to prepare, and cooking method. I played around with Quick and Easy Meals, Pizzas, Pastas, and Salads, and Irresistible Desserts. Other titles include Healthy Cooking for Kids and Amazing Party Food.
A nice touch: the remote is wrapped in plastic with an opening at the bottom to allow you to change the battery without unwrapping it. So if you happen to get it dirty while cooking (not that I would ever do such a thing, of course), you can just wipe it down when you're done.
For $90, you can snag the player with two bundled cooking titles. Additional titles are about $20 and cover not only cooking, but also parenting, home repairs, projects, decorating, gardening, and organizing. And pet care, crafts, musical instruments, technology, and travel are on the way. Content providers include popular TV networks like Food Network, HGTV, and Parents TV, and leading book publishers and authors. Plus, you can load your own content onto the player--music, photos, even PDFs--via SD cards or a USB cable.
We've looked at toasters that print designs on your toast before. This toaster is actually designed in the style of a printer--stack your toast on top, and each piece "prints" out to your plate below. The eye-catching design is somewhat reminiscent of the iMac, and it would look fabulous in my kitchen. Er, in any kitchen.
Sadly, this toaster is not yet available in stores, but its creator, Othmar Muhlebach, just won second place in the Berner Design Awards (that site's in German, by the way), and it's getting quite a bit of attention in the blogosphere, so there's hope.
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.
Whether you have to keep dinner warm for family members straggling in between work, school, and soccer practice, or you need to keep food ready to serve on the way to someone else's house, the Salter Perfect Temp Food Warmer is able to do just what you need. It can keep your food at ideal serving temperatures for up to 3 hours, while making sure crispy foods are crisp and moist foods stay moist. With its unique venting system, the Salter Perfect Temp Food Warmer lets you easily control how moist or dry your food is.
The Salter Perfect Temp Food Warmer comes with two removable cords: the first is a 3-foot plug that you can use at home, and the second is a 6-foot cord with an AC adapter you can use in your car. The appliance is well insulated, so the outside remains cool to the touch, and offers a wide handle that allows you to carry the warmer as needed. There's also a removable rack so that you can keep two layers of food warm; it will even hold two 16-inch pizzas at once. When not in use, you can use the accompanying bag to store the warmer. The Salter Perfect Temp Food Farmer is available for $199.95.
Periscope not included.
(Credit: Irawoods.com)Few eating or imbibing customs are steeped so deeply in ritual as is the making of tea. From little cucumber sandwiches on one side of the world to medicinal uses on the other, tea has long been held as much more than simply being some leaves soaked in water. As tradition dictates, even a simple modern cup of tea must be attached to at least some sort of process; one that automates the steeping like a submerging submarine seems as good as any.
The Zarafina Tea Maker Suite entertains users while it brews a proper cup of tea. The automated machine features steeping settings for different types of tea. Depending on whether you are making a pot of black, oolong, green, white, or herbal tea, the time and temperature will vary.
The device--which sells online for $60 and up--accomplishes this variety of tea-making by floating an infuser basket full of tea over the heating water. When the temperature is right, the basket is released directly into the tea, sinking much like a submarine would into the ocean.
Featuring a payload of your favorite tea, the maker doesn't stop at simple mechanics when the water is just right--there is the steeping time to consider. Complete with a ceramic teapot, teacups and a serving tray, the do-it-all appliance automatically pours your tea directly into the teapot when it has been steeped for the appropriate amount of time. With or without ceremony, your favorite tea is now ready to enjoy.
My husband is one of about six people on the planet who drinks Vanilla Coke Zero. This flavor is so unpopular that it's extremely difficult to find in bottles, which means we buy a lot of 12-packs of cans of soda.
On occasion, my husband doesn't finish a whole can at once. And the leftover soda loses its carbonation and eventually gets dumped down the drain. And then I get annoyed because I hate wasting money. And food. But mostly money.
So as much as I might enjoy making fun of late night informercials, I was intrigued when I saw an ad for the Bottle Top. It looks like the top third or so of a plastic water bottle, with a lid that seals shut. Snap the top right onto your soda can to keep your soda carbonated and prevent spills. A south Mississippi TV reporter evaluated the Bottle Top and found that it did meet most of the ad claims.
The Bottle Top comes in six different colors. The ad says a set of six is $10, but what you can order online is actually a set of 12 (plus a pop-top opener in case you've never mastered the fine art of opening a can of soda) for $10, plus $6.99 shipping and handling...plus another $6.99 shipping and handling for the second set of six. Or, head to the store and grab a box of 12 for $10.
It's easy to get caught up in fun kitchen gadgets and overlook the things that are most important--like kitchen safety. Do you own a fire extinguisher? Do you know where it is and how to use it? A fire extinguisher can be somewhat unwieldy, and many kitchen extinguishers are only good for a single use. You should still have one in your kitchen, but a backup plan isn't a bad idea.
That's where the Kitchen Fire Mat comes in. The mats are made from amorphous silica cloths and felts, which are absolutely fire proof, impervious to direct flame contact and cannot melt until temperatures exceed 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The blanket smothers the flame without smoke emission or toxic gases, and you can reuse it several times if you're dealing with minor flames.
The blanket is 36 inches by 36 inches and has handles at one end. Plus, it comes packaged in a cute red ceramic fire-hydrant-shaped canister that you can keep on your counter so it's there--accessible--when you need it.
The mat costs about $50. But your peace of mind? Priceless.
