Kitchen
Apron with pot-holders
We avoid clutter in our kitchen, so all towels and oven mitts live in a drawer next to the stove. Accessible, but nowhere near as handy as this apron that puts two padded mitts at your side, literally, right where you need 'em, whenever you 'em. So simple, so elegant. The slits lessen your below-the-belt coverage, of course, but the convenience is a worthy trade.
-- Steven Leckart
$18
Available from Design Within Reach
Manufactured by Royal VKB
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Moist Wound Burn Treatment
Silicone Baking Mat
Build Your Own Earth Oven
Reliable washer for greens
The salad spinner is, for any salad lover, perhaps the most elegant and useful invention of all time. Known for years as that cool brand with the cool designs for everything from garlic presses to tea kettles to silicone pot holders, this American firm has taken the reins of the salad spinner market. Gone are both the crank arm and the string pull. In their stead, the OXO sports a pump-action plunger-like device. Click a button, and the pump springs up from its storage-friendly flushness with the top of the lid. Get that sucker spinning fast with a few pumps, and then push the brake button to stop the spinning action in seconds. And to top it off, the rubber-happy folks at OXO have provided what may be the most useful detail of all: a rim of sticky rubber around the bottom of the bowl to keep the unit from slipping on your countertop as you enthusiastically spin your Cocard or Rouge d'hiver. The plastic is non-porous (including the plastic of the basket), so it's much more resistant to odors, too. For several years, the Zyliss was the gold standard in salad spinners. They first replaced the traditional crank arm design with a pull-string that reduced time and elbow strain dramatically. But eventually they changed their design just enough to make a once-elegant device clunky and annoying. Since the Zyliss doesn't spin freely (it stops when the string gets reeled back in), it puts a lot of stress on the moving parts that are yanked to a stop.The OXO beats it hands-down. I haven't found another spinner quite like it. I've been using mine almost daily for about a year. I grew up in a family that first had a garden, then a farm, and have always eaten copious amounts of salad, even when it wasn't bursting out of the ground chez nous, so I really appreciate a good salad spinner!
-- David Jacoby
We've been spinning fresh greens with this one for a few years. Like most every OXO gadget that lives in our kitchen, this is an absolute winner.
-- Steven Leckart
OXO Salad Spinner
$25
(Model:32480)
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by OXO International, LTD
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OXO Peeler
Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce
OXO Apple Divider
Reliable fish cutters
This is the nicest filleting knife I've ever owned. It does not rust, does not dull easily, is easy to sharpen, and the handle is sanitary, comfortable, and good in cold conditions. Most importantly, the blade is flexible, thin and the shape is just right for filleting. I've used mine for about 7-8 years. It came razor-sharp from the factory and stays sharp for a good deal of time. These days, I usually sharpen it a little bit before every use. Just a couple of laps on a 220 grit Japanese waterstone does the trick. There are plenty of fancy fillet knives you can get, but this one is not particularly expensive and it's the brand I see most commercial fishermen use. There's also a plastic scabbard you can buy. Dexter's filleting knives come in a few varieties of size/length, etc. There's the 9 inch narrow one, for instance, but personally, I find it a bit bulky, so I use an 8" narrow.
-- Michael Krakovskiy
Dexter-Russell Fillet Knife
(SofGrip 8" narrow)
$25
Available from Amazon
Dexter-Russell Fillet Knife Scabbard
$7
(for 5-9 inch. blades)
Available from Fishing Tackle Unlimited
Manufactured by Dexter-Russell
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Hookout
Wiggle Rig
The Curtis Creek Manifesto
Mini fridge-based greenhouse
Cilantro cravings run deep in our house, but even with just one bundle, there's the persistent annoyance of feeling compelled and rushed to consume before it spoils. For the last six months, this plastic container has helped really stretch out the life of some of our herbs. The goods are housed in a plastic pod that inserts into a water dish, which keeps the stems immersed, and the pod itself creates a nice, moist microclimate for the leaves. I was skeptical at first. However, we did a side-by-side comparison with our usual cilantro wrapped in a paper towel in a plastic bag. While the paper towel cilantro started to wilt after about a week and half, a batch from the same bundle kept for an additional two weeks in the Herb Savor. We've tried parsley (success) and basil (no success). The device only seems to work with stalky herbs. Maintenance is easy: just fill the dish with water every few days. It'll take quite some time before we've made back our money in herb savings. The satisfaction in not having to compost unused herbs is enough for me. It looks super modern perched in the fridge door and makes a great conversation starter when we're hosting dinner parties.
-- Steven Leckart
Herb Savor
$30
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Prepara
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Tilia Vacuum Food Sealer
AeroGarden
Cooking Ingredients
Makeshift caffeine bean cooker
I wanted to try roasting my own coffee but was reluctant to plunk down $100 just to try it. The solution: a hot-air popcorn popper. Sweet Maria's web site has detailed instructions on how to use a popcorn popper to dry roast coffee beans. I already had a popper (a $3 "Presto" I got at a thrift store), so I ordered a pound of green beans. Turns out it's very easy. No tinkering, hacking or rewiring necessary.
Measure the beans as you would popcorn. Same amount.
Tilt back the popper a little so the beans won't bounce out.
As the beans roast, the chaff separates, so it's important to point the popper towards a sink or garbage can. You can also do it outside and the chaff just floats away in a slight breeze.
Time it for 6-8 minutes, depending on how dark you like your roast. I usually timed mine about 7-7.5 minutes, but a few trials will get you to a place where you like it. Experiment! Roasting doesn't produce a lot of smoke, but does produce enough to set off a smoke detector. Be sure to disable it while you're roasting inside.
Half a cup of fresh-roasted coffee (above) is enough for two days in our house; I store it in a tight-sealing mason-type jar to keeps it fresh.
Sweet Maria's recommends cooling off the beans so they stop roasting. I do this by shaking them in this jelly-making collander, but really, for my simple tastes, it's not completely necessary.
It's best to wait 12 hours or so before brewing. This allows all the gasses from the roasting process to escape. Again, to my simple taste, it tastes the same. In the photo below, the beans look like they are different colors. This batch (below) was from a blend of different beans. Normally, if the beans are the same, they will all be the same tone of brown.
As you can see, it's a bit of work and requires clean up, but for me, it's well worth it. Coffee roasters have to be cleaned as well, so either way, the process is not for someone in a hurry. Once I figured out that I was going to stick with roasting (who wouldn't? it tastes so much better), I bought the previously-reviewed Fresh Roast Plus Coffee Roaster. It's quieter and has it's own chaff collector. Sweet Maria's has more elaborate roasters. They even have one with a catalytic converter so no smoke comes out. If I had more money, I might buy a better one. But for under a $100, the FreshRoast Plus 8 is great. If I hadn't been able to afford it, though, I'd still be roasting with my popcorn maker. It worked great and tasted great. It fills the house with the lovely aroma of coffee. It also makes for a great conversation piece for people who never have ventured beyond their local coffee house in search of that excellent cup.
-- Bingo Wright
More info available from Sweet Maria's
How to tell if your popper can be a roaster
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Barista Espresso Machine and Grinder
AeroPress
A REVIEW OF REVIEW SITES: Coffee Geek
Luxurious, simple everyday brewer
I've used numerous tea pots, ranging from traditional to modern, built with materials from clay to plastic. The stainless steel and glass Mono Filio is the best one for regular tea drinking. I've been using this teapot daily for about a year and a half, drinking mainly green, oolong and white tea. I'm not sure the suspended design has any benefit besides looks, but it will prevent condensation and heat from reaching wood counters or tables. The real design innovation is the very large strainer basket. Aside from having a metal handle that makes removal easy, the basket is almost the full size of the pot itself, allowing a lot of space for the leaves to float freely. When tea leaves can float freely they release flavors more evenly, making for better-tasting tea. The tea bag is a modern convenience. What you typically get inside is crushed dust rather than intact leaves (this is why it often tastes bitter, especially in the case of black tea). When you put a tablespoon of oolong leaves in this pot, after two infusions the leaves expand to fill perhaps a cup in size. Like the smaller plastic InegnuiTEA, the transparency of the glass provides something interesting to watch while the tea brews. While the IngenuiTEA looks to be more of a travel device or something you use at work, the Mono is something you want to use in your house on a daily basis. The 20 oz. size creates the perfect amount of tea for two people and cleans up nicely. $110 is incredibly expensive. The matching cups, which I bought, are like $70 -- ridiculous. With this one, you have to already know you really like tea. But unlike a lot of modern revisions of traditional objects where radical originality in looks creates some level of annoyance in use, Mono Tabletop's teapot is exactly the opposite. It's much different from the traditional clay pot, yet, for me, easier to use and a better experience. After some 4,000 years of tea culture, that achievement is worth $110.
-- Wayne Bremser
Mono Filio Teapot
$110
Available from In Pursuit of Tea
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Fresh Roast Plus Coffee Roaster
JetBoil
Electric Dispensing Pot
Classic, simple, reliable cooking gauge
Whenever I need a temperature read from an item in the oven, I use this inexpensive, stainless steel thermometer. It's well-designed: I can read the numbers without my glasses or contacts, and a plastic sleeve protects it when not in use. Using my thermometer and the internal temperature specified (for rare, medium, etc.) in whatever recipe I'm working from, I always achieve the required degree of cooking. During the holiday season, I cook a goose, prime ribs, hams and other meats -- special meals for my family that have to be just right. I've been using this thermometer for at least 9 years and it's always accurate. When I needed a new one (the first one was dropped accidentally on a cement patio a couple years ago), I knew I wanted another Taylor since I had been so satisfied with the first one and the company has a great reputation. There are digital thermometers with timers and alarms available from Taylor, and other $20 - $90 digital incarnations like the previously-reviewed Thermapen. I'm not anti-tech by any means, but simplicity and efficiency are a very nice duo. This thermometer serves one purpose. It's easy to read, easy to use, requires no batteries and can last a long time if take care of.
-- Cheryl Hassell
Taylor Analog Instant-Read Dial Thermometer
$7
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Taylor
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Cook's Illustrated
Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter
Raytek Mini Non-Contact Thermometer
Classic ceramic smoker/bbq
The Big Green Egg is an awesome-looking ceramic smoker that gets to temperature in 10 minutes, allows a bag of charcoal to last for 6 months (thanks to amazing heat retention), and can cook from 150 degrees to 700 degrees F. The BGE really gets you proper smoking as well as grilling, where the flavor gets right into the meat. The top and bottom halves have a virtually airtight felt seal, and the only holes are a variable intake air vent at the bottom front and a variable exhaust. With the combination of these vents you can vary the temperature (and maintain it) to around 25 degrees of accuracy within that 150 - 700 degrees F range. This keeps all the smoke and heat in and limits the amount of fuel burned. The ceramic doesn't develop hot spots either, so the cooking is completely even -- like an oven. Food stays moist and juicy; we've had awesome pulled pork, ribs and steaks. With the right indirect cooking accessory, you can also use the BGE as a clay oven for cooking pizza, tandoori and even pies. We have the XL version, which is massive enough for smoking 15 chickens at once! The smaller BGEs are cheaper, of course, though not cheap. However, you can basically do everything on a BGE that you can do on a regular grill. Our old bbq and BGE sit side by side on our back patio, but now we only use the BGE.
-- Matt Field
Big Green Egg
$500 (medium)
Available from Barbecues.com*
And $220 (mini) or $893 (XL) also from Barbecues.com
Also available in various sizes from Amazon
Manufactured by Big Green Egg Company
[Modeled after the ceramic "kamado" pots used in Japan, the BGE's been around since the 70's; loyal BGE fanatics ("eggheads") host meet ups IRL and share recipes and cooking tips... -- sl]
*a reader pointed out that the Big Green Egg Company has an odd policy regarding "internet retailers": the manufacturer does NOT honor the warranty if you purchase online instead of ordering from an offline retailer. -- sl
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Lodge Hibachi Grill
How to Grill
TEC Gas Grills
One-handed towel dispenser
I do a lot of food preparation from my wheelchair, and found that most free-rolling towel dispensers just don't work for me since I can only grip with one hand. The genius of this "Perfect Tear" paper towel dispenser is that it allows enough freedom for the roll to unwind with a steady pull, but has enough friction to prevent further unwinding when you pull to detach a sheet. It has a center post with bowed wires that contract and hold the paper roll snugly in place. It is also very stable because the base weighs about 4 pounds. No more chasing unwinding rolls of paper across the kitchen floor. Better still, it works just as well at the end of the roll as it does at the start. When the last sheet has been pulled, unscrew the decorative top cap, slide off the used cardboard tube, push on another roll and replace the cap -- all of this can be easily performed one-handed. I've had mine a couple of years now. Well worth the precious space it's claimed on my very limited counter.
-- Eric Eales
Kamenstein Paper Towel Holder
$20
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Kamenstein
Related items previously reviewed on Cool Tools:
Simplehuman Flip Top Dishrack
MysticMaid
Lee Valley Jar Opener
Classic stainless steel de-greaser
We started investing in fancy, mirror-polished All-Clad cookware a few years ago, but keeping them "stainless" was impossible -- until a sample of this powder came bundled with a sauce pan we bought last year. Where regular dish soap and newfangled all-purpose sprays like 409 had virtually no effect on de-greasing our gunked up gear, this old-fashioned cleanser consistently works miracles, especially on the teapot that's always in the line of fire during splatter-heavy stove-top sessions. You just sprinkle a couple of tablespoons onto a wet pan/pot, add a little water and make a slurry with a soft wet rag. With minimal elbow grease, we restored an unsightly jelly roll sheet pan to near original condition. A couple other advertised uses I've yet to try: chrome bathroom fixtures, tile grouting, porcelain and stainless steel sinks, and removing rust and discoloration from car bumpers. It's available at most grocery stores. It's inexpensive and, thankfully, doesn't smell harsh. It contains oxalic acid, though, so you definitely want to wash up thoroughly afterwards.
-- Steven Leckart
Bar Keeper's Friend
$3
(12 oz.)
Available from Amazon
Or $6 for 21 oz. from Amazon
Manufactured by SerVaas Laboratories
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Vinegar
Cook's Thesaurus
Magic Eraser
Metal seal popper
I always used a spoon until I was given one of these lid poppers. I was skeptical, but I now find myself reaching for it without even thinking. It's an 8.5 by 5 cm piece of metal, bent in the middle and curved at each end to accommodate just about any size jar lid. It's very simple and straightforward. You simply place it on the top of the jar with either of the rolled sides caught just under the edge of the lid (which side of the opener depends on the lid size). Your fingers hold the piece in place, which acs as a lever, and the bend in the metal serves as the fulcrum. The downward pressure of the heel of your hand provides just enough force to release the vacuum without distorting the lid. I can happily report no more bent spoon handles, no more splatters, no more spills, just a nice "pop" sound when the vacuum has been broken; then I know I am home free. I have not tried the plastic JarPop, but I've had this steel one for at least 3 years and it has never bent in anyway, nor has it rusted.
-- Ellen Rocco
Lee Valley Jar Opener
$10
Available from Lee Valley
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Tilia Vacuum Food Sealer
Peanut Butter Mixer
World's Easiest Wine Bottle Opener
Compact culinary travel kit
Zojirushi's Mr. Bento Lunch Jar is essentially a modern take off of a Japanese bento box. But it can keep cold things cold and hot things hot. Mr. Bento has 4 microwaveable containers: a soup container, which is watertight; a large container for your main meal that comes with an insulated lid; a smaller container I use for salads; and then an even smaller container I put cheese and grapes in. The neat thing is that all these containers stack neatly in a specified order into a main stainless jar. The way the bowls and jar are designed, they stack in a particular way so that the soup and main dish container form a seal to keep those items hot or cold, while the other two containers remain at room temperature. I have only been using my Mr. Bento a couple weeks now, but I can absolutely verify dishes stay both hot and cold, while the rest of the jar stays at room temperature. Mr. Bento even comes with a spork so you don't have to bring extra utensils - and the spork has a nice cover. Mr. Bento himself comes with a nice bag that has pockets for napkins and the like. I have found the bag is large enough to fit Mr. Bento plus an additional small plastic bowl. In my case, I typically take a small container of oatmeal to work, so I just place Mr. Bento on top and put the entire stack in the bag. Mr. Bento is certainly no paper bag, but I do not find it overly heavy. I've actually weighed it and found a fully packed Mr Bento with bag and utensil is around 3 pounds, depending how it's packed. As for how long things stay hot... well, I typically pack my lunch around 6:45 or 7 in the morning, then don't eat until 11:45 or 12, and I do not feel the need to microwave. For example, just yesterday I microwaved a frozen burrito, then cut it in half to fit it into the meal section, and made some microwaved bean soup in the soup container that was packed 7:00. At 11:00 the temperature was still good, and I did not nuke it. In fact, the burrito was hot, and steam came from the container when I opened it. Zojirushi states that all foods should be consumed within 6 hours to avoid spoilage. They also advise to preheat the jar itself with hot or cold water for maximum temperature retention, though I have never done that. Zojirushi has other Bentos, too: the Ms. and mini (and I also have their rice cooker). When you first look at Mr. Bento, you worry you're going to walk away hungry. You're mileage may vary, but I am a whopping 240 pounds of man and sometimes I wonder if I should have purchased a smaller Bento. My impetus for buying a lunch box was my discovery of spending over $100/month going out to lunch. I wanted to save money and did not want to get bored eating-in. So far so good! I also found a cult following around Mr. Bento, including the "Mr. Bento Porn" group at Flickr (ed. note: Totally Safe For Work*). This is what sold me on it.
-- Ted Boydston
Mr. Bento Lunch Jar
$37
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Zojirushi
[*Beware: You could spend a lot of time peeping the members' awesome lunches -- sl]
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Zojirushi Electric Dispensing Pot
How to Cook Everything
Snowpeak Stove, Cookset and Spork
Heat-activated frozen treat scoop
I love ice cream (unfortunately for my waist), and for a long time I accepted the fact I either had to work on my wrist muscles, leave the ice cream out to soften up a bit, or run the frozen tub or a spoon under hot water before digging in. Not anymore. The trick to this unique scoop is the heat-conductive fluid sealed inside the handle and spoon portion of the scoop. The heat from your hand warms the fluid allowing the ice cream to come out easily. It's more convenient than holding a spoon under hot water, which can dilute the ice cream if it's not dried off beforehand. I learned of the Zeroll from a cooking magazine that did a test to find a scooper that makes the "perfect, round scoop." The Zeroll won the test, but the reason I love it is that it can scoop out ice cream from tubs of ice cream that are hard as a rock, like a spoon through a tub of margarine. The scoop is not dishwasher safe (the fluid can't be heated that hot), so it needs to be hand washed in warm or luke warm water. The Zeroll comes in different sized scoops from 2 to 4 ounces, and in either a silver aluminum or an Anodized Teflon finish. I opted for the 2-ounce aluminum scooper because I've heard the Teflon finish wears off over time.
-- Ethan Stettner
Zeroll Ice Cream Scoops
$17
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by The Zeroll Company
More...
DIY beverage bubbles
I drink a lot of seltzer. So much that my fiancee says I couldn't survive without bubbles in my water. After trying a SodaClub home soda maker (picture above right) and realizing it would cost $70 to buy a special part for it, I found a really detailed resource for building my own, simple home carbonation system for under a $100 using a CO2 tank, regulator, hose and a carbonator cap (details below). It took ten minutes to build. I love having very good homemade soda on the cheap and not having to lug around seltzer bottles or worry about it going flat. With a scuba-like tank in the kitchen, guests always ask "What is that?!" and I really love demonstrating. When one friend of mine said he didn't like soda, I whipped him up a mango soda from this special puree of mango I had. He absolutely loved it! And a by-product of the cost of producing low cost seltzer water is that I can experiment with different flavored sodas. I mean some really wacky stuff, like lychee-tangerine or coconut-lucima. If I don't like it, or it tastes weird, I don't feel guilty about draining the entire liter or two-liter bottle.
My 20lb system makes over 1133 liters of carbonated water. In practice, efficiency is not perfect, with unavoidable losses in the hose and headspace. But at current prices of $20 per 20lb tank-fill, the cost to convert tap water to seltzer is under $0.02 cents per liter. A single fill of a 20lb tank charges over 500 bottles, which will keep you supplied for 1.5 years if you consume an average of one bottle daily. In terms of break even, assuming that you can find liter bottles of seltzer water for $0.99 per bottle, then it'll take roughly 100 bottles for the system to break even. I definitely drink a liter a day, so it only took about 3 months for me to break even -- not to mention all of the labor and space that it saves to lug in and store 8.3 dozen liter bottles of seltzer water.
I found a CO2 tank on eBay for about $30 bucks, including shipping. I use a dual gauge CO2 regulator; a single gauge one for CO2 output would work also, but I prefer the dual as it also tells you the amount of gas in the CO2 canister ($20 on eBay). You also need a hose (or "gas fitting tube"). To avoid the site's detailed instructions on how to fit the CO2 hose onto a 2 liter bottle of soda, I bought a special carbonator cap that lets you easily insert the hose ($11 from Northern Brewer). You can't refill a CO2 tank in NYC, as it violates several ordinances. However, you can exchange your empty tank for a full one for $20 at a local welding supply place (other spots include keg brewers and anywhere that refills fire extinguishers).
The operating instructions are fairly straightforward. On a dual gauge tank there are two gauges and two valves, one for the main tank and one for the output. The valve between the CO2 tank and the regulator, I'll call the CO2 valve and the valve between the regulator and the carbonator cap, I'll call the output valve:
1) Fill up a one- or two-liter bottle.
2) Screw on the carbonator cap fairly tight (it's a ball release
cap, so you simply push the entire cap to release it from the hose afterwards)
3) Make sure the Output valve is completely shut off
4) Turn on the CO2 valve and watch the CO2 tank gauge shoot up (this will be
the remaining pressure in your tank)
5) Slowly turn the Output valve open until the pressure reaches about 50 PSI
(I've been experimenting with various PSI's -- 50 PSI works best for me)
6) As you feel the bottle get full (don't worry, I read recently
that two-liter soda bottles are rated to handle 200 PSI), pick it up and start
shaking vigorously as you would a bar drink (this helps carbonate the water).
7) Turn off the CO2 valve and then the Output valve
8) Remove the carbonator cap
Incidentally, it was a SodaClub home soda maker I bought on eBay that inspired me ultimately to build my own home carbonation unit. The SodaClub unit has a proprietary design whereby it is nearly impossible to refill without a special adapter and the adapters I found online cost $70 bucks (more than I paid for the SodaClub). So rather than spend $70 to fix an inherent problem with the SodaClub (and I would still need a 20lb canister sitting somewhere in my house), I did some research and found this site. For about $95 bucks -- less than the cost of a new SodaClub (they retail new for about $100) -- I have more than 10 times the soda making capacity (SodaClub claims you can get 110 liters of soda). I should add that I've seen plans on eBay for $5 or $10 bucks for how to construct your own soda fountain gun that spurts out bubbly water on demand. With mine, the end result is the same, but the carbonator unit I built is so much simpler and cheaper and it doesn't require a heat sink or a refrigeration unit.
-- Alastair Ong
Home Carbonation System
Info available from Richard J. Kinch
Soda Supplies & Parts
$5+ (extracts)
$11 (carbonator cap)
Available from Northern Brewer
--
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
ProMash
Thermos Beverage Bottle Insulator
Stowable citrus pulverizer
We make tapenades for the local farmers' markets and each contain the juice of half a lemon. Before getting this sturdy juicer, not only were my hands and wrists aching after a morning squeezing (literally by hand), but the lemon juice would get onto my fingers and, after a while, burn. With this juicer, I insert half a lemon and push down using my whole arm rather than squeezing the lemon with my fingers. It works great with half the effort. There's very little fatigue involved in using it. No juice is wasted by dripping onto the hands. And the juicer's small enough to tote around. One caveat is that smaller seeds can sometimes pass through the juice holes, so I find it's still necessary to squeeze the juice through a sieve.
-- Bruno Teersteeg
I'm sure some folks are partial to using the specific color-coated sizes, but we rely on the orange juicer for all of our citrus needs. If you're tackling a bucket of lemons at home you'll probably want a juicer that sits on the counter, but if you're doing a few on the fly or on-the-go, I highly recommend these enameled aluminum juicers. There are similar hand presses with soft grips that are made of stainless steel, but they can be twice as expensive. Ours is tough enough and besides, there's nothing like a bright orange tool to break up the monotony of the silverware drawer.
-- Steven Leckart
Citrus Squeezers
$14
(oranges)
Available from Amazon
$12
(lemons)
Available from Amazon
$11
(limes)
Available from Amazon
Quick fish cleaner
Sure, you can scale fish with the back of your knife blade -- and I did for years until I drove my thumb into the dorsal spike of a striped bass one evening. After subsequent surgery, I picked up this little device at the tackle shop. It offers more than self-defense, it's just absolutely good at what it does and costs less than ten bucks. Show it to your friends and make them guess what it's for; they'll be stumped. What would make you design a fish scaler with what looks like plastic hex-head bits loosely attached to the underside of a circular disc? It doesn't make sense. But it works! It defends your thumb (thank you) and prevents scales from scattering all over and flying up into your face. Only a little pressure is needed and the fish is completely clean in seconds.
-- Jay Allison
Magic Fish Scaler
$6
Available from Bass Pro Shops
Manufactured by Tackle Factory
High-powered, on-the-go & nautical BBQ
The Solaire Anywhere Portable Infrared Grill is a full-sized, no-compromises top-quality grill wrapped up in a super-portable package -- it even comes with its own carrying bag, and -- a very nice touch -- has flip locks that hold the lid closed when stowed. This grill is small in size but not cooking power, putting out 14,000 BTUs, or nearly twice what is typical for portable grills. The secret is that instead of conventional burners, it uses a ceramic infrared grid that heats in seconds (less than three minutes), cooks in a flash, and cools down fast (pack away in about 15 minutes) with no coals to dispose of. It uses 1-lb. propane bottles or a 20-lb. tank with optional adaptor, and can also be converted to use natural gas.
The surface area of the grill (155 sq inches) may seem small, but things cook so fast, it will handle a meal for four without any trouble. Proof of the Soliare Anywhere grill's no-compromises performance lies in the fact that its distributor, Rasmussen's, recommends that customers buy this small grill as an introduction if considering purchase of the larger Soliaire patio grills that cost thousands of dollars.
Best of all, the Solaire is elegantly designed and ruggedly built for a lifetime of use. The basic unit is commercial grade 304 stainless steel, but one can get a marine grade version in 316 stainless as well. And the unit is super easy to clean: the burner self-cleans simply by letting it run at high for a few minutes after everything is off the grill -- anything on the burner simply vaporizes. Both the grilling grate and burner easily lift out, allowing for easy wipe-down of the steel housing.
I never take my grill anywhere beyond our patio, but I wanted a high performance grill that I could set up in an instant and hide away in a closet, as I hate the look of those big grills that take up deck space (it is 21"W x 12"H x 13"D, including the carrying handles, and weighs 20 lbs. with the carry bag). The Solaire fits the bill perfectly, but it is really designed for Rv-ers, car-campers, tailgaters and boaters -- anyone who needs convenient, portable no-compromises grilling. It also has some nice accessories: car-campers will like the collapsible tripod base, while boaters should check out the gimbaled deck rail clamp.
The only hitch is cost -- at $285-$400 the Solaire is more expensive than other portable grills. But as our parents told us, sometimes spending a bit extra on quality saves money (and grief) in the long term. Cost kept me from buying the Solaire three years ago; instead, I purchased another brand name portable for $150. It was great at first, but it was hard to clean and started failing in the second season. I repaired it and donated it to a charity -- and then bought the Solaire.
-- Paul Saffo
Solaire Anywhere Portable Infrared Grill
$323
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Rasmussen Iron Works, Inc.
Food sponge for anti-oil dieting
I have been using Mystic Maid's blotter sheets for about 1 year and they are by far the easiest and most efficient way to pick up oil and grease from your food, especially soups, stews and sauces. I currently live in Hong Kong. I don't know if you know much about the Hong Kong/Chinese culture, but we eat a lot of soup. I have tried placing the soup in the fridge to solidify the grease and eventually remove it -- too time consuming. I have tried to skim it with a ladle, but it gets messy and you have to clean an additional utensil as well as the container for the grease you have removed. It is much easier to use these sheets to pick up the grease and control your diet.
Generally, if I'm blotting food like pizza my paper towel or tissue begins to break down and I get paper pieces in my food. The Grease Blotter doesn't break up and it only picks up the oil and grease. When I ordered the product directly from the manufacturer, I asked how it was developed. The high-tech non-woven material was originally developed for the Japanese oil spill containment industry and is now produced in food-grade materials for consumers.
-- Fiona Loh
Grease Blotter
$5
(package of 10 sheets)
Available from Amazon
Or $6 (w/free shipping w/in the US) from Mystic Maid
Manufactured by Castle International
Classic, cast iron cooking
The first time I saw one of these finely crafted grills was on a ranch I visited back in the late '70s. They've changed very little over time: the one I have now that is a few years old is essentially the same as the first one I saw almost 30 years ago. Being cast iron, it absorbs and retains heat, radiating it evenly, so the whole stove is part of the heat source -- not just the coals.
It's cast iron instead of stamped tin or steel, so it's heavy, but substantially built. And it's a hibachi, not a lidded grill, so it's not a smoker. It is small enough to put in the trunk or chuck box and take camping, or to use on the patio (about 20" x 10" x 9" and the legs lift the bottom about 4 inches off the ground). But what I like best is it fits in the fireplace, so you can grill in wet or cold weather indoors.
It is lower in profile than most charcoal grills, but about twice as big as most hibachis. If you are cooking for 8 or more people, obviously it will stretch its capabilities, but for the two of us or when we have a couple of friends over for kabobs, it can't be beat. It is just about perfect for a couple or small family.
The grate you place the food on is not welded wire -- it is cast iron like the rest, so the cross pieces are as wide as the slots in between. They hold food well, hold heat well, and when you sear your food, you can see the wide dark sears on the food. The grate is also strong enough to hold pots, pans, coffee pots, etc., -- thus, it can function as a small stove.
There is a door that opens down on the front to add coals or help the dampers to adjust the heat. The damper doors adjust by sliding side to side so you can adjust the draft perfectly. The grill disassembles for cleaning. It's only four parts: the base with the front door, pin-hinged at the bottom, the top grate, the bottom grate, and the sliding damper.
Again, the lower grate the coals rest on is cast iron, so it won't burn out or warp over time. The whole grill is really well made. I burned out several imported hibachis before getting this grill. It should last a lifetime.
-- Rick Shannon
Lodge Hibachi Cast Iron Grill
$90
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Lodge Manufacturing Company
Affordable, cut-resistant hand protection
These heavy-duty protective gloves are used in the restaurant industry for defense against knife and mandolin cuts and for handling trash, which often has glass and fish bones that stick through garbage bags. I read about them in a cooking magazine, and bought one after cutting myself on a mandolin. I now go in for a couple extra slices on the mandolin. I would stop sooner if I didn't have one on, and the glove has hit the blade of the mandolin often, and my hand's always safe. I hit myself once with a cleaver -- fortunately not too hard. I was black-and-blue, but not cut. I've had my glove for about three years and use it four to five times a month.
They are made of Spectra and Kevlar and, apparently, stainless steel that must be woven in, because if there is stainless steel you can't see or feel it. It just seems like Kevlar to me. I have washed mine and have not noticed any deterioration, but it feels a little stiffer and looks a little dingy at first.
They are still certainly flexible enough to carve with. It allows enough movement/dexterity for me. None of what I do (slicing vegetables on a mandolin, using a cleaver or dealing with broken glass) demands a great deal of dexterity, but I'd say wearing these gloves is about the same as wearing winter Thinsulate gloves. And The weave is much tighter than with an expensive chain mail glove, so I think it could actually be more protective in terms of guarding against knife pokes.
-- Steve Golden
$17 (one glove)
(sizes xs - xl)
Available from Magid Glove and Safety
Manufactured by Wells Lamont Industry Group
Stirs PB with less mess
We like natural peanut butter, but hate the initial stirring mess. The minute you put a spatula in, the oil overflows and is everywhere. This stirrer seals the jar, and with a few quick turns the peanut butter is completely mixed and there is zero mess. Easy to use: you put the lid on, insert the stirrer and turn the knob. The gasket on the hole where you put the stirrer even cleans it off when you are done! My husband actually sneaks in a new jar of peanut butter so that he can mix it up before I get to.
-- Sessalee Hensley
Peanut Butter Mixer
$9
Available from Lehman's
Or $10 from Amazon
Manufactured by Witmer Prodcuts, Inc.
DIY coffee bean toasting
I started roasting coffee beans at home a few months ago and the results have far exceeded my expectations. Freshly roasted coffee tastes great; the basic process is very simple; and with the Fresh Roast Plus, it's easy to get great, very satisfying results right from the very first batch. The FRP is basically a blow-drier in a can controlled by a simple analog timer dial. Hot air blows up into the glass basket that holds the beans -- heating and agitating them -- and then carries the chaff up through a trap before exiting the top. In five or six minutes, it roasts enough coffee to get me going for two mornings.
The heat gun/dog bowl method, which requires a tool that is essentially a hair dryer, in combination with a blend might provide more bang for the buck (if the goal is nothing more than a good cup of coffee), but this cheap roaster is a good tool for learning about roasting. The FRP allows me to hear, smell and see the beans during the roasting process, and the simple timer control permits ending the roast manually at any given moment. Still, this not a "set and forget" process. The roaster's timer is more about preventing fires than ensuring any particular result. It seems to me it was designed assuming that the user would monitor the roasting process and choose to stop at any given moment, but the house wouldn't burn down if the machine were neglected and the max time ran out.
Note: one part cracked about six weeks after I got it. However, the manufacturer sent me a replacement at no charge after a quick phone call. For longevity, I've learned, it's important to let the roaster cool between uses. This, coupled with the roaster's small batch size, might limit the roaster to one or two-drinker households.
I bought mine from Sweet Maria's along with an 8-variety assortment of single-origin beans (plus a pound of SM's French Roast blend), which meant I could plug and play. Fooling around with different roasts of single-origin coffees is great fun. Run a lighter roast and a darker roast of the same bean, taste them apart, then combine them in various proportions. Here the small-batch capacity of the FRP is not a liability, and every roast turns out a bit different even when you're trying to duplicate a previous roast. The FRP runs really quick as roasters go, and 15 seconds (or increasing/decreasing the amount of beans) can make a huge difference in the result.
That said, I'm still very new to this. When I started, I was getting great results with everything but the blend (first try was sour, second tasted burnt). I sent an email to Sweet Maria's, got a reply right away, and sorted it out. I really recommend purchasing beans from them. They sell coffee beans from all the major growing regions; many of their offerings originate from individual farms the proprietor has visited; and If you take advantage of their very deep website and buy a variety of beans, you can learns a lot about coffee such as where and how it's grown, how it's processed, and how it's bought and sold. As time goes by, I expect one can learn to appreciate "vintages" and how the coffee from a particular farm varies from year to year. Thanks to the variety of cultivars, climates and processing methods and the hundreds of flavor-influencing compounds present in each bean, not to mention the various ways of preparing coffee, it's quite a complex beverage. Roasting my own beans with the FRP adds another level to that complexity, as does knowing sometimes quite specifically about where, when and by whom they were grown. And I think there will always be more to learn.
I'd been thinking about roasting my own for some time and finally decided to start roasting when my local roaster raised the price of a pound of French Roast from $11.50 to $13.50. Most of the green beans I've bought were five to six dollars a pound. I think a pound of green beans yields about 14 oz of roasted coffee. Since switching to the Fresh Roast Plus, my electric bill has gone up three or four dollars a month (I'm roasting about six pounds per month, but had been buying three), but I think the roaster will pay for itself in less than a year. Bottom line: low initial investment, great early results, limitless potential for learning and surprises.
-- Alan Murdock
French Roast Plus Coffee Roaster
$74
$84 (includes 4lbs. of 8 coffee samples)
Available from Sweet Maria's
Or $80 from Amazon (roaster only)
Manufactured by Fresh Beans, Inc.
Loose tea steeps best when it has ample room to expand and have the maximum surface area exposed to hot water, making this convenient tea brewing-straining device superior to ball or "in cup" strainers. You just add the desired amount of tea, (two or three teaspoons in the 16 oz. version), and pour in water heated to the correct temperature. Allow 3 minutes of steeping time for green teas, five for black teas, and as long as desired for herbal teas; then place the device on top of your mug and the tea releases in a narrow stream while the leaves are kept in the ingenuiTEA by the built-in strainer. One can re-brew the same leaves again if desired, or simply toss them and rinse the ingenuiTEA with warm water and dish soap (it's also dishwasher safe).
The ingenuiTEA works marvelously for both green tea (steeping temperature of 180 degrees) and black or herbal teas, which usually require water that has just come to a rolling boil. The plastic tends to insulate fairly well, meaning maximum extraction for those teas that do require exceptionally hot water and/or extended steeping times. A standard teapot and a simple strainer (not the ball type, but the kitchen type with an open top and a handle) could make tea just as well, but the convenience and aesthetics of this device compel me to recommend it. Being able to dispense tea directly into your preferred mug is a selling point; and it's wonderful to be able to see the leaves expand and "dance." The strainer is replaceable, and while it does discolor when brewing black tea, a brief soak in hot water and "Oxyclean" will have it looking brand new.
-- Daniel Walton
ingenuiTEA Teapot
$15
Available from Cooking.com
Also $19 from Amazon (includes four green tea samples)
Manufactured by Adagio Teas
No more soggy tuna
For years I wondered why no one had built or designed a way to drain out all of the liquid out of a can of tuna. Then, lo and behold, I found one. This stainless steel can colander is relatively inexpensive and built with a high grade of stainless steel, so it is practically bullet proof and almost impossible to bend. This colander also works on any normal-sized can, but its real magic is its ability to completely drain the liquid out of a can to prevent wet and soggy tuna. Progressive also makes a plastic colander but I wouldn't recommend it. The stainless steel model isn't much more expensive and it will last you your lifetime.
-- Dennis Emge
You can flip the colander over and use it on regular cans of things like corn or beans or whatever to drain off the liquid. Its cool.
-- Johanna Bocian
Stainless Steel Can Colander
$7
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Progressive
Quick coconut penetration
Considering the implications of carrying around a machete and also the possibility of hacking off a finger, a CocoTap is a simple and invaluable tool for accessing a coconut. A solid 316 stainless tube crafted with a pointed end and a handle that folds out to a T position, it will easily pierce a green coconut and go through everything from a jelly nut to a mature drinking coconut.
I picked up the "Barman" model at the main market in Cairns Australia. I was actually after a machete as I lived for many years in Ecuador and used them for many things -- the main one being coconuts. I was a bit skeptical when the guy at the market showed me the CocoTap, but I've now had it for more than a year and am on my second trip to the tropics with it. It's a hell of a lot easier to pack than a machete. It folds up conveniently and I also use it for all kinds of small jobs requiring something strong, sharp and pointy. As the web site says, it's like an extra finger.
-- Patrick Handley
CocoTap
$35
Available from and manufactured by CocoTap
Healthy snacking in 30 seconds
I like apples but I've never been a fan of the form factor, since they tend to be tough on the teeth and jaws. The OXO Apple Divider cores and chops in one fell swoop. Total preparation time, including rinsing it off afterwards: 30 seconds max, 20 if I'm in a hurry. Like other OXO products I've tried, the OXO Apple Divider is simply a well-designed, well-built version of a classic tool - in this case, a corer/slicer featuring their trademark "good grips" and sharp blades.
I appreciate it every time I use it because I'm a chocoholic with easy access during the day to cookies and hot chocolate. Bringing a plastic container filled with wholesome, fresh, organic apple chunks makes it easier for me to resist the lure of chocolate and opt for a healthy and delicious desert instead. If you want a quick and easy way to replace the cookies and candy bars in your life with apples, the OXO Apple Divider is one single-use tool that's worth keeping around.
-- Jonathan Steigman
We we bought this and use it regularly on potatoes to make oven fries. Slice the potato with it, toss in olive oil and spices of your choice, and bake on a non-stick sheet for 20-30 minutes, 450 degrees, turning once. I didn't even know it was actually for apples until I saw it on cool tools.
-- Julee Bode
OXO Apple Divider
$9
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by and available from OXO International, LTD
Mega-powerful, hand juicer
Compared to all the kitchen gadgets gathering dust in our cupboards, this glorified lever is the most efficient, easiest to clean, and most satisfying to use. It has a simple design, few moving parts, and a removable cup to catch the drips. It doesn't spew flecks of fruit all over the wall and there's no messy pulp to mop up. With no motor to burn out, this industrial-strength juicer works just as well as when we bought it from a restaurant supply store two years ago -- and we use it an average of twice a week, depending on what citrus is in season. We also own a Black & Decker electric model (it now has a blown-out motor), a Juiceman Jr., a wooden hand reamer, and a little metal one you insert into a lemon just for a squeeze. With its powerful six-inch lever, the Hamilton remains our absolute favorite. In the dark winter months, when the backyard tree gives you lemons... well, you know the rest.
-- Raquel Maria Dillon
Hamilton Beach Commercial Juicer
$170
Available from Amazon
Or $136 from Instawares
Manufactured by Hamilton Beach
5-minute breakfast sandwiches
This toaster is the same price and occupies the same amount of counter space as a basic toaster (about 8"x7"x15"), but it does much more. It can poach one egg or boil up to four, and there's a tray for simultaneously warming meat or veggie sausage. While the toaster toasts quite well (it's great for plain toast, too), the real selling point is how convenient it is. I just put a few tablespoons of water in the heating tray, spritz the poaching tray with a little non-stick spray, add some water (the toaster comes with a special measuring cup), crack the egg, pop in the toast, and return in about 5 minutes when everything's ready for quick assembly and consumption. The toaster also calls for less clean up. Wiping out the poaching, heat and meat trays takes a minute, and there's even a tray for crumbs. I don't ever want to own another toaster.
-- Tim Plumley
Back to Basics Toaster & Egg Poacher
$40
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Back To Basics
All foods
For the straight dope on cooking ingredients, this is your one-stop compendium. Aimed at global foodies, it explains the differences between similar ingredients, and how they are used in cooking. Unravel your various pastas, cheese types, strange fruits and confusing meat parts. Over 1,500 ingredients are covered, so you get only a brief paragraph or two on each, plus a picture. The only source that comes close to the comprehensive range of this fat, affordable book is Wikipedia, but it lacks this tome's wonderfully informative photographs. Food likes to be seen. I use this book for both browsing and searching. (It's out of print, but you can get remaindered copies pretty cheap. The same information is sold in a larger format and much more expensive edition entitled The World Encyclopedia of Cooking Ingredients, but it is not worth it.)
-- KK
Cooking Ingredients
Christine Ingram
2002, 512 pages
$12
Available from Amazon
Sample excerpts:
Calf's and lamb's sweetbreads
Sweetbreads are the thymus glands taken from the neck and heart of young animals such as calves and lambs. They are pale and delicate with a tender meaty texture when braised or boiled. They are often pressed and fried or sauteed after blanching.
*
Spelt flour is ground from the small brown grains of an ancient variety of wheat, which is quite different from modern types of wheat.
Spelt is one of the oldest cultivated species of wheat. It is grown in only a few areas of Europe today, but some of the smaller flour mills produce a spelt flour that is available in some health food stores. It is popular in northern Europe, especially Germany, Switzerland and France, and is beginning to enjoy a revival in some other countries. This may be because the gluten it contains is fragile, so people with a gluten intolerance may be able to use it. It contains more B vitamins than other wheat grains.
*
Shrimp paste is compressed and sold in blocks or packed into tiny tubs.
Also known as blachan, terasi, kapi and ngapi, according to its country of origin, shrimp paste is an essential ingredient in scores of savoury dishes from South-east Asia. It is made from tiny shrimp that have been salted, dried, pounded and then left to ferment in the hot, humid equatorial conditions until the aroma is very pungent. The color of the paste can be anything from pale oyster pink to purplish brown, depending upon the type of shrimp and the precise process used to produce it.
There's no disguising the main constituent of this paste. The moment you unwrap it or lift the lid, the smell of rotten fish is quite overwhelming. Do not let this put you off, however. The odour vanishes when the paste is cooked, and this is one of those ingredients that really does made a difference to the food, adding depth, pungency and a recognizable South-east Asian signature. it should be used sparingly - a piece about 1-2 cm/1/2-3/4 in long is sufficient for most dishes.
Ingredient substitutions
Although it has been online for years, I only recently discovered this incredibly handy resource. Use this simple website to to find substitutes for cooking ingredients. Say a recipe calls for buckwheat flour, which you most likely don't have on hand; what do you use? Type in the term and presto, the links take you to an entry which will suggest alternatives. I also find the site helpful in quickly introducing myself to new ingredients. While not exhaustive, it lists about 90% of the ingredients you'll probably encounter, including many exotics, usually with a helpful photo and a short summary of its origin. (For the best on ingredients see below). This thesaurus of ingredients is fast, simple, and just right.
-- KK
The Cook's Thesaurus
Sample entries:
Pigeon Pea = goongoo pea = gunga pea = gungo pea = congo pea = congo bean = no-eyed peas = gandules Shopping hints: These are usually sold dried, but fresh, frozen, and canned peas also are available. They have a strong flavor, and they're popular in the South and in the Caribbean. Substitutes: yellow-eyed peas OR black-eyed peas
*
Jocoque = labin Notes: This is a Mexican product that's halfway between buttermilk and sour cream. Substitutes: salted buttermilk OR sour cream OR yogurt OR crema
Bargain Japanese chef's knife
I decided about six years ago that what I really needed was a Japanese Chef's Knife - not because I'm an expert in the kitchen, but because I didn't have a decent chef's knife and the Japanese ones looked exceedingly cool. (My wife and I were at the time in the grips of a modest Iron Chef addiction). When I looked online, most of the ones I found were over $100.
Then I found this Tosagata Hocho 6" Santoku, in blue steel and wrought iron, for ~$35. I ordered it, thinking that even if it turned out to be a lesser knife, it was a good way to try out the idea of a Japanese knife.
Six years of hard use later, this knife is still frighteningly sharp. It's my utility knife - I reach for it for about 80% of my cutting jobs in the kitchen. The blade has maybe six almost undetectable nicks on it, and I have never sharpened it or done any maintenance beyond occasionally wiping it with a little oil before putting it away.
An importer's website says: "Tosagata Hocho Cutlery are finely crafted kitchen knives that come from Tosa on Shikoku Island. This region is much more rural and forested than other parts of Japan, and the blacksmiths still adhere to the old ways. The master blade-maker sandwiches a layer of Aogami Hagane (blue steel) between two pieces of soft wrought iron, and by hand very slowly hammers the blade into shape."
And it looks it - a black/grey surface, complete with hammer marks, make this look like the serious implement it is. It gives me the thrill of using a well-made tool every time I pick it up. I've even come to love the fact that it's not stainless - having to spend just a moment cleaning it soon after use reminds me that I'm using something a little special, and gives even mundane kitchen tasks a little sense of occasion.
It's down to $32 on the JustKnives website. An unbelievable bargain for a terrifically cool tool.
-- RJT
Tosagata Hocho 6" Santoku Knife
$32
Available from JustKnives
Heavy duty kitchen scissors
I don't consider myself a great cook but I've found that for a multitude of kitchen activities, scissors are important. Whether for cutting cooking twine, small bones, chicken breastbone, etc., they can be very useful. Normal office scissors don't have the right length of blade and the joint can harbor germs and food residue. The Fiskars are just one of any number of scissors (although one of the less expensive ones) specially made for the kitchen with shorter blades and a take-apart joint for cleaning.
-- AK
Fiskars Kitchen Scissors
#9474
$11
Available from Widget Supply
Manufactured by Fiskars
Ultimate grill heat
Serious chefs know that a hot bed of charcoal or wood coals is the best way to grill meat. Unfortunately the 30-40 minute wait (and air pollution) for the fire to be ready are a major drawback to using a traditional fire, but most propane grills are too feeble to be a useful alternative.
Enter the ceramic infra-red burner by the Thermal Engineering Corporation (TEC) of Columbia, South Carolina. Ceramic plates perforated with thousands of burner ports heat up to 1700 degrees and throw off as much heat as any bed of coals. From a standing start, it's ready to cook in 5 minutes, and will put a deliciously crispy seared crust on whatever you're grilling. It's highly fuel efficient, too, since radiant heat transfer is roughly proportional to the fourth power of the burner temperature. Don't be fooled by the modest BTU ratings, those are a measure of the fuel input, not the heat output.
One improvement can be made: replace the factory grid (stainless steel channels) with the Char-Broil cast iron replacement grid sold at Home Depot.
Yes, these are expensive, but I have seen similar prices for grills that are really nothing special... all show and no go. TEC has a press release that says Char-Broil will be using TEC's technology in 2007, so the entry price may come down soon.
I've been using the Patio II model for 5 years and am very happy with it.
-- Jan Gazda
TEC Patio II
$2,300+
Available from Buck Stove, Pool & Spa
Manufactured by TEC Infra-Red Grills
Coffee-Stirring Cup
 
Eric@brando.com recommends this item in an email consisting of just four words: "One push to stir."
Apparently Eric owns the web site that sells the Whirlwind Cup, but regardless of his vested interest in promoting the device, it surely deserves mention as a palliative treat for all those who suffer health problems such as repetitive strain injury induced by the onerous chore of stirring hot beverages.
More to the point, gadget.brando.com.hk has a wonderfully quirky inventory of implausible yet available items, ranging from a "USB Thumb Ionizer" to a stretchable hula-hoop. Is this a sign that the Chinese are encroaching on the traditionally Japanese business of developing very small, fanatically ingenious, frivolous gadgets that no one really needs, yet are somehow irresistible?
Gadget.brando.com.hk proudly proclaims, "We deliver joys to worldwide." Sounds good to me!
They also sell a 51-LED flashlight, leading me to tomorrow's recommendation.
-- Charles Platt
Whirlwind Cup
$22
Available from Gadget.brando.com.hk
There is also a cheaper version being that's sell for $8 (for two cups!) from American Science & Surplus
; if you own and use that one and can attest to the cup, please let us know.
Superior Can Opener
Removes lids of cans by side cutting the lid leaving it available for re-covering the can - super for pet foods. Leaves no sharp edge - cans are safe to handle. Leaves plastic lined aluminum tins available for nail, screw, storage containers - won't rust - lids can be secured with a strip of electrical tape across the top for secure storage.
-- Bruce Millar
Starfrit Securimax
$20
Available from Starfrit
Manufactured by Starfrit
Dough Scraper
I would like to suggest the Dexter-Russell S496 Dough Scraper as a cool tool for the kitchen. Although designed specifically for the bread baker, this is a low-tech tool that is absolutely indispensable in the
kitchen. In a
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