Last year, Williams-Sonoma released a line of exclusive All-Clad flared roasters. They are expensive, but well worth it if you do a lot of oven cooking. I cooked a 27lb turkey in the extra large one for Thanksgiving last year, and have since been using this pan for all kinds of things. The design makes for very even cooking, especially if you don't have a convection oven: the low flared sides give good heat exposure, so you get excellent browning on the underside of roasts, and the aluminum core provides outstanding heat distribution. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much of a difference these two design changes made. Of course, it's basically a very large saute pan, so it gives the results you'd expect from All-Clad on the stove as well.

I've also used it successfully to make a huge pan of mac and cheese (mixing the roux/bechamel right in the pan on the stove), and I use it often for large batches of braised lamb shanks and short ribs. In the latter, the low wide design encourages a lot of reduction of the braising liquid to yield a more flavorful sauce.

The extra large size is unwieldy - before buying, make sure it fits in your oven and sink. Although the curved design also makes it very easy to clean with a brush (there are no sharp corners for gunk to get stuck in), this size barely fits in my sink.

And while I love the extra large one and it's great at what it does, it is a bit of a beast to get out (but indispensable if you need the capacity). I've spent the last year wondering how I could justify spending the money for the large version as well, and they made it easier for me by recently releasing an even smaller and cheaper version for roasting chickens.

This one is essentially the same pan in a smaller form factor which makes it much more convenient if you don't need the larger capacity. This has quickly become my standard everyday pan for most things. It also comes with a suspension arm for cooking a chicken elevated.

I've experimented with the suspension arm a bit, which I initially dismissed. At least in my oven, which is not a convection oven, breast side up is a disaster. Not enough heat reaches the bottom, and the white meat gets overcooked while the thighs stay very undercooked. Breast-side down, however, gives outstanding results. Twice in a row, I've gotten evenly cooked meat (very tender and juicy breast meat, properly cooked thighs) and crispy skin, with no added oil or basting (just salt and pepper or a dry rub). The suspension arm can be a little testy. If it's jostled too much, the whole chicken will fall into the pan. It's a bit of work to get it put back up, but it does actually yield good results with less work overall.

Regardless of which size is right for you, these are just great roasting pans, and I highly recommend them. The images are pretty deceptive with respect to the size differences and it's difficult to judge from the picture how big they actually are. It's worth a trip to the store to see which size is actually best for you.

I love to cook but I don't have many recipes memorized, and much as I like cooking from any of the several cookbooks in my library, I often look for new recipes online. It's not an easy task. I'm amazed at the number of ad-riddled pages I find when typing the name of any dish into Google. I do have an online subscription to Cook's Illustrated (previously reviewed), and there are a handful of other individual free sites I turn to for recipes and technique info. However, as a research librarian, I'm always keen to execute a search in a manner that maximizes the number of relevant results by querying a specific set of targeted resources. For scientific queries, I use freely accessible databases such as Public Library of Science or PubMed, or I use one of my library accounts to access subscription-based databases such as Wiley InterScience or Elsevier's Science Direct. When I put my home-cook hat on, I approach recipe-finding with a similar set of expectations. Though there's no shortage of recipe information online, there's not really an equivalent set of databases for cookery. Here's a round-up of the best recipe aggregation resources I've found.

Epicurious is my go-to recipe site; I've used it for four years. One of the aspects I like most about it is the user comments. Because the site is older, most recipes have at least a handful of comments, and I've found that most users leave really helpful feedback (usually suggestions for how to scale or tweak recipes). However, it's also very easy to ignore user comments if you just want to stick to the original recipe. I usually cook from printed versions of the recipes (rather than bringing my laptop in the kitchen), and Epicurious offers several options for the size of the printed page, whether or not images are included, and even the option to print a separate shopping list.

Most recipes come from Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines (the site is owned by Conde Nast). Some come from cookbooks published by Random House, with whom Epicurious has some kind of republication agreement, it seems. Some have also been reprinted from other cookbooks, with permission. In addition to the 25,000 recipes from these professional resources, they also boast 50,000 member-submitted recipes. Epicurious is the online food site to beat.

Cookstr publishes recipes by professional chefs, including Mario Batali, Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters, Jacques Pepin, Michael Recchiuti, Mark Bittman, and on and on. In addition to recipes, the site also provides informative profiles for each chef. Features are fairly minimal, with a video section still under development, but I do like the simplicity of the site. Site registration allows you to save and comment on recipes. Although Cookstr only has a few recipes from each chef, it's the closest thing to a massively cross-cook[book] database I've found. I hope it grows.

I learned about Food52 when the New York Times ran a round-up of new, crowd-sourced food sites. The hook of this site, founded by two food writers, is that every week there's a theme-based competition; after a year of these contests, the winning recipes will be collected in a book. Any registered user can compete in the competitions, the founders select finalists and post slideshows of them testing the recipes, and then users vote for a winner. The focus of the site is the contests, and all recipes submitted for the contests are accessible, but registered users can upload any type of recipe. Although there is a pretty sizable diversity of recipes on the site, I most often use it when I'm looking for inspiration to try something new, not when I have a few keystone ingredients I'm trying to hang together.

Serious Eats is another curated food community with some social features, including a set of forums, and original video content in addition to a large collection of recipes. Recipes come largely from featured cookbook writers and chefs, but also the wider community base (in the forums). It's more inclusive than Food52, because of its forums, and it's more polyphonous because its cast of contributors is quite long and revolving. However, it's less inclusive in the sense that the Recipes section of the site is limited to those curated by contributors (mostly recipes from featured books and chefs).

Foodbuzz is a network of foodbloggers (more than 10,000). They offer a set of services for "featured publishers," including ad management and other perks, as well as several social networking-type features for individual users. Foodbuzz is one of the few sites I've found that actually aggregates recipes from across the web. You can submit links to recipes to be indexed, and you can also submit recipes for direct publication at the site. It displays some characteristics of a curated site in as much as it highlights recipes from members of its featured publishers network, but overall it's quite open since anyone can submit a recipe or recipe link.

Epicurious, Cookstr, Food52, SeriousEats, and Foodbuzz are my favorite recipe aggregators. To reduce my search load even further, I've created a custom Google search engine that queries these sites in addition to a few of my favorite individual sources (you can see it here).

A really great chef knife will be insanely sharp, yet retain its edge easily, and be well balanced and welcoming to hold. These days a decent high-grade chef knife can cost between $100-$200. Several cooking publications (including Cook's Illustrated) recently identified a bargain $27 chef knife that in their tests rated just about as good as the $100 plus knives. This is the one we use.

The Forschner Victorinox is a hybrid of a thin Japanese blade with its 15 degree edge (western knives have a 20 degree edge) but with the longer, broader blade of European knives. It is lightweight, nicely balanced, and lethally sharp. It has a comfortable very grippy handle that won't slip even when wet. We have 5 cooks at our household and this is the knife they all grab first. It may not be as super great as the chef knives previously reviewed, but for the $27 price it can't be beat.

I haven't tried the Thermapen, but I still think I'd prefer the Polder timer/thermometer because of the 43-inch cord that runs from the thermometer to the probe. It allows me to place the thermometer outside of the oven, magnetically attached to the oven’s side. I like being able to hold the thermometer in my hands and adjust the cook time, or reset the finish temperature while the dish I’m preparing is still in the oven and the thermometer is actively taking a reading. The Polder thermometer also allows me to preset a desired temperature (one high and one low, simultaneously), so when that temperature is reached, the unit’s beeping alarm sounds. I use it to check the temperature of liquids and meats, and my 8-year-old son has even used it to check the temperature outside -- you can insert the metal probe underneath your window, and it's quite accurate.

The timer function (which counts up or down) is very handy, not only for setting my cook time, but for a range of household uses (such as, "You have three minutes to pick up your room before I come in with a trash bag that's headed for Goodwill!"). Best of all, we’ve had ours for at least four years, have dropped it many times, and the thing is amazingly durable. A final handy feature is that I can set it to display in Celsius or Fahrenheit, which proved to be a huge help when we spent some time living in Ireland. I had my American recipe books and was able to use the Polder thermometer to convert temperatures for our Celsius-based oven.

While googling my way around the web in search of a suitable $50-$60 machine to replace a broken blade grinder, I ended up at CoffeeGeek and learned about burr grinders. These little machines are a revelation.

Most lower-priced grinders are not grinders at all; they’re bladed choppers and their output is usually not an even grind of beans, but rather a mix of burnt bean dust and bean bits. A real grinder -- a burr grinder -- produces a true, even coffee grind. The taste difference is startling.

The little grinder that I settled upon, the Breville BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder, is moderately priced and apparently a good representative of the breed. The machine is slightly larger (11 ¼ x 7 x 5 ¼ in.) than the basic chopper that preceded it, quite stylish, quiet enough (for a grinder), and about twice as expensive.

Ah, but its grind is in another league altogether. I now dial in an exact brew and expect a repeatable, clean, smooth-tasting cup of coffee. Since I'm a dedicated drip lover, I don't really test the finer grind output of this machine, but my guess is that it would be less satisfactory for espresso than what the pricier models produce. The more expensive burr grinders do better at what this machine does well. They produce extremely even grinds over a wider range of grind output with greater tuning of both the quantity and the fine-ness of the output.

For about 20 years, I had a small Donvier manual ice cream maker. It required no electricity (other than the need to store the base in the freezer), and only required mixing every five minutes or so. I could vary the amount of air incorporated in what was a very good ice cream. Finally, the dasher mechanism broke, and I was unable to order spare parts from overseas.

While I'd still recommend the Donvier, I found another manual model that is absolutely indestructible, and also freezes the mix faster. The Midas is an elegant-looking stainless steel double-walled container with freezer liquid in the lid and sides, so it freezes the mix from all sides at once. I scrape and mix only once in 15 minutes, using my Chef'n spatula. The Midas is dishwasher-safe, too. I expect it to last for a lifetime.

Maybe you’re comfortable with leaving the butter out as-is on the counter for days on end. For those who aren’t, but still want the convenience and pleasure that a steady, safe supply of spreadable yet fresh butter provides: the Butter Bell. It swallows a whole stick of softened butter (that you did leave on the counter, but only for an hour or so).

You put a little water in the base to create a bacteria-discouraging airtight seal around the butter. And you’re never again stuck with a rapidly cooling piece of toast and rock-hard butter. It’s a design that’s been around in various forms for centuries.

I bought this sugar dispenser from King Arthur Flour a couple of years ago, and it’s been a sturdy, reliable tool. It’s sized to accommodate a five-pound bag of sugar. You slide the bag inside, open it up, trim the bag top to the level of the top of the container, and put on the lid. There’s a little flap on the inside of the lid that fits right inside the bag of sugar, holding it open and keeping the sugar from sifting down the sides. The lid has two openings, one is a small pour spout, and the other is large enough for scooping out sugar with a measuring cup. The spout is slightly flexible, so if a lump clogs it I can squeeze the sides of the spout to crush the lump. The whole thing is ant and waterproof when sealed shut.

This is not a sexy matte-black high tech kind of tool, just a solid, well thought-out container that makes working with, and storing, sugar or flour much simpler, easier and cleaner. Using it makes me very happy.

Also, King Arthur Flour’s online store and print catalog are packed with tons of nifty cooking tools. The King Arthur Flour’s Cookie Companion and Baker’s Companion books are fabulous cookbooks.

I could see the utility of a fireproof glove on a camping trip; I didn't want to take a "spondonicle." Nomex flight gloves looked to fit the bill. But before I could buy a pair, I came across the significantly cheaper 'Incredible Oven Glove' at the supermarket. It's a five-fingered Kevlar and cotton glove that's quite thick.

I used it for adjusting the fire and for handling my billy, utensils and metal cup. The glove worked admirably, giving plenty of mobility. I could hold on to very hot things for long enough for them to cool down without feeling any of the heat. It fits both hands (the one-size-fits-all was just adequate for my large hands). Mine was blackened from soot, but a run through the washing machine when I got back had it good as new.

Be careful, as the glove doesn't protect from hot water and steam penetrates a little. But if I intend to cook again while in the bush, the oven glove will come with me. I haven't used it in the kitchen yet but I see no reason why it would fail to work there.

I first saw this tool 15 years ago, when a friend who's a devotee of good coffee taught me how to use a moka-style espresso pot. Anyone who makes their own coffee -- and especially those who do moka -- knows a fine layer of grounds comes to inhabit the counter space where you fill your coffee pot. The difference between this dispenser and using a spoon is two-fold: the Dosacaffe isn't messy, at all. And it's much more accurate.

Just put the dispenser over the bottom half of the moka pot. Flip the lever 6 times, for a six-cup pot. (If you are having a rough day, bang the base of the pot against the counter to make room for a few more flip's worth of coffee.) Screw the top half of the moka to the bottom half. Make your coffee on the stove, and enjoy.

For 15 years, I have looked for this dispenser off and on, and finally found it at a small general store/online retailer in Vermont, which claims to be the first US supplier of the Dosacaffe. I can say that the thing lives up to its promise: mess-free grounds dispensing, accurate coffee measurements, and the elegant simplicity of a tool that does exactly one thing relentlessly well.

The cleaning is easy, just rinse it out between refills. I can't imagine any maintenance, though I bet the little springs will wear out eventually (I've had mine 3 months). Regardless, it easily holds a full can of coffee (12 oz.), so refills aren't inconvenient. It actually seems bottomless to me.

I just learned there is a sugar-dosing companion piece, too.

I've tried those insulated stainless steel mugs for keeping coffee hot, but the coffee never tasted right -- even though stainless is supposedly impervious. Recently, we discovered these wonderful insulated glasses made by Bodum, best known for its plunger coffee pots. They keep drinks hot, are cool to the touch, and are elegant looking. A latte made in one is rather spectacular, with layers of espresso and milk. There are a few sizes in the "Pilatus" collection, including glasses 6- and 4.75-inches high. Pricey, but high quality. Bodum's description:

"...a strong heat-resistant glass that weighs less than traditional glassware. Used to make scientific lab glass, borosilicate glass (medical grade glass) is stronger than traditional "soda-lime" glass.... Borosilicate glass substitutes boron oxide in place of the soda and lime used in traditional glassware. The boron oxide acts as a glue holding the silicate together and due to the small size of boron particles, the glass is held together tighter, resulting in a stronger glass."

I use the taller one every morning for fresh ginger tea.

-- Lloyd Kahn

Note: Bodum also offers a range of other double-walled glassware, including a 20-oz. beer glass. -- Steven Leckart

Concerned with our household's waste stream of plastic bottles and cans, we started using this counter-top soda maker to concoct our own soft drinks with tap water processed through a Britta. It's easy to use; the bottles are durable and said to be good for three years; and Sodastream's proprietary CO2 cartridges can be conveniently exchanged either via mail or at accessible chain stores like Williams-Sonoma.

If you're handy and looking to save a little money, you can build your own set up, like the previously-reviewed carbonation system. However, since I enjoy this product primarily for environmental reasons, secondarily economic ones, I was happy to spend a little more up front and over time (Sodastream has a cheaper all-plastic model, but the midrange model I have is $30 more than the DIY setup; three of the company's carbonators, good for 60 liters, cost $40). In addition to buying something that required no tinkering and worked perfectly out of the box, I will never have to lug around a big scuba tank every time I need a CO2 refill. And, to be honest, I'd rather not have the clunky, DIY setup in my home. To each his own, no?

After the initial investment, the only things I ever need purchase are carbonator refills and new bottles of flavoring. So far, we've enjoyed Sodastream's cola, faux Dr. Pepper, tonic, and pink grapefruit (all diet, all with Splenda vs. aspartame). The taste is excellent. The latter is one of the best soft drinks I've had anywhere. (note: they also sell sweetened syrups without hi-fructose corn syrup).

Aside from reducing our plastic/aluminum waste, we don't have to lug heavy bottles back from the store. I also like to think about all the energy we will save annually by not buying water that's been shipped from one part of the country to another.

I like bamboo utensils for cooking with my nonstick pots and skillets, and recently I found an even better version: bamboo utensils that have rests carved right into the handles. When you lay down the utensil, the business end doesn't touch the surface. You don't need a spoon rest when you're working with these, and you don't need to clean a spoon rest either. Thus far I have purchased a spatula and two spoons, and I intend to buy more. I was converted overnight. The wooden utensils that I'd been using for years — they're gone.

-- Bob Callaway

$4
(12" spoon)
Available from Amazon

$24
(6 various utensils)
Available from Re:modern

While I do eat fruit and vegetables, from everything I've read, I feel the health benefits of juicing are too great to pass up. Unless you are an impatient person, the Omega 8003 is great for a beginning juicer who wants a machine that not only handles apples, oranges and carrots, but won't get bogged down with wheatgrass, spinach and other leafy greens (wheatgrass is one of the harder plants to juice). Unlike a centrifugal juicer, which violently shreds what you put in it, the Omega 8003 uses what is known as a dual-screen, single auger to process produce into juice. That means it doesn't cut or chew as much as it mashes pulp forward into the end of a cone using the pressure of a spinning auger. The juice yield definitely trumps my old Braun centrifugal juicer, which can't handle wheatgrass. The pulp I get from the Omega is drier and if need be, I can easily put it back through for a tiny bit more juice. I put the pulp from the Braun into the Omega and actually got several extra tablespoons of juice!

Of all the machines I’ve researched, tested and used, the Omega 8003 just crushes every piece of machinery, especially at this price. After eight months, I still use the juicer almost every other day and nothing has broken or malfunctioned. Juice extractors in general can be jet-engine loud. While the Omega’s motor is strong and hums with authority, I feel it’s killer quiet. I can easily juice in the early morning or night without waking the neighbors or my wife. It’s also not too large in size and the folding handle on top makes moving the machine around much easier than other machines. The construction is solid and Omega backs it up with 10-year warranty. Juicing itself is relatively subjective. Some people want to process lots of fruit and fast. While the Omega isn't as fast as some centrifugal juicers and while it can’t handle soft fruit (like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, etc) as well as other juicers, it does get the job done over and over. Plus, I really feel the juice quality is better. The only other juicer I think is in the same realm is the Green Star, which is harder to clean, bigger and almost twice the price!

If you want the benefits of juicing, there is no way around having to spend some time cleaning the parts. Since the 8003 has only a few parts, it is by far the easiest and fastest juicer I’ve seen and tried to clean. Once you understand how the parts fit together, too, it's really a breeze to work with. You can also use the Omega as a food processor and grind coffee beans, flour, garlic, etc. There are also several attachments that come with the machine if you wish to make nut butters, baby food, frozen desserts, pasta and other things. I personally didn't buy it for any of that but maybe I'll end up using it for that later.

For those who are concerned about heat destruction of enzymes, the Omega’s auger turns slowly and doesn't appear to generate much noticeable heat. Granted the process of crushing and squeezing the vegetable matter through a small screen will cause friction, but I just don't feel it's as big a deal for the average user. That goes for oxidation as well. All juicers introduce some oxygen into the juice simply because of the mechanical process of extraction. With some fruits and vegetables, however, this machine does a noticeable job of reducing the amount of foam. Using carrots from the same bag, I juiced one in a centrifugal juicer and one in the Omega. There was a lot less foam with the Omega and the color of the juice was also darker and richer.

One caveat: the feeder chute is small in diameter, so it is best to cut up anything large to make it fit or be more manageable. Carrots are dense and I feel the machine fights with whole ones, but if you cut them up, it will do just fine, juice faster and put less stress on the machine.

Overall I'm thrilled with my purchase of the Omega 8003 juicer. I paid about $229 for mine, plus shipping. I felt that was a very reasonable price to start changing my life and health. The Omega 8005 juicer is the exact same machine as the 8003, but comes in a chrome finish.

-- Jim Rubel

Omega Juicer - 8003
$230
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Omega

Unlike traditional bowl-shaped measuring spoons resembling those intended for stirring and eating, these stainless steel Spice Jar Measuring Spoons have a common-sense rectangular shape and narrower profile. They fit easily through the typical small opening of a spice container. And if the container opening has a straight edge, you can level it as you withdraw the spoon -- a big plus. The set also contains two extra sizes that aren't normally included with the average measuring spoon set: 1/8 and 3/4 teaspoon. I find the 3/4 spoon particularly handy in that two 3/4 teaspoons equals 1/2 tablespoon, a measurement I frequently encounter after scaling down a recipe. I have been using these sturdy spoons daily for over 3 years, and have found no down-side to using them for all my measuring needs -- liquid or dry. Given their advantage with small containers, I can see little reason to use traditional measuring spoons other than the slightly lower cost.

-- David King

Spice Jar Measuring Spoons
$10
Available from Lee Valley

Or $11 from Amazon

Unlike the previously-reviewed Starfrit Securimax, this opener is electric and sits on your counter, so it requires very little exertion or physical dexterity. Since the blade cuts along the side of the top, it never cuts or touches down into the can -- i.e. no dirty blade contaminating the can contents, no metal shavings fall in your food, and no contents oozing out over the dust covered can top. Also, since the cut top is slightly bigger than the body, no cut lids fall into the can -- and after opening, the top can easily be placed back on the can. For short term storage in the fridge, I use some tape to keep it in place.

Best of all, the opener leaves a lid and can that have no sharp edges -- even with a pop-top. I don't know about the rest of the country, but most communities in New York State require recycling, and all recycled food containers must be clean. Our household goes through many cans in a week, and washing out cans opened with a traditional can opener can be treacherous because of the sharp edges.

Hamilton Beach sells almost a dozen models of can openers, but only one uses the "Smooth Touch technology." I'm baffled, since after using this one it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to return to a traditional style opener. You operate it, more or less, as you would any electric counter-top opener. Just wedge the can between the two rotating discs and push down on the lever to grip the can. Press the lever a little more to rotate and cut the can. You do have to hold the lever down throughout the operation, which can be mildly annoying for a large diameter can. Some time-pressed people will also miss the automatic shutoff of other electric can openers. Certain brands, notably College Inn tend to require up to two revolutions to open. But the time, effort and caution it saves when we're cleaning the cans is certainly worth it.

-- David King

Hamilton Beach Smooth Touch Can Opener
$31
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Hamilton Beach

This glass siphon brews a smooth, strong cup of coffee with little to no bitterness. I started using one recently and right away the taste was just awesome. It's really an excellent, efficient brewing method, provided you want to get involved. You put the water in the bottom "globe" and coffee grounds in the top, then put the bottom unit on the stove with a medium flame. Once the water begins to boil, you place the top globe onto the bottom one, which allows the water to travel into the top chamber to begin brewing the coffee. You give the coffee a quick stir, cover the top with the lid and after maybe a minute, take the whole unit off the burner. As it cools, the coffee is siphoned back down into the bottom through a cloth filter, which helps extract most of the moisture and flavor from the grinds via a natural vacuum effect, rather than the force of a standard French press (step-by-step photos are available at Stumptown's site -- click on the link to "brewing guide"). You can also see vac pots in use at the Blue Bottle location near the Chronicle building in San Francisco. The $20,000 system they have there is just a fancy vac pot. While researching a coffee maker called the Clover, I went from addict to obsessive, so in addition to the vac pot, now I kind of want a Chemex and I definitely want a Burr grinder; once you notice the difference in taste, it's easy to get sucked in. Personally, I love this method. If you spend money on good beans, it's well worth the extra effort to brew a cup that tastes that much better.

-- Mathew Honan

Here's a video of the final siphon process. --sl

This microwave popper is simplicity itself: 1/2 cup of corn, a little oil (or not), and a little time in the microwave yields a healthy, low-cost, low-cal snack you can eat right out of the popper's bowl. Unlike other microwaveable poppers or Tupperware containers, the Nordic Ware's top cover has nifty ridges that facilitate comfortable removal after popping (i.e. when everything is very, very hot). If you don't remove the cover immediately, the popcorn gets too moist. I've tried a variety of devices on my long march to the perfect popper... table-top poppers often made a mess (and big noise) and they're not machine-washable. Some microwave poppers require pads that deteriorate with use and need to be replaced, but are difficult to find. The stove top method, I just could never fully master: burned pans, burned corn, mess to clean. Lastly, those convenient microwavable bags of popcorn: if you eat a lot popcorn, you'll be spending exorbitant sums and -- depending on which brand you purchase -- consuming chemical additives. The Nordic popper does not require oil, if you so chose, so the end-product is essentially the same as an air popper. The Nordic can go in the dishwasher -- or just be wiped clean. Plus, the Nordic is perhaps the least expensive one out there. I paid less than $10 for mine. As of late, we've been producing popcorn five nights a week.

-- Daniel Wilson

Nordic Ware Microwave Corn Popper
$8
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Nordic Ware

I've seen a few incarnations of the convenient scoop-clip mashup, including a version that's stainless steel. Normally I wouldn't opt for plastic -- especially if I can avoid it -- but this twofer has one unique benefit: two scoops, one tsp. and one tbsp. If I were a baker, I'd use this for flour or sugar. So far, ours remains tethered to the coffee. While my approach to brewing isn't terribly scientific, I'm getting there.

-- Steven Leckart

Scoop Clip
$5
Available from Pampered Chef

This very portable, lightweight knife sharpener is easy to use and gets the job done quickly. I found it at a kitchen store in Arizona and have been using it for about a year on all types of blades: kitchen, Toolman, hunting, serrated. I've used several sharpeners over the years. The problem with most manual systems is they require getting the blade at a precise angle, and I just can never get it right. This is by far the easiest sharpener I've used, and it works. Just put the knife in the diamond-coated tines, give it 5-10 pulls, and it'll be sharpened. No fussing with exact angles. Other sharpeners I've tried that are easy to use don't seem to put as good an edge on. This one works. Your hands stay well-protected from the blade during use. Plus, the sharpener folds up neatly and easily fits in a backpack.

-- Bob Morris

Furi Ozitech Diamond Fingers Sharpener
$26
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Ozitech

Related items previously reviewed on Cool Tools:

Sharpmaker

Smiths Jiff V Sharpener

Dexter-Russell Fillet Knives

The Blender Bottle is a shaker bottle with a free-floating surgical stainless steel wire ball inside. A total boon for anyone who mixes formulas, shakes, mixes or other powdered drinks. Not unlike a kitchen whisk, the ball moves freely within your drink, breaking up clumps and further mixing the mix as you shake it for a smooth, totally grit- and clump-free serving. I use protein powder and creatine . Previously I had normal shaker bottles that always, regardless of how much shaking I did, left clumps of mix, especially at the bottom of the shaker. I even once spent about 20 bucks on a shaker bottle with a battery-powered mixing wand built into the lid, but the device really didn't mix any better than a normal bottle, kept falling apart inside my gym bag, ate batteries, and had to be hand-washed since you couldn't run the mixing attachment through the dishwasher. I've been using the Blender Bottle for about four months now after seeing an ad for it in a fitness magazine. The whisking ball is really ingenious, but this is also the first bottle I have ever owned that I can shake without holding onto the lid at the same time. The spout is that secure. I've only used the Blender Bottle for cold protein powders and other sports nutrition products, but the web site lists other uses such as pancake batter, salad dressings, eggs, and gravy.

-- Joe Bentley

Blender Bottle
$7
(20 oz.)
Available from Amazon

$8
(28 oz.)
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Sundesa

Related items previously reviewed on Cool Tools:

Sigg Aluminum Water Bottles

Ultimate Fit or Fat

Silicone Travel Bottles

I've been using this 9-tray dehydrator once or twice a week for the last three years to make dried fruit, veggies and yogurt, jerky, dog treats, and dried bread (for bread crumbs). Other uses include re-crisping crackers, cookies, chips, etc., and drying photographs and flowers. Since the thermostat is adjustable (85F - 145F), you can customize your dehydrating efforts. The removable trays allow you to experiment with sizes and quantities, but also let you combine varieties of foods by temperature range. For shorter-termed dehydrated items, you just take out those specific trays and let the other longer-term items remain. This is truly the most flexible unit I've found. Other dehydrators heat from the bottom and much less evenly, requiring you to manually rotate trays, whereas the Excalibur has a fan to help distribute heat more evenly. The Excalibur also has a timer, so it will turn off at the desired time whether you're there or not; and none of the cheaper dehydrators have temp controls. The Home Essentials and Ronco models I own have now been relegated to making dog treats exclusively; I decided to keep the Excalibur for people food. Although it is somewhat noisy (all the dehydrators I've used generate some amount of noise), I keep it in the craft room, where noise isn't much of an issue. It's very easy to clean. I enjoy not throwing out food that spoiled and we always have healthy snack alternatives for us and the grandkids -- and they enjoy contributing to the process as much as they eating the rewards. Since we moved to a property that has a variety of grapevines, we now harvest copious amounts of grapes and make our own raisins.

Bonus tips:

1) You need ParaFlexx non-stick drying sheets for fruit yogurt leathers or items particularly high in moisture content. Excalibur provides a pretty good guide on how to work with different foods.

2) If you buy direct from the manufacturer, it may be slightly more than you can get at other suppliers, but I understand they guarantee the unit for 10 years (or you can purchase a 10-year extended warranty)

-- Chris Lewis

Excalibur Food Dehydrator
$210
(9-tray model)
Available from Amazon

ParaFlexx Sheets
(14"x14")
$16
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Excalibur

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Let's Grow Mushrooms!

Strange Foods

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

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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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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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The Curtis Creek Manifesto

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
$26
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Prepara

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AeroGarden

Cooking Ingredients

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

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Aeropress

A REVIEW OF REVIEW SITES: Coffee Geek

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

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Electric Dispensing Pot

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

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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TEC Gas Grills

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

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MysticMaid

Lee Valley Jar Opener

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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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
$9
Available from Lee Valley

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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
$47
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Zojirushi

[*Beware: You could spend a lot of time peeping the members' awesome lunches -- sl]

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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

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 1-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. (I got mine refilled at McKinney's Welding Supply Co. at 535 W 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019.)

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

--
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Thermos Beverage Bottle Insulator

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
$15
(oranges)
Available from Amazon

$12
(lemons)
Available from Amazon

$11
(limes)
Available from Amazon

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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
$10
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Progressive

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

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

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
$188
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Hamilton Beach

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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 that sells 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.

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
(Canadian)
Available from Home Depot Canada

Manufactured by Starfrit

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 addition to using it to scrape bread dough off the counter, we use ours to transport all manner of chopped food from counter to bowl, counter to skillet...

There are other dough scrapers out there, but this one, with its wide wooden handle is the best (IMHO.) Don't take my word though--I was in a local Sur la Table (kitchen store) recently and they had various bins of Dough Scrapers--the Dexter bin was empty!

-- Mark D. Esswein

Dexter-Russell Dough Scraper
$9
(S496)
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Dexter-Russell

My cool tool for the day is the Garlic Twist. It's very hard plastic so it's easy (and satisfying) to smash the cloves with it to remove the skin. The teeth inside do a great job of quickly mincing two cloves at a time, and it's easy to clean. The polycarbonate from which it is manufactured is dishwasher-safe.

I'm pretty proficient at mincing garlic with a chef's knife, but I find this to be less trouble. It's far superior to any garlic peeler or press I've ever used, even very expensive ones. It's a simple thing, but it works very well.

-- Adam Fields

The Garlic Twist
$13
Available from
Amazon

This is the silicone spatula that will replace all your silicone spatulas.

If you've already made the switch to silicone spatulas, you know that the silicone variety do a really wonderful job scraping bowls of cookie batter, getting the last bits of sauce out of a pan, and generally making the process of cooking cleaner and more efficient. In addition, silicone has a much higher melting temperature than the thermoplastic typically used--650?F v 230?F--so you can use these spatulas in the fry pan (usually ~375?F). The soft silicone is safe for coated pans, which is a definite plus.

This particular silicone spatula is made with the silicone cast around a steel core. This gives the handle the rigidity of other spatulas, without the awkward and ingredient-trapping transition from spatula to handle. The silicone over steel makes a very comfortable grip, and the whole thing can be cleaned in the dishwasher. This design also allows them to make the spatula dual-ended, with a useful narrower scraper that is great for getting the last peanut butter out of jars.

I've been using mine for over a year, and it shows no wear. It is easily my most used utensil in the kitchen, and has relegated many other tools to the Goodwill bin.

-- Wendy Ju

Chef'n Switchit Dual-Ended Long Spatula
$11
Available from:
Amazon

This elegant little Italian grain grinder has three hardened steel rollers that flatten grain for making flakes or crack it for making hot cereal or granola. I'd never had fresh oats before until my friend showed me this device, just after he gave me a breakfast bowl of fresh oatmeal along with flax seeds, shredded coconut, a little hemp oil for flavor, and brown sugar. As you grind oats you're taking the whole oat grain (groat), and crushing and flaking it just before you cook it. You get nutty, delicious oatmeal, the flavor of the whole grain just released. Clamps to any surface up to 2" thick.

-- Lloyd Kahn

Lehman's Roller Mill
$120
Available from
Lehman's

Only a cool tool fanatic would appreciate a $70 dishrack when you can get a plastic one for just a few bucks. The folks at Simplehuman have designed simple, functional, and beautiful kitchen products that many folks don't think twice about (including paper towel holders and trash cans).

I saw (and used) this flip-top dishrack during a visit at my sister's, and both my wife and I were amazed at how good design can improve an everyday tool. I hunted down and ordered one as soon as we got home! Made of stainless steel with ABS plastic parts, it comes with a "dual position" draining mat that actually works, a "knife block" that fits into the utensil holder, and clip on holders for cups and wine glasses. It is especially useful for washing the miscellaneous stuff as well as pots, pans, and baking tools.

-- Aaron Ebata

Simplehuman Flip Top Dishrack
$70
Available from Amazon

Also Cooking.com

Manfuctured by
Simplehuman

I like to cook outside. Besides the usual barbeque I like to stir fry -- which requires very high heat. I've found the the best, highest temperature outdoor stove. It's called the Patio Wok and it puts out 49000 btu's, more than sufficient for the requirements of the sustained high temps of stir fry.

-- Joachim Klehe

Red Dragon Patio Wok-1A
$155
Available from
Amazon

Manufactured by
Flame Engineering

Due to roommates that didn't quite understand my displeasure at my consistently disappearing ice cream, I had to resort to this. Not a gag, it is actually is designed with the intention to work. Though I suppose that since the container it is "locking" is made of waxed cardboard (which can be deformed a bit) it won't keep out a serious professional penetration attempt.

I found that it sends a warning message, sort of like one of those little LED's you put in a car to give the appearance of having an alarm.

-- Morgan Davis

Ben and Jerry's Pint Lock
$6
Available from
Ben & Jerry's

This is the best thing with a plug. Pop water and rice in the bowl, set the timer, and you'll have a perfect bowl of rice waiting for you when you get home. Don't worry if you get hung up in traffic, the Zojirushi will keep your rice perfectly moist, and warm.

-- Chris S.

Commonly used in Japan, this type of fuzzy-logic rice cooker can be set ahead of time. I've purchased several for friends and family and have settled on the Zojirushi brand. I've used a Zojiriushi for several years, and it has held up well and completely changed my cooking habits.

In the evenings I load up the pot with oatmeal and/or grain mixture for hot breakfast the following morning. And the mornings, I load up the pot for dinner - rice, whole grains, barley, lentils, beans, and/or spices. When I walk into the house after work, the air is fragrant with cooking. The cooker can keep its contents warm and fairly fresh for a few hours after the timer goes off.

My favorite model is the Zojirushi NS-ZAC10 (5 cup capacity) though I'd get the larger model if I had a bigger family.

-- Douglas O'Heir

Zojirushi NS-ZAC10 5-cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker
$150
Available from
Comfort House
or
Amazon

[Zorjirushi also offers a 3-cup mini-model for single portions.]

I've found that a spout ladle is the optimal tool for basting. I've tried spoons, basting mops, suction basters, and even the new silicone basting brushes. All but the first have problems with getting enough liquid out of the bottom of the pan -- call them less efficient. Regular spoons, even so-called "basting spoons," aren't the right shape for getting down into the pan while letting you scoop up enough liquid without having to tilt the pan too much. The spout ladle is the perfect shape for this. The angles line up, the tilt is right, and it's long enough that you don't run the risk of burning yourself on the pan or the rack while doing it.

I got mine in Chinatown, which is the only place I've ever seen that exact shape. You want a slight angle, not a 90 degree between spoon and handle as in most serving ladles. You can get one close to, but not exactly, that design online.

-- Adam Fields

Spout Ladle, 2 oz.
$9.45
Available from
Food Service Direct

I have a 13 month old who's been eating "solids" for about 7 months now and these excessive-heat sensitive spoons by Munchkin have made that a much easier adventure. The marketing blurb about the spoon is very accurate: "Heat sensor tip turns white when food is too hot! Suction base allows utensils to stand upright and avoid contact with germs. Flexible soft tip is gentle on baby's gums while handle is comfortable and easy to hold. Dishwasher safe."

In addition to the above, the spoons are longer than most of the others on the market which means you have better reach and better lines of attack when your little one tries to parry the incoming food.

-- Todd Holloway

[Editor's note: As of late 2006, Munchkin has redesigned the White Hot Safety Spoon. It no longer has a suction base.]

Munchkin White Hot Infant Feeding Spoon
$6
Available from KidSurplus

Manufactured by Munchkin

The JarPop jar opener is the best five-dollar gizmo I've ever bought. It's what I gave my mother for Christmas last year. It's a beautifully simple bottle-cap-opener for lidded jars. It breaks the seal on a jar of applesauce (or anything else), and then the lid twists right off. I'm a little embarrassed how strongly I feel about it.

For the price (previously $70), you have to either be a really serious cook, or seriously tired of rubbery chicken and overcooked steak to buy one of these industrial-strength, instant-read digital thermometers. But once you've got one, you'll wonder how you ever cooked without it. The Thermapen takes all the guesswork out of the proper time to cook things.

I first saw this used on my favorite cooking show, "America's Test Kitchen." It looks very odd compared to the digital cooking thermometers you find in retail stores. But this is THE best kitchen tool I have, (well, maybe second best after my $3.00 spring-loaded tongs).

-- Barbara Young

Thermapen
$89
ThermoWorks

I first saw the Tilia Food Saver model 550 on an infomercial years ago and bought it on a late-night whim but it has turned out to be the coolest thing I ever bought for the kitchen. It has changed my approach to food entirely. There are lots of attachments available but all you need are roll bags and a box of mason jars from the local hardware store (cheap). You then vacuum seal everything in the cabinet and fridge (jars) and freezer (jars or bags) -- including veggies, milk, rice, etc. Everything lasts 4 to 5 times as long plus tastes better and retains the nutrition better. Food savings alone make up for any costs, but that nice "swoosh" sound of prying off the lid from a mason jar is very satisfying and reassuring.

I did an experiment leaving fresh parsley in the veggie drawer of the refrigerator, and putting some in a vacuum sealed mason jar. After 2 weeks the drawer stored parsley was still usable but smelled and tasted "off" like mold. Opening the mason jar the smell of fresh parsley came out and it tasted like it was just bought. I can only imagine the vitamin and mineral content was retained better too. One side effect is my refrigerator has more room and easy to manage as mason jars are uniform to stack and pack.

I store all my pantry dry goods in vacuumed mason jars. Beans, rice, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar, etc., and label everything with the date. Most dried goods pick up bacteria and molds that are not visible which is why you should not buy from bulk food bins that have no expiration date. The typical life is around 6 months to a year for most dry goods but with vacuum sealing it can last much longer and retain more nutritional value.

If I come into a large quantity of food and want to save it longer than a week I freeze. The best way is to first freeze it so it gets hard, then vacuum seal, this way the strong vacuum does not mush it. For liquids like soup, freeze it in the serving bowls, run under hot water to remove from the bowl and you have a chunk of soup in the shape of a bowl, vacuum seal and it is instant meal that can be re-heated in the original bowl. For example, turkey and ham from the holidays: Cut the meat off the carcass into small chunks, freeze it, vacuum seal it in small portions (I have 5 or 6 bags of Turkey from Thanksgiving) and you have cooked meat packets for recipes without having to dethaw the entire amount.

I was at first worried about recurring bag costs. But a case of 12 11"x18' rolls can be bought from the manufactures website for $130 and so far it has lasted many years. That is a lot of bags at 18 feet per roll and it is possible to re-use bags. The pre-cut bags are nice but costly, the roll bags give you more control over bag size and thus usage. Do not get the Tilia canister or bulk storage items because they loose their seal and are flimsy materials; mason jars work better and are cheaper.

I recommend the model 550 as it does everything you need and is entirely manual operation. The more expensive models will automate some tasks like cutting the roll and have more capacity, but they take up more counter space. My 550 has lasted over 7 years of regular use and still going strong. The 550 comes with the wide mouth jar sealer attachment which fits wide-mouth pint, 1Q and 1/2 gallon mason jars. It uses normal mason lids sold in hardware stores so you don't need to buy anything from Tilia other than the attachment.

What and how you vacuum seal is up to you and creativity is the name of the game. If your looking to buy on the cheap they often show up on the the police auction site and eBay.

-- Stephen Balbach

Tilia FoodSaver V845 Vacuum Sealing Kit
$118
Previously available from Amazon*

Manufactured by Jarden

A case of 12 1-Quart Ball mason jars and lids are $15+s/h from here:
Lehmans

*A newer model (V2860) is now available on Amazon; if you have any experience and can report positively or negatively about the V2860, please let us know -- sl

This is my third Barista machine. The first one I had was called the Estro Vapore, but it was almost identical to this model. The Barista unit has a two-year guarantee, and if you use it heavily it should last at least that long. Starbucks (which bought the Italian company that makes the unit) has been steadily improving the quality over the years, without changing the basic well-proven design. My last one, for example, had a brushed-metal surface on basic steel, and developed a rust problem. The current model, shown here, also available in a variety of colors, is solid stainless steel, and sturdier than its predecessors.

The Barista does two things a good cappuccino machine needs to be able to do: 1) steam milk properly, with real steam from a wand that's long enough to reach down into a steaming flask - and not some annoying "frothing" gimmick; and 2) produce strong espresso, in a dark black stream that tans to cream, from properly ground beans, and quickly. The Barista does this easily.�

Simply put, the Barista is the best espresso machine for the money on the market. You have to spend a lot more to get a better machine. Take Peets Coffee stores, for example. They sell a commercial-grade machine for about $1200, plus a Gaggia machine for $350. I've met some people who swear by the Gaggia; but for me it's too tall and too plasticy. The Barista's body is good solid metal, and it fits nicely under a counter, making it easy to move out of the way.

The supplemental Barista Grinder is a relatively new product, sold only in Starbucks stores (it's not shown on the Web site, for some dumb reason) and it's so durn handy it knocks me out. First, it's easy to pour out one mix of beans and put in another (impossible with my old grinder). Second, the grind settings are accurate and easy to adjust. Third, the ground coffee accumulates in an easily removable little container. Fourth, it's not too big. All huge plusses. It also grinds very evenly, which is a must for proper espresso extraction.

For additional opinions on Barista gear, check out the ratings at CoffeeGeek.com or Epinions and elsewhere .

Strangely, the Starbuck machines are not available via the web. You need to present your self at a local Starbucks store and pick one up there. If colors matter to you, they come in a nice variety. Call ahead because not all branches inventory them.

-- Doc Searls

Starbucks Barista Grinder
$200
Starbucks Barista Espresso Machine
$400
Starbucks

Microplane began making micro-blades for woodworking use, but they diverged into making fantastic kitchen tools. Their kitchen graters will turn a little block of Parmigiano Reggiano into a huge cloud of billowy cheese wisps. Vegetables grate into little strips that almost melt in your mouth. My favorite use is with citrus zest. My lemon bars, lemon tarts and key lime pie have a much greater depth of flavor than ever before.

With most zesters, you end up with too much of the pithy white rind of the citrus fruit, but the Microplane takes off just the very thinnest layer of the outside of the fruit which contains the intense and volatile citrus oils. These are the best tools I've tried for fine grating and zesting.

--Jeff Zimmerman

[We use 'em in our kitchen, too. Get a model with a handle -- they are very SHARP. --KK ]

Microplane Grater/Zester
$11
Available from, among others, Amazon

Manufactured by Microplane

The one baby gift that every parent needs: The Happy Baby Food Grinder. This mill lets you make your own baby food --basically, you pitch a few table scraps into the tube and hand crank it, while pushing the plunger. Baby food is magically extruded. Easy to tote, clean and it lasts many lifetimes. Our kids were eating stuffed cabbage before they had teeth. You can usually find this grinder at health food stores. The only downside to this perfect baby shower gift: It's cheap, around $14.

-- Josh Quittner

Happy Baby (KidCo) Food Grinder
$15
Available from Amazon

If you're into wine, you need a Screwpull Lever Model Classic S1700. The original Screwpull with the teflon screw made pulling corks the traditional way a lot easier. But it's still work using the two different pieces, driving the screw into the cork, turning the cork out of the bottle, then turning the cork off the screw. The Lever model has makes pulling corks a literally four second operation: clamp it around the neck of the bottle, pull the lever down, pushing the screw into the bottle, pull the lever back up, pulling the cork out of the bottle, open the clamp slightly to remove the bottle, then close the clamp again push the lever back again, removing the cork from the screw. There are cheaper models than this one -- Rabbit comes to mind -- which may be good, and even really cheap models which are distinctly inferior, but at around a $100 this one is still a bargain for how simple it makes getting between your intention to have a glass a wine and actually sipping it.
-- Louis Rossetto

Screwpull Lever Model Classic S1700
$90
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Le Creuset

It is hard to image how the traditional kitchen peeler could be substantially improved. Remarkably the Oxo Peeler accomplishes this. Easier to use, vastly more comfortable for long stretches, sharper, and more productive. The Oxo Peeler continues to win awards in test kitchens. A superior tool; worth the few extra dollars.
--KK

OXO Good Grip Swivel Peeler
Catalog

$6
From, among others, Amazon

For years professional bakers have baked their goods on inert silicone-impregnated mats. These simple, inexpensive oven-proof non-stick sheets slide into baking trays and are now quite common in baking households like ours. Instead of consuming rolls of aluminum foil or parchment paper, you lay everything out on these reusable durable mats, and bake; the nicely browned goods slide off with no effort and no added grease. Less burn on the bottom, too. Multiple mats can feed one expensive baking tray for serious cookie production. Clean-up is a simple rinse. As an added bonus they make great kneading boards. The mats roll up for easy storage. We've used several of the five brands available; so far they all seem similar. Silpat was the original, but SiliconeZone is the least expensive I've seen.

SiliconeZone Standard Baking Mat
11 x 16"
$15
Amazon

Two suggestions for best kitchen knives by foodie and CT reader Adam Fields:

This knife is extremely sharp. I use it mostly for vegetables which need a clean cut (carrots, parsnips, etc...) but which are soft enough that they won't damage the blade (I'll cut through chicken bones with the others below, but not this). The kullens and thin blade also make it uniquely suited for very thin slices.

MAC Hollow Ground Chef Knife 8"
$76
Northwestern Cutlery

*

Messermeister Meridian Elite 8"

This is my workhorse. It's big, heavy but well balanced, and very sharp. The Meridian knives have a German shape but a Japanese-style edge, which means they cut very well. I use this for anything too large for my other knives, and when the mood strikes.

Messermeister Meridian Elite 8"
$70
Distinctive Decor

My friend and colleague Kurt Bollacker is a foodie (and extreme programmer). When I asked him about cool tools in his kitchen he immediately suggested this one. It's a pretty nifty device.

Kurt Bollacker writes:
I have used at least a dozen different garlic presses in my life, and the Rosle is the best one I've ever seen. It has a built-in mechanical lever that presses the garlic significantly harder than you press the handle. This means it takes less physical strength and is less of a strain if you are pressing a lot of garlic. The Germanic precision of manufacture is very high. This press is much easier to clean because the screen where the clove is pressed against can be lifted up out of the "pit" so that you don't have to dig down into it to scrape out the fiber remains. This also means you don't need a cleaning bristle (either separate or built in) to clean it. When I mentioned "the world's best garlic press" in the office, two folks immediately knew I was talking about the Rosle.

Rosle Garlic Press
$37 from Amazon

The technical aspects of cooking are usually overlooked. Kitchen gear is addressed by most publications, if at all, when it is fancy and untried. This paper magazine, however, tests equipment, gadgets, and recipes -- new and old -- in a relentless quest for the best kitchen stuff. Cook's Illustrated is at liberty to be honest in their recommendations because they have no ads -- no one to please but avid readers. The tests are amazingly thorough, and astoundingly informative. They examine everything from basic ingredients (sea salt, bread flour, olive oil) to high-end equipment (what is the best mixer), as well as state-of-the-art in standard instruments like garlic presses, frying pans, oven thermometers, etc. I find their comparison methods to be more realistic and far more useful than Consumer Reports; and of course they evaluate far more items than CR ever would. They also obsessively taste-test popular recipes in hundreds of variations, and research the mysteries behind each ingredient. I learn tons each issue -- about foodstuffs, about cooking, and about eating. Best of all, these folks make it very clear when a new tool or technique is not worth the trouble, and how you could manage with an old version. Unlike most magazines, back issues of Cook's don't age. This is the 2600 for cooking nerds.

-- KK

Cook's Illlustrated
One year subscription (6 issues)
$25
800-526-8442