Food Gadgets

Nintendo Gets Cooking

by Catherine Donaldson-Evans, Posted Mar 23rd 2010 @ 11:00AM

Courtesy of Nintendo

Nintendo is going to try to convince you to throw out your cookbooks. The game company just cooked up "America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking," which offers electronic step-by-step instructions for hundreds of recipes from the how-to TV show America's Test Kitchen.

Compatible with the Nintendo DS, DSi and just-released DSi XL, the software has cooks-in-training use its touch-screen technology to choose dishes to prepare, then divvies up tasks among family members or friends. Cartoon chefs talk you through each step of every recipe, and the program includes instructional videos on kitchen basics like chopping an onion and mincing garlic.

Filed under: Food Gadgets, New Products

Salsa, Cupcakes and 20 Bottles of Wine: The New York Times in 60 Seconds

COMMENTS 1

by Naomi Shulman, Posted Mar 17th 2010 @ 12:00PM

Beware of the cupcake. Photo: Sifu Renka, Flickr

Salsa is Mexico's "most misunderstood culinary export." It's time for a reintroduction.
You can't cook, but you want a home-cooked meal. Enter the newest kitchen gadgets.
Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio is back in the kitchen at his newest restaurant, Colicchio & Sons. And the food? "Terrifically good."
The Times wine panel tasted 20 bottles of Loire wines. It's a tough job, but someone had to do it.
In Brooklyn, barbecue meets Southeast Asia at the Fatty 'Cue.
Where are all the cupcakes? It's actually a controversial question.

Filed under: Newspapers, Food Gadgets, In Sixty Seconds, In 60 Seconds

Santoku Time - A Knife Lover is Born

COMMENTS 3

by Alex Van Buren, Posted Jun 29th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Shun's santoku knife on caramelized onion tart. Photo: Alex Van Buren

Knives. Outside of the full-time food dork world, people -- even foodies -- don't tend to talk about them much.

They have a bad association as, um, dull conversational topics: There's the unwelcome knife salesman banging on the door, or that eternal infomercial ("Only $39.95 in three easy installments!"). I owned a sub-par knife for years, until a friend trained at a local culinary institute basically took it away from me.

I've been shopping ever since with an eagle eye for sales. The santoku style caught my attention for its multiuse blade (note the indentations, which purportedly help keep food from sticking) and stylish look. And when I grabbed a Shun in hand at a local shop -- its base has a slight teardrop shape, perfectly suited to that soft nub between thumb and index finger -- I fell in love.

Filed under: Food Gadgets, Tinfoil Swan

Buy an Oven Thermometer - Tip of the Day

COMMENTS 1

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Apr 17th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Want your roasts and baked goods to be perfect every time? Get an oven thermometer!

Filed under: Stores & Shopping, Food Gadgets, Tip of the Day

Human Vending Machines - A Little Orwell With Your Candy?

COMMENTS 2

by Bruce Watson, Posted Feb 19th 2009 @ 9:00AM

My daughter is addicted to Dirty Jobs, a Discovery Channel show in which the host tries out the filthiest, nastiest jobs in the country. Watching him work his way through a septic system or clean gum off a sidewalk, it's hard to imagine worse tasks than the ones that he regularly undertakes. However, in a recent move, Japan and Kit Kat seem to have figured out an innovative new way to lower the bar on horrifyingly bad employment.

Kit Kat's new Human Vending Machines combine the best elements of convenience foods, automatic vending, and slavery in one brutally delicious, schadenfreude-laden package. Basically a snack machine with a human being trapped inside, the machines put a personal face on candy vending transactions. Users put in their money, make their choice, and ask the man inside to send out the chocolate. The vendor, in turn, smiles at the customer, grabs the candy, and drops it into a slot.

There is no word yet on whether, underneath their smiles, the anonymous vendors are dying inside, asking themselves what series of bad choices led them to become nameless cogs in a snack-distribution empire. Similarly, one has to wonder if any of the vendors has found himself on a weekend-long alcoholic bender after selling a candy bar to his former prom date, a slickly-attired professional who pretended that she didn't recognize him.

Perhaps I'm projecting.

Filed under: Business, Food Oddities, Stores & Shopping, Food Gadgets, Ingredients, New Products

Experience With a European Tomato Press

COMMENTS 8

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Feb 9th 2009 @ 7:05PM

I have a plan to can, freeze and otherwise preserve a whole lot of food next summer and fall. I realize that there's still some time to go until I'm ready to start stewing, chopping, pickling and jamming, but I've already started to think in terms of equipment. I've got my eye on a couple of different models of pressure canners and I've been stockpiling jars (much to my fiance's chagrin).

I have a goal to can 35-40 quarts of tomatoes and as I ponder the logistics of such an undertaking, I start to consider different helpers. I already have a food mill, which will be helpful when it comes to sauce. However it can be slow going and so when I spotted this European Tomato Press, I began to wonder if it wouldn't be a helpful gadget to possess. I don't want to plunk 35 bucks for something that will just end up on the Goodwill pile, so I'm turning to you guys, the helpful and informed Slashfood readers.

Do any of you have experience with this tool? Do you love it or hate it? Also, if you're the type who does a lot of canning each summer and fall, do you have any particularly helpful tips that you've learned over the years (I've canned lots of jams and butters over the years, but nothing else)?

Source

Filed under: Food Gadgets

Weekend Cookware Sales

COMMENTS 1

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Dec 19th 2008 @ 5:30PM

Really -- when the heck else are you going to give yourself permission to invest in an igloo cake pan and festive sugar snow for yourself or your favorite cook or eater? I've got my eye on the Dorset cocktail shaker, Shun Ken Onion boning knife and a new mandoline. Dare to dream.

Williams-Sonoma:
Friends and Family Event
Saturday December 20th through Wednesday December 24th Williams-Sonoma is having a Friends and Family Event at retail stores only. We will offer 20% off all merchandise in the store. See stores for details and visit www.williams-sonoma.com to find a location near you.

Pottery Barn:
Spend $100 and get $20 back
Friday, December 19th through Sunday, December 21st spend $100 at a Pottery Barn store and get a $20 gift card that can be used from 12/26/2008 – 01/31/2009. See store for details and visit www.potterybarn.com to find a location near you.

Know of a super kitchen-centric holiday sale? Share it in the comments below.

Filed under: Stores & Shopping, Food Gadgets, Holidays, New Products

FINGERFOOD Party Plates

COMMENTS 0

by Annie Scott, Posted Dec 12th 2008 @ 8:58AM

FINGERFOOD Party Plates are sure to be a smash this holiday season - a tiny, little smash.

The Party Plates are actually small platters affixed to rings which, as you can see, you can wear while you hold your drink.

These are perfect for hors d'oeuvres (and hand-feeding your cats, and dinner parties thrown by Barbie). My only concern is that they look a little unwieldy, like you might have to master the art of the FINGERFOOD Party Plate, certainly before attempting it while drinking.

Ten reusable plates are just $9.95 from The Spoon Sisters, and they actually recommend bringing your own to a party as a "conversation starter." That would require a level of bravery I don't have, but I would think it fun to pass these out to guests at a party of my own!

Just not over the carpet, naturally.

Source

Filed under: Food Gadgets, Holidays

No-Mess Pineapple

COMMENTS 4

by Annie Scott, Posted Dec 10th 2008 @ 7:01PM

Oh, the pineapple. What a majestic fruit. On the outside, it looks like something you probably shouldn't eat, but the inside is -- well, you know. Delicious and totally unique.

Love pineapple but hate the mess of hacking one up to get at the succulent fruit? I have a solution! And no, it's not a pineapple cross-bred with a yam, or a dish towel, or anything. It's the Vacu Vin Pineapple Slicer.

The Vacu Vin Pineapple Slicer cuts your pineapple into rings and leaves the shell intact. Click through the gallery to watch how it takes you from solid fruit to slices and the perfect booze-vessel. And then buy one for $9.95 on amazon.com.

Vacu Vin Pineapple Slicer in Action(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Source

Filed under: Food Gadgets, Ingredients

Nordic Popcorn Genius

COMMENTS 6

by Annie Scott, Posted Dec 10th 2008 @ 6:04PM

Great news! Here's a kitchen gadget everyone can afford. Your popcorn just got way more awesome.

The Nordic Ware Microwave Corn Popper comes highly recommended by my very practical friend Shannon, who reports that it's really fast, doesn't need oil, and is a snap to clean. Sounds good to me!

This thing is $8.99 from The Kitchen Store, and microwave and dishwasher safe. You just put in the corn, put it in the microwave, and perfect, fluffy popcorn comes out. It's a stroke of Nordic genius.

I only wish it were pretty, so I could pass it off as a holiday gift. Guess I'll just have to get one for myself!

Source

Filed under: Food Gadgets, Ingredients, Methods