"appliance" news and stories

Is you dream refrigerator a giant Subzero or a colorful, retro Big Chill? Designers are already thinking outside of the box when it comes to restyling refrigerators and, if they get their way, we might be looking at a totally different appliance in the future. This is the Tree House Fridge, a design concept from the team of Chuan Shi, Wenying Lu, Chuan Shi & Yu Li at Yanko Design. Its unique layout presents an interesting possibility of what fridges could be like in the not-too-distant future. Each of the branches will be specifically designed to store a certain type of food - cheese, produce, etc - and will have a slide-out compartment in the trunk for larger things and drinks. To take advantage of the tree shape, the branches will have holders on the doors where fruit can be stored and "picked" at will.

A tree, of course, seems a bit extreme, but it is not so far-fetched to imagine separated, specialized compartments that will keep food fresher than the salad drawers that many refrigerators are equipped with now.

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It may not be available just yet, but you can put our names on the list for the ROLLERtoaster when it hits the market. It is definitely the toaster of the future. Sleek and compact, the toaster was designed by Jaren Goh of Singapore and won a 2006 Red Dot Design Award for innovation. Goh was inspired by the change of televisions from large and bulky boxes to streamlined flat-panels which retained all the functionality of the larger unit in a much more compact product. He applied that to a common appliance,the toaster, and the ROLLERtoaster was born. Slices of bread are "fed" into one side of the machine and are rolled through, fully toasted, to the other side where your plate awaits. The only potential problem is that it doesn't look like it will be able to handle bagels easily. Then again, neither do a lot of other toasters, so perhaps it's not as big a problem as one might think.

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There are many people who use their rice cookers for making plain rice and nothing more. This is fine when you like a lot of plain rice, but if you want to get more use out of the machine, or at least expand your repertoire, The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook might be the best resource you can add to your library. The book has over 250 "no-fail" recipes for just about every rice dish you can think of, including risottos, puddings and pilafs, not to mention that it also has a wide variety of non-rice recipes that take advantage of the machine's cooking capabilities. And there is nothing that we like more than an appliance that multi-tasks.

Since it is a book about a type of appliance, the first thing that it covers is some basic information on the different kinds of rice cookers and how they are used. After that, it dives into the recipes, which include Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto, Salmon Stuffed Japanese Rice Balls, Corn and Black Bean Tamales, Hummus and Maple Cinnamon Rice Pudding. Even if you don't like all the recipes, there are sure to be at least a few that you enjoy and trying some new techniques could help you get more mileage out of the cooker in the long run.

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I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you're going to make ice cream at home, it is worth it to get an ice cream maker. In fact, it is necessary to get an ice cream maker because it ensures that you will always get the optimal results from your frozen desserts. There are a wide range of ice cream makers to choose from, but there will definitely be at least one that fits your kitchen and your budget. After a batch or three of homemade ice cream, every single one will pay for itself in taste alone.

Ice Cream Ball - play with it and make ice cream. It's a great way to give your kids something to keep them occupied while they wait for the ice cream to be ready. $29

Cuisinart 1.5-qt. Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker - a great, easy-to-use all-purpose machine that can handle most family-sized jobs. Keep the extra freezer bowl in the freezer at all times so you're ready to go. Recommended by me (I own this model, pictured, and love it) and America's Test Kitchen. $49.95

A bagel lover can spend days, even weeks, trying to find a toaster that will comfortably fit extra-wide bagel slices. With most toasters, you end up having to stuff a bagel half in a too-small slot, which inevitably results in a bagel that is burned on one side. And that's all after you contend with those plastic "bagel slicers" that squish the bagel more effectively than they cleave it. The Westinghouse ToasterSlicer both toast and slices - and it is designed specifically for bagels.

The bagel is loaded whole into the slot at the back and, after pushing the machine's "slice" button and closing the slot, the bagel pops out fully toasted (and sliced!) from the other end after a few minutes. It can also toast regular bread, but it is more of a single-purpose gadget. But if you eat a lot of bagels, it is a gadget that would certainly come in handy! It's $43 at Overstock.com.

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