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salt

Gift alert: Stainless salt & pepper mills, $34.99

Woot Wine, an offshoot of one of the original "deal-a-day" Web sites, has branched out from its usual tempranillos and cabernets to offer a few gifts aimed at gourmets this season. Today's deal, the GRIND Reflex II Salt and Pepper Set, caught my attention because it's just the kind of useful and lovely item that makes an excellent hostess gift.

The 6-inch-tall salt and pepper grinders feature a pump mechanism that you operate with your thumb, so you can grind salt and pepper with one hand. (Obviously, this set is designed for use at the table … Read more

From the makers of Bacon Salt: Baconnaise

There's a new player in town vying for the attention of your sandwiches and vegetables. J&D, a.k.a. Justin and Dave, first opened our eyes with Bacon Salt, which made everything taste like bacon. But for those of us who don't salt our bread, now we have Baconnaise.

Stemming from a customer suggestion about 6 months ago, it seems inconceivable that the world has been deprived of such a culinary achievement. As a nation of bacon-eaters would attest, it is a concept whose time has come. How we ever got along without Baconnaise is the real question. Some inventions clearly are for the benefit of humanity.

While I was under the impression that bacon went well with everything, apparently bacon and mayonnaise never really got along too well. (Could have fooled me!) They decided to settle their differences in the only way the knew how: mayonnaise wrestling. In the spirit of Halloween, click on through for some prefight smack-talk between bacon and mayonnaise.… Read more

Rugged notebook from the house of salt and fog

It happens every time. The mainsail cover is off, and it's freshening nicely. Then the boss calls begging you to get online and placate one of her key accounts. Luckily, she's seen fit to spring for the fully salt/fog-certified B300 ruggedized notebook.

What distinguishes this rugged, watertight, vibration- and drop-shock resistant PC--besides the sealed ports and connector cover--is the finish. According to manufacturer Getac, it protects everything from hinges to the keyboard to the electrical innards from salty corrosion, thus allowing you to telecommute from deck to dune.

The B300 was recently certified under standards set by … Read more

Shake and break

I love the sound of breaking glass. But, with all apologies to Nick Lowe, the sound of breaking ceramic may be better. Or at least more constructive. It may seem odd to suggest that the act of breaking something could result in a sum greater than its parts, but that is exactly what the Fragile salt and pepper shaker sets out to do.

A concept piece, Fragile was designed by Mey Kahn and Boaz Kahn from Israel. Looking somewhat like milk bottles stacked top to top, the immediate impression of Fragile, is that it is, well, fragile. Just toppling it … Read more

Holy NaCl, Batman! It's a saltshaker!

On some distant birthday past, I received a salt and pepper shaker set. Not an ordinary set, what with tubular glass canisters tapering up to a functional stainless steel screw top. No, these were teeth. Top ridge for the salt, separate bottom for the pepper.

As confusing as I found the gift to be, there was something pretty cool about it. I mean everybody uses salt and pepper right? Why not make a cool delivery device for them? For some reason or another, I had a vague knowledge that people collected shaker sets and I imagined that I could build … Read more

Toast n Egg makes toast with eggs

Now this combination makes sense. Toast with an egg is undoubtedly a great pairing to start any day. The problem for me is that if I'm gonna make an egg, most likely I'm gonna fry it. Not necessarily because it will taste better, but more so for the absolute lack of effort it requires. Butter, pan, fry, done. Easy.

Anything that uses less pots and pans is a good thing in my book. The ability to crack an egg into the Toast n Egg from Tefal is a great idea. The unit comes not only with an egg-poaching … Read more

Designers cook up gadgets of the future

I recently had some time to scroll through the shortlisted entries in Designboom's Dining in 2015 competition, in which industrial designers were encouraged to conceptualize products that will fit how we eat in 2015. Though the winning entry, the Leaf Spoon, was stunning in its simplicity, I much preferred the anthropomorphized grater pictured above, called Scratch my back. I'm dying to recruit this guy to help me out in the kitchen. (Do you hear me, Alessi?)

One of the other more visually stunning entries is "Plus Minus F," an orb-like salt and pepper set that uses … Read more

Make everything taste like bacon

Have you ever found yourself thinking that veggies would go down easier, if only they tasted more like bacon? You may want to top them with Bacon Salt. The brainchild of two bacon-loving former tech workers, the zero-calorie seasoning lets you add a bit of bacony goodness to any food product. It comes in three flavors--original, hickory, and peppered--and, according to this post from Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger, has been enjoyed on "potatoes (fried, mashed, whathaveyou), corn on the cob, popcorn, watermelon, pineapple, steak, eggs (fried, scrambled), green beans, assorted vegetables, chocolate, Bloody Marys, pasta, guacamole, and peaches." … Read more

Designers hatch egg-themed products

Will product designers ever stop finding inspiration in the simple shape of an egg? The smooth, rounded shape of the Form trio of kitchen tools owes its existence to a photograph of an egg admired by designer Charles Job. The set consists of an egg timer, an egg slicer and a salt and pepper set that snap together. Each tool is available in your choice of sleek black or white plastic. "Boil an egg; slice it and eat it with salt and pepper--that is the essence of Form," says the product Web site.

To take the theme a … Read more

Freezing ice at 47 degrees

How can you make ice at 15 degrees higher than freezing? You're looking at it.

This tub pictured here, made by Transphase Phoenix, is designed to hold water permeated with various salts so that it will freeze at 47 degrees rather than the standard 32. That means ice can be made at night without as much electricity when power is cheaper. The idea is to reduce peak demand in the afternoon, when electricity is most expensive, and obviate the need for "peaker" plants.

The ice melts throughout the day, providing air conditioning in as many tubs as … Read more