ice

Soft-serve ice cream from the comfort of your kitchen

I don't know about you, but when I look around my kitchen, I think, "You know, I really need a soft-serve ice cream maker." Forget those ordinary ice cream makers; I want the soft serve, with its lovely form, its ability to completely fill a cone, and its pure lickability.

Cuisinart now offers professional-quality soft-serve ice cream, yogurt, sorbet, and sherbet all from the comfort of your own home. The Cuisinart Mix It In not only makes and serves your frozen treat, it also houses three condiment dispensers, so you can add your sprinkles, cookie bits, and … Read more

In case you're too lazy to lick

Calories burned playing 30 minutes of basketball: 350. Calories burned taking a 30-minute yoga class: 160. Calories burned washing dishes for 30 minutes: 70.

How about the number of calories I'd burn licking an ice cream cone for 30 minutes? About 25 (although if you take the calories from the ice cream into account, then you burn, well, negative 175 calories). That being said, can someone please tell me why anyone would possibly need this motorized ice cream cone?

I'm no stranger to novelty candy. When I was in middle school, my friends and I would buy sweets … Read more

Super sorbet shaver

Summer has started, and the heat is on. Those of us in the Kitchen Appliance blog network have brought you blogs about industrial-size icemakers, portable countertop icemakers, and ice cream machines in the last few weeks, and as June draws to a close, things don't seem as if they're going to cool down anytime soon.

Sipping a drink on ice is one way to cool down, but the tastiest and most delicious way to cool your core temperature on a sweltering 90-plus afternoon is a cool cup of ice cream or sorbet. There are a number of places … Read more

Ice, ice, baby

The Fourth of July is just around the corner, so you'd better dust off the barbecue and hose down the plastic chairs. And if your weather is anything like the extreme heat we're enjoying in Houston, you'll want to figure out how to keep things cool while you're standing over an open flame.

A few weeks back, my colleague Jennifer mentioned the Scotsman Brilliance residential ice maker, which is one option, but my priorities are a little bit different: I don't want the 47 children who invariably follow the scent of hot dogs and descend … Read more

How to make a lot more margaritas

The season has changed, and with the rising temperature comes the rising need for icy-cool drinks. In some places, like here in Brooklyn, the transition from a bitter winter to a cool and rainy spring to a hot and muggy summer can be very abrupt. So abrupt, in fact, that I find myself being shocked at how easily I had forgotten what it feels like to be hot. The other day I filled my ice tray for the first time since last summer, and in true Boy Scout spirit, prepared myself for the next time I needed a frozen margarita … Read more

We all scream for ice cream

It's starting to warm up around here, and I'm getting a real craving for ice cream. I've been looking at ice-cream recipes, and it looks as if I have just about everything I need to make up a quick cone of my own. Milk, sugar, vanilla--I've got it all. But I think I need some help getting from the ingredients to the stuff that tastes good in a cone.

That's where Cuisinart's ice-cream maker comes in. Named the "Pure Indulgence," this dream of a machine is automatic. You pour in the ingredients, … Read more

Production matters: Minus the Bear and Portishead

I listened to two CDs for the first time last night, and while I'm very happy with both of them, the disparity in sound reminded me how much production can make or break a record.

The first one was Planet of Ice by Seattle band Minus the Bear. I've read good things about this band for years, but the descriptions of this 2007 album--it's apparently more progressive and "math"-y than their previous releases--finally got me to make the purchase.

Musically it's a fantastic achievement, one of the most progressive and interesting modern rock … Read more

Gadgettes 89: The Mother's Day episode

Mothers deserve more than a lousy microwave. Take it from the Gadgettes. Two out of three of us know from experience. As for Jason, he's hiding under the desk trying to avoid scary birthing stories. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 89

The photograph-to-digital-picture converter http://www.popgadget.net/2008/05/the_photograph.php

Track your missing purse via GPS http://www.popgadget.net/2008/05/track_your_hand.php

What Molly thinks you should buy http://themolly.com/blog/?p=73

What Molly got her mom for Mother’s Day: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-QuickCam-Deluxe-for-Notebooks/ dp/B000O9GGLY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s= electronics&qid=1210278711&sr=8-5… Read more

Chicago beats ice with beet juice

Update 3:20 p.m PDT March 22: This blog has been updated with additional details about the city's beet-derived de-icer and sensor systems.

CHICAGO--Many Chicagoans pride themselves on surviving extreme weather, and laugh when a rainy day makes headlines in California. (With snow falling at two inches per hour Friday, the second day of spring, can you blame them?)

Seeking more eco-friendly ways to clear snow and ice from more than 9,500 miles of roadways, the Windy City is combining low-tech "green" chemicals with digital sensor systems.

Extract from sugar beet juice is key in … Read more