Eating

Steaming food is an excellent way to not only retain vitamins and minerals, but also to bring out its natural flavor. However, as basic as bathing a food item in a wash of steam may be, sometimes it can be rather hit and miss. Like all other cooking methods, everything has a different cooking time, but when it comes to steaming, overcooked food is limp, lifeless and neither healthy nor delicious. While checking on the progress of steaming foods doesn't necessarily guarantee disastrous results, the process can be time-consuming, and at best, inefficient.

The Morphy Richards Intellisteam steamer offers … Read more

Shopping for a new waffle maker raises a few questions that one must be prepared to address. Familiarity with one's preferences must be determined before diving in, because once decided, there is no going back. (Unless, of course, dealing with returns and restocking fees aren't a concern.) Any decision has to factor in a wealth of variables, from how deep the pockets are to how powerful the waffle maker is (and hence, how crisp the exterior of the resulting waffles are). No matter what your preference, perhaps the biggest choice to make is how many waffles you want.… Read more

I'm kind of a klutz. I can set a beautiful table, and then drip salsa on it the first time I dip a chip into the bowl I've so carefully set out. Even if you personally are more graceful than I, you probably have friends or occasional guests who share my clumsiness. The CaliBowl from SimpleWave will keep your table looking lovely by preventing drips and spills.

The simple, patent-pending design features an inward-curving lip--the company compares it to the tide of a wave--that scoops food and dips onto your chip, utensil, or food, or back into the … Read more

Ever wondered what would happen if a dentist invented a popcorn bowl? Well, wonder no more, and behold the Kernel Katcher, which neatly collects your unpopped kernels and excess hulls so that you can enjoy a net popcorn experience, with no worries of chipping a tooth on an unpopped kernel.

Pop your corn any way you like, then dump it into the Kernel Katcher. Snap on the lid, shake the bowl in a circular motion, and your popcorn waste falls into the catcher compartment at the bottom. You can fit about 13 cups of popped corn in there and still … Read more

Fondue is fun. Sitting around with family and friends, jostling for position over a bowl of melted cheese or chocolate can be quite entertaining. Add some good wine and better conversation and you got yourself a complete evening. However, as enjoyable as this communal experience may be, there are at least two things involved with fondue parties that nobody enjoys: setting up and cleaning up.

When people think of fondue, generally cheese and chocolate come to mind, but also a small flickering flame. The Swissmar AlpenGlow 11-Piece Electric Fondue Set bypasses the convention of utilizing fire, and instead relies on … Read more

I would much rather get my vitamin C from oranges and other fruits than have to take an extra pill every day. The fruits with plenty of vitamin C typically require special tools to peel and eat. Citrus fruits are tasty but dealing with the peel is time consuming. The Vitamin C Set includes what you need to deal with orange rind and more. The set includes two spoons, one with a green handle and one with an orange handle. The green spoon has teeth along its edge, allowing you to scoop grapefruit segments and peel kiwi fruit. The orange … Read more

How we cook food is always changing. Gone are the days (mostly) of cooking over an open fire, with little more than a stick to act as a "kitchen gadget." Though nothing can replicate the taste created by fire on food, new methods of cooking have always inspired chefs to take their recipes to the next level. From the hearth to the microwave oven, this journey has not been fraught with peril. (For every worthwhile kitchen gadget, there seems to be a dozen that aren't.) However, every once in a while, the home cook is faced with … Read more

This time of year, there's a lot of cooking going on. While roasts, turkeys, hams, and side dishes galore mean lots of food on the table, they also mean there will be lots of leftovers in the refrigerator. When faced with a well-picked-over turkey or ham, one final dish comes to mind: soup. By using the leftover protein to make a stock or broth, a flavorful base is created that can be taken in any direction. However, to get that smooth consistency to which you can later add veggies, meat, or noodles, first you are going to need to … Read more

The microwave oven is no doubt one of the most popular kitchen appliances available. But before its ubiquity, people had to get used to the idea that a few button presses (or physical dial turn as the case may have been) could produce a hot meal with seemingly little work. Then reality sunk in as this common phrase started to hit home: "Cooking time in your microwave oven may vary." While microwave ovens did not prove to be the easy answer to a properly cooked meal, the promise was certainly still there.

Fast-forward to now, and the promise … Read more