Periscope not included.
(Credit: Irawoods.com)Few eating or imbibing customs are steeped so deeply in ritual as is the making of tea. From little cucumber sandwiches on one side of the world to medicinal uses on the other, tea has long been held as much more than simply being some leaves soaked in water. As tradition dictates, even a simple modern cup of tea must be attached to at least some sort of process; one that automates the steeping like a submerging submarine seems as good as any.
The Zarafina Tea Maker Suite entertains users while it brews a proper cup of tea. The automated machine features steeping settings for different types of tea. Depending on whether you are making a pot of black, oolong, green, white, or herbal tea, the time and temperature will vary.
The device--which sells online for $60 and up--accomplishes this variety of tea-making by floating an infuser basket full of tea over the heating water. When the temperature is right, the basket is released directly into the tea, sinking much like a submarine would into the ocean.
Featuring a payload of your favorite tea, the maker doesn't stop at simple mechanics when the water is just right--there is the steeping time to consider. Complete with a ceramic teapot, teacups and a serving tray, the do-it-all appliance automatically pours your tea directly into the teapot when it has been steeped for the appropriate amount of time. With or without ceremony, your favorite tea is now ready to enjoy.
The Rihanna kitchen scale from ADE Germany includes an iPod dock and integrated speaker.
(Credit: ADE Germany)Do you love listening to music as much as you love to precisely measure cooking ingredients? Of course you don't. But that's not going to stop ADE Germany from slapping an iPod dock onto a kitchen scale early next year, with an expected asking price of $103.
The scale, which is curiously dubbed "Rihanna," includes an LCD that measures 1.7 inches by less than an inch and an integrated iPod speaker that plays beneath the glass measuring area.
The scale itself handles loads of up to 11 pounds, graduated in .04-ounce steps. It cannot, however, distinguish between kush or schwagg.
(Via Gizmag)
(Credit:
Perpetual Kid)
How selfish can one truly get? How about the $19.99 Fridge Locker, the ultimate weapon against food thieves? When it comes to bunking with roomies and even siblings who are full-time freeloaders, there's no arsenal great enough to protect your private food stash.
The Fridge Locker is really a tiny cage measuring 7.5 inches by 7.5 inches by 11 inches with a metal combination lock to keep out what the retailer can't help calling "Refrig-A Raiders." Poor pun aside, I wonder if this would kill your popularity rating if you brought one to the office? Goes brilliantly with the Ben & Jerry's combination lock and moldy sandwich bags.
(Source: Crave Asia via OhGizmo)
I am a sucker for cool kitchen tech. Sleek and shiny gadgets, digital anything--I see them, and I want them, regardless of whether I need them. So what do I want right now? The new Media Chef from Belling.
This sweet-looking 8-inch screen is a digital cookbook--but it's so much more. It comes with 48 built-in cooking lessons and exclusive content featuring British celebrity chef Brian Turner.
The included remote lets you pause, rewind, and play easily, and when you're not using it as a cookbook, the display makes a stunning calendar, MP3 player, or digital photo frame.
Coming really soon, we hope, and not just to the U.K. Current pricing is slated at around $270.
It's hard to keep us out of the kitchen, for no other reason than we just really enjoy food! Today we offer up a dilectable assortment of gourmet gadgets.
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EPISODE 156
Cocoon Cooker Grows Meat In Your Kitchen (thanks Bill!)
Ultrasonic dishwasher cleans your plates with waves of sound (thanks Sam!)
Ravi cools wine at the very moment it is poured
Cosentino turns minerals and woods into truly unique surfaces
LED Grabbing Tool Picks Valuables From Where Fingers Fear To Tread
Taylor Digital Measuring Cup Scale
... Read more
(Credit:
Sur la table)
I'm not usually one to champion gadgets that only serve one purpose, but I suppose I can at least appreciate when a single-purpose kitchen tool makes an attempt at improving its efficiency.
And improving efficiency is exactly what this Cherry-it Pitter accomplishes. Instead of the single cherry pitted by the gadget's predecessors, it pits up to four at once, storing the waste in a compartment that can be emptied easily after cleanup.
Maybe you won't be using it very often, but imagine yourself as you prepare to make your next cherry pie. A gadget like this makes life better in two ways. On one hand, it encourages the use of fresh cherries as opposed to the store-bought alternatives laden with corn starch and artificial flavor. It also streamlines the time-consuming pitting process that results from using fresh produce, saving you time and frustration.
The Cherry-it Pitter is made by Progressive. You can find it on Sur la table's Web site for $15.
(Credit:
Appliancist)
Coming to the kitchen as what appears to be the first of its kind, this contraption keeps drinks cold when you're nowhere near the icebox.
The sink, designed by Meneghini, uses either air or water refrigeration to cool beverages and snacks. All you do is press a button, and a compressor that sits in the bottom of the sink pushes cold water or air through the perforated disk that sits underneath your refreshments.
The sink has specially designed metal fixtures that act as bottle rests and a center peg that can be used as a platform for a plate of fruit or cheese. If you'd prefer not to use refrigeration, it functions as a normal sink.
(Credit:
Nordic Ware)
There are plenty of ways to liven up a stack of pancakes: you can mix in blueberries or add a handful of chocolate chips or even use a pan that adds fun designs to your breakfast. The Bug Pancake Pan lets you take that last option, adding pictures of dragonflies, ladybugs, and more to your pancakes.
The pan comes from Nordic Ware and has a non-stick surface that's also heat-reflective, offering uniform browning for your pancakes. The pan offers seven different sections into which you can pour pancakes, each with its own bug theme: a dragonfly, snail, butterfly, ladybug, spider, bee, worm, and beetle. The pan was designed with silver dollar-size pancakes in mind.
The Bug Pancake Pan is particularly ideal for making up a stack of pancakes for children--not only will the bug imprints appeal, but the smaller pancakes will be a better fit for smaller appetites and the pan lets you make up a whole batch in a hurry. The pan is 10-1/4 inches across. Cleanup is hand-wash only: Nordic Ware warns against using abrasive cleaners with its non-stick pans. The Bug Pancake Pan is priced at $35.
Portion control can be a bit of a problem when it comes to shaping hamburger patties. I tend to recommend a patty about the size of the palm of your hand, but when my husband follows my directions, we wind up with hamburgers about double the size I would make.
The Adjust-A-Burger makes turning out hamburgers easier and even a little faster. You just set the measurement to the burger size of your choice: your options include half-pound, one-third pound, quarter-pound, and Store.
The Adjust-A-Burger can come in handy if you want to make up a big batch of hamburger patties, and it offers the added bonus of ensuring that all of your hamburger patties cook evenly. Because they're all uniformly sized, you don't need to cut into each burger to make sure it's done. Cleanup is equally simple; the Adjust-A-Burger is dishwasher safe.
There are actually two versions of the Adjust-A-Burger: the regular-size model, which is 4.5 inches in diameter, and a slider version, which is 2.75 inches in diameter. The full-size burger prep tool is priced at approximately $8, while the slider version is priced at about $7.
(Credit:
World Design Market)
We've covered silly-slash-interesting concepts before, but I'm not really clear on how I should feel about this handheld portable toaster by Korean designer Been Kim. You apparently run it over your bread like a fancy butter knife and it toasts that side in your hand. An LCD readout on the back gradually tells you just how toasty your toast is getting.
The product, still a concept as far as we can tell, is apparently wireless and uses a cord-free charging system. We're not sure how practical this is or if it can replace a regular toaster, but it is a neat idea that we expect to see on the bus and street corners once it gets mass-produced. Design-wise, it looks fantastic.
The little butterflies on this portable toaster represent its heat strength.
(Credit: World Design Market)
