http://www.foodstruments.com/ Foodstruments.com Cooking Reviews en-us Back in July at Foodstruments the OXO Large Salad Spinner was reviewed, which not only did a splendid job at spinning the dirt out of your greens, but it was easy to use with its one-handed pumping mechanism and preserved the fresh lettuce for a number of day. Besides offering up this salad spinner in small and large sizes, OXO also has the Good Grips Green Salad Spinner, which is effectively the same product but colored green. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:29 CST I am so sick of having my stainless steel pots and pans look like they have been through a war with soy sauce or something alike. How does one own stainless steal pots and pans and keep that beautiful shine that they came with when you first purchased them? Of course, you could buy a wide variety of different cleaners to help with the process, but they are harsh on the environment and usually just have a negative impact. But with the Fissler Magic Mitten, you can obtain that beautiful shine without the use of harsh chemicals! Or any chemicals at all! Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:20 CST Back in July at Foodstruments there was a review of the George Foreman Champ Grill, which was small version of the widely known George Foreman Grill that could only accommodate about two hamburgers, but it offered a bun warmer too. However, for those looking to feed a larger family there is the George Foreman Next Grilleration, which offers roughly twice the grilling surface and its grilling plates are removable and dishwasher safe, for a truly easy cleaning process. Well, at least that is what's advertised, but here is the Foodstruments review of the Next Grilleration. Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:44 CDT American bread sucks. Sure, there are some nice local bakeries, but bread in a supermarket within the United States simply does not compare to any of the fine breads generally found throughout Europe. One of my "fringe" benefits when traveling on business is being able to enjoy these better breads, but fortunately, with the Breadman Pro TR875 I am able to make a wide selection of breads from my own home. The TR875 is a two-pound bread maker and it does an incredible job at making a nice loaf of any type of bread. Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:58 CDT While Fusion Brands is not a well known cooking brand, at Foodstruments we have reviewed the Poachpods and Fingertongs that come from this small innovative company. Both silicone products had worked very well in the kitchen and they were delightful to test. However, there is a third Fusion Brands gadget that has now been tested out by Foodstruments and that is the Love Handle. The Love Handle is a silicone handle that fits over the existing handle of a pan so that it can be gripped easier and safer while offering a built-in utensil rest. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:56 CDT Whether you are baking your own breads or picking up fresh-baked breads from your local bakery, cutting the bread can often be a challenge especially for the home chef. Cutting even slices of bread is often the biggest problem, but even with a clean slice of bread there are still many breadcrumbs left on your cutting board or countertop. A simple yet effective way to cut down on this problem is with a crumb box, which surprisingly is not too common in American kitchens. The Bartlet Wooden Crumb Box is an example of such product and one that I have been using. Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:56 CDT Chopping garlic and managing to have your hands smell good afterwards is always quite the task. Moreover, trying to cut up those already small cloves into tiny pieces is even harder! Usually you get out that big chopper that you push down on it a lot all for that measly piece of garlic. Well, in reality, all you need is the Chef'n Garlic Zoom. With this small and compact tool, you can mince garlic up with ease and walk away with smelly-free hands. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:14 CDT Whether you are just slicing through the bone of a chicken or opening up dry ingredients, a good pair of kitchen shears is necessary for any kitchen. Many budget-conscious home chefs will use just a pair of normal scissors, but they are not as strong as most kitchen shears, which can mean they are not nearly as effective and in some circumstances even dangerous. If you are in that situation, perhaps you might want to try the Wüsthof Come-Apart Kitchen Shears, which are built very well as would be expected from the Wüsthof brand. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:42 CDT Have you ever wished for an easier way to poach eggs without putting them in direct contact with boiling water? Personally, I think the water takes away from the taste of the egg as do many others. To my pleasure, by using the Fusion Brands Poachpod, you can make healthy poached eggs without the blandness of an egg that has been poached directly in water. The Poachpods not only make a better poached egg, but it also makes cleaning up a breeze with its nonstick molding that is dishwasher safe. Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00 CDT Paper shavings on the counter. A series of hit and miss spots located on top of the can. Places where the can should have fit into the grove but somehow could not manage. Finally, getting the can open and then attempting to get it out/off with the lovely assistance of a fork or other sharp object. Opening a can of something can be the biggest pain in the world if you do not have a good can opener. I have reviewed an Oxo GoodGrips Can Opener that worked just lovely, but I think the Fissler Magic Smooth-Edge Can Opener might just be a little bit better. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:25 CDT More and more people are trying to get creative when in the kitchen. Making your own food from scratch can be hard and time consuming, as the worst entrée would be anything that needs to be in a pot all day. Taking the time to make soups, stoups, and stews can be nothing but a pain. It takes hours on end to establish the desired texture and consistency. Using a pressure cooker would be ideal except most pressure cookers are of a size that is not ideal for the amount you wish to cook with, as they are generally too large. The Fissler Blue Point Pressure Cooker that I am reviewing is not only an ideal size but it is also modern looking. Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:06 CDT I am very particular about the way that I chop foods. I always try to make it so that each piece is cut evenly and it just provides much better for presentation when I have finished chopping up fresh vegetables and other foods. The real pain comes from having to try to get all the pieces into a bowl or skillet. Especially when cutting up small things such as garlic or chives, it can be a real pain to get everything into the pan. Also, using a knife to cut up food but then not being able to get it into the bowl because of size, shape, or consistency. Well, with the Progressive Bash 'n Chop you can cut up food and scoop it up with the same gadget! Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:24 CDT Getting out that big old blender sure can be a pain. I sure hate it when I could use one of those small little blenders but I do not have one when cooking at a friend's or family member's house. Fortunately, hand blenders have come down in cost and are beginning to be purchased by more people. The Rival Ultrablend Handheld Immersion-Style Blender, which I am reviewing today, is perfect for any blending/pureeing job. Whether it's making some salsa or blending up a fruit smoothie, this little blender is the perfect sidekick in the kitchen. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:20 CDT Well, when you find a cooking utensil that you really like, you tend to buy more. At least I do. I have already wrote a review on a set of bamboo utensils, the Tru Bamboo Utensil Set, but now I have a new set to look at. I know it is not really something to be meticulous about but I really do prefer the bamboo to regular wooden spoons. They have a nicer look, the wood is less porous so as not to let food particles, and such get inside the spoons. With this Joyce Chen 3-piece set, you can use them for just about anything. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:26 CDT Do you know anyone that is a severe diabetic? With some suffering from severe diabetics and other conditions, it can be to the point that they need to measure out everything they consume. This can be quite the pain when trying to measure out chunks or things that do not fit into a cup or bowl. Foods such as peanut butter can easily be measured but what about portions of fruit or meat? For those suffering from such a condition, or simply looking to measure out more of your food whether it be due to a diet or just general cooking, there is the EatSmart Precision Pro Kitchen Scale. All you have to do is tare the scale and you can measure the exact weight of your food in seconds. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:00 CDT Everyone enjoys those summer burgers. Whether they are made of meat or vegetables, it can be a challenge getting them to be nice and perfectly rounded like those at a restaurant. I know that I hate it when all my patties end up being different sizes and I never know what one will be done when. With patties that are all the same size, this is not a problem. Well, now you can make hamburger patties round and flat out of whatever you choose to use for ingredients. The Cuisinart Hamburger Patty Maker Set is a 10-piece set that includes the patty maker as well as four holders with lids. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:01 CDT Are you looking for a quick way to get a nice, evenly sliced bagel? Perhaps it is early in the morning and you need to get ready for work but do not have time to slice a bagel? Or perhaps you are using the Back to Basics Egg/Muffin Toaster and would like your meat and egg to be on a bagel? The Larien Bagel Guillotine is able to fulfill these tasks and makes slicing a bagel quick, safe, and easy. Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:09 CDT I hate having to store all those measuring cups. I have dry measuring cups and liquid measuring cups, which ends up taking up a decent amount of room in my kitchen. I have always wanted a measuring utensil that would do it all. Well, even though this certainly is nothing new, there is a solution to my problems. The KitchenArt Adjust-A-Cup is perfect for both dry and liquid measuring. Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:50 CDT To most, a bottle opener is a bottle opener. They serve one purpose -- to usually open your favorite beverage -- but there is a whole assortment of bottle openers on the market from the traditional handheld bottle opener to wall mounted bottle openers to many different novelty openers. In fact, at Phoronix Media we have even made some of the world's most expensive bottle openers out of computer hardware. Most commonly though is just the traditional handheld bottle opener, which is nice, but can at times be difficult to use with some tightly sealed imports and the openers can easily get lost within a crowded kitchen drawer . One of the alternatives to opening your favorite beer or soda is the Be Open Bottle Opener, which is a truly unique product. Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:00 CDT Do you have small children who do not do well with corn on the cob? Do you or your kids have braces? Are you getting sick of cutting the corn off the cob and not getting a clean cut? Well, with the Kuhn Rikon Corn Zipper, you can "zip" off rows of corn individually and get each kernel instead of whatever the knife gets. Personally, I think this corn zipper was somewhat marginal but everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:55 CDT Getting out that big old mixer (especially one like the Oster Inspire Hand Mixer) just to mix some eggs or whisk something can be such a pain. I hate it when I just have a small job of mixing but I do not feel like wasting all that time mixing when I could be cooking! Why not save yourself the time and hassle by getting a Norpro Cordless Mini Mixer? It is small but powerful at the same time. With four different attachments, you can choose the best one for the job without the pain of using that big mixer, or worse, a blender. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:10 CDT Besides needing a good rice cooker, like the recently reviewed Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy, one also needs a sushi mat / bamboo rollers if they wish to start making their own homemade sushi rolls. Sure, you can use a soft placemat or a similar object as a mat when rolling, but these sushi utensils are generally inexpensive and do a much better job in the preparation of one of the best Asian foods. In this review I will be looking at Helen's Asian Kitchen Bamboo Sushi Mat. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:31 CDT Neuro Fuzzy is a very odd name for a rice cooker. In fact, it is just an odd name in general. But to be honest with you, this is the last thing on my mind once I tried this Zojirushi rice cooker and warmer. This rice cooker made the best rice I have ever had -- including the many Asian restaurants I have visited. This rice was perfectly sticky and cooked just right. I do not think I could ever go back to my other rice cooker, even the recently reviewed Oster 5-Cup Rice Cooker, after trying out the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:14 CDT Do you miss your grill in the winter months? All of those nice grill marks are seemingly a sign of summer. Making bratwursts and hamburgers just is not the same using a skillet. Well, you can cook on the grill in the winter as well as any other time of year when using an electric grill that is rated for indoor use. The George Foreman Champ Grill with Bun Warmer is all you need, as with its unique design, it can cook meat and vegetables while toasting your buns. Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:08 CDT