Architec Stackable Appetizer Maker

The story of how the Microplane rasp food grater came to be is the most well-known, but not the only, account of cooks and bakers adopting woodworking tools and modifying them for culinary work. The few descriptions we’ve come across of this new Architec product doesn’t mention a miter box, but the plastic version of that wood-sawing guide immediately comes to mind upon first seeing the Stackable Appetizer Maker.

Because the most prominent feature of this new product is the series of ten knife slots, and because it comes with a serrated knife, the first impression of the Appetizer Maker is that it’s primarily a slicing aid. But the main function of Architec’s new product is to enable the construction of layered concoctions, which are then sliced into eleven individual-sized portions. A tamper helps you to flatten soft ingredients; a bottom plate enables you to easily lift out all eleven slices at once.

The user’s guide and recipe book for the Stackable Maker clearly states that the “recipes” are only starting points — basically, just ingredient lists to get you thinking creatively. Unnamed, the recipe ideas start with appetizers, progress invitingly to breakfast items, and end with intriguing desserts.

The Stackable Appetizer Maker comes in blue, black, and red, and sells for $19.95.

Stackable Appetizer Maker on Architec’s website

Architec 25-page user and recipe guide

Wusthof Gourmet 8″ Ridge Chef’s Knife

A February 20, 2013, comment thread about Wusthof’s new chef’s knife was started on Kitchen Knife Forums , a site devoted to kitchen cutlery enthusiasts. A member asked: What was this 199-year-old German manufacturer of fine cutlery thinking when they added a ridge down the middle of the blade and a line of holes below that to an 8″ chef’s knife? Other members piped in, derisively, calling the new features gimmicks; one suggested that the knife maker configure differently-sized holes to measure spaghetti. Another called the ridge, “a blood groove for home defense use.”

Wusthof counters by saying the new features aid precision-cutting and release. The ridge deflects food as you slice, and the holes release air, reducing the friction between the food and the blade. The deflecting feature is configured for right-handed users, with the ridge on the away, or outside blade side; lefties will be moving the knife in the direction of the ridge, effectively jamming the slices rather than releasing them, which would seem to make knife work more difficult than it is with a conventional, ridge-less blade—for left-handed users.

For years, several manufacturers, including Wusthof, have made cheese knives with large holes to minimize sticking of the cheese to the knife. This is the first chef’s knife we’ve seen with holes in the blade. Wusthof is trying out these features on its Gourmet line, which is a moderately-priced selection of knives with laser-cut, as opposed to forged, blades. The knives in the Gourmet line are single-tang, with high-impact synthetic handles. The knives’ precision bolsters make the handles more ergonomic, and help to provide proper balance. These blades are made from steel with a lower carbon component than the knives in Wusthof’s more expensive lines.

It will be interesting to see how this new knife fares, and whether ridged and perforated blades become a widespread trend in kitchen cutlery of the future. Stay tuned.

The manufacturer hasn’t yet added the new model to its website.

Wusthof Gourmet line

Wusthof Gourmet Ridge Chef’s Knife on Chef’s Catalog website

Breville Fast Slow Cooker

Some of the most successful electronic consumer products in history were born by combining two or more functions into one appliance. Think clock radio, or toaster oven.

Users of the latter give up a little something in exchange for the advantages of having a convenient, energy efficient countertop alternative to their full size oven: toaster ovens don’t toast sliced bread as well as most toasters do. There is no such performance trade-off with an electric pressure cooker that doubles as a slow cooker, in spite of the opposite nature of the two cooking methods.

European manufacturer Fagor, a market leader in the stovetop pressure cooker category, realized this five years ago when it released its 3-in-1 6-quart multi-cooker, which triples as a rice cooker, and which is still available for $90. Since then, several manufacturers have released programmable countertop multi-function cookers. While these appliances can use only one cooking mode at a time — limitation if you own a single appliance to pressure-cook, slow cook, cook rice, steam or warm — the obvious advantage is that you needn’t own several specialty devices to accomplish those individual tasks.

Breville’s new entry into the multi-cooking electric category, the Fast Slow Cooker, sells for $150, and seems to embody the high design standards the Australian manufacturer is known for. As with most pressure cookers, the pot and lid are round, to best provide for the seal necessary to raise the pressure in the pot; high pressure raises the boiling point of the cooking fluids, which raises the cooking temperature (up to 250 F*), allowing the food to cook more quickly. A by-product of this approach is that the food retains more flavor and nutrients.

At the other end of the cooking-time spectrum is slow cooking, typically a 6–10-hour process done in an oval-shaped countertop crock pot with a lid. Well-made slow cookers have accurate internal thermostats that maintain consistent temperatures, particularly important when tenderizing large cuts of tough meat. While many slow cookers are oval-shaped to better accommodate whole chickens, pot roasts, pork shoulders, and other large, oblong food, the 6-quart Breville Fast Slow Cooker is cylindrical, a possible limitation for large cuts of the aforementioned cuts of meat.

The Breville provides full programmability needed for controlled pressure cooking, slow cooking, steaming, and warming. The brushed stainless steel Breville Fast Slow Cooker includes a stainless steel steaming tray/trivet, heat-resistant spatula, serving spoon, and measuring cup.

Breville Fast Slow Cooker

Bodum Bistro electric french press, red

Bodum has been known throughout the world for decades as the leading brand of French presses. It may come as a surprise to some purists devoted to the elegant, hands-on simplicity of the plunger pot that this Swiss-based company has been making electrical kitchen appliances for twenty years.

For almost all of us who drink coffee at home, the brewing process is an every day routine, and convenience plays a larger role than it does in other, more occasional culinary pursuits. Bodum’s latest appliance incorporates the most basic of convenience-making brewing features: an on-off switch.

In a traditional French press, the user boils the brewing water separately and pours it into the carafe containing coarsely ground coffee beans. Apart from the step of maintaining a kettle for this purpose, the key variable in the brewing process is water temperature, which should ideally be between 195-204°F when it makes contact with the grounds.

The Bistro electric press has a water reservoir and pump, as in an automatic drip machine which, at the push of a button, will heat the water to proper brewing temperature and transfer it into the carafe containing the grounds. After about five minutes of direct extraction, the user presses down the strainer filter, segregating the grounds at the bottom of the pot.

We know of one other electric French press sold in the US: a Chef’s Choice model, which has received lukewarm reviews from users over the past several years. The Bodum electric is a welcome addition to the array of available home brewing choices. One possible limitation of the new model is its 17-ounce capacity. It comes in four different colors, and sells for $60.

Bodum Bistro Electric French Press

Oxo Chop and Pour Cutting Board	Oxo Chop and Pour Cutting Board corner grip	Oxo Chop and Pour Cutting Board corner spout

Since the 1990s — and even as the debate over the relative safety of wood cutting boards versus plastic ones persists — alternative materials and innovative approaches from manufacturers have all but upended the single, large hardwood board paradigm. The current approach includes the introduction of bamboo and recycled composite materials; a move toward sets of smaller boards and mats, sometimes color-coded to prevent cross contamination; and the release of portable, sometimes flexible, cutting board configurations.

Oxo has played a large part in the shift, having released several relatively inexpensive models over the years, using durable, knife-friendly plastics and bamboo. The $17 Chop & Pour is Oxo’s latest model, and it seems an ideal design for a board that can be easily moved from countertop to stove to transport chopped ingredients as you cook.

At 13.5” x 10.5” it’s large enough to accommodate a full-size chef’s knife. It has a soft tapered grip in a corner of the board to facilitate transport of the lightweight (~ 1 pound) board. The raised edges on the board’s back and sides form walls that help keep food from falling off the board, and direct it to the spout. The front edge is flat so that it won’t impede cutting with a chef’s knife. The corner diagonally across from the hand grip has a molded spout, making neat and easy work of pouring chopped food into a pot or bowl. In the Oxo Good Grips tradition, the Chop & Pour is fitted with non-slip bottom edges to keep it in place while you’re performing knife work.

Oxo Chop & Pour Cutting Board

Miele Barista CM5200 Coffee Machine

For decades, German manufacturer Miele has been best known in North America for its hepa-filtered, $500+ vacuum cleaners even though its high-end kitchen and laundry appliances have been available in the US for almost thirty years.

Miele’s freestanding CM5000-series coffee machines were introduced in the US last year, and sold predominantly at Williams-Sonoma and a couple of Amazon outlets. The latest, the 5200 is more advanced and more expensive than the 5000 and the 5100 models that preceded it. Respective prices for the three machines, all still available as of 12/2012, though the 5000 is no longer manufactured, are $1700, $2000, and $2500.

The CM5200 has as many automatic, convenience features as any home brewer we know of, though at its heart, it’s an espresso machine, with a 15-bar pump to extract the grounds. You might wonder why you’d spend $2500 on a new, bells-and-whistles laden model that tries to be all things to every (affluent) coffee drinker, when, instead, you could buy the best prosumer espresso machine on the market, AND a high end, commercial-level burr grinder for less, and pull the best espresso shots anywhere.

Simple: the CM5200 is loaded with automatic features, and the Miele pedigree counts for a lot at this price point. To set up the Miele Barista, place whole roasted beans in the bean hopper (or ground coffee in the grinds hopper), fill the removable 61-ounce water tank, and the 16.9 ounce milk flask, select cup size, brew strength, and temperature, and, finally, adjust the height of the brew spouts. The machine is now ready will to brew single or double espressos, regular coffees, lattes, cappuccinos and macchiatos with the touch of a button.

The brewer can be operated in two modes, one that keeps the water close to brewing temperature, the other a more energy-saving mode. Its programmability includes the adjustable, on-board conical grinder, and the electronic steamer, for heated or frothed milk. It has a top warming tray and automatic prompts for bean and water replenishment. The main brew apparatus is removable for easy cleaning and there is an automatic self-cleaning function for the milk frother.

The CM5200 has a power rating of 1200 watts. Dimensions are 10.5”w x 19.5” d x 14.5” h.

Miele CM5200

Williams-Sonoma CM5200

Fagor Spoutnik Microwave Oven

Given the widespread availability of Fagor kitchen products in the US — almost all the major home goods retailers carry their products — it’s reasonable to hope that the large, Spanish manufacturer’s latest countertop appliance will be sold in the States soon. That product, the Spoutnik, is a round, freestanding microwave oven, with a hinged, spring-loaded translucent dome cover, and is selling in the UK for 179£, or about $287.

If our first impression upon seeing the Spoutnik was, “A round microwave oven — kind of novel”, as soon as we began to consider the possible benefits of this format, we wondered why manufacturers hadn’t employed it decades ago. After all, the appliance is built around a turntable: why build a bulky rectangular box to house it when, by using a round base, you can reduce the countertop footprint and save space without sacrificing cooking capacity? The capacity of the Spoutnik is 23 litres, or just over 0.8” — average for a small/medium microwave oven). And that round glass tray, typically 11” in diameter (on the Spoutnik as well), is where the action happens, so why not make a top-loading oven, with a push-button-open, see-through domed cover, giving the user a 360-degree view of the cooking food?

The power rating for the Spoutnik is 700 W. It has four power settings, a 60-minute timer, a backlit LCD display, and an illuminated turntable. The Fagor Spoutnik Microwave Oven measures 14.5”W x, 16.9”D (including the front control panel) x 12.9”H. It’s available in three space-age colors.

Fagor Spoutnik Microwave Oven

Bonavita Variable Temperature Gooseneck Electric Kettle

The Bonavita BV1800 auto-drip coffee maker has received acclaim since its release in the US in early 2012. The 8-cup capacity coffeemaker has been compared favorably to the Technivorm MoccaMaster — the Dutch auto-drip brewer that has reigned for several years among coffee devotees as the best-in-category — at about twice the price of the BV1800.

Bonavita’s latest release is a 1-liter (33.8 ounce) brushed stainless steel electric kettle that has a flexible gooseneck spout for precise pour control. Early feedback from users is that the 1000-watt device heats water quickly: one Amazon reviewer timed bringing 16 ounces of cold water to a boil at 90 seconds.

The user can set the target temperature in one-degree increments, starting at 140, or choose one of six presets. The Gooseneck Electric Kettle will hold the set temperature for one hour. The LED temperature/time display is switchable between Fahrenheit and Celsius; it’s mounted, along with the six buttons that control the kettle and the count-up timer, into a rounded base with a receptacle that swivels 360-degrees.

Dimensions of the $90 kettle: 10.8″H x 7.5″W x 7.3″D; weight is 2.8 pounds.

Bonavita Variable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle

Oxo Good Grip No-Spill Ice Cube Tray	Oxo Good Grip No-Spill Ice Cube Tray	Oxo Good Grip No-Spill Ice Cube Tray, vertical position

Since 2001, Oxo has been responsible for two of the most successful of those advancements. The first was the Good Grips ice cube tray featuring a plastic cover with side grooves that slide onto the tray, allowing for easy stacking of multiple trays, and effectively reducing the absorption of odors by the water/ice from other food in the freezer. The sliding lid also enabled the user to release a few cubes at a time instead of all at once. Oxo didn’t claim that these trays eliminated spills, and they don’t because there is no seal between the tray and the lid.

Nearly 12 years after the release of the sliding-cover trays, Oxo introduced a new design about which it is making the “No-Spill” claim. The new trays come with a sealable lid of soft silicone that, when in place, not only prevents spills but allows the tray to be stored in the freezer at any angle. To maximize space in a crowded freezer, you could fill the tray with water (or chicken stock or baby food) and wedge it in vertically between the frozen peas and the ice cream. The seal is established with the use of a groove that runs around the perimeter of the tray, just inside the top rim. When the lid is in place, pressing it into the groove forces out the air between the tray and the lid, creating a seal. And because the tray is white and the lid is translucent blue the user can see the air as it’s eliminated.

The new No-Spill trays, like Oxo’s first version of the covered ice tray, has 14 half-moon shaped molds, each with a capacity of 2/3 ounce, for a total tray capacity of 9.3 oz. The new trays sell for $10, twice as much as the 2001 release, which are still available.

Oxo 22-pound-capacity kitchen scale

Oxo 22-pound-capacity kitchen scale with pull-out display

Oxo released an 11-pound-capacity kitchen scale with a pull-out display a little more than four years ago, and a 5-pound-capacity model a year later. Both have received consistently high marks since their respective releases. While most home cooks and bakers probably don’t have frequent need of a scale with a capacity greater than 11 pounds, but there may be occasions — holidays and entertaining — when Oxo’s new 22-pound-capacity scale will come in handy.

This higher-capacity scale has the same length and width as the 11-pound model (11.25” x 8.5”), but at a sleek 1″ is half the thickness, and weighs only a half-pound more, at 3 lbs. The features are the same on both models, notably the pull-out display, which can be advantageous on a scale on which larger plates and bowls will be placed and which could obscure the controls and display. Both scales measure in 1/8-ounce (or 1 gram) increments,and both have zero (tare) functions for weighing ingredients as you add them. A backlight may be turned on/off to increase readability in certain lighting conditions. Each scale is powered by 4 included AAA batteries.

The 5-pound-capacity model is about 30% smaller than two larger versions, and sells for $30. The 11-pound model is $50, and the 22-pound is $70.

Oxo 22-pound-capacity kitchen scale