Flavourgasmic, the Kitchen & Food Blog » Kitchen Gadgets

Best misuse of a Hasbro property ever! It’s Enigma

Brian Hunsaker — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:00:58 +0000

If you don’t know the name Mauricio (Tony) Harion, you soon will. He is the brilliant mind behind what has to be one of the best drinking games I have ever seen. As a product design student hailing from Belo Horizonte, Brazil he created the ultimate mash-up with the Enigma – Battleship Bar Game. I think we all get he concept here. When one of your “ships” is hit you have to take a shot, what better way to fight for control of the seas. Hit the link to see more pictures.

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Impress or kill your friends, either way have fun, with backyard beekeeping

Brian Hunsaker — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:00:29 +0000

Ever dream of raising a colony of nuclear powered mutant super bees? You have to start somewhere, and why not with a Beginner Beekeeping Kit. I am certainly no stranger to hobbies (I have several hundred, need chainmail, no problem) and I defiantly love honey, but the idea of having hundreds of swarming bees (ok beekeepers I know that bees are least likely to sting during a swarm but suspend disbelief) in my backyard is a little extreme even by my standards. But wouldn’t it be nice to lure your enemies over with the offer of drinks only to trap them in your apiary of death? Hit the link for info.

Being billed as a way to help boost the dwindling honey bee populations the beginner beekeeping kit includes everything necessary to get started as a beekeeper. You get hive, wax, smoker and fuel, gloves, helmet, veil, brush, nails, assembly instructions and a book titled “First Lessons in Beekeeping” (seems fitting). All of this for $299 keep in mind however that the bees are not included. From a honey standpoint this would be awesome, there really is something wonderful about the idea of harvesting your own, but I just can’t get past the bee stings. Am I the only one that thinks Blofeld would have been the perfect beekeeper? Whether you are a member of SPECTRE or not check out the Beginner Beekeeping Kit at Real Goods and get a jump on evil plan season.

Have an axe to grind with pepper? Try a Unicorn

Brian Hunsaker — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:07 +0000

Peppermill that is! If there is one spice in the kitchen that Katt and I can agree should belong in just about every meal, its’ pepper. As a matter of fact on one of the very first dates Katt and I ever went on I actually stole a pepper mill. It occurred while at a restaurant in Las Vegas, the pepper mill on the table worked so well that it left when we did. It continued to serve us well on the remainder of the trip. Many dates and pepper grinds later Katt and I needed a new mill, something that would hold up to the demands of a high pepper use household and some serious au poivre action. All of our research and testing lead us to one grinder, the Magnum by Unicorn Peppermills. Hit the jump for the full run down.

After trying about a dozen different pepper grinders at various kitchen stores we came to the conclusion that all pepper mills just suck and we would just have to settle on something that looked nice. That all changed during some extended research when we started seeing some amazingly positive reviews for the Magnum peppermill from Unicorn. After finding a store locally that carried them we purchased one without having tried it first based solely on the reviews we had read. This was one of the best purchase decisions we have ever made.

Anyone who has ever shopped for high end peppermills will tell you that at $45.00 the Magnum actually represents a bargain. Some “high end” peppermills can easily run 80-100 dollars with results that cannot even compare to the Magnum. The first thing you will notice about the Magnum is its appearance. Unlike most peppermills available the Magnum is all about function. No fancy wood, copper, or clear acrylic. Ok let’s be honest if this bothers you than get a cheap wood peppermill or some antique to leave out on the table and whip out your Magnum when you actually want some pepper. In addition to the nonsense looks you will get a mill that requires no crazy contortions to grind pepper and no instruction manual necessary to fill it. Speaking of filling, this mill simply swallows up the pepper corns, simply slide the plastic ring around the middle to expose the fill hole and pour in the pepper. Since we use so much pepper around the Flavourgasmic kitchen having a huge capacity was a big plus and with the Magnum there is not a lot of wasted space. Even with the large capacity Katt and I will probably be moving up to the Magnum Plus, this taller cousin of the Magnum holds a whopping 1 ¼ cups of pepper corns, easily enough for a couple days in our kitchen. Keep this in mind if you use a lot of pepper.

Now about the grind, one of the biggest down falls of most peppermills is grind consistency. On non-adjustable models you will get everything from pepper dust to pieces that seem larger then the pepper corns you filled the damn thing with. On most adjustable models you will spend hours finely tuning the adjustment only having it go wildly out of adjustment when you are trying to pick up some beautiful girl with your precisely dialed in pepper grind. “It happens to all guys” she will say as she takes her pepper needs elsewhere. Yep you heard it here getting a Magnum peppermill almost guarantee getting the hot chicks. Joking aside the Magnum is an adjustable mill, but my god will it hold a setting. Adjust it to cracked pepper and guess what? You get cracked pepper. In a week you get more cracked pepper, a year even more. I think you get the point, not only is the Magnum easy to dial in the grind it will hold it! Katt and I like a coarser grind and in 3 years and what seems like several hundred pounds of pepper later it hasn’t changed a bit. This friend is what peppermills are all about!

While it may not be the prettiest girl at the prom, the Magnum is certainly a lot more fun to play with. If you can get past the rugged plastic looks you will be rewarded with a peppermill that should last you the rest of your life and remains as consistent as the day you bought it. Whether you are looking for a new mill or just about ready to rectally insert your current model into the person responsible for making it do yourself a favour and check out Unicorn Peppermills.

It’s time for ice cream to meet its maker

Brian Hunsaker — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:00:37 +0000

Several people asked me about ice cream makers after yesterday’s post. Ice cream makers unfortunately come in a dizzying array of shapes, sizes and materials. From the $25 Ice Cream maker ball, that makes ice cream by rolling around a frozen plastic ball, to the $2800 commercial batch ice cream makers that can make ice cream in as little as 20 minutes. Ultimately I settled on the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2qt model, I say settled because I couldn’t afford the Taylor 220 shown here used for $11,500. For $79 dollars though I think the Cuisinart was a close second. Keep reading to find out why I like it.

My earliest memories of ice cream making have to be of my parents begrudgingly pulling out the hand crank machine. My memory is a bit foggy but I think it was one of those wood style bucket machines that probably had a stainless steel bucket and required the use of lots of ice, rock salt and man power (or kid power if available). Looking back I can see why we only made ice cream once when I was younger. Quite simply it was a pain in the ass. But that was in the olden days surely technology has surpassed such trivial ice cream issues? Not as much as you would think.

Below $200 dollars you will not find an ice cream maker that has a built in compressor-freezer. This means you are left with units that have either a non-chilled bucket (typically stainless steel) and require the addition of ice and salt to keep the bucket below freezing. Or you will find units like the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence that use a plastic bowl that requires you to pre freezes the bowl for 24 hours prior to using it.

The Cuisinart Pure Indulgence falls into the pre-freeze bowl category and features a nice clean look with stainless steel housing and a very usable 2 quart capacity. There is even space under the ice cream maker for cord storage, a little thing that makes a big difference for storage. Other than the unit itself you have only three addition parts, the plastic lid, plastic paddle and the freezer bowl. All three are very easy to clean and the lid and paddle can be tossed in the dishwasher if needed. Operation could not be easier, just freeze the bowl, and assemble the bowl into the housing along with the paddle and lid. Turn the unit on and pour in your chilled mixture. 30 minutes later you have whatever frozen treat you set out to make.

To me the ease of not having to worry about adding ice and salt make it worth the space I need to have in the freezer for the bowl. Fortunately at Flavourgasmic we have a storage freezer with plenty of space to keep the bowl permanently on freeze for ice cream any time. If you don’t have the freezer space than I would consider a traditional model but be warned having to monitor your progress and add ice and salt is kind of a pain. Either way you will do yourself a favor by not getting a hand crank model. While you may think to yourself that this is cool or olde tyme, you will soon find yourself cursing your decision and not enjoying ice cream.

Not much more to say. The Cuisinart Pure Indulgence has been a great ice cream maker for the two years we have used it. In that time we have produced some truly great ice creams and also some truly horrible ice creams (not the fault of the ice cream maker). If you are on a budget Cuisinart also makes a very similar 1.5qt model that is about $30 dollars less but has most of the same features. You will not go wrong either way and there is nothing better on a hot day or when the craving hits than some wonderful, creamy, delicious homemade ice cream!

Tired of your cheese going bad? Try Cheese Paper

Brian Hunsaker — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:00:05 +0000

Do you feel like your cheese is going bad before its time? Does your cheese end up acquiring funky ammonia like smells? If either of these have ever happened to you then perhaps it time to try Formaticum’s Cheese Paper. Designed to mimic a cave-like environment their cheese paper is designed to keep your cheese around longer. Hit the jump for a pictorial view of how it works and a video on how to wrap your cheese.

Designed to maintain proper humidity and allow oxygen exchange, Cheese Paper should maintain your precious cheese collection at its peak for longer. Conventional food storage materials are non-porous which can suffocate and kill your cheese before its time. Non-porous materials also trap moisture accelerating the growth of surface mold and spoilage. Cheese Paper’s porous inner layer wicks away excess humidity while allowing oxygen exchange. Available at many cheese purveyors or directly from Formatium, if you seem to suffer from premature cheese failure then why not give it a try? Enjoy this video on how to wrap your cheese.

How To Wrap Cheese from Formaticum on Vimeo.

Give yourself the cutting edge, with Epicurean

Brian Hunsaker — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:00:18 +0000

Most cutting boards suffer from two problems. First they are usually materials that are hard to clean and second they take up huge amounts of space in your cabinets. Fortunately for all of us Epicurean has come to our rescue. Not only do we exclusively use Epicurean cutting boards in the Flavourgasmic kitchen we also give them as gifts, they are that good. Read on for more.

Ok let’s start with what makes them such a hit in our kitchen. They are dishwasher safe and easy to clean, woohoo. Unlike most bamboo and wood cutting boards (believe me I have had wood boards split) you can just toss them in the dishwasher when you are done. Perhaps most important to me is that Epicurean cutting boards are knife safe. As any chef or experienced cook knows, knives are the number one tool we have in our kitchen and we should treat them like gold! Almost equally important is their size. Epicurean boards are only about a ¼ inch thick making them easy to stash in most cabinets. My mom, who still uses a plastic cutting board, will tell you that every once in a while she has to bleach her cutting board due to staining. She wouldn’t have to do this if she switched to an Epicurean board which thanks to its surface resists staining and odors! Also cool is their ability to handle heat to 350 degrees F to be exact. This allows them to work as trivets in addition to cutting boards. Epicurean also sells trivets that could probably be used as cutting boards. I begrudgingly feel I need to mention one other trait. They are eco friendly. Made from eco select paper 60% of the energy used to produce the raw materials is from renewable energy. They even have a line of cutting boards made from recycled cardboard upping the green factor, blah, moving on. Personally I would feel better if they where made from the ground bones of happy fluffy bunnies and the tears of Mother Nature as the earth is destroyed by man. Ok so they aren’t perfect but they are close.

We own two of their cutting boards and have been using them for about 3 years now. During that time we have put them through the washing machine hundreds of times and they are just as good now as the day we purchased them. We are using fairly expensive knives and I’m sure if they could talk they would thank us. I monitor the edges of them frequently and have not noticed any abnormal wear due to using these cutting boards. They don’t show any staining nor have they retained any odors despite cutting garlic, squid, and happy fluffy bunnies.

Epicurean offers a dizzying array of cutting boards, from small handy boards, to large carving boards with grooves that can accommodate cups of drippings. You can do yourself and your knives a favor and head over to Epicurean and check out their cutting board line up. Here are some examples.

Destroy All Blenders

Brian Hunsaker — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:00:27 +0000

If all the blenders on blender island were to be summoned to battle against King Ghidorah, mankind would have nothing to worry about if those blenders happened to be the Total Blender from Blendtec! I have a little bit of a blender crush on the Total Blender, ever since I destroyed my first Cheap O’ blender making frozen drinks for party goers. I have always said that I can’t justify the $399.95 price tag of the Blendtec, but having spent over $500 on cheap blenders that argument seems to fall down. So why do I love the Total Blender, what makes it so special? Read on.

Right off the bat I have to point out that you may have already seen a Blendtec in action. If you have ever been to a bar or restaurant and seen a blender with a square jar odds are it was a Blendtec. On the consumer side of the market Blendtec sells two models, the Total Blender (in black or white) for $399.95 and the Connoisseur for $799.95. The Connoisseur is functionally very similar to the Total Blender. The biggest differences are the warranty, 5 years vs. the Total Blenders 3 year warranty, and the controls. The Connoisseur has the controls on the top and is built in such a way that the blender can actually be built into the countertop! How cool is that?

Alright back to the object of my blender lust, the Total Blender, what makes it so good? For one it has a 13amp / 1500 Watt direct drive motor. This means no more smoking blender motor or melted plastic (both have happened to me) when trying to crush ice. Don’t trust me? The Total Blender even comes with an Ice-Crushing guarantee! An addition to power the Total Blender also has control. Featuring what Blendtec refers to as Smart-Touch Tecnology, this just means that in addition to standard blender control you also get several built in cycle buttons. When pressed the blender will automatically speed up and slow down and eventually shut off as is appropriate for the item being made. Still not convinced that the Blendtec is awesomness in blender form? Let me introduce you to Will it Blend?!

Will it Blend is Blendtec’s attempt to get in on the viral video craze and if you ask me it worked. The videos which are narrated by Tom Dickson, a wacky professor type who is great, attempt to determine if common items will blend or not in a Total Blender. The outcome is always the same, the item is destroyed but the blender is fine. Some of the videos are actually really cool to watch and even produce small explosions! Take for instance this video of an iPhone being destroyed.

If you still don’t want one after that, then buddy you ain’t breathing! Hopefully the Flavourgasmic kitchen will have one soon and I will be able to give you the first hand review of this insanely cool blender!

Who doesn’t like an hourglass figure?

Brian Hunsaker — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:00:17 +0000

I know I sure do, and thanks to Sur la Table I can even drink from this perfect shape with their Hourglass Beverage Jar. Just in time for summer festivities you can now serve up your favorite alcoholic beverages (OK so I guess non-alcoholic would work too) with class. Featuring a large 2 gallon capacity go ahead and get the entire party drunk serving up lemonade and vodka, orange juice and tequila or perhaps a nice sangria. With the pour spout even people who are two pitchers to the wind will be able to continue serving. Hit the link for some accessories.

Also available from Sur la Table to complete your Hourglass serving set are a Hanging Beverage Jar Sign and a Hourglass Beverage Jar Stand. The hanging sign is nothing more than a mini chalk board that allows you to inform your guests of what delectable drinks await them. Being easy to wipe clean it also means that everybody’s favorite party trickster will be able to mislabel the drinks leading to hysterical and hopefully sexy consequences. The hourglass beverage jar stand allows you to lift your beverage jar off of the table making sure that your shorter friends will once again feel like you hate them. Either that or it will make it easier to get glasses under the spigot of the jar. The jar and stand are available now exclusively at Sur la Table for $60.00 and $17.00 respectivly. The sign will be available 7/6/2009 and will set you back $6.00 when available. If like me you are tired of being the only one at the party with an hourglass figure, you can’t go wrong.

What’s your Pizza-Que

Brian Hunsaker — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:00:53 +0000

If it’s the Charcoal Companion Pizza Que then I’d say it’s quite high. A lot of people will tell you that the only way to cook up a truly great pizza is with the high heat that only a pizza oven can provide. Unfortunately most consumer home ovens simply can not produce the heat required to get a perfect crust. Enter the Pizza Que, made to work with your outdoor charcoal or gas grill both of which can hit the temperatures required to make the perfect pizza. Hit the link for more.

The porous clay cooking surface is made to retain the heat and the stainless steel base includes a thermometer so you know exactly when the pizza stone is ready for use. For charcoal grilling simple create a ring of hot coals around the outside of the grill and place the Pizza Que in the center, dust the surface of the stone with corn meal (to prevent sticking) place your pizza on the stone and cook until you have a beautiful golden crust and your ingredients are cooked through. You can even add your favorite wood chips to the coals to give you a nice smokey flavor to your pizza. Instructions for gas grilling are similar just make sure that you do not place the stone directly over the flames. Street prices appear to range from $71.95 all the way to 99.95, regardless of the price with the Pizza Que you will never have a limp crust again!

Emile Henry presents the Tarte Tatin

Brian Hunsaker — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:00:44 +0000

Not sure how to make the Tarte Tatin from my earlier post because you don’t have the right pan? Don’t worry Emile Henry is there for you. Made of the same Flame ceramic as their Tagine this means it’s lighter than comparable metal cookware. This also means that the pan can go from the stove, to the oven and then to the table, you can even microwave it if need be. The greatest feature of this Tarte Tatin dish is the included serving dish that allows you to easily unmold your tart and serve it to your guests. Designed to allow you to easily use one dish from start to finish, this mean that now nothing will get in your Tarte Tatin competition dreams. Available now from most Emile Henry retailers in either red or black for $120.00 pick one up and get your tarte on. Hit the link for a pictorial look at creating this classic dish.