Top 5 New Small Appliances
Want to give your culinary summer a jump start, or just add a little more electrical power to your kitchen? Or maybe you’re just the kind of cook (here’s the category I fall in to) who always desires the newest gadgets to work with? Either way, here are my picks for the coolest and most helpful new small appliances available this season (and, as the Amazon.com home appliances store was just rated the No. 1 shopping spot for small appliances, floor care products, and air conditioners in the leading consumer research magazine for a fourth consecutive year, well, you know it’s a dandy place to shop for these pluggable marvels).
Breville’s The Smart Oven
I love to cook, but sometimes want to be a little lazy about it, which is why the Smart Oven's Element IQ set up is so nice on those keep-it-simple days. It has 9 pre-sets (for toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, and warm) which deliver the right power at the right time for cooking different things and--this is cool--if you adjust one to personal taste, it remembers the adjustment. Oh, I also really like the ejecting rack, which keeps you from having to reach in, because I was always getting burnt on my last toaster oven.
Back to Basics Electric Ice Shaver
I cannot tell a lie (and my waistline would show I was lying if I tried to), I love Sno Cones and shaved ice. And pretty much any other chilly sweet treat. But for having shaved ice and other chilly bites of deliciousness at home, this ice shaver is ideal--just dump in ice cubes (it comes with ice molds, too), hit the power button, and it starts delivering fine, fluffy snow. You can also pick up Back to Basics’ premium syrup to add, or add your own flavorings.
Krups Intuitive Stainless-Steel 1-4/5-Quart Kettle
Sometimes, it’s just nice to heat up water without any hassle--and this kettle is just right for those times. It comes with a concealed 1500-watt heating element and can get 1-4/5 quarts to a rolling boil in little time, which means that instant coffee, tea, hot chocolate, oatmeal, and more is available quickly. As it’s cordless, it’s good for parties, too, when you might be filling up things across a room or in multiple locations. This may sound a bit hazardous, but there’s a safety unlock button to reduce the chance of accidents.
DeLonghi Programmable 5-Quart Slow Cooker
Okay, it’s summer, and you probably aren’t thinking “I’m going to make up a big batch of something hot for dinner” as much as in fall and winter, but forget that--slow-cooking is dandy even when the temperature’s high, because you don’t have to use the full-on stove, and because you can cook when you’re out of the house, then have it ready as you get home (which lets things cool off when you’re actually there). What's best about this model is its 10-hour countdown timer, touchpad control panel, three cooking modes, and how it goes automatically to "warm" once cooking is done.
Cuisinart Vertical Countertop Rotisserie
This rotisserie looks chic with its brushed stainless housing (and I’m guessing you can tell by now that stainless is a top stylistic choice at the moment), and can roast up to 8 pounds at a time, basting as it rotates. It has easy-to-use touchpad controls, an LCD readout, and five preset temperatures: 325, 350, 400, 425, and 450 degrees F. And, thanks to the viewing window, you can watch the food as its cooks, which I think is a lot of fun (though it goes against the whole “watched pot never boils” theory, your items will get done in here even if you watch them--trust me). This rotisserie cleans up easily and comes with a handy recipe book to get you started.
Haggie on July 09, 2009 at 06:48 PM
Alternative Subject: "Five Appliances for People With More Counter Space Than Common Sense"