Holidays are fast approaching. And by holidays, we mean the Yuletide season. Blame it on the early start of the Christmas vibe in the Philippines where as early as the first day of September, people start playing Christmas carols and begin shopping for home decors. This “-ber” months frenzy also goes for commercial establishments, thereby setting up the mood further into the country’s most important and most awaited holiday of the year. Then, after Christmas comes the New Year. Who doesn’t love New Year’s Day? With all the fireworks, resolutions (well, we can scratch that part), the feasts, and all the merry-making, fun is so much of an understatement. And in all of these holidays the kitchen is without any doubt the busiest part of the house. Indeed, if it were to be compared to an infantry, the kitchen is both the HQ and the battlefield. And so you have to be fully-equipped to take on the demands of the impending holidays and the next to come. And since it will be a battlefield, you will need to gear up your kitchen and arm it with the artillery required to deliver the most sumptuous feast you can offer your guests, and most especially, your family.
FH&S Magazine 2015 and Gayot.Com helped us narrow down the top 10 items you should have in your kitchen in 2016. They’ll make perfect holiday gifts too!
1. iGrill2
Having trouble doing your barbecue while a lot of other things are going on? Now you can lessen your worries. This gadget from iDevice is a Bluetooth grilling thermometer that allows users to monitor their grilling meat even while socializing with guests, (up to four temperatures simultaneously) through a free app for iOS and Android devices. The device also proves very useful for smoking meats, as it notifies the user via phone if smoking temperatures go extreme, i.e. get too high or too low. Other exciting features include a 150-foot Bluetooth range, four-probe (professional grade) capacity, illuminated display, and 200-hour battery life!
2. Breville Sous Chef Food Processor
Cutting vegetables is one tedious task. The hard ones, like carrots for example, make cutting them by hand tough work. For this reason, the Breville BFP800XL Sous Chef Food Processor, 16-Cup is heaven-sent. It features a 5.5-inch super wide chute that allows you to slice veggies and fruits without having to chop them up first into smaller pieces by hand. It also comes with a set of eight discs and blades for many different preparation options. The discs include a variable slicing disc that can adjust the thickness of your cuts from a paper thin 0.3 mm (.01”) to a solid 8 mm (.3″). It’s a bit of an investment but with the long-term benefits and advantages it offers, it’s definitely one very good venture.
3. Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker enabled with WeMo
Working professionals, especially those living alone, are absolutely busy people with tight work schedules which can be further prolonged in case of emergency meetings and whatever extended commitment in or out of the office. It was a huge relief when crock-pots or slow cookers came into reality, especially for people who prefer to cook dinner at home over the usual take-outs from fast food joints, which are guilty of having extra calories and extremely desensitizing tastes. However, slow cookers are usually timed and do not anticipate extended delays in getting back for dinner, which is another problem since the busy professionals nowadays tend to get home way beyond past their pitch due to overtimes, emergency meetings, sudden social activities, and of course, the heavy city traffic. This is where Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker with WeMo saves the day. The slow cooker, jointly developed by Belkin and Jarden Consumer Solutions, incorporates Belkin’s WeMo smart technology which allows consumers to turn it on or off, adjust the temperature, extend the cooking time, and monitor and control the slow cooker from anywhere using a smartphone or tablet. Amazing, right?! This is really, really a must-have!
4. Omega 8006 Nutrition Center Juicer
Although juicers are basically intended for a healthy diet, not all juicers are made equal. Most juicers, as most high-tech kitchen gadgets go, claim that they go faster than the competition. Omega 8006 Juicer, on the other hand, does just the opposite. Though most juicers go at speeds ranging from 1, 650 to 15, 000 rpm, Omega 8006 does a “masticating style” and processes at 80 rpm. By going at a slower speed, the machine squeezes the food instead of grinding it, which helps to preserve the nutrients and healthy enzymes. Oxidation is also prevented by the slower speed, thus allowing your juice to be stored for up to 72 hours without being degraded. That also means you can drink your juice slower, too! See? Faster doesn’t always mean better!
5. Tellspec Food Scanner
Attention, calorie-conscious guys and girls! There is now a device that claims to let you know how much calories and what nutrients are in your food! Yes, once a dream to the health-conscious lot, now a reality! Currently in beta testing, Tellspec food scanner uses light –based spectroscopy to determine calories, macronutrients (fats, proteins and carbohydrates) and some allergenic ingredients in food.
This pocket-size device from Toronto, Canada includes mathematical algorithm for data analysis and an app for reporting results on a smartphone, tablet or computer. Now, isn’t this device so exciting?!
6. Nespresso Vertuoline
Shoutout to all the coffee-lovers out there! Always craving for that perfectly brewed, perfectly rich, satisfying dose of caffeine? Now you can have your signature cup anytime of the day! This new product from the brains of Nestle – the Nespresso Vertuoline single-serve coffee maker – uses intelligent bar code recognition and centrifugal extraction technology to brew the optimal cup of coffee or espresso. Five different parameters can be read by the system on the cup’s lid: cup size, temperature, rotational speed, flow rate, and the time the water is in contact with the coffee to brew either a cream-topped single-cup coffee (8 oz) or espresso (1.35 oz). The coffee maker can brew eight different kinds of coffee blends with varying intensities and taste profiles, including half-caffeinated and two-flavoured varieties. Now you can have your preferred blend and profile, anytime of the day. All you need to do is sip!
7. Proteak Rectangular Cutting Board
There is nothing classier than having good quality meat chopped on a nice cutting board. Feeling the tenderness of fine raw meat as it is being sliced, is one of the most unsung pleasures of a professional cook. To common dismay, plastic cutting boards don’t give as much satisfaction, not to mention the sanitary issues of using plastic kitchenware. Teak, which has been used for sailing vessels for centuries, is naturally resistant to both moisture and bacterial growth. Crafted from organically grown teak from 16, 000 acres of reclaimed ranch land, this attractive Proteak Cutting Board is aesthetically unique and easily maintained with a little soap and water. The maker of this fine item claims that richly-grained boards come from their plantations in Mexico and Costa Rica which capture CO2 of 20, 000 cars daily. See? You also help save the earth.
8. Flare Cookery Pans
Two of the most common and most troublesome issues in food preparation are insufficient cooking and irregular cooking time of food. These are mainly because of the uneven heat distribution during the cooking process. That is why it has been a standard step to assess the heat distribution efficiency in every cooking ware that tempts you at the store, most especially when hunting for a new set of cooking pans.
Lakeland UK is finally knocking on our doors with good news! With the help of a rocket scientist from Oxford University, Lakeland introduces Flare Cookery Pans which incorporate unique fin designs on the pans’ sides to efficiently channel heat from the flame around the entire pan, resulting in uniform heat distribution and faster cooking times. Tests performed by Oxford University show that Flare Cookery Pans save up to 40% less energy compared to ordinary pans. The pans are made of cast aluminium with stainless steel handles. They also have non-stick interior surface coating for easy food release and clean-up. With Flare Cookery Pans, cooking is absolutely worry-free!
9. Jaccard Simply Better Pro 45 Blade Meat Tenderizer
Not all meats are as tender as Wagyu beef. The tender ones are usually not easy on the pocket. The more tender the meat, the pricier it gets. But this doesn’t mean less tender meats cannot get any tenderer. Thanks to Jaccard Simply Better Pro 45 Blade Meat Tenderizer, now you can improve the quality of your regular meat in terms of tenderness and ease of digestion. The Jaccard Pro 45 Blade Meat Tenderizer break down the muscle fibers and creates thin heating channels, making many cuts of meat, even superior ones, more tender, easier to cook, and easier to digest. It also renders poorer cuts of meat tender and juicy. The 45 stainless steel blades help the meat absorb more of marinades quickly and can be used on all types of meat, including beef, chicken and fish. Other features include removable cartridge that allows for easy cleaning and maintenance and an ABS body which is sturdy and long-lasting.
10. ChefJet 3-D Food Printers
Desserts are a must for every feast. I mean, who doesn’t love desserts? The cakes and the sweets make up for the most-awaited part (of course, aside from the main course)! However, as applies to a lot of things, the best part is usually the hardest part. Preparing cakes and confection is both time consuming and delicate, requiring special attention, especially if you want to be extra artistic on the side. 3D Systems from Rock Hill, S.C. has developed two 3-D food printers – ChefJet and ChefJet Pro, both designed for confectionery and bakery applications. The ChefJet printer , which can sit on a home kitchen countertop, can make single-color confections and cake toppers up to 8” x 8” x 6” in size. The ChefJet Pro can print intricate designs in full color up to 10” x 14”x 8” in size. Both printers can use a variety of materials, including chocolate, vanilla, mint, sour apple, cherry and watermelon. Although price forecasts for both printers are a bit pricey, the convenience it will bring the users and desserts enthusiasts will be priceless.
