Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Product Review: Grill Charms
Grill Charms are stainless steel markers that you can press into meat that's sitting on your grill. The idea is "to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperature, or avoid health or allergy issues." You press one of the charms into a burger or piece of chicken and know that it's different - special. But there are a few problems. One is that if because you need to put both sides of the meat (or vegetable - let me not dismiss the greener fare) onto the grill, you really cannot put the charm into place until after you've cooked one side. However, I find that something cooked rare medium will flip sooner than a well-done item. So you have to remember to put the charms in on that first flip, so that the side that's already done will have the charm, which you want face up.
Next, there are different collections. Depending on the collection you get, you might find it harder or easier to use. For example, in the charmed life collection, the charms bore marks of a crown, martini glass, dollar sign, clover, sail boat, and a palm tree on the beach. Pray tell, how do you remember which you assign to a given meaning? Checking the web site, the spiciness was a little clearer, with an X over a pepper for mild, a single pepper for regular, and multiple peppers for spicy. Clearest of all are those in the steak collection: R (rare), MR (medium-rare), M (medium), and so on. But what happens if I have a small party at which three people like medium-rare, two like rare, and one holds out for well? I don't get multiple doneness charms, so do I have to buy multiple sets at $19.95 for six or $4 for a single one? That seems like a lot of money for such a small piece of stainless.
I suspect the best thing is to divide the grill surface into a few sections. Put all the rare in one, all the spicy in a second, the salt-free in a third, and invest the money into some good beer to tide you through the chef experience.
Next, there are different collections. Depending on the collection you get, you might find it harder or easier to use. For example, in the charmed life collection, the charms bore marks of a crown, martini glass, dollar sign, clover, sail boat, and a palm tree on the beach. Pray tell, how do you remember which you assign to a given meaning? Checking the web site, the spiciness was a little clearer, with an X over a pepper for mild, a single pepper for regular, and multiple peppers for spicy. Clearest of all are those in the steak collection: R (rare), MR (medium-rare), M (medium), and so on. But what happens if I have a small party at which three people like medium-rare, two like rare, and one holds out for well? I don't get multiple doneness charms, so do I have to buy multiple sets at $19.95 for six or $4 for a single one? That seems like a lot of money for such a small piece of stainless.
I suspect the best thing is to divide the grill surface into a few sections. Put all the rare in one, all the spicy in a second, the salt-free in a third, and invest the money into some good beer to tide you through the chef experience.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Review: Magic Bullet Platinum Pro
When I started testing the Magic Bullet, a friend of one of my kids said, "Oh, that's a Magic Bullet!" Apparently this is the stuff of infomercials and, according to the PR people, is one of the "must haves" that Jessica Seinfeld touts in her book on how to Deceptively Delicious. Avoiding the controversy of whether Seinfeld or her publisher was looking closely at the ideas of Missy Chase Lapine or not and jump into something else. I think the Magic Bullet has a few things going for it, but I don't think it's really not all that its promoters would like to promote to the world.
They position this relatively small device as a cross between a blender and a food processor. Let's look at the first part. The instructions claim that usually 10 seconds of blending does what you need. Not a chance. I tried milkshakes and fruit smoothies, and usually I needed upwards of a minute, which is fine except that you're warned under pain of hellfire and damnation not to let the unit run longer - NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER, as a Lear might instruct - than 60 seconds. A second longer and you could cause a cataclysm. Much longer than that, and I think life as we know it comes to an end.
Seriously, if you need a single serving of blended something, this device is decent. It comes with four plastic cups with removable colored rings at the top. Remove the ring, fill the glass with whatever, screw the blending attachment, invert the lot and put it onto the blender, and you're in business ... eventually. If things dont' seem to be blending, the instructions say to picj up the entire blender and cup (or one of the normal blending containers) and shake away.
Personally, I think this novel approach is probably an attempt to pragmatically spin the problem of not being able to stop the blender, easily remove a container's upward facing lid (remember, the part the screws off is now face down into the blender), shove a rubber spatula in to scrape down the sides, and then remove the spatula, replace the lid, and continue blending. However, hey, it worked for me. When things are done, you remove the container. If it's one of the glasses, you unscrew the blending unit, add on the colored collar, and start drinking. That's a lot better than washing two continers. Also, you can get to the blades to make sure they are clean, rather than having them forever fixed at the bottom of a vessel.
Where the Magic Bullet offers a misfire is in the food processing part. The instructions would have you take a chunk of vegetable (like an onion) that fits into the small blending container, drop it in, attach the flat-bladed chopping base, and pulse away. I tried it and was completely disappointed. Perhaps the piece was a bit large (though it didn't seem stuck in the container). Instead of being sliced and diced in a matter of seconds, the end facing the blade seemed a little chewed up, but that was about it. Now, I did try a few cloves of garlic, but it was a case of all or nothing - either full cloves, or a very find mince. (Had I not been pulsing the unit, it would probably have turned into garlic mush.)
So, if you like smoothies or need other blending jobs where dealing with a large container and heavy base unit doesn't sound good, then by all means check the Magic Bullet - the Platinum Pro runs $139.99 (including tax and shipping) with the two blending containers, four container/cups, blending bases, motor unit, and so on. It also seems to be avaiable various places on the web for about $60. But if you need to chop, forget this device, as it cannot "easily take the place of any food processor."
They position this relatively small device as a cross between a blender and a food processor. Let's look at the first part. The instructions claim that usually 10 seconds of blending does what you need. Not a chance. I tried milkshakes and fruit smoothies, and usually I needed upwards of a minute, which is fine except that you're warned under pain of hellfire and damnation not to let the unit run longer - NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER, as a Lear might instruct - than 60 seconds. A second longer and you could cause a cataclysm. Much longer than that, and I think life as we know it comes to an end.
Seriously, if you need a single serving of blended something, this device is decent. It comes with four plastic cups with removable colored rings at the top. Remove the ring, fill the glass with whatever, screw the blending attachment, invert the lot and put it onto the blender, and you're in business ... eventually. If things dont' seem to be blending, the instructions say to picj up the entire blender and cup (or one of the normal blending containers) and shake away.
Personally, I think this novel approach is probably an attempt to pragmatically spin the problem of not being able to stop the blender, easily remove a container's upward facing lid (remember, the part the screws off is now face down into the blender), shove a rubber spatula in to scrape down the sides, and then remove the spatula, replace the lid, and continue blending. However, hey, it worked for me. When things are done, you remove the container. If it's one of the glasses, you unscrew the blending unit, add on the colored collar, and start drinking. That's a lot better than washing two continers. Also, you can get to the blades to make sure they are clean, rather than having them forever fixed at the bottom of a vessel.
Where the Magic Bullet offers a misfire is in the food processing part. The instructions would have you take a chunk of vegetable (like an onion) that fits into the small blending container, drop it in, attach the flat-bladed chopping base, and pulse away. I tried it and was completely disappointed. Perhaps the piece was a bit large (though it didn't seem stuck in the container). Instead of being sliced and diced in a matter of seconds, the end facing the blade seemed a little chewed up, but that was about it. Now, I did try a few cloves of garlic, but it was a case of all or nothing - either full cloves, or a very find mince. (Had I not been pulsing the unit, it would probably have turned into garlic mush.)
So, if you like smoothies or need other blending jobs where dealing with a large container and heavy base unit doesn't sound good, then by all means check the Magic Bullet - the Platinum Pro runs $139.99 (including tax and shipping) with the two blending containers, four container/cups, blending bases, motor unit, and so on. It also seems to be avaiable various places on the web for about $60. But if you need to chop, forget this device, as it cannot "easily take the place of any food processor."
Friday, December 14, 2007
Review: DaysAgo Digital Day Counter
Trying to keep track of leftovers in the fridge can be a bit confusing if you don't have a method. On the surface, the DaysAgo Digital Day Counter seems like a good solution, but not as good as an old fashioned, low-tech method. The Day Counter is a little digital clock. You start it rolling, and it keeps track of how long it's been since you started it. The timer then goes onto your opened food with one of three methods: magnetic backing for a metal jar top or a can (but who leaves food in a can?), a suction cup to adhere to a flat surface, and a band to stretch around a container and keep the device snug. Two of the devices are about $10.
However, the reactions here to them weren't that positive. My wife had one or two fall off an item, and then just gave up. I think the suction cup really needs to be on a non-metallic lid or jar, so ehere is plenty of flat surface for it to grip. But my son had a better point: "Why not just use a piece of masking tape and a marker?" Indeed, the easiest and most cost effective solution is to slap on a piece of tape and write the date on which you put said food into said refrigerator. Sure, tape sometimes has trouble with dampness, but then, so can these other methods. And writing the date is faster than resetting a gizmo, even if it won some magazine award - sorry, I just don't see why.
However, the reactions here to them weren't that positive. My wife had one or two fall off an item, and then just gave up. I think the suction cup really needs to be on a non-metallic lid or jar, so ehere is plenty of flat surface for it to grip. But my son had a better point: "Why not just use a piece of masking tape and a marker?" Indeed, the easiest and most cost effective solution is to slap on a piece of tape and write the date on which you put said food into said refrigerator. Sure, tape sometimes has trouble with dampness, but then, so can these other methods. And writing the date is faster than resetting a gizmo, even if it won some magazine award - sorry, I just don't see why.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Review: Oregon Scientific Wireless BBQ/Oven Thermometer
A probe thermometer - where the probe goes into the food and a wire leads out of the oven and connects to a display, showing the internal temperature - is a fabulous kitchen tool. It's the best way to make a roast. You don't need to guess at what time will provide the degree of cooking you want based on weight, some arbitrary temperature chart, and the amount of time the food has been out of the refrigerator. Oregon Scientific has taken the basic concept and done even better. The company sent one of its units for me to test, and I'm impressed.
The wireless version will let you monitor the food's internal temperature, in theory, up to 300 feet away. I only tried the wireless display maybe 100 or 125 feet away, but it was great. Instead of depending on hearing a beeper when the dish is done, you have the display unit with you. At first the display would not register the internal temperature, but on asking, I was told to remove the batteries from both the base transmitter and remote monitor units, and then to replace them, pressing the reset buttons, on the transmitter and receivers in order. That worked.
You choose the type of food, which brings up suggested times for your chosen degree of doneness, like rare or medium. If you like somewhat different temperatures for them, you can adjust things manually. There is a speaker that uses a voice generator that tells you what you're choosing. If you have vision problems, I could see how that would be useful, although I found it annoying. A belt clip lets you easily carry the receiver/monitor with you - good when you are entertaining company during the holidays. Also, bravo to the company for using a shielded cable from the probe, which would seem safer for dealing with the heat of an oven than the plastic-sheathed types you typically see on probe thermometers. On the balance, I can heartily recommend the unit, even if the voice does annoy.
The wireless version will let you monitor the food's internal temperature, in theory, up to 300 feet away. I only tried the wireless display maybe 100 or 125 feet away, but it was great. Instead of depending on hearing a beeper when the dish is done, you have the display unit with you. At first the display would not register the internal temperature, but on asking, I was told to remove the batteries from both the base transmitter and remote monitor units, and then to replace them, pressing the reset buttons, on the transmitter and receivers in order. That worked.
You choose the type of food, which brings up suggested times for your chosen degree of doneness, like rare or medium. If you like somewhat different temperatures for them, you can adjust things manually. There is a speaker that uses a voice generator that tells you what you're choosing. If you have vision problems, I could see how that would be useful, although I found it annoying. A belt clip lets you easily carry the receiver/monitor with you - good when you are entertaining company during the holidays. Also, bravo to the company for using a shielded cable from the probe, which would seem safer for dealing with the heat of an oven than the plastic-sheathed types you typically see on probe thermometers. On the balance, I can heartily recommend the unit, even if the voice does annoy.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Product Review Redux: Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer
We've had more time with the Pamered Chef apple peeler, and experience has not been kind. We tried the unit on small apples, unlike the ones I used in originally testing it, and the results were misery. I kept trying to readjust the peeler blade, but it repeatedly bit too deeply into the apples, removing too much pulp. Eventually my wife gave up and moved back to a hand peeler and a knife to cut the apple. She's already planning to return the unit, so you might say that the first blush is off the apple. Maybe that explains why some were many times more expensive. Sometimes you don't get what you don't pay for.
Labels: apple, gadget, kitchen, Pampered Chef, peeler
