Flash in the Pan

NPR had a piece last night on a study suggesting a link between bisphenol A (BPA) and the development of heart disease and diabetes.

The study, appearing in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, finds that adults with the highest levels of BPA in their urine were more than twice as likely to report having diabetes or heart disease — compared with adults with the lowest levels of the chemical in their urine.

I'm no fan of BPA, and we've been switching to food storage product that don't include it, but I think the media owes a bit more analysis to listeners. My immediate reaction was, "Wonder if that's because of people drinking a lot of soda and gaining weight?" In other words, there seems to be a correlation between the BPA levels and diseases that also have a correlation with weight and eating habits, but could a third factor cause both?

The study supposedly adjusted for such factors as weight and smoking, so perhaps it isn't a third factor. I just wish that reporters would take a step back and ask themselves whether they are emotionally suggesting a link, by choice of words and structure, even if they explicitly state that the study "does not prove a cause and effect between use of plastic food containers and the development of diabetes or heart disease." There's a difference between saying that and something like, "There could be some third factor that is the cause, for example..." Put things into perspective.

The more disturbing part of the piece was how the FDA is marching toward an official conclusion that BPA is safe, and how its preliminary report is getting roundly criticized by being too selective in the data it considered, most of which supposedly is provided by industry sources.

Labels: bisphenol A, BPA, health, safety, storage

I had never heard of Carol Nix before getting an email from her about two products: Fusion drying racks for wine glasses and a set of wine-themed dishes. That was right before Christmas, but the actual products for review only recently showed up. Two words: I'm impressed.

The Fusion 8-glass and 16-glass Stemware Racks are smart. You don't want to good fragile wine glasses into a dishwasher. So you wash them by hand and ... what? Immediately dry each and put it away while dinner guests may still be about? You don't have to bother. The Fusion Racks are metal frames with legs that fold flat for storage. But when unfolded, you can hang wine glasses upside down and let them drip dry onto a towel that you'd put below. The 16-glass rack has room in the center to turn a carafe upside down and let it drain as well.

As for the Carol Fountain Nix/Sophia Ceramic Line, Ms. Nix sent an assortment of these heavy square plates. My entire family and people who have come into the house have oohed and awed. Each is named for some varietal, and the color palette and art work are most pleasing. These would make great plates for a party, or even serving pieces or candy dishes for a dressed-up dinner at home. Unfortunately, she doesn't have her own web site up yet, so the links are to Oenophilia.com. The racks are also available through Target; Amazon; Wine Enthusiast; Bed, Bath and Beyond; and other outlets.

Labels: dishes, plates, storage, wine

An online gift retailer called BLUW.com has sent a product called The Wedge, intended to help store bottles, cans, and other cylindrical items you might want to tip on edge and store. I don't know who designed the product, but the execution is intelligent. A set of of wedge-shaped strips ($12.95 for the pair) lets you set down a series of bottles or cans on a flat surface and keep that row together. You can then stack another layer on top, and another, each new row having one fewer than the one underneath. The result is a pyramid. You can also set one of the wedges opposite a wall and build the rows that way.

There are a couple of major limitations that might make you decide on some other storage mechanism. One is that the use of space is pretty inefficient. With the pair of wedges, you must build a pyramid, as you don't have the side vertical supports to keep additional items from rolling down the sides. That means you're wasting the space above the bottles, and in many homes that would be a problem. You can do a bit better using a wedge and a well (whether the wall of a pantry, cabinet, or inside wall of a fridge). In this case, the bottles or cans can actually stack up the wall some, because you're effectively tipping the triangle over and being able to stack upwards a bit more. Still, it is a limitation.

The other problem is if you have a variety of different wines or cans of whatever. When everything is the same, you take items off from the top. But when they are different, eventually you'll either have to unbury what you'd really like, or drink through everything above it first.

Personally, while I might use this for a display that I wanted to make part of a theme at some gathering, I'd probably opt for traditional storage that uses space more effectively.

Labels: opinion, product, review, storage

I dislike exclamation points, and am apt to distrust any product whose packaging and marketing makes liberal use of the punctuation. To see "Revolutionizing the Storage Container!!!" on the cardboard wrapper of the Baker's Sto 'N Go was therefore a bad omen. Luckily, mystical signs have pretty much gone the way of hieromancy. This product is a smart and overdue take on how to convey cookies, brownies, and other snacks from one place to the other. A plastic box comes with adjustable height slide-out shelves. The container, which is compact, can hold a pan of 13x9x2 inch brownies, 32 mini cupcakes, 3 dozen 3-inch cookies, or two 8-inch pies. You could also put sliced meats, cheeses, and other deli items on the shelves. A cover snaps in place over the opening, keeping the foods in and the air out. You can also turn it on end and use the shelves as dividers to hold candies, pretzels, or anything else that will fit. It's dishwasher- and even microwave-safe. When not in use, you can even slip out the carrying handle and store it inside, so it takes up less room. The price is about $20, but if you've ever juggled baking pans or plates wrapped with aluminum foil, this will seem a reasonably modest price. One thing it did leave me wishing for is something slightly larger: It would have been nice to bring two 9-inch pies, as that seems a more common size. That aside, however, if you're sending kids to school with class snacks or donating goods to a bake sale, give this strong consideration.

Labels: bakers, baking, container, opinion, review, Sto 'N Go, storage

After looking at the VacuWare (and providing an update on the shortcomings I found), I thought it would make sense to take another look at FoodSaver. The company sent a V2860 “Advanced Design” vacuum food sealer for me to test. I’m happy to say that the changes over the years have all been for the positive, with the result a much stronger product.

The FoodSaver line for years has used a dual design. To use bags for things like meat, poultry, fish, large vegetables, and even cooked entire portions, the top flips back. There’s a vacuum chamber into which you tuck one end of the bag. A sealing strip sits between the vacuum chamber and the edge of the unit so when the air is taken out, the device can use heat to close the bag. Earlier units often had the sealing strip too close to the vacuum chamber. That made it tricky sometimes to use rolls of bag material that require you to cut off a length you need and to seal one end before filling the bag and putting the remaining open end into the vacuum chamber. If the first open end was too close to the seal strip, you could find yourself with an incompletely closed edge.

That problem has pretty much disappeared in the 2860. There’s plenty of space to place the open end and get a good seal. Furthermore, the unit has a cavity that will fit one of the bag rolls and includes a cutter. When you need a bag, open the unit, pull out what you need, cut it to length, then seal, fill, and vacuum. It makes the unit a bit larger than some of the other models, but I found the trade-off of size for having that roll of bag material to be worthwhile.

Another improvement is that you flip a lever to lock the unit in place for use. That’s much better than trying to press down both edges evenly. You can also stand this unit on end for storage, saving a lot of counter space. A pulse option lets you take air out a bit at a time – important if you are trying to reduce the air volume, improving storage life, but want to cut things short for softer items, like bread, that could be crushed when the air comes out. The controls on top could be a bit clearer: the speed setting really seems to refer to the amount of air being taken out, so for a smaller bag or container you’d use a lower setting and switch to a higher one for a bigger volume.

Yes, I did mention containers. FoodSaver has a wide variety of optional falderal, including containers, a sealer for mason jars, and bottle stoppers. (I still have to try the latter with a bottle of wine, though I know from experience that removing the air lets an open bottle last days longer while retaining more of the quality.) There is also a quick marinator which supposedly draws marinade more fully into food. In a few weeks I’ll be testing that with some other approaches to fast marinating and seeing how they stand up to the traditional method, as I’m not convinced that you can necessarily rush all the effects (like increased tenderness).

The equipment is pricey. The 2860 has a suggested list of about $200, while canisters are $20 for a set of two, bottle stoppers are three for $13, and bag prices start at about $10. However, you can get the products cheaper and they work. They can save you money in the long run (and improve meals by helping eliminate things like freezer burn), though the time necessary to pay off the unit’s price would vary completely with your before and after kitchen habits.

Labels: foodsaver, product, review, storage, system, vacuum, vacuware

In my last post I mentioned that a comment added to a review of the VacuWare Fresh Food System made me suspicious that the remarks were left by someone tied to the company.

I just received an email from the company's communications director who was responding to my blog posting - the original review. In terms of the criticism, she wrote, "Based on our own evaluation of the FreshPouches and customer feedback we have received, we have found that they are too dependent on the consumer sealing them perfectly, which is not convenient for the consumer ... we are currently in the midst of developing new and improved FreshPouches."

As for waiting on line for help, she wrote, "After monitoring our call center and reviewing customer feedback, we determined that our customer service offering was not meeting the high expectations that we have set and that our customers deserve. We have taken the necessary steps to bring customer service in-house and called any customers who we saw had not been properly cared for." I hadn't received a call, but then my wife and I never actually spoke to someone there.

If I get a chance to try the new pouches - whenever they come out - I'll post an update to the review.

Labels: product, review, storage, system, vacuum, vacuware

Vacuum food sealers can be a great way of keeping food for longer periods of time and I just had the chance to try the VacuWare system. There were some strong points, but also a pretty large weakness.

We've used a FoodSaver unit for a number of years (one that I reviewed for a newspaper column I used to write). But there were two problems I saw. One is that the FoodSaver equipment is large and you can't conveniently leave it out on a counter. The other is switching from bags to containers. Vacuum systems generally have to accommodate bags of some sort to store large items like meat and large whole vegetables. But the devices also need to support containers for cooked foods or bulk such as flour or coffee. With the FoodSaver you had to run plastic tubing from the vacuum unit to the special container or jar lid.

So I was at first delighted when VacuWare sent a review unit. The design seemed smart: an upright unit that would fit easily on a counter, taking up relatively little space. A wand rests over a seal on any of the containers, jar lids, or bags and pulls out the air. If you're traveling, there is also a hand pump that cuts the tether to an electrical outlet. And things worked well - with the containers. But bags are crucial and these were abysmal. Now, it's not as though FoodSaver bags are always the easiest things to use, particularly if you have one of the rolls of bag material that you cut to length, sealing one end, adding the food, then using the FoodSaver to suck out the air and close off the other end. Getting that first seal can be tricky, particularly with some of the lower-end models that don't give a lot of room for error when placing that first open end of the bag.

Unfortunately, the VacuWare bags made me think I had been in food storage heaven in the past. We tried packing up some pork chops. I carefully followed the directions, leaving empty space between the spot you place the wand and the top of the bag. I pulled away the strip covering the adhesive spot, folded it over as instructed, pressed it down properly, and used the wand. At first it didn't seem to work, which I wrote off to getting used to the new system. So I tried again and, yes, the air was sucked out and the bag pulled in around the food. That lasted until I detached the wand, at which point air started flooding back in and the bag expanded again. I tried this a couple more times but with no improvement. Also, unlike FoodSaver bags, these didn't look as though they'd last a microwave oven or in boiling water as another way to reheat leftovers.

My wife got on the phone to call customer service. The system told her to hold, and she waited. And waited. Seven minutes later, still not having heard a human voice and nor being given an idea of how long things might take, she hung up. Maybe the customer service people were busy trying to help others figure out how to make the damned bags work. It could be that we were doing something wrong, but, hello, I'm a consumer. If it's this tough to use the device correctly, either the company needs to include far better instructions or it needs to make the product more intuitive to use. Or maybe it just needs to make things work better.

The upshot is that we'll probably keep this around to use on the VacuWare containers and on jars with the special lid, because it is more convenient for such things than the FoodSaver. But if you ever need bags to store items in a freezer, you can't count on this being the only system you get. And with the kits running from about $160 to $200, that isn't something you want to hear.

UPDATE: I received a response from the company about the weaknesses I found with the product. Here is the blog post.

Labels: product, review, storage, system, vacuum, vacuware