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Three-in-one kitchenware spruces up countertops
Fun meets multifunction with the latest product by Australian-based home and kitchenware designer, Toro Legno. This anthropomorphized kitchen aid, beautifully crafted from furniture-grade plywood, lends personality to any counter through its elegantly quirky design. Part knife block and part bookshelf with an integrated cheeseboard, the aptly named Kitchen Bull multitasks its way to the heart of your kitchen—it works hard as a bull to minimize clutter and maximize your cooking experience.
To satisfy culinary needs with a single useful item, contact Toro Legno to order yourself a Kitchen Bull for about $600, a price that reflects its enduring function.
Catch-all bowls crafted from flexible cork fabric
Not just for wine stoppers and bulletin boards anymore, cork’s applications are practically limitless. Case in point, the Adjust-a-Bowl has a leather-like texture that’s perfect for organizing everything from veggies (it’s naturally anti-microbial and stain resistant) to magazines or keys. The material lends tactile appeal too; it’s warm, smooth to the touch and extremely pliable.
Though hard to believe, the handmade containers get this ideal balance of form and function from 100% all-natural cork fabric. The double-layer construction ensures that they’ll keep their shape—so though it has the flexibility of a paper bag at first glance, it’s nowhere near as flimsy, standing up to folding and washing machines.
The round version of the Adjust-a-Bowl is available online in two sizes, medium for $34 or large for $48 and comes in rectangle form for $38.
Handy sleeves make perfect toaster sandwiches without the mess
A game-changing food invention that just about rivals sliced bread, ToastaBags provides a mess-free method for making a sandwich toasted to perfection. This child-friendly product is ideal for those with an affinity for sandwiches that ooze with melted cheese—a liking shared by ToastaBags’ maker, Boska Holland, which has been “exploring cheese” since 1896.
Preparing a toasty is as simple as dropping a sandwich stacked with your favorite ingredients into a ToastaBag and placing the bag in the toaster. The fine mesh allows for crispness while catching any drips. When it’s done, you can easily remove the bag without burning your fingers and clean up is a cinch too. You can throw them in the dishwasher or wash by hand with warm water about 50 times before they’re no longer reusable. For those truly committed to toasty sandwiches, the bags are worlds more convenient than having to house an extra appliance.
Get your Boska Holland’s ToastaBags from the Cheese Fondue Shop for around $8, available in a packet of three.
In the age of ubiquitous information, The Thing Quarterly brings back the element of surprise with a subscriber-powered publication kept under lock and key until delivery. Edited by Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan, The Thing is “a periodical in the form of an everyday object,” inviting artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative types to come up with visual work that incorporates text.
Recently unveiled, writer and radio producer Starlee Kine designed issue 10, featuring an onion cutting board with “Crying Instructions” literally burned onto it. An included locker poster of TV character McNulty from “The Wire” mid-weep plays off the theme.
Kine will host a cooking demonstration for The Thing on 15 May 2010 at NYC’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, where she’ll demonstrate the proper methods for cutting an onion in addition to a reading and signing. The event will also include David Lipsky, David Rees and Arthur Jones. Half of all proceeds from copies of The Thing (and 100% from food and drinks) sold will benefit Housing Works, a non-profit offering shelter, medical assistance and other social programs to people with HIV and AIDS.
Kine’s issue also sells as an individual issue for $60 and will sell from Printed Matter in New York, the Mattress Factory Museum Shop in Pittsburgh, The Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco, and online from The Thing. A yearly subscription runs $200, and will include Kine’s issue as well as future work by artist Chris Johanson, clothing collective Doo.ri, curator Matthew Higgs, and (you heard it here first) actor
James Franco.
Experimental design duo Federica Castagno and Sara Petrucci of Acquacalda presented their stunning new collection Fisica Applicata at the Temporary Museum of New Design during Milan’s recent Design Week. Inspired by the study of applied physics, Castagno and Petrucci describe their simple, eye-catching design as “one applied art, with the aim to communicate and develop different themes and show unexpected connections in daily life.”
The Turin-based pair transform kitchen basics—like vases, bowls and shakers—into instruments of knowledge, experimenting with the physical design of the objects without affecting their original function. “Archimede’s Scale,” a simple graduated bowl on first take, also weighs ingredients when immersed in water; measurements on the exterior indicate buoyancy. By subtly toying with expectations of how things work and clear references to scientific imagery, the collection invites curiosity and interactivity.
“Mix In Glass” (pictured above left) uses the principle of atmospheric pressure to mix cocktails. Blocking the straw opening makes measuring the ingredients quick and easy—unstopping the straw releases the liquid into the glass and eliminates haphazard spills.
A wine dispenser, “One For All, All For One,” creates four uniform streams of vino, using Pascal’s Principle which dictates that a liquid in a container exerts even pressure, to simultaneously fill four glasses.
The laws governing connecting vessels also led to Communicating Vase and Vasco. Both have a transparent tube that indicates the water level in its companion vessel, thanks to perhaps the simplest rule of all that says liquids will adapt to the shape of their containers.
Philips’ new Robust Collection consists of a complete range of kitchen appliances butched up with sturdy rubber and stainless-steel exteriors. The set includes five essential pieces (blender, food processor, hand blender, can opener and juicer) developed not just for high function but to last a long time too. Borrowing some materials from the auto industry, the design feels as reassuring as it looks iconic.
The keywords for this project—traditional home cooking, honest approach and longevity—hint at a mindset affected by periods of economic crisis. The approach isn’t nostalgic though, since the Robust Collection introduces eleven patents, eight of which went on to be included in the final design.
A warranty and service package—including five years on the collection’s blender, juicer and food processor, as well as 15 years on their motors and three years on the hand blender and mixer—demonstrate Philips’ confidence in the durability and performance of the range.
Providing consistently even heat throughout the entire cooking process, the Panasonic inverter microwave oven closely replicates the technology of a traditional oven resulting in better controlled cooking and tastier food.
While most microwaves repeatedly turn a high temperature on and off when reheating or cooking food at low temperatures, the Panasonic inverter delivers a constant flow of energy. This keeps from overcooking the edges and enables the simmering of stews or poaching foods such as fish or chicken.
The 1300-watt high powered microwave is equipped with a one-touch sensor button that intuitively calculates cooking time and adjusts the power levels automatically. Ensuring accurate cooking time helps with healthier cooking—foods like broccoli actually retain a higher amount of Vitamin C when cooked faster, compared to steaming or boiling.
CH recently put the Panasonic NN-SD688S to the test and found its unique technology really does provide a better cooking experience. This model ($180) along with other inverter microwaves sell online from Panasonic.
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