Cooking

The Breville BRC600XL Risotto Plus Rice and Risotto Maker is an automatic rice maker that does more than just make rice. An elegant interface offers user easy operation via a set of no-nonsense buttons. The dedicated cooking functions include settings for: risotto, saute, steam, and slow cook as well as the ever-popular automatic rice-making mode.

The multi-cooker is designed for easy automatic operation, but with the inclusion of so many cooking modes, versatility on the countertop is a big feature. The saute function not only provides an easy way to build flavor by browning ingredients before fully cooking, but it … Read more

Baking can be a furious endeavor. Throw a cook into a fully stocked kitchen with a set of measuring tools and anything can happen. That doesn't mean everything has to happen, though. Any chef could live without the spills and the messes that inevitably occur from trying to use something that was designed for another purpose. Worse yet is when a commonly used item gets in the way.

Baking scales, like any other piece of kitchen equipment, are only as useful as far as they can be used. Sounds simple enough, but all too often utility is lost due … Read more

Learning how to cook can be a frustrating experience. This should not be the case. Aside from an occasional overcooked steak, the process should be an enjoyable one. And considering that one gets to eat the results of one's labor, the aftermath isn't too bad either. (Unless that steak is really overdone.) Understanding that learning how to cook can be thought of as a game, a research team at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has created a cooking simulator designed to give novice cooks instantaneous feedback.

As a novel approach to culinary education, the system is composed of … Read more

Space is always a concern in the kitchen; it can also be an issue in the great outdoors. While that might not make much sense at first considering that the great outdoors is both great and outdoors, people who enjoy their time in nature tend not to want to get bogged down with stuff. But getting away from it all doesn't have to mean getting away from everything.

No matter if hiking or camping, everybody has to stop sometime to eat. And that means, cutting, slicing, and dicing. For those looking to trek beyond gorp, the Snow Peak Set M Chopping Board … Read more

The Electrolux Design Lab is a yearly competition that challenges design students across the globe. This year's competition asked students to create home appliances that would "provide a fuller sensory experience." Perhaps one day, some of these entries will be used in the home kitchen. Below are a few highlights:

Ingresure (seen above) is by Jongwoo Choi. It is a gadget designed to be a taste tester. Instead of chef's tasting their own creation, they would use the device to taste it for them. The idea is that the Ingresure would give amateur chefs the assurance … Read more

Outdoor grilling has its time (daylight) and place (outdoors). But sometimes, the grill gremlins growl deep in the pit of the stomach when it is just not convenient to fire up the monster out back. Luckily, there are other ways of soothing the pangs for a grill session by moving it indoors where it is safe. But that doesn't mean cooking inside can't stand up to the toughest of tasks.

With strong heat retention, along the associated heat recovery, the Waring Pro CIG100 Cast Iron Grill supplies grillers with a heavy-duty indoor alternative. Thanks to its cast-iron grill … Read more

The kitchen countertop has become a landscape where anything can happen. Populated with appliances of all shapes and sizes, the one central area has become a place where potential gets turned into delicious meals every day. However, all that deliciousness comes at a cost that extends beyond the checkout line at the supermarket; as every home chef knows, space is always an issue.

Convenience on the countertop comes in many forms. But that doesn't mean it cannot come in one form. The Cuisinart CBO-1000 Oven Central is an all-in-one countertop appliance that can cook up a variety of meals … Read more

Eating out at a restaurant can sometimes seem like a magical experience. But the coordinated dance between the back of the house and the front of the house is one that relies on timing, skill, and experience. However, all that being said, there is still an element of surprise when a plate of eggs, hash browns, and bacon gets set down in front of you in a matter of mere minutes. Yet this feat happens in diners across the country countless times a day.

Replicating that experience at home is not necessarily the impossible task it may seem to be. … Read more

My culinary life won't be complete until I have the raw, awesome power of a Sushi Bazooka in my kitchen arsenal. Want. Desperately.

I've made sushi before. It was an inglorious exercise in frustration and failure. That's probably why I prefer sashimi. It's also why I have such respect for talented sushi makers.

Finally, there's a kitchen gadget that panders to my lazy sushi-making skills. It's essentially a sushi extruder. Pack the tube full of rice and whatever ingredients you want to go in the middle. Close it. Push down the plunger. Roll up the resulting sushi log in seaweed. Instant apathetic sushi!… Read more