EatingBritain.com » Food Tools

WI’s Charity Drive Uses Diamond-Mounted Stove To Cook Up Interest

Sarah Cabral — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:30:53 +0000

Following an earlier tie-up between Stoves and the WI, the one-of-a-kind range cooker was specially commissioned by the home appliance brand in association with diamond jewellery specialist Seventy Seven Diamonds, to mark the college’s diamond anniversary.

It was unveiled in September 2008 – the 60th anniversary of Denman College – and now the WI is holding a nationwide raffle with the cooker as the star prize.

The proceeds are being donated to Let’s Cook!, a project run by WI volunteers nationally to teach young parents in disadvantaged communities how to cook healthy family meals – it is supported by the Foods Standards Agency (FSA).

The Stoves cooker has been finished with a specially developed ‘diamond-effect’ sparkling silver paint, but its centrepiece is a spectacular, certified half-carat diamond worth around £1,400, donated by Seventy Seven Diamonds. In total, the oven is worth well over £4,000.

Earlier this year, Stoves announced a long-term partnership with the Women’s Institute which will see the brand and the WI work together on a number of projects including the refurbishment and launch of the WI Cookery School at Denman College early in 2009.

Denman College has nominated the national Let’s Cook! scheme to receive proceeds from the auction as a special gift to mark its anniversary.

Anne Harrison, Chair of the Denman College Committee – and vice-chair of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes – said: “Our 60th anniversary is an extremely momentous occasion and we are extremely grateful to Stoves and Seventy Seven Diamonds for creating such a unique charity show piece for the event.

“The cooker really is something special and will make a wonderful focal point in the winner’s kitchen – after all, there can be few people in the world who can say they are the proud owner of a diamond-mounted oven!”

Denver Hewlett, Chief Executive of Stoves, said: “As a committed partner of the Women’s Institute and Denman College, when we heard about the diamond anniversary celebrations we were determined to create something unique and special for them.

“This cooker is a world first for us but who knows, maybe one day diamond-mounted cookers will feature in our standard product range!

“With all money going to Let’s Cook! – a brilliant scheme which has great practical benefits to many disadvantaged people across the UK – I’d encourage everyone to buy a raffle ticket.”

Ira Kormind, Creative Director, Seventy Seven Diamonds commented: “Setting a diamond into a cooker is certainly something that we’ve never done before but it was an exciting challenge and the finished effect is striking.

“A diamond cooker is the ultimate luxury kitchen appliance – not only will it create a spectacular centrepiece in someone’s kitchen, the auction will raise lots of money for Let’s Cook! which is a very deserving cause.”

The diamond cooker will be showcased at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham from 26th to 30th November on stand V120.

*To purchase a raffle ticket, which cost £2.50 each (there are no additional card charges or admin fees), please visit www.rogavi.com/WIdiamond or, for more information, email diamondcooker@stoves.co.uk

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Potato Ricer review

Sarah Cabral — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:15:13 +0000

Bangers and mash is one of our fall-back dinners when we really need to go food shopping; we nearly always have some sausages stashed in the freezer and a few last potatoes. So on one such occasion this week, I had my first chance to try out the potato ricer from OXO.

I have never used a potato ricer before, Dave is king of mashers, so we’ve never really needed one. So for the sake of research, we tried it out for our banger & mash. On first impressions, I expected it to be heavier but it felt sturdy all the same. The ricer has grips on the base handle which mean you can rest it on the pan without it slipping when you apply pressure. The upper handle also has a grip to help you press it down. I really liked the grips, they meant I could use both hands to squeeze the press (yes, I’m a weakling), instead of using one hand to keep it steady.

I filled up the ‘reservoir’ with my boiled potatoes and squished down the press. It reminded me of a giant version of my garlic crusher. I found a fair bit of resistance to begin with but it rapidly got easier and we ended up with velvety smooth potatoes. The whole process was a little messy but the ricer is dishwasher safe, so no washing up required!

I have to be honest and say I really like what the potato ricer does, but I’m not sure we’d use it a lot, there’s not a lot more involved in just grabbing the masher and using a little elbow grease. I can however see huge benefits to mums weaning their babies, a whole variety of foods can be mashed through the ricer and it can be just added to the dishwasher to save time and hassle. A handy tool and maybe a unique present for a new mum!

Click here for my review of the hand held Mandolin slicer.

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British Cheese Week 27 September – 5 October

Sarah Cabral — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:30:51 +0000

OXO has designed the OXO Wire Cheese Slicer which makes serving up your favourite sliver of Cheddar a pleasure, as the wire slips effortlessly through the cheese with one stroke.

Whether you’re making a hearty Ploughman’s or on the terrace enjoying a glass of wine, the Wire Cheese Slicer fits into any occasion. With its classically stylish and sturdy, die cast zinc construction it feels just as much at home on your cheese board as it does in any kitchen side board. The cheese slicer comes with two replaceable wires, which can be easily changed, by tightening them onto the cheese slicer head with its built in tensioning wheel.

Founded on the principles of universal design, OXO aims to develop products that are easy to use for the largest spectrum of people, making everyday living easier. Used by professional chefs such as Nigella Lawson and loved by cooks in-the-know across the world, the OXO range offers over 200 stylish, yet practical tools for the home from kitchenware and gardening to organisational and cleaning products, and is now more widely available in the UK.

The OXO range is available through a selection of national retailers including Lakeland, Dunelm Mill, House of Fraser, Amazon, John Lewis, Selfridges and other leading cook shops. For stockist details, please call 0114 290 1455 or email info@hot-uk.co.uk

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Hand Held Mandolin Slicer review

Sarah Cabral — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:30:25 +0000

The first in this set of reviews is for the Good Grip Hand Held Mandolin Slicer.

I used the mandolin to prepare the slices of potatoes for our Lamb Hot Pot and I have to say I was very impressed. I tend to avoid using mandolins as I am extremely clumsy and have always been worried about cutting the tops of my fingers off! However, this hand held mandolin includes a food holder which means your fingers are not holding the food to be sliced and are no-where near the blade.

I also found it sturdy and very easy to use, it didn’t slip around at all. I like the fact that it has been designed to rest on the edge of a bowl/pan so you can slice directly into it rather than slicing on to a board first.

The blade is EXTREMELY sharp which made very fast work of the slicing, I sliced 4 potatoes in seconds. When it’s not in use the thickness graduator also acts as a lock for the blade and the food holder clips over the blade, so you shouldn’t slice your fingers by mistake.

I couldn’t find any cleaning advice on the packaging, but a quick look through the OXO website and I discovered that the slicer is dishwasher safe too, so you don’t have to worry about washing it by hand, which in turn means less risk of cutting yourself.

Overall, I thought it was a very good product and I am no longer scared of using mandolins! I will be using it a lot because I could never cut such perfect, equal slices, even with my sharpest knife.

OXO focuses on creating tools that are perfectly suited to the task of making everyday living easier. The design team at OXO follow the principles of universal design – aiming to create products that are easy to use for the largest spectrum of people.

Used by professional chefs such as Nigella Lawson and loved by cooks in-the-know across the world, the OXO range offers over 150 stylish, yet practical tools for the home from kitchenware to organisational and cleaning products, and is now more widely available in the UK.

The OXO range is available through a selection of national retailers including Lakeland, House of Fraser, Amazon, Dunelm Mill, John Lewis, Selfridges and other leading cook shops. For stockist details, please call 0114 290 1455 or email info@hot-uk.co.uk

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Healthy cooking with Tefal

Sarah Cabral — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:02:54 +0000

I have been waiting weeks to try this equipment out, but with the move etc it has just been impossible! Finally I unpacked the Actifry and VitaCuisine, each accompanied with instructions and recipe booklet. I got reading, assembled everything and decided what to cook.

Actifry

I freely admit that I had serious doubts about the Actifry, especially following the claims that you can make chips with just a spoonful of oil. However, I was very pleasantly surprised, the chips were golden and crisp on the outside, and well cooked and fluffy on the inside, really very nice.

It’s a good looking appliance and I really like the fact you can dismantle it and clean all the parts (excluding the base) in the dishwasher. The only item that didn’t clean well in the dishwasher was the turning blade apparatus, so I’d recommend washing that part by hand.

VitaCuisine

I have never used a steamer like this before, I normally just use a bamboo steamer over a pan, so I was eager to try this one out. I was very interested by the 3-1 application, you can cook separate items in the 2 baskets and a further item on the top tray.

I chose to try out the Chicken Supreme with tarragon recipe from the VitaCuisine booklet, which is cooked on the top tray, and I also steamed some broccoli in one of the baskets.

The chicken dish was very tasty and the meat was nicely cooked but the cream sauce was extremely runny. I over-cooked the broccoli but it’s a lesson learnt to use larger florets or reduce the cooking time.

Overall, I was quite impressed by both appliances. In fact I was very impressed with the Actifry, so much so, that I’m lending it to mum for her thoughts too! I thought both were straightforward to assemble and simple to use, but they are very noisy. The weirdest thing about trying them out was the non-cooking side of it. After everything was prepared and switched on, I felt at a loose end, like I was supposed to be ‘cooking’ but instead I was just watching, it felt strange.

So, here is Vitacuisine’s Chicken Supreme with tarragon and broccoli, and Actifry chips (we started eating before I remembered to take a pic!).

Have you got either of these appliances, or have you tried one out? I’d love to know what you thought and your experiences using them.

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1970s – no longer the decade that taste forgot!

Sarah Cabral — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:11:45 +0000

Brits are pulling on their metaphorical platform shoes for a strut down memory lane and a return to the kitchen fashions of the ’70s. Even occasional restaurant goers will have noticed the return of mainstays like coronation chicken and prawn cocktail to the nation’s menus. Now the fashion for retro eating is making its way into our homes too.

Ireland’s queen of cookery Rachel Allen is currently launching her own range of cooking appliances, exclusively through Argos. Now celebrating its 35th anniversary, the iconic store has itself been a fixture of British life since 1973, so the timing couldn’t be more apt. As for Rachel, she couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the return of ’70s culinary style. “2008 will see the trend to cook and bake at home continue to grow,”she says.” Products such as slow cookers and bread makers are becoming more and more popular in domestic kitchens, combining good wholesome food with convenience.”

Perhaps as a positive side effect of the current national necessity for belt-tightening, eating in has become the new eating out. Brits are already the third largest hosts of dinner parties in Europe, with a massive 313 million gatherings each year. Rachel thinks that the vogue for retro entertaining may yet make us more sociable still.”I predict 2008 will see the return of the tea party,” she attests, “with gorgeous freshly baked buns and cakes. The tea party will become a real contender to challenge the cocktail party as the fashionable way to light entertain.”

So it looks like the messages about the value of preparing of our own food and healthy eating we’ve been bombarded with over the last few years are beginning to have an effect. Whether we’re blanching, bread making, blending or bonding with our friends in it, the kitchen really is reclaiming its status as the main room of the house.

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Choosing Knives

Sarah Cabral — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:30:19 +0000

I had no idea that so much thought goes in to choosing new knives. Have you ever used someone else’s knife? It’s weird isn’t it? You get used to the feel of your own knives and get to know what type of construction suits you. There are quite a few things to consider when you are choosing knives…

A knife is made up of three parts:

The blade

This is the front part of the knife, with an edge that cuts and an opposite edge, the spine.

The tang

The part of the knife that carries the handle. Sometimes the tang is the whole length of the knife, with the two sides of the handle riveted to either side of it.

The tang can be narrower than the handle, so that the handle can be attached to it. Full tangs are considered to give stronger knives, while stick tangs are considered to provide a more comfortable handle.

The handle

There is a choice between composition, wooden or stainless steel handles. Choose composition or stainless handles, for low/no maintenance practicality, or opt for the warm, beautiful feel of wood. In a professional kitchen, wood is not allowed but is fine in the normal home kitchen.

Some knives also have a bolster which is a thick section of steel between the blade and the tang. It’s purpose is to provide better balance to the knife and to make it heftier.

There are three ways to make a kitchen knife:

Blocked

Blocked knives are cut out from a sheet or roll of steel, like cutting out biscuits from rolled-out dough. The blades are ground and given an edge, then handles are attached to the tangs. Blocked knives do not have bolsters. They are light, inexpensive and can be poorly balanced.

Forged

A steel blank is heated until very hot and then it is pounded into shape with a drop forge machine. Forged knives have bolsters and it would not be practical or economical to grind the knife from a steel blank thick enough to produce a bolster. So, forged knives are made in this way from a single piece of steel.

Sintered

The blade and tang, or the blade, bolster and tang are fused together to create a whole knife. This is a less expensive method than forging and provides a way to make knives, impossible any other way – a flat steel blade can be sintered to a tubular steel handle – it would be impossible to block knives this way and forging would create a solid heavy handle.

There are two styles to consider:

Eastern

Made from harder steel, the blades are significantly thinner and create a lighter weight knife with bevelled angles which are more acute. Eastern style knives will hold an edge for longer and will be sharper, but they take longer to sharpen or steel, so require more maintenance. Where accuracy is necessary, these knives are perfect, for example, preparing Sushi or when you want to slice very thinly.

Western

Western style knives are made from softer steel which is thicker and therefore creates a heavier knife. They also have more obtuse bevelled angles and won’t be quite as sharp, although their edges are sturdier and require less maintenance. These knives are great for chopping.

There are a whole variety of knives fit for all sorts of different tasks; below is a selection of knives most commonly used by the home cook.

Chef’s knife Ideal for slicing, chopping, dicing and mincing
Carving knife For carving meat and poultry into consistent slices without binding
Bread knife With a serrated blade for cutting items like bread and salami, that have a hard crust and soft interior
Boning knife For trimming meat, poultry and fish from hard to reach places
Paring knife For peeling and dicing fruits and vegetables
Utility knife For slicing and dicing vegetables, fruit and hard cheeses
Sharpening steel For honing knives before and after use

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Asparagus Smoothie

Sarah Cabral — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:34:27 +0000

I adore soups and Dave loves smoothies but my blender is ancient and has definitely seen better days! Luckily, the lovely people at Premium Appliance Brands sent me a Juice ‘n’ Smoothie from the Rosemary Conley range to review and I finally tried it out this week. I was rummaging around in the freezer when I came across a bag of asparagus ends I’ve been collecting. Every time we have asparagus, I break off the woodier ends which are too fibrous to eat and I save them in the freezer for soup. (...)
Read the rest of Asparagus Smoothie (342 words)

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The Benefits of Juicers

David — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 19:22:50 +0000

With numerous juice stores in almost every city, being thirsty and craving for adding taste in a drink is not considered to be a problem any more. Although, widely demonstrated that people need to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption levels, finding the right produce and extracting its nutrients by hand is a practice very few individuals have time to complete. But, with the new electric juicers available today on the market, more and more people are able to enjoy the benefits of consuming nutrients and enzymes which help the human organism develop and thrive.

Easy to operate juicers can help, those interested to reach and maintain a better state of health, to provide a quick and simple way of ensuring that their bodies receive enough nutrients daily. In fact, juicers are useful tools that can help one lose weight and become healthier on a daily basis. Home-made smoothies and juices can assist people trick their stomachs into thinking it is full and kill cravings for unhealthy foods or drinks. But apart from them being an excellent way for people to maintain their desired weight, juicers have come to be considered a lifestyle choice, not just a particular appliance, due to their extremely desirable nutritional benefits.(...)
Read the rest of The Benefits of Juicers (251 words)

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