This morning on CBC Radio's Early Edition program with Rick Cluff I featured just some of the gadgets Fontaine Wong of Ming Wo Cookware has recommended as gifts for this holiday season. Here is the list of everything I talked about on the radio, and everything else she recommends, along with a few of my recommendations. To listen to my full interview with Fontaine, just click on the icon below to listen to it. It runs 18 minutes.
Prices are Current (Dec. 11/09) prices at Ming Wo (23 E. Pender Street, Vancouver)
Messermeister Peelers, pictured above. Straight, Serrated, Julienne Edges. Bright colors, one for each edge, Green, Red, Orange Spec $7.99
Cuisinart Electric Spice & nut Grinder
Designed to grind dry spices, nuts and seeds. From flax seeds, spelt, cloves and dried herbs, grind to a fine consistency in a matter of seconds. Simply lock bowl into place and place lid on and press down to begin grinding. Stainless base and bowl. Spec $44.99
Tomato Saver Fox Run
No more Saran Wrap, protects tomato from other containers in fridge. Simple to use, just screw top on and keep tomato safe. Looks like a tomato too. $5.50
Muffin Baking Cups/Cupcake Creations
No Muffin Pans required. Eco friendly, foodsafe, heavy duty paper baking cups. Just simply place the baking cups onto a cookie sheet and fill half full of your favorite recipe. Oven, microwave and freezer safe. Available in muffin, jumbo muffin and muffin top sizes. Made in Sweden. $4.98 – $5.98 pkg
Cupcake on the Go
Individual Cupcake Keepers. Simply twist the top off and place your iced cupcake in it for safe transporting. Great for lunchpacks and snacks. $3.98 Each
Cuisipro Decorating Pen
Decorating Pen that quickly and easily dresses up desserts and beverages with professional results.
Option for fine or thick line. Simply pull up the plunger top to fill with sauces like chocolate, berry, honey or icing. Simply write like a pen and gently squeeze the pliable silicone body to decorate. Great fun for everyone, even a child can use it. Spec $9.49
Head Chefs
Cool baking tools for kids
Kitchen tools with the “HEAD” as the tool. They have bendable arms and legs with soft foodsafe silicone bodies. The suction cup feet and can stand on counter/ tabletops. Tool Heads comes in whisk, basting brush, spatula, spoon. $14.98 Each
Rosti Mini Mixing Bowls
Like the original rosti mixing bowls but miniature versions. 150 ml – 750ml Asstd colors For Adults and children alike. $5.98 – $9.98 ea.
Kitchen Basics-Silicone Oven Mitts Asstd colors.Heat resistant 220’C / 425’F Lined with polyester fibre. Spec $12.99 EACH
I also like the line of mitts called ‘The Ove Glove’, available at Canadian Tire and Home Hardware. These are fully fingered gloves you slide on that are made of space age materials Nomex and Kevlar to protect you up to almost 500 degrees F and they also have silicon grip strips on the outside so nothing should slip out of your grasp. A little more expensive at $19.99 each.
Unitool 5 in 1 Utensil / Kitchen Tool Joseph Joseph
One utensil that functions as a slotted spoon, turner, solid spoon, spatula and a cutting edge. Heat resistant to 240’C / 480F Dishwashersafe $14.98
OXO Good Grips “TOP” Containers
Secure seal keeps food and leftovers fresh and prevents liquids from leaking even during transports.
Unique lid seals with one motion just lift the white frame to open. Airtight, watertight, leakproof seals.
Freezer, microwave, dishwasher, foodsafe. Top containers stack efficiently to keep refrigerator and shelves organized. BPA free. $3.98 – $12.98
Rouge O 2 Electronic Wine Breather
Unexpected guests, forgot to decant the wine, or simply need another bottle of wine. The Rouge O2 is the perfect solution. Aerate your wine in 60 seconds. Reduces breathing time from 1 hour to under 60 seconds in a controlled process. Bubbling air passes thru the wine releasing its full bouquet and flavor. Runs on 2 triple A batteries which can be used on over 230 bottles.
It has an automatic mechanism to ensure correct breathing time. Approved by the Wine Industry. Simple to use.
Spec $29.99
The Perfect Cube Ice Tray
No more broken shards of ice, cubes pop out perfectly
In a Perfect square shape, Food grade silicone, dishwashersafe
S/2 for $21.98
Ice Orb/Fusionbrand
Make it / chill it / serve it / store it.
Serves as a cooler for dips, ice cream, salad, chills wine, champagne and other beverages. Makes 21 cubes of ice, stores 51 in total $19.98
Vacu Vin Glass Markers
I D your Glasses with these fun, colorful, unique characters. Eg. Macho, Devilish, Cool, and Cuddly suction markers. 2 styles Everyday use and Christmas Theme S/12 $6.98
Cuisipro Stainless Cookware
Tri ply bonding : S/S interior, magnetic stainless exterior bonded to pure aluminum centre core
Suitable for all cooking surfaces, including induction. Ovensafe up to 260’C / 500’F
Quick read measure inside of pots.Elongated hollow handles stay cool to the touch during stovetop use. Ease of handling when pans are full. Starting at $69.99 for Try me pieces
Breville Variable Temperature Kettle
1.8 L Stainless Kettle with a “HOLD TEMP” function. Take the guesswork out of making tea and coffee. Different teas require different infusion temperatures to bring out their optimum flavor and aroma. Pre-set temperatures with audible alerts ensures the finest tasting tea with minimum effort. Five preset brewing temperatures. Spec $119.99.
This is for die-hard French Fry lovers whose doctors have told them they have to cut down on the grease. This is a hot air cooker that rotates your fries in a non-stick drum. You can cook a whole kilo of fries with only 1 tablespoon of oil.
Pros: much lighter in fat ‘fried’ foods that are still crispy, can use to ‘stir-fry’ other kinds of foods like chicken wings or drumsticks, or even stews.
Cons: Relatively noisy if you don’t have other sounds going on in the kitchen. It’s slow. 1 kilo of fries takes about half an hour to cook. But I have to say I'm getting kind of hooked on doing potato wedges in it because the ActiFry cooks them so evenly with a nice crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.