Dork Adore » Kitchen Gadgets

What the Dorks want for Christmas 2011

Emma Cossey — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:00:28 +0000

Want to know what the Dorks want for Christmas this year?

Katie Lee: Dork Editor

Please may I have a Kobo and an E-One laser hair removal gadget? I had both of them in for review this year and they’re the things that have left the biggest hole since they went back. Also, I bought my friend the whole of The Guild to watch and I haven’t actually seen it myself. So I’d like someone to get me that, please.

Emma Cossey: Web dork

I’ve just bought a house, so all I seem to buy at the moment is dull house things. Therefore, I’d love some vouchers to splurge on clothes, Abel & Cole, Amazon and Boots. My other, more extravagant, want is an Apple Macbook Air , because my Dell is destined for that great laptop space in the sky.

Tamsin Worrad: Science dork

I would like:

Babyliss Big Hair style – I’m assured this will end my bad hair days forever. (Emma agrees, amazing hair styler)

Series 3 & 4 of The Big Bang Theory because I am way behind

‘How to live safely in a science fictional universe‘. I feel this could contain important advice

Star Trek Mr Potato Heads: they’re adorable!

Zachary Quinto. I KEEP asking and yet nobody is doing anything about it?

Imogen Hitchcock: Lifestyle Dork

2012 is going to be the year in which I find my inner domestic goddess and I start to do ‘stuff’ around the house. Therefore, dear Santa, I’d like the following in my stocking (please note, industrial size stocking may be required):

A Kitchen Aid mixer in blue willow: it’s so damn pretty!

A sewing machine and a stack load of books on how to use it. I used to do sewing at school but for the life of me, can’t remember where to start. However, I’d rather like to while away the winter months making clothes (or, probably in my case, making hideous monstrosities that I’ll be inordinately proud of)

Some Le Creuset. I’m sure it makes my cooking taste so much better.

I don’t ask for much, do I?

Nick Bryan: Film & TV dork

My big gadget purchase this year was the Kindle, I’d quite like some new books for it, but Santa (yes, alright, my mother) tells me that I am contractually obligated to get something to go under the tree. Still, I’ll finally be reading the Game of Thrones book in some form.

I’ve been meaning to catch up on the Powers graphic novel series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming now they’ve made a TV pilot, there’s a non-Kindle book for the tree.

I might also get the first two series of Misfits on DVD because I miss Nathan. Yes, I’m a sap.

Now it’s your turn! What’s on your Christmas list?

Pin it

Dork Adore Gift Guide: Masterchef marvels

Emma Cossey — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:30:03 +0000

As you might have guessed from our Home + Home section, we love us some kitchen gadgets here at Dork Adore.

Sure, some might be slightly pointless and sit on the shelves gathering dust after one use (hello fondue and bread maker). But others will actually come in useful time and time again.

Here are six of our favourite gadgets that we know cooking fans will actually use.

Top row, left to right

Tefal Actifry, Debenhams, £140: Great for homemade chips, and also cooks stir fried veg, fish and meat. Great for the new year too with its low-fat option.

Soda Stream, John Lewis, £60: Sure it’s retro, but it’s surprisingly good for making cocktails and it means you get through fewer plastic bottles.

KitchenAid, Amazon, £449: What cook doesn’t want a KitchenAid?

Bottom row, left to right

YumBots robot cupcake moulds, Amazon, £11.99: OK, these have no functional purpose at all. But look at how cute they are! Yup, I’ve become a blogger cliché.

Click n’ Cook, IWOOT, £32.99: Rather than having all your cooking spatulas in a drawer, this cooking set keeps them all at hand.

Digital Measuring Jug and Scales, Firebox £22.99: I love this measuring jug, which has a set of scales in the removable base so you can weigh solids and liquids. Yeah, I never thought I’d get excited about a measuring jug either.

What kitchen gadgets do you want this Christmas?

Pin it

Kitchen Wizardry with the Ice Cream Ball

Tamsin Worrad — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:55:58 +0000

Apparently, it’s summer and nothing goes with hot weather quite like ice cream (and if you’ve not had any sunshine, ice cream will help cheer you up!) Throw a game of catch into the equation and you’ve got the perfect park-based pastime.

Step in, the Ice Cream Ball from Firebox.

The Ice Cream Ball, £26.49, allows you to make your own ice cream without the need for any power sockets, so you could use it on camping trips or at festivals. Put your ingredients in one end of the ball, ice and rock salt in the other, and then start tossing!

Not too violently though, nobody wants a smashed up gadget and mess all over your carpet.

Twenty minutes of this gets you a pint of ice cream. If the texture/consistency isn’t to your liking you can simply roll it around a bit more. It seems like magic but it’s even better: it’s science.

Here comes the science bit!

The ingenious device uses the rock salt (don’t worry, this doesn’t go into your ice cream!) and ice to produce a substance with a freezing point below that of water (just ice would make the process too slow and reach an equilibrium before it completed). Therefore, the ice/salt mixture must draw heat from it’s surroundings to melt and therefore lower the temperature of your ice cream mixture quickly to freeze it into a delicious treat.

Who knew the Second Law of Thermodynamics could be so fun?

I’ve wanted to make home-made ice cream for ages but am frankly just too lazy, so this gadget offers quite the creative solution. It also gives you a chance to play around with ice cream flavours; it’s basically an experiment and you owe it to science to do it.

That’s an order.

Ice Cream Ball

Pin it

Five Father’s Day gifts your dad will actually like

Emma Cossey — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:00:29 +0000

There’s a reason why dads usually end up with boring socks, dubious ties and a ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ mug on Father’s Day: the Father’s Day aisle in most shops is full of utter crap.

But it doesn’t have to be this way! This year, you can either get your dad yet another pair of novelty cuff links…or one of these gifts.

Magimix 4200XL Food Processor

Not an obvious choice, but we grouped together and got this for our Dad at Christmas and he loves it. Nothing in our fridge stays there for long without being shredded, chopped or blended.

It’s possibly the manliest kitchen gadget you can get, and Magimix is known for being the best in the market for these gadgets.

Order one from Debenhams for £250. If your budget is lower, you might prefer the mini-chopper for £50.

iPad 2

Expensive yes, but if you club together with other siblings or your mum, this could be the Father’s Day gift to end all gifts. I don’t really need to tell you why this is cool, do I? Just imagine his face when he unwraps it.

Buy it direct from Apple (where you can take advantage of the engraving option) at prices starting from £399 for a 16GB Wi-Fi version.

Doctor Who – Complete Series 1-4 Box Set

C’mon, you knew Doctor Who would get a mention at some point in this list, didn’t you?

This box set of the first four series from the revamped Doctor Who starts in 2005 with the ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, and runs all the way through the three series featuring David Tenant as the tenth Doctor.

Possibly we’re suggesting it because we’d quite like to sit and watch it with him. Who can say?

At £44.97 from Amazon, you should have enough change from a £50 note to get him a decent card too. Possibly one of these Moonpig ones..

Jasper Conran Brown Leather Holdall

Sometimes, it’s the gifts your dad would never buy himself that prove to be the most popular.

This Jasper Conran Brown Leather Holdall is ideal for business trips or a weekend away when a scruffy old sports bag just won’t do. The leather is ultra-soft, and the finish is really smooth. I actually got this for my boyfriend earlier in the year, so it’s a fairly good present all round for blokes.

Plus it comes with wheels and a pull out handle, making it practical too.

Buy it from Debenhams for £160

Eye-Fi Pro X2 8GB Wireless SDHC Memory Card

It may be tiny, but this memory card is most definitely mighty.

The Eye-Fi is a memory card that allows you to transfer your images wirelessly to your computer/laptop/Facebook/Dropbox account, doing away with fiddly wires and cables. For any photography or video fans, this is a must for saving time. You can also upload to YouTube, Picasa, Flickr and TypePad, so he can upload to his chosen social media or photo sharing site while on the go.

Prices start at £38.99 for the 4GB basic option

Pin it

Colour blocked kitchen gadgets

Katie — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:00:26 +0000

Colour blocking has got the fashion bloggers in a froth of late. We thought it only right to bring you a piece about kitchen electricals that was bang on trend.

So if you’re ready for a full kitchen makeover and you think you could cope with the sight of a rainbow bright array of appliances first thing in the morning, you’re in luck.

There’s a chance I may have got a bit carried away on Polyvore. Just be grateful I didn’t try to put together an outfit for you.

Francis Francis X1 Ground Coffee Machine Dark Blue: Amazon.co.uk £517
KitchenAid KitchenAid yellow pepper mixer £419 GBP
Whirlpool Max 25 Microwave Oven £120
Delonghi Icona Jug Kettle £56
Bodum Bistro Toaster £49
Magicbox Colombo Cordless Telephone £41

Pin it

Five kitchen gadgets for under £100

Emma Cossey — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:00:05 +0000

In our house, we’ve got an entire cupboard dedicated to housing the kitchen gadgets we’ve bought, used twice, then packed away. It’s filled with ice cream makers, bread makers and a coffee machine that ended its life when we run out of flavour sachets.

But kitchen gadgets can come in useful, especially if you’re short on time (or skill). For example, this Morphy Richardson IntelliSteam on the right from Argos (£79.99). Dump all your veg into separate compartments, set the timers for each, and leave the steamer to it. Saves you juggling and washing up saucepans.

Here are four more kitchen gadgets under £100.

Pie Maker

Is there anything more delicious than a hot apple pie and custard? Yes. The smug feeling you get from making an apple pie from scratch. Unfortunately, for me at least, the reality of making a pie is fiddly, long-winded and inevitably leads to a huge flour-based mess in the kitchen.

So this Pie Maker from QVC (£16.38) could save me a fortune in *cough* Greggs *cough* Looks like a waffle iron, and does pretty much the same thing. I tried it with home made pastry and some apples from the garden, and it was surprisingly good. Also, it’s a great way to use up leftover meat.

Cupcake Maker

Sold you on the whole food iron concept? Then you’ll either love or hate this Electronic Cupcake Maker from Lakeland (£39.99).

In all honesty, cupcakes are easy to make, and the Electronic Cupcake Maker doesn’t ‘make’ the cupcakes so much as bake them. But you’ll get a better cupcake shape then the ones that expand into one megacake in the oven.

Also, if you like both of these mini baking-type, you might like the Stonebake Pizza Oven over on Firebox (£59.99) or the 3-in-1 Snack Maker from Argos (£29.99)

The ‘cook anything’ quickcooker

I had a slow cooker at uni in a vague attempt to eat something other than cheese sarnies and pasta. Thing is, slowcookers are only useful if you’re organised and get everything sorted before you head off to work. Plus the idea of leaving a cooker on all day used to freak out my housemates.

There are several cookers around now that claim to give the results of a slowcooker, in the time it takes to catch up on the latest episode of True Blood. I’ve tried the Jamie Oliver Multi Cook (Tefal, £99.99) recently, which can pot roast chicken in 25 minutes. Handy for a lazy Sunday lunch, no?

Food Processor for the multi-tasker

When you’re in the midst of cooking up a big meal, the last thing you want to do is stop to wash up your food processing bowl to whizz up the next step of your recipe.

So this Kenwood FP196 600W Food Processor from Amazon (£40.99) will save you a bit of time, with separate liquidiser and bowl sections.

Any more suggestions for kitchen gadgets under £100 to save you time and space in the kitchen?

Pin it

The best gadgets for camping

Emma Cossey — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:00:15 +0000

You’re either a camping fan or you’re not. For some, the idea of getting in touch with nature, sleeping under the stars and cooking over a stove is a little slice of heaven. For others, the idea of sleeping anywhere other than a comfy bed with an en suite is horrifying.

Prepare to have your mind changed, hotel-dwellers! A camping trip needn’t mean you miss out on life’s little luxuries. Plenty of gadgets exist to make the whole process smoother.

Putting up a tent is one of the most intimidating things about camping, so anything that takes the stress (and various poles and screws) out of building your home for the night is welcome. The Moontent from Firefox (£34.99) pops open the minute you take it out of the bag, so that all you need to do is peg it down.

Nifty eh? Here are a few more creative camping gadgets.

Unless you fancy cleaning your utensils in a saucepan, or crouched over a running tap at the nearest amenities, washing up can pose something of a problem whilst camping.

The Kitchen Sink, (Firebox, £12.99) is another pop up product that uncurls from a tiny hand sized product to a large sink with study sides, capable of carrying up to 10 litres of water. The ‘sink’ has a couple of mesh handles too so you can carry it with ease.

No excuse not to pack everything *including* the kitchen sink now.

Carrying on with the washing theme, we’ve got the Pocket Shower on the right (IWOOT, £14.99)

The basic concept is that you fill the black bag with water, and hang it from a tree. The black fabric will attract heat, so (if the weather is hot enough) you’ll have a warm shower. The water comes from the shower head on the bottom of the bag.

This gadget can hold up to ten litres of water, which should be enough for a seven-minute shower.

Worried how you’ll cope without your early morning coffee kick whilst away? The Handpresso (FairfaxCoffee, £84) is an eco-friendly, electricity-free gadget.

To work it, you need to pump the machine until it hits the green light, then fill the reservoir with hot water. Pop in one of the coffee pods, hit the release button, and you’ve got piping hot expresso goodness.

If you don’t fancy faffing about with stoves and saucepans or living on a diet of bread and cheese, you might want to consider the convenience of HotCans.

The ‘meals in a can’ looks like any other canned meal, except these ones heat themselves up. You can choose from Sausages & Beans or Vegetable Chilli, and the process of heating up only takes 12 minutes. Simply pop the key in the top, remove the lid, and wait for your dinner to cook itself.

You can order them for £4.99 per can from Firebox.

Noteable other products include the Freeloader for emergency charging for laptops and mobile phones and erm….the Shit Box. Enough said.

Pin it

Soda Stream: Review

Emma Cossey — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:00:58 +0000

Back in the days of double denim and the SNES, there was only one way to get your fizzy caffeine kick, the SodaStream.

Kitchens across the country were dominated by this huge white machine and all of its accessories and flavour bottles. Inevitably, the sheer size of the machine led to it being relegated to the attic (not to mention the dubious quality of its dandelion and burdock).

The retro drinksmaker has undergone a revamp in the last few months, and it’s now smaller and sleeker.

Does this new look give the product more longitivity?

First impressions of the aesthetic looks of the new SodaStream are positive. Available in black, red and grey (pictured) the new model is slim enough to slide in next to your toaster without much trouble.

To set it up, you pop the gas cylinder in the base, fill one of the bottles with water, insert into the SodaStream and pump the top button until it buzzes. Then simple pour in your chosen flavour and your drink is ready!

The starter pack comes with a dozen or so sample flavours, including the basics like Lemonade and Cola, and various sugar free options like Cranberry and Raspberry and Tonic water. The flavours have definitely improved from the 90s (gone are the days of Rola Cola) and they’ve even got an energy drink and a selection of fruit flavoured sparkling waters this time.

So, on to the pros and cons of making your own fizzy drinks:

Wins points for:

Eco-friendly. The bottles of flavourings last a lot longer than buying one ready-made bottle. On average, a 500ml bottle will make up to 12 litres of soft drinks.
Cheap. Long term, it’s much cheaper to make your drinks on a SodaStream then to constantly buy bottles of drinks.

Loses points for:

Washing up. As you’re re-using the bottles, it’s a little more washing up. Also, the bottles aren’t machine washable, which can be a bit of a pain.

Screwing in the bottles. It’s a bit fiddly trying to fit the bottle into the gas dispenser bit.

The price. I tried the black Genesis model, which was £59.99 (from the SodaStream store, £69.99 for the red version). Not cheap, but it’s worth bearing in mind the long term savings. Style queens might prefer the Penguin version (£149.99)

Conclusion

It’s early days, but I haven’t had the almighty urge to hide it away from view yet. Since receiving the Soda Stream, I’ve used it on a daily basis to create drinks, so it’s doing its job!

SodaStream from Argos

SodaStream online store

Pin it

Tefal Actifry. Dork Review

Emma Cossey — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:06:38 +0000

Diets suck.

Cutting out all the good stuff, eating salad and counting calories is a seriously boring way to spend your time. But for many of us, it’s essential to keep an eye on our food, to ensure we don’t end up shopping in the tent section of Argos.

One way of doing that is by altering the way we cook our food. Which is where the Tefal Actifry (£131.50) comes in. This alternative electric fryer cooks your chips with a tiny amount of oil, rather than submerging them in it.

I recently got a chance to try the ActiFry out. Here’s how it went.

The ActiFry is really simple to use. Simply pop your peeled and sliced potatoes into the tub of the ActiFry, pour a tablespoon of oil over the chips using the mini measuring spoon and close the lid.

The top of the AcriFry has a LCD display where you can choose the amount of time you want the chips to be cooked for, and hit start. 45 minutes later, you’ve got tasty and crispy chips.

This fryer isn’t limited to chips either. You can cook meat, fish, rice and stir-fried vegetables. The accompanying cookbook gives an assortment of ideas.

Here’s my verdict:

Wins points for

Ease of use: The time consuming bit is the peeling and slicing of the potatoes
Lack of odour: Unlike its full-fat brothers, the ActiFry has an odourless filter to stop your kitchen smelling like a fish and chip shop.
Dishwasher safe: Most of the bits can be bunged in the dishwasher, although there is very little to clean up thanks to the lack of oil.

Loses points for

Time it takes to cook: It takes 40-45 minutes to cook enough chips for a family of four.
Noise: When it’s cooking, it has quite a loud humming sound. Not great if you have thin walls and irritable neighbours.

Conclusion

I’m a convert! I genuinely loved this product, and the chips went down really well with my picky family. A friend of mine uses her ActiFry regularly to create Cajun wedges, and I’d like to try a few more adventurous meals with it. Especially if I can use it to cook a variety of foods in a healthy way.

Pin it

Dork Review: Krups Dolce Gusto

Emma Cossey — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:30:02 +0000

I have a feeling that most of us, given the choice, would rather pay through the nose to pick up a frothy coffee from one of the coffee shops that dominate the high street, rather than resorting to coffee granules and a bit of hot water at home.

It’s just a little bit more decadent and a hell of a lot tastier.

So, I think it’s about time we test out one of the most stylish coffee machines available, to see if it is possible to recreate at home.

The Krups Dolce Gusto is straightforward to use. All you need to do is fill the tank and pop n one of the 16 capsules of the coffee and milk mixture into the top of the machine. The starter kit comes with a cup, saucer and tall glass, so you can really get that coffee shop feeling at home.

Overall, I found a few pros and cons with this product.

Wins points for:

Style. There’s no doubt that this is one stylish coffee machine, especially for anyone with a more contemporary kitchen.
Speed. Your drink is ready in 20-40 seconds. Plus it makes your kitchen smell amazing first thing in the morning.
Taste. It took some adjustments, but the finished results really are as tasty as one from a coffee shop.

Loses points for:

Waste: The capsules mean you get through a lot of plastic waste, plus you then have to go out and buy more!

Size. Big is beautiful…unless it takes up more room than your toaster. Then it’s just annoying.

Conclusion

Aesthetically pleasing and tasty too, I like the theory behind this. However, I fear the novelty of this might grow a little old when I run out of capsules. A great Christmas gift though for a die-hard coffee lover.

Pin it

Dork Adore » Kitchen Gadgets

What the Dorks want for Christmas 2011

More stories like this

Dork Adore Gift Guide: Masterchef marvels

More stories like this

Kitchen Wizardry with the Ice Cream Ball

Here comes the science bit!

More stories like this

Five Father’s Day gifts your dad will actually like

Magimix 4200XL Food Processor

iPad 2

Doctor Who – Complete Series 1-4 Box Set

Jasper Conran Brown Leather Holdall

Eye-Fi Pro X2 8GB Wireless SDHC Memory Card

More stories like this

Colour blocked kitchen gadgets

More stories like this

Five kitchen gadgets for under £100

Here are four more kitchen gadgets under £100.

Pie Maker

Cupcake Maker

The ‘cook anything’ quickcooker

Food Processor for the multi-tasker

Any more suggestions for kitchen gadgets under £100 to save you time and space in the kitchen?

More stories like this

The best gadgets for camping

More stories like this

Soda Stream: Review

More stories like this

Tefal Actifry. Dork Review

More stories like this

Dork Review: Krups Dolce Gusto

More stories like this