Kitchen Product Tips
Read these 11 Kitchen Product Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about As Seen On TV tips and hundreds of other topics.
Fried, Not Baked Pan Bacon in the Microwave
Fried is bad. Fried is bad. Fried is bad. It's the health mantra. And, even Oprah Winfrey has switched to no-fry chicken. Bacon always comes fried. Don't fight it—if you cook bacon in the microwave, you can avoid the fat and grease that clogs your arteries. However, microwave bacon usually comes out rubbery or burned. Can an As Seen On TV item help?
Voila—there's an As Seen On TV Bacon Magic Wave microwave bacon cooker (you know, the kind that usually appears on As Seen In TV ads with the ominous shot of bubbling grease surrounding frying bacon). Special cooking racks stack the bacon, organizing the strips on rods.
But is microwave bacon healthier, relatively speaking, than skillet bacon? A quick As Seen On TV review of health info: USA Weekend says that bacon contains nitrosamines, which are linked to cancer risk. Microwaves zap nitrosamines, so microwave bacon has one-tenth the amount of pan-fried bacon.
* Health tip: Tomatoes help fight nitrosamines, so make microwave bacon for BLTs with the Bacon Magic Wave.
Double-Edged Blade?
Miracle Blade III doesn't have the reputation of ginsu knives. Customers say that you may have to sharpen Miracle Blade III paring knives or Rock 'n Chops...still, over 12 million sales of the Miracle Blade III kitchen product since 1989 inspires confidence. The cost of the Miracle Blade II set isn't as high as the Ginsu knives.
That said, several wholesale kitchen product consumers at Amazon.com complain that the blades rust and the metal is too weak in the longer knives. If you still want these knives, here are some upkeep tips:
• Protect your knives from rust by wiping them off with a soft chamois cloth after use.
• Use non-abrasive polish for light oxidization.
• You can also protect them with a few drops of any quality oil or silicone treatment.
Vacuum Food Sealer Fills A Void?
Like the Pump N Seal, the Handy gourmet Vaccuum Food Sealer claims to lock in freshness. The difference with the Handy Gourmet wholesale kitchen product is that it's intended just for bags. Don't confuse the Handy Gourmet and Pump 'N Seal! If you've been less than satisfied with sealing your bags (even with the Pump 'N Seal or Gladlock), the Handy Gourmet can trim your bags to the right size. One of the biggest problems with plastic bags is that excess air sometimes gets trapped. Here are some great tips on usage::
• To guard against excess air, store in bulk in one bag if possible.
• Fruits and vegetables bulky? Cut and dehydrate them first.
Keep A Flexi Lid on This?
Are Flexi Lids finally the answer to that casserole dish with no lid? From the ad for this wholesale kitchen product, you might think it was inspired by Elastigirl of "The Incredibles" or the old time superhero, Plastic Man, from the early '80s. Some versions of these lids are even as transparent as Wonder Woman's invisible jet.
* While the product description says that Flexi Lids are freezer and dishwasher safe, bear in mind that plastic, even silicone, tends to warp. This is just a fact and not automatically a sign that you've been ripped off.
Common Sense Dish Drying?
Can an over-the-sink shelf dish dryer help eliminate the water that spills from caddies beside or in the sink? The Over Sink Shelf claims to—and holds paper towels to boot. It's just common sense: If a dish drying shelf wholesale kitchen product claims not to leak water, you can't get a better test than putting paper towel adjacent to those damp dishes. It should be great on saving space.
* To test the kitchen product you just ordered, buy one of the super-absorbent paper towels and watch to see if moisture leaks. If the paper towel is soaking but still absorbent after you wash the dishes, you either have a defective product or leaky plumbing.
Ginsu Knives: Do They Cut The Mustard?
Ginsu knives have become almost a joke, lampooned on every show from "The Simpsons" to "VeggieTales" (what are vegetables doing touting cutting knives anyway?) Even my neighbor ordered a set and claims to be satisfied with this ubiquitous kitchen product...although he didn't say he'd ever used it to cut through sheet metal. There's a perverse kind of reassurance knowing you own something that lethal (and at an affordable price).
Following the steel or brick cutting, you can seamlessly glide into slicing and dicing onions or tomatoes as well as something more difficult than steel...your mother's fruitcake—all of this without ever having to sharpen the blades. Be sure, however, to follow these maintenance tips:
• Always keep your blades sharp, even though you'll have to do it infrequently.
• Always dry off your blades after washing them.
• Put your knives away in their handy case or a block when you're done.
Microwave Cookware Warnings Ahead?
We already know you can't heat water over two minutes in a glass container in the microwave…Kaboom! Plastic warps and distorts with microwave use. Can the As Seen On TV Magic Lidz beat the microwave cookware rap?
Reportedly, the 24- or 36-piece Magic Lidz plasticware As Seen On TV item can withstand the rigors of microwaving veggies. Lids act as a barometer, turning blue when the microwave temperature reaches 120. As Paris Hilton says, "That's hot!" It can also be cold, however, since the Magic Lidz bowls store heated food. But has As Seen In TV flipped its Lidz advertising a safe plastic microwave cooking set? Yahoo! shoppers give a favorable As Seen On TV review to Magic Lidz.
* Always check the settings of your microwave when setting cooking times. Microwave models vary.
Cooking for Dummies with the Grip n Flip?
Grip 'N Flip! Scoop 'N Strain! 6 in 1 Kitchen Utensil! The Grip 'N Flip wholesale kitchen product may be, as Jay Leno quips, one more example of how lazy Americans have gotten...or it may be a blessing (especially for people with arthritis or busy people who still enjoy cooking and try to eat healthily). The Grip 'N Flip is delicate enough to pick up a piece of salmon with all that Omega-3...brain juice! Maybe we're not so lazy after all.
* RipOffReport.com has a complaint about the Grip 'N Flip but only about the automated ordering computer system in which the caller accidentally ordered a second kitchen product. But hey, computer error happens to everyone...including major credit card companies. If you're not sure about ordering from the computer, stay on the line for a customer service representative.
New Hope For Pressure Cooking Fans
Do you want to cook better and live healthier? Sally Struthers says, As Seen On TV, "Sure, we all do!" Or say we do, anyway.
However, if you're serious about steaming and slow cooking your food for tenderness and flavor, you probably have several cooking projects going. So, while you've got roast chicken in the oven and several pots on the stove, you want to time your healthy meal just right. Pressure cookers take a long time and, if you're like most people today, you feel you don't have time to spare. There's always the microwave—but you don't like the taste of microwave food.
The MicroMaster, As Seen In TV, is a pressure cooker for the microwave that taps into microwave convection currents and steams your food in a fraction of the time a conventional pressure cooker takes. Even if you're cooking meat in the MicroMaster while there's a vegetarian casserole in the oven, the meat is supposedly so tender it will fall right off the bone.
If you're considering buying one of these puppies, here are some things to think about:
• The MicroMaster is a microwave-safe pot, not metal, so no need to worry about safety.
• You can even cook hot dogs that turn out stadium-quality, and they just might be healthier (especially if you use real beef, turkey or chicken franks).
• A new wrinkle in the As Seen On TV review: MicroMaster is available for sale on preparedness.com, an earthquake readiness store. Are you curious why? I am. Wouldn't the microwave be inoperable in an earthquake such as the recent ones in Guatemala and Southern California? The wholesale As Seen On TV reach is endless!
Reynolds Started the Oven Bag Trend
They say that most great inventions came about by accident. I don't know what the inventor was thinking...was it a single guy musing, "Hmmm, if only I could reheat food in takeout bags," or a busy mom or dad thinking, "The stove's tied up and/or the kids are hungry...I'd like to heat food evenly in the microwave."
Reynolds Wrap recently introduced their conventional oven bag, the one advertised by the two ladies cleaning up while sitting in lounge chairs. Now, As Seen On TV takes the trend further with the Brown N Crisp wholesale kitchen product (though Reynolds also offers a microwave bag).
Supposedly, Brown N Crisp cooking bags act as a vacuum food sealer for food, locking in taste and freshness in the microwave. Supposedly, they're also reusable...but is that safe?
The FDA recommends microwave cooking bags. No one should ever use plastic bags—which can leak into food. Always be sure to wipe microwave safe bags with a damp cloth and a little disinfectant.
Smores At Home
If you can't go camping (or are allergic), one thing you probably miss from childhood cookouts is Smores. Somehow the commercial cookies, candy bars, and cereals don't satisfy, especially since everyone knows Smores are supposed to be hot.
At $20-$30, the smores maker Smores Wizard seems a bit of an indulgence...hello, isn't that what being a kid or a kid at heart is all about? Besides, the adult in you can feel happy that you've come up with an easy cleaning way to make smores for you and your kids. And, the pure chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow has none of the additives that commercial imitations do, so you're reducing the risk of obesity too!
*Always make sure you supervise your kids when you use the Smores Wizard kitchen product...and don't eat too many Smores at once.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Jerry Mayo |
