April 24th, 2012
Looking over last night's recipe booklet from the Sydney Seafood School there is a sharp sensory reminder of the eve's fare. No, not because of a cut finger, or words or pictures, but smell. The paper is pungent with cooking oil infused with Sichuan pepper, lime, coriander, deep fried squid and prawns. Our task was to prepare salt and pepper prawns with a prickly ash (that's a Sichuan ... Read more
April 23rd, 2012
He's been on the radio and in the papers, spreading more and more each day, sort of like an infectious virus. Dr Gerba, also known as Dr Germ, has been touting the importance of sterilisation in our lives to stop the spread of germs. It turns out that the kitchen is even grottier than the toilet. People tend to be meticulous in keeping the bathroom impeccable, while the ... Read more
April 16th, 2012
Last week The Oatmeal (a popular internet comic) shared advice on how to get more people to click 'like' for your product/service/etc on Facebook. Mr Oats had plenty of useful tips, but our favourite of course was this one: Being in the appliance trade, this is a topic close to our hearts. So imagine our delight when internet entertainer Hank Green rose to the challenge by penning the ... Read more
April 16th, 2012
Let the dishwasher do its job! Pre-rinsing is a waste of time, money, and water, Consumer Reports has said. Dishwashers are designed to do the dirty work yet some households are wasting well over 22,000 litres of water a year through unnecessary rinsing, according to the US consumer watchdog. When testing dishwashers, Consumer Reports used dishes "caked with foods such as peanut butter, tomato sauce, oatmeal and egg ... Read more
April 16th, 2012
Channel Nine's The Block is back for its fifth season starting tonight at 7pm. With it, a range of new kitchen renovation ideas will be revealed. The reality home renovation TV series pitches eight Australian couples against each other to redo dilapidated terrace houses in inner-city South Melbourne. The contestants have 10 weeks and $125,000 to create, design, plan, budget, execute and sell the terrace home. $20,000 is ... Read more
March 28th, 2012
What's the difference between the 'use-by' and 'best before' dates? In Australia all packaged foods with a shelf life of under two years need to have either a 'use-by' or 'best before' date. More than anything, the dates stamped on boxes, wrappers or bottles will let you know how long the food will last before losing quality. Can I bend the rules? For 'best before' dates the short answer is ... Read more
March 23rd, 2012
In this fast-paced modern world where even the fridge is online, what is the point of steam? After all, the Age of Steam was way back in the 19th century, and today you'll only find useful steam-powered gadgets in the imaginations of steampunk artists, right? Wrong. While it is no longer commonly used to power devices such it was during the Industrial Revolution, steam still has an important place ... Read more
March 22nd, 2012
For fun's sake, old is new - and delicious - again in the kitchen. Cooking like a master chef doesn't mean you have to make meals in a monotone, industrial looking kitchen. All that stainless steel can be so serious, so boring! If cooking is a creative art you might be inadvertantly dulling your culinary craft. What better way to get your creative mojo flowing than with a playful, ... Read more
March 22nd, 2012
When we're asked to think about how home appliances may work in the future we often fall back on ideas that will satisfy our inherent desire to do less. Yes, we are a lazy lot and we don't really want to use our energy handwashing clothes or dishes. So we recall The Jetsons and cross our fingers that robots like the lovely Rosie (right) will simply do everything ... Read more
March 20th, 2012
One in three Australians prefer to spend over $1,000 on their dishwasher, a survey has found. The independent survey by Canstar Blue has concluded that Australians would rather use a high end dishwasher to cut down on domestic chores. "Our research has shown of the one in two Australians who have dishwashers, a sizeable group place a great deal of importance on this popular kitchen appliance and will ... Read more