Category: Cooking

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Cooking

Find-A-Scoop seeks missing powder measuring mechanisms

Powdered products can be a great help in the kitchen when cooking, or for those who enjoy their protein and fruit drinks. But digging out a scoop that has sunk to the bottom of a canister makes for an inconvenient mess that can cause some waste.

So Find-A-Scoop was designed to put a stop to having to dig around both small and large containers. The BPA-free, dishwasher safe product has three features: a no-slip finger grip, a slatted power-draining dipper, and an extended reach handle. The mini scoop is ¼” deep, and the full size scoop is 1″ deep.

The product seems like it would be easy enough to use, but a slatted cooking spoon might do the job just as well. Backers interested in healthy-lifestyle items might also like to check out Made, Armadillo Colander,  Go-Shake, Fab, and Rotissa-Fry. This campaign seeks to raise $35,000 by February 11, 2015. For $10, backers get one full and mini size scoop with an expected delivery of October 2015.

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Cooking

EZ Bacon lets you cook your bacon without pan, messy cleanup

One of the most savory smells in the world is fried bacon. One of the biggest messes to clean up is, yes, fried bacon. Bacon is one of those tasty items that is usually best cooked on the weekend or in the evening as part of a BLT sandwich because of how long it takes.

One option that shortens that cooking time is microwaving, and EZ Bacon aims to offer users a kitchen gadget to assist with that. This product features a ribbed design that lets the bacon be draped over top and cooked, without lying in its own grease. This way, the bacon is crispy and not quite so fattening.

The product is touted as saving the user from a greasy skillet and messy cleanup, but a couple of paper towels on a plate, with the bacon placed on top works quite well for microwaving bacon. Breakfast loving backers might also like to check out ButterUp. This campaign seeks to raise $15,000 by February 9, 2015. Early bird backers get one product for $15 with an expected delivery of April 2015.

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Cooking

Rotissa-Fry cooks, bakes, fries, roasts your dinner on the fly

The hurried pace of life often makes cooking meals that are tasty but still healthy a challenge. So the more multitasking a kitchen cooking gadget can do, the more attractive it often looks to those who want to have good food fast.

Rotissa-Fry offers a variety of cooking options all in one device.  The small but effective energy-efficient cooker uses 360°F heating to make certain that things are cooked evenly and in half the time of other options such as an oven, grill or fryer. Since it doesn’t require any oil and is made of non-stick material, foods are lower in fat. Some of its capabilities include frying bacon and eggs, baking breads and cakes, steaming fish and veggies, grilling sandwiches and burgers, cooking stir fry, roasting chicken, beef, pork and lamb, rotisserie cooking and defrosting. Since Rotissa-Fry is portable, food can be cooked anywhere that there is a power source to plug it into.

Certainly anyone who enjoys entertaining, is a cooking enthusiast, or sees cooking as a hobby will enjoy this product. There doesn’t appear to be any assembly necessary, nor any special tools for switching it from one type of cooking to another, although that is not clearly indicated. Other fun kitchen gadgets in which backers may have an interest include GrillOven and MasterPan, and those looking for a way to cut fat and still have some flavor may like to check out Fab. This campaign seeks to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter. For $150, backers get one product with an expected delivery of April 2015.

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Cooking

Eco Flow punches holes in traditional cutting board; reduces cross contamination

While cutting boards are great for protecting counter tops, the current design doesn’t allow for much flexibility when a person wants to go from cutting meats to cutting veggies and prevent possible bacterial issues that can lead to food borne illness.

The creators of Eco Flow designed a cutting board that is perforated, slightly raised, and has a tray underneath so that meats can thaw or veggies can drain without having to use up sink space and keeping the liquid all in one place. Great idea as long as one doesn’t mind having these things sitting around on the counter top.

The campaign claims that the board doesn’t slip or slide while in use, but it is not clearly explained why or how it stays in place. Interchangeable boards help to prevent cross contamination from debris that falls through the perforations, and the product is dishwasher safe. It’s also BPA free and FDA approved. This campaign seeks to raise $20,000. Early bird backers get one Eco flow for $15 with an expected delivery of March 2015.

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Cooking

Butter Crayon makes spreading butter better

Many people agree that it’s amazing how much better food tastes with butter than with margarine. And there are now studies out that say that butter is actually better because it is a natural food, as opposed to manmade margarine. But spreading cold butter can be a challenge. That’s why the Butter Crayon was created.

The product’s food safe silicone casing fits a standard sized store bought stick of butter. It also keeps butter safe, acts as a butter dispenser and is heat resistant. Once the butter is placed in the case, it gets pushed to surface via a block that is included with the product, making it easier to butter toast, veggies, put on a skillet surface for cooking and more. Butter can be stored right in the Butter Crayon.

Seems like a great idea for buttering pans and skillets, but when buttering bread, there may be crumbs left on the surface, and with other foods, there may be some cross-contamination concerns. Backers may also be interested in Fab and MasterPan. This campaign seeks to raise $60,000. For $15 backers get one product with an expected delivery of April 2015.

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Cooking

Silibags lets you bake, boil and freeze your meals without breaking

One of the most time consuming activities in life is meal preparation and cooking. Silibags provides a way to have healthy, home cooked meals on those days when one is too busy to cook. These bags are similar to ziplock style bags, except that they not only store food in the freezer, but they also allow for food to be cooked right in the bag. The platinum silicone bags can be heated up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. So an entire meal of, say, roast beef and veggies could be stored in the bag when one has time to put that together, cooked, frozen, and microwaved when ready to eat if the metal clasp is removed. It’s also possible to boil food on the stovetop, and clean up is simplified since the bags are also dishwasher safe.

This is an interesting idea, but there are actual backing dishes out there, such as Pyrex, that will do the same things. One advantage that Silibags may have is that its non-breakable properties will work better for camping enthusiasts. In addition, bags store better because they don’t take up as much room in the freezer as other containers. This campaign seeks to raise $9,000. Backers get one bag for $30, with an expected delivery of March 2015.

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Connected Objects Cooking

ChefBot helps you whip up your next delight; prevents burning

Generally, there are two ways a kitchen can be thought of. It can be the soothing, relaxing part of the home where delicious, homemade meals are prepared. Or it can be the part of the home where the refrigerator, toaster oven, and microwave are located. Unfortunately, the latter rings true for most. As easy as any cooking show makes it seem, the process of creating a meal from scratch is loaded with subtlety essential to the recipe itself. However, most people don’t have the magic touch, making cooking difficult and arduous.

The ChefBot may look like a regular kitchen scale, but hiding within is a Bluetooth-enabled kitchen assistant. This device weighs ingredients, provides a running calorie count of them, and leads users through any recipe uploaded into the device with the ChefBot companion app for iOS or Android, all while streaming music through Bluetooth. The device’s stainless steel construction houses multiple voices or a TFT display that communicates this information a user, and everything is built to be water-resistant to avoid unseemly accidents from seriously damaging the unit. The Bluetooth version of the ChefBot is $99, while the Wi-Fi unit is $149. ChefBot is expected to ship April 2015 provided the campaign raises $50,000.

The glut of connected kitchen objects makes it seem like no one in America can cook. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but there is certainly a variety of them. The ChefBot’s design is underwhelming, but the actual product is priced well, offering just enough functionality to be valuable. Its choice of material makes it superior to Drop, another scale that seeks to lend a helping hand but it does so while connected to an iPad, a device people might not want in the kitchen at all.

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Cooking Sensors/IoT

Nexkos Bluetooth Smart Thermometer probes meat to prepare delectable meals, worry-free

For the lucky ones among us, cooking is second nature. For everyone else, cooking anything seems like an badly performed improv class. Without an experienced cook by one’s side, finding the guidance to whip up something edible can be an overwhelming challenge. When it comes to meats, that anxiety can be felt ten fold: working with herbs and spices is delicate business, and cooking it just right is tricky.

Nexkos wants to take the guesswork out of getting grilled goods just right with their Bluetooth Smart Thermometer. The spherical device sports an LED display with the temperature of whatever the four attached probes are inserted into. This information is also relayed to the iOS or Android companion app with which temperature alerts can be set, create custom templates for recipes, and save and share the information to replicate recipes in the future. The $55 AUD (~$45 USD) Nexkos Smart Thermometer is expected to ship May 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $20,000 AUD (~$16,300 USD) goal.

The Nexkos Smart Thermometer is exceedingly similar to the already released iGrill, but the former’s four probes are better than the latter’s single probe. The Nexkos version lacks the iGrill’s proximity sensor, but that isn’t a deal breaker as they’re similarly price in either case, great for those ill-equipped to cook and affordable, too.

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Cooking

CookStarta tucks prep food away, won’t start dinner for you though

There’s something about a home cooked meal that just usually tastes better than what one can get in a restaurant – especially when one is not doing their own cooking. But even those who enjoy cooking usually don’t enjoy cleaning up the mess. CookStarta is a multifunctional kitchen tool that assists with food preparation. The device tucks partway under one’s cutting board and can be used to scrape into and hold all the unusable pieces of veggies and meat that get trimmed in advance, or it can be used to easily transport finely chopped items into the pan or pot. The product is made of food-grade polypropylene, which is dishwasher safe and reusable. It appears that it would work with pretty much any standard cutting board.

This is one of those products that seems useful at first, until you realize that the same thing can be done with materials that are already in the kitchen. Other convenient kitchen tools that may be of interest to backers are GrillOven, Gneiss Spice, and Cuffitts. This campaign seeks to raise £8,500 (~$13,300 USD). Backers get one CookStarta for £7 (~$11 USD) with an expected delivery of March 2015.

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Connected Objects Cooking Sensors/IoT

Pantelligent takes the guesswork out of cooking; makes sure you can stand the heat in the kitchen

Objects everywhere around us are becoming smarter. It’s now a cinch to keep lawns watered, pets fed, temperatures regulated, security systems activated and so much more. What could be next?

Pantelligent lets you cook smarter. This Bluetooth enabled pan monitors the temperature of its surface and sends the data to an accompanying smartphone app. It tracks heat to make sure that the food won’t burn or sit there cold. The app also comes equipped with recipes for salmon, steak, chicken, scallops and much more. For added convenience, the recipes can be read out loud so you’re not stuck hunched over instructions. In addition, the recipe will indicate when the cut of meat needs to be flipped over. Pantelligent also allows for new recipes to be put in, so that it can be used for everyone’s food preferences.

The scores of testimonials on the campaign page say that Pantelligent helped cook the best meals of different people’s lives. Someone says it’s like a GPS for cooking. All in all, Pantelligent seems to live up to the hype as a unique product useful for many. It’s unclear how Pantelligent cooks red meat, however, or if it can work with different meat temperatures. Still, many still find cooking a mystery and this product clears up a lot of the guesswork. For $199, backers can have their very own with estimated delivery set for August 2015. This product is looking to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter.