There is always a wrestling match that ensues when it’s time to get out the plastic wrap. It’s wrap against human as the plastic folds over, clings to itself and taunts its human challenger: “Go ahead punk! I dare you to just try to rip me!” Well, it would seem that Jimbox Foodwrap is up for the challenge. The adjustable end points and feed-thru tension make it easy to pull through and cut off the desired amount with the closing of the lid. While this might make ripping easier, it’s questionable if it will prevent the folding over issue. For £16, backers get one product with an expected delivery of April 2015.
Tag: kitchen
Surrounded by a room full of torn and mutilated bread and all he wanted to do was just spread some real butter on his breakfast bread. The video for ButterUp will likely get a good belly laugh going for viewers who appreciate the savory taste of real butter on fresh bread or toast. The new type of butter knife may very well be the best thing since, um, sliced bread! Created with the concept of a cheese greater in mind, it slices butter into thin ribbon-like strips so that butter can go straight from the fridge and spread evenly without putting holes in bread or toast. For $12AUD butter-loving backers get one product and an expected delivery of March 2015.
The Premise. Ask any college student or bachelor and most of them will agree: cooking is nowhere as easy as mom made it out to be. Whether there isn’t room in the budget to botch a meal or if anything more advanced than sandwiches and microwave pizza is too difficult, making delicious, fresh meals requires help.
The Product. In terms of actual physical product, Drop is merely a kitchen scale that connects to the iPad in order to display its results. However, the iPad app is more than a glorified scale readout. Drop can walk users through recipes, make suggestions for successful improvisation, and send alerts when it’s time to get back into the kitchen for the next step. Drop functions essentially as a powerful digital kitchen instructor that just so happens to also be a scale, supporting iPad Air, Mini, 3rd gen, and 4th gen.
The Pitch. The promotional video for Drop really captures the essence of how exhilarating it can be to correctly prepare a complex meal, whether sharing it or not. In a brief 90-second presentation, viewers get a full clear picture of almost everything Drop can do, meaning there’s no lull or dragging in the clip. The website for Drop is bright, engaging, and features a strong balance of information with images. It’s similar in many ways to other pre-order websites, but the Drop color scheme and product identity make it stand out a bit.
The Perks. Drop is expected to drop this fall, and can be pre-ordered for $80. The first 2,000 orders also don’t pay any shipping costs.
The Potential. Frankly as far as Drop is concerned, the product itself is fairly underwhelming. Smart kitchen scales have been done before, and any serious kitchen maestro probably already has one in their arsenal. Where Drop really separates itself from the competition, and does so by a very wide margin, is in the iPad app that Drop works with. Covering everything from substitute ingredients to recipe scaling based on number of diners or amount of ingredients remaining, Drop makes sure that nothing in the kitchen comes as a surprise. The presentation is great, the device looks friendly and easy to use, and the end results promise to be both attractive and tasty. Seasoned experts may not find much use for Drop, but for the less confident cooks or those just starting out, this tool promises to do more than its weight in the kitchen.
Accident-prone or otherwise disasterous chefs take note: the smart kitchen may be a savior when it comes to getting a meal prepared just right. Products like iGrill are designed to keep users informed of temperatures so no food comes out black and burned, and no kitchens burn down. Now comes Range Oven Intelligence, from the makers of TWINE. Range OI is a complete kitchen monitoring tool that can keep an eye on almost all kinds of cooking heat, give detailed reports, and send alerts to smartphones, smart TVs, and smartwatches. Range Oven Intelligence is available for $98, but backers will have to be patient: this product will be slow-cooked to quality with a release date of March 2015.
Who knew that eating clams for dinner could inspire an ergonomic kitchen cleaning item, but that’s exactly how KlampShell had its beginnings. Scrubbing pots, pans, countertops and kitchen floors can take its toll on fingers, especially when there aren’t any kids available to whom such tasks can be delegated. So the kitchen cleaning and scrubbing tool grips dish cloths, steel wool, scouring pads and other cleaning items, and can even be used to scoop up the uneatable scraps from food prep. For $25, backers get one medium-sized product and an expected delivery of October 2014.
For those who never really listened when told to quit playing with their food, CinniBird will appeal to that inner child, or maybe artist, or better yet, prankster although some practice is likely needed to create the fine art . When this kitchen gadget is filled with cinnamon (and AA batteries), food and beverages become a small canvas for creativity, provided the user has a steady hand and a sense of a smattering of talent and creativity. For $10, backers get one Cinnibird pen with an expected delivery of June 2014. If backers live outside of Hungary, an extra $10 will be needed for international shipping costs.
Kitchen convenience just hit a new level. Rolly Bowl allows for meals to go from stove, to table to fridge, and from microwave to table again. The unique roll top lid means that there is always a lid available that covers food for storage, as well as preventing it from sticking to the top and acting as a splash guard when it’s time to microwave. The roll over lid easily removes for either hand washing or the dishwasher, and always holds its shape for a perfect fit. Alas, the domed configuration makes the bowl difficult to stack when closed. While the idea certainly seems clever, backers may find it a bit pricy at $50. Expected delivery is September 2014.
If it seems that your kitchen space has somehow been taken over by the clutter of food and beverage boxes, Stick n Store may very well help you to regain control. The storage units mount easily to the inside of a pantry and cabinet doors via industrial mounting tape. While the kitchen decluttering pods may give you multiple ideas for what they could hold, the company specifically had coffee pods and K-cup boxes in mind when designing these tools of organization. For $18, backers have to postpone their jitter lifters with an expected delivery of October 2014.
The Premise. Food poisoning is no fun, and also no joke. With an estimated 5,000 deaths related to food-borne illnesses in the US every year, it’s important to be completely confident that any food consumed is safe and free from disease.
The Product. The PERES is an “e-nose” that is designed to do something no other device has been able to offer consumers: test meat for any potential consumption risks. Compatible with beef, pork, poultry, and fish, the PERES takes an air sample from the proximity from any bit of meat and analyzes the sample looking for any harmful bacteria or signs of spoiling. With the ability to detect over 100 different kinds of harmful substances and instant Bluetooth transmission to a phone or tablet, meat can be analyzed quickly and easily to make sure that dinner will be enjoyable and safe to eat.
The Pitch. ARS LAB, the company behind the PERES, introduces the device and discusses its inception after a nasty case of food poisoning suffered by the CEO’s wife. Backing PERES does more than just bring a device to market, a significant portion of the proceeds are also being donated to various relevant charities. PERES needs $100,000 to finish prototype development as well as to complete the included app. ARS LAB offers a referral program that can result in a free device for referring 10 backers, and also has a number of stretch goals. At $135,000, there will be add-ons for the device to give it new features. $250,000 will include a standalone device that can function without a smartphone, while $350,000 will turn the PERES into a home safety device that can detect gas leaks and humidity. At the $500,000 mark, the team claims that PERES can help detect fertility, be a home drug testing kit, and even prevent infidelity with its powerful nose.
The Perks. A PERES e-nose is available to backers who pledge $120. Developers who want to add more functionality to the device can get the SDK and one of the devices for $750. The first batch is expected to ship in July 2014.
The Potential. The food safety industry can always use as much help as it can get, and PERES seems like a great thing for any home cook or even restaurant owner to keep handy. The social sharing aspects of the device seem a little unnecessary (who wants a status update from their friends about spoiled meat?) but overall the device is a great kitchen implement that would be right at home next to any meat thermometers.
The Premise. Who doesn’t get excited at the revolutions being made possible every day by advancements in the field of 3D printing? And who doesn’t want a personal robo-chef to crank out elegantly designed plates with no effort whatsoever? Here’s what happens when these two exciting ideas are combined.
The Product. Designed to make healthy eating easier and revolutionize the home cooking process once more, the pun-tastic Foodini is a consumer-grade 3D printer that is meant to bring out the best in fresh ingredients. Using a series of reusable capsules that food can be mashed or pureed into, and then after selecting a recipe and design, the Foodini goes to work. For those worried about how to operate a 3D printer, the Foodini has a touch screen panel on the front that connects to its own site where templates can be downloaded and used, recipes can be bookmarked, and even uploaded and shared. From there, Foodini says what to put in when and handles the rest.
The Pitch. Co-founder of Natural Machines Lynette Kucsma introduces us to the Foodini and initially shows that it can make something that looks like farmer’s market baby food, but as the video goes on, and through the campaign photos, it’s quickly mouthwatering just what can be made with this printer. Anxieties about learning a new kitchen tool are also laid to rest with simple diagrams outlining how easy it is to operate a Foodini. Natural Machines needs to raise $100,000 to put together the community site and begin mass production.
The Perks. Unsurprisingly, a Foodini will set backers back $999, $300 off the retail price, and can start impressing everybody else by January of 2015. Those who don’t want to wait can pay extra for an earlier production run, the earliest being available October 2014 for backers who pledge $2,000.
The Potential. It’s impossible not to be excited about the idea of having a 3D food printer in the home. While it’s still a ways off from replicating an Irish breakfast or even downloading pizza rolls, Foodini takes all the convenience of eating out of cans and boxes and brings it to fresh, healthy ingredients. The price point is enticingly low, especially considering that a microwave cost over $10,000 in today’s dollars when they hit the market. It may seem extravagant now, but this is a clear sign of a new era for stomachs everywhere.