The Blue Pepper » Small Kitchen Appliances

Mandolin Slicer Brings Creativity to Slicing

Karen — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:14:57 +0000

Cooking delicious and sumptuous meals would not be possible without the use of a food slicer in the kitchen. The most effective tool used by all sorts of cooks to creatively cut almost any type of firm vegetable or fruit is the mandolin slicer. This essential kitchen tool has been around since the 16th century. The reason for its popularity is that the mandolin slicer has a perfect set of sharp cutting blades enabling you to precisely achieve the desired thickness or thinness of your food item. Achieving the perfect cut will greatly enhance the aesthetic appeal of your dishes and menus making them the favorite choice among guests.

Thin or thick, straight or crinkled, it doesn’t matter. With the three kinds of mandolin slicer, whatever specification you want will easily be accomplished. You can have a choice from adjustable platform, the fixed platform and a flat board mandolin. The difference between the first two kinds is that you can have certain adjustments with the first one to cut various thicknesses, while the second one has a limited cutting ability. The flat board, on the other hand, uses one single basic cut with its single blade.

You can certainly discover different knives on the market that also have the same extreme sharpness as the blades on a mandolin slicer; however, you can never achieve the same precision guides and perfect cut. In addition, this manual food processor comes in a variety of different designs and is made out of plastic or metal.

Considering the fact that mandolin slicers come with very sharp blades, it is advisable that you use this kitchen tool with extreme caution especially if you are beginner in the field of cooking and kitchenware. It is recommended that both casual and professional chefs use protective gloves while using this tool to protect their fingers.

Used with care, the mandolin slicer is a great tool to effectively make crinkle cuts, sticks, and slices in various thickness or thinness. Making a large amount of food is no longer such a daunting task to overcome.

Cuisinart Food Processors Make Food Prep Easy

Karen — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:36:46 +0000

Cuisinart, with its powerful design and proven durability, is one of the reigning brands in the food processor industry. With its various food processor cups, from 7-cup to the 14-cup Elite food processors, Cuisinart has become an indispensable tool in contemporary cooking, bringing a multitude of routine processes, such as mixing batters, mayonnaise, and kneading dough, slicing meat and chopping vegetables as well as grating cheese, to a whole new level of fast-speed and convenience.

Cuisinart food processors come in various sizes and all of them are powerful, versatile and more durable than ever. There is nothing too hard for them to do with their 600 to 1000-watt induction motors, surgical stainless steel blades, wide mouth feed tube and oversize work bowls. If you love making dough, you will gain advantage from its dough control features to achieve the right consistency of dough. If you want a longer warranty for your purchased product, you will benefit from its generous 3 year warranty offer on the entire unit and 10 year warranty on the motor.

There are various types of Cuisinart food processors. The 7 cup Cuisinart food processor is the basic and main workhorse food processor. The Cuisinart Prep 9 Cup Food Processor, on the other hand, is more modern in design and will fit perfectly in any contemporary homes.

But if you want to combine style and practicality, then the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus Food Processor can handle any kitchen task with its 11 cup holding capacity. If you usually process large amounts of food items, the Cuisinart 7 Cup Premier Series Food Processors can help you with this difficult task.

The latest in the line is the Cuisinart 14-cup Elite Food Processors which contain 11 cup and 4 ½ cup mixing bowls which can easily be stored inside the 11 cup bowl. Its reversible shredding disc is an excellent package that comes with 6 different positions giving the users flexibility in use.

Indeed, with all the various options for the home chefs and professionals to choose from, Cuisinart Food Processors have made the endless tasks of food preparation convenient and pleasurable.

Deciding Between the Blendtec Blender and the Vitamix Blender

Karen — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:47:27 +0000

Two very popular, high-powered blenders are competing in today’s market-the Blendtec and the Vitamix. Both of these blenders provide excellent performance with prices at relatively the same range. The deciding factor will all depend on your needs for a blender and how you are going to use it.

In terms of durability, VitaMix and Blendtec are both durable in that they are capable of heavy duty performance, despite the fact that the latter is smaller in frame and looks more delicate. They are equipped with BPA-Free Copolyester containers. When it comes to warranty, though, VitaMix has the upper hand because of its complete 7-year warranty on all its parts, compared to Blendtec’s warranty offer of 3 years which only covers the motor and the pitcher. It compensates, however, with its lifetime warranty on the coupling and blade which are very important parts.

Using only a power of 11.5 amps/1380watts, VitaMix is more adept at blending some things smoother than the Blendtec which uses 13 amps/1560 watts, supposedly the most powerful home product on the market. Perhaps this is because of the following three factors: it can quickly make a vortex, blade design and the presence of a tamper to assist in blending solid and uncut or frozen foods. You can never find a tamper with Blendtec. If you need to mix the food items completely, you need to stop the blender and manually tamp the foods down. A tamper is very important in making frozen entrees and nut butters as well as thick puddings. Furthermore, with Blendtec, there is a need for you to cut large food items or add liquid to blend them better. Unlike with VitaMix that you simply have to put them inside and let the blender do its magic.

Blendtec is more contemporary in design and function compared to VitaMix. It has a hands free automatic program cycle that automatically stops after a maximum of 50 seconds of continuous blending. This allows you to do other things inside your kitchen. VitaMix, on the other hand, offers complete manual control with various options for speed. It will continue to blend and blend until stopped manually or until the thermal protection stops the blending in order to prevent it from overheating.

Each of these blenders has its own advantages and disadvantages. When you make decision, choose the blender that is most suitable to your needs, preferences and lifestyle so that it will complement your various activities.

Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker

Karen — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:25:41 +0000

If you host parties in your home very often and usually serve chilled drinks, then you should be equipped with a blender. Now you say you love to be hands-on when doing the drinks to be served at the party, but the kitchen doesn’t just love you that much in return. You might find it difficult to make the cocktails. In this case, you would need a brilliant professional blender for a non-professional kitchen person. The Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker would be the best answer to your problem.

The Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker shaves ice and blends margaritas in one setting. It has a control panel situated in front of the machine, comfortably large handle, and a spout designed to control spillage, thus making it just perfect for anybody. Another model is Magaritaville Bahamas 36 oz. Frozen Concoction Maker, which accommodates 36 ounces in one blending. The final model is the Margaritaville Tahiti Frozen Concoction Maker that can contain drinks with its three 24-oz jars in a set up. That would be a total of 72 ounces of margaritas!

Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Makers is just the right blender for everyone. However, getting it would mean spending a little extra of your bucks. Do not think of this as an additional problem. If you really are interested in making your own customized drinks, then it’s just worth it. Your extra cash is equivalent to a restaurant-quality drink.

Once you have it, there will be no need for you to go out and spend extra every time you want to have a party. With Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Makers, you’ll never have to leave home. Just stay in your house all night long, with the company of your friends, family and party guests! They’ll love the drinks you will serve and most of all, they’ll love you for having them!

Tassimo Coffee Maker Brings Variety to Hot Drinks

Karen — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:26:44 +0000

Bosch is the third largest appliance manufacturer in the world. They have been producing efficient and unrivaled quality home appliances ranging from washers, dryers, and ovens to dishwashers, coffee makers and ranges since 1997. It is a trusted company winning various industry and consumer awards since it started operation.

The new model of Tassimo coffee maker from Bosch is an excellent device that allows you to brew a number of varieties of your favorites, from coffee, tea and hot chocolate to espresso and lattes. The versatility of this machine is a perfect accompaniment to your daily routine, warming your soul with the great drinks it makes.

The flexibility of use is made possible by its unique system of T-discs which has an integrated filter and tiny brewing chamber to separate each drink and prevent contamination of flavors. This means to say that you can make your hot chocolate in one disposable disk and pop in another for green tea without ever tasting chocolate in your tea.

The secret of success for this coffee maker is that its discs are imprinted with a bar code for each drink. Each beverage you are going to make has its own temperature, pressure and brew time. Now the bar code, which will be read by the machine, plays an important role in integrating all these three factors in order to achieve a superb taste for your drinks.

Its downside, however, is that it makes a rather small cup of drink and it is relatively difficult to intercede its automatic cycle in the hope of getting the amount to your liking. It has limited controls and only takes T-Discs.

Nonetheless, these minor defects are compensated with its compact, sleek black and silver look design and well-fitted water tank as well as the ability to brew all manner of hot drinks at fast pace without being messy.

Omega Juicer: the Most Reliable of its Kind

Karen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:19:30 +0000

Have you ever wondered why Omega Juicers still appear old and dated even though they are currently manufactured? Well, these juicers may look old school but they work as youthfully as the newest of its type. This kitchen tool discards the concept of “out with the OLD and in with the NEW”.

Available in the market are a few different kinds of Omega juicers, all come in different purposes and benefits. The type of Omega juicer most commonly used in households is the centrifugal juicer. It can spin fruits and hard vegetables and extract their juices. This type of juicer also comes with an amazing pulp ejection feature. This enables you to easily get more volume of juice since the pulp is mechanically thrown out.

Another popular type is the masticating juicer. It chews up food at a much slower speed, similar to how we chew using our teeth. This is used when you like to juice green leafy veggies or some wheatgrass, perhaps. With appropriate attachments, you can also make peanut butter or pasta with it.

Definitely not the least is the citrus juicer. Its name speaks for itself. This type is used to juice lemons, oranges and other citrus fruits. Unfortunately, this type can’t accommodate anything other than citruses. They only work specifically for the citrus family.

If you take the plunge and buy an Omega juicer, you will not be disappointed. The company cares as much for their customer’s satisfaction as they care for their products. Every single Omega Juicer has a fifteen year warranty. A guarantee like that sends a strong message that the company is willing to stand behind their products. Even if the way that an Omega juicer looks is not your style, it will definitely improve your kitchen lifestyle.