Tools & Gadgets
Ann Clark Ltd. Announces 30th Anniversary
January marks the 30th anniversary of Ann Clark Ltd. Cookie Cutters, the world’s largest cookie cutter manufacturer.
Ann Clark Ltd. was formed in 1989 by folk artist Ann Clark and her husband, the late John Clark, when Ann had the inspiration to transform her popular pig-shaped Christmas ornament into a cookie cutter. With determination and perseverance, she was able to convince a manufacturer that her designs had merit and produced her first line of cookie cutters in 1989.
With the help of her family, Ann’s business has grown from a small home-based business into the largest manufacturer and most well-recognized brand of cookie cutters around the world. Today the company is led by Ann’s son Ben, who upholds the Clark family standards for superior design and high-quality American-made products.
Ann Clark Ltd. Cookie Cutters has 50 employees and makes millions of cookie cutters each year. In July, the company was selected to represent Vermont as part of the national Made in America Showcase at The White House.
For more information, visit www.annclarkcookiecutters.com.
Gift Ideas for Coffee Lovers Include Kettles, Brewers
The average coffee lover spends more than $1,000 per year on coffee, more than on holiday gifts. This makes innovative coffee equipment a hot holiday gift idea.
Savvy coffee lovers save money while enjoying a premium brew, leaving more money for holiday gifts and festivities. Brew from fresh ground coffee or beans to avoid the added expense of pods or capsules. Drink home-brewed coffee on the go with an insulated beverage bottle and skip the long lines at the corner coffee shop.
The Capresso Pour-Over Kettle features an elegant gooseneck spout for a controlled pour and even flow rate. Swivel base, stay-cool handle, and ergonomic design for comfortable pouring. It offers optimal temperatures for pour-over or any type of tea.
The Zassenhaus Pour-Over Brewer is a brew-and-serve set with a stainless-steel double mesh filter, filter holder, and 25-ounce carafe and lid of pure borosilicate glass. With its tapered silhouette and gracefully curved handle, it makes a beautiful design statement.
The Peugeot Paris Press enhances the coffee press experience with fine grinding. A 500-milliliter borosilicate jug has a decorative stainless-steel exterior, plus two alternate tops: a coffee mill that grinds to specification right into the jug, and a cover with a built-in plunger for brewing.
The Capresso Infinity Plus Grinder offers commercial-grade grinding via solid steel burrs, with 16 grind settings for any type of brewing, from extra fine Turkish to very coarse for percolators or French press. The innovative gear-reduction motor will maximize flavor and aroma.
The Zassenhaus Hot & Cold Brew Infuser combines an infuser with a beautiful 34-ounce serving carafe. The etched infuser is perfect for extended cold brew times.
Zoku’s 3-in-1 Tumbler is a vacuum-insulated stainless steel double-walled tumbler with a unique lid that lets the coffee lover drink, sip, and seal. Keeps coffee hot for 6 hours (or cold for 24). The press-fit lid twists three ways to drink, sip with a straw, or lock.
Turn piping hot coffee into a delicious chilled beverage with the Zoku Iced Coffee Maker. Store the stainless-steel mug in the freezer, then place it in the insulated sleeve, pour in coffee, and snap on the lid – the coffee lover’s iced coffee will be ready in as little as five minutes.
Clever Kitchen Gadgets Solve Customers’ Needs
A quartet of clever kitchen gadgets will serve a variety of customer needs, from lemon- or lime-juicing to keeping a bottle of wine or other beverages chilled for up to 25 hours.
Chef’n GraterZoom
The Chef’n GraterZoom grates and slices garlic, ginger, turmeric and more. Just load the chamber with an ingredient, lock it in place and roll to grate — or reverse direction to slice. It also works great with chocolate and Parmesan cheese. It’s dishwasher safe, but must be disassembled and placed in the top rack. Suggested retail price: $14.99.
Chef’n
salesinquiry@taylorusa.com
www.chefn.com
Cauldryn Fyre
Cauldryn Fyre™, the industry’s first vacuum-sealed bottle that is able to boil water from a rechargeable battery, has partnered with Google Assistant to add voice activation capabilities.
Featuring a modular design, Cauldryn offers two different models, the Cauldryn Fyre and Cauldryn Fyre Mobile. Both offer a 16-ounce, stainless steel, vacuum insulated bottle with lid, and revolutionary Fyre heating element. The Mobile unit includes a rechargeable battery. The Fyre heating element attaches to the bottle and has four different heat settings — Hot, Extra Hot, Brew, and Boil, allowing the contents to reach up to 212 degrees. The Fyre heating element can also run directly from either an AC or DC power source using the included AC base or optional DC base.
The Cauldryn Fyre retails for $69.99 and the Cauldryn Fyre Mobile, which includes USB ports for powering electronic devices, for $129.99.
Cauldryn
844.827.1264
https://cauldryn.com
Fusionbrands CitrusSqueeze
Squeeze all the goodness out of lemons, limes and even oranges with a simple squeeze of Fusionbrands’ new CitrusSqueeze.
The yellow body of the CitrusSqueeze has a flexible wide opening to place large wedges in between the rugged teeth. With a one-handed squeeze, push the handles together and all the juice is contained in the body and seeds get filtered as the juice is poured directly into water bottles, teas, cold beverages or right on top of salads or seafood dishes.
CitrusSqueeze sits flat on the table so it can be passed around at the dinner table to avoid sticky fingers and can be kept in the refrigerator for later use. The two-piece design makes for easy clean-up in the dishwasher. Suggested retail price: $7.99.
Fusionbrands
877.279.2002
customercare@fusionbrands.com
www.fusionbrands.com
Franmara Wine Bottle Triple-Wall Flask
Franmara’s Wine Bottle Triple-Wall Flask is great for all beverages. It keeps contents cool and fresh and can be used for hot beverages like coffee, as well. Cold drinks stay cold for up to 25 hours and hot drinks for 12 hours.
The Wine Bottle Flask is easy to grip and it will not sweat. It’s large enough to hold a full bottle of wine which is 750 ml (25.36 ounces). The Wine Bottle Flask is vacuum sealed triple-wall construction made of 18/8 stainless steel. There’s an easy-to-use screw top, and the flask is non-toxic and BPA free. The height is like a normal wine bottle which is 12-3/8 inches in height by 3 inches in diameter.
A wine label on the bottle contains information about the item with its barcode. Available in natural stainless steel or black enamel over steel. Suggested retail price: $19.99.
Franmara
800.423.5855
www.franmara.com
Repurpose Launches Compostable Garbage Bags
Repurpose has announced the launch of Compostable Garbage Bags. Strong and durable, the garbage bags won’t break with even heavy-duty loads and are available in three sizes: Food Scrap Bags, Tall Kitchen Bags and Lawn & Leaf Bags.
“We spent years developing a compostable garbage bag that would actually hold up,” says Lauren Gropper, founder and CEO of Repurpose. “So much of what we saw on the market ripped or fell apart, so we worked to build a bag that would be the strongest and the most environmentally friendly.”
Repurpose Compostable Garbage Bags are BPI certified and break down in an industrial composter in just 180 days — as do Repurpose’s single-use straws, cups, plates, bowls and utensils. All Repurpose’s products are also BPA-free, chlorine-free, and nontoxic. Because fewer fossil resources are needed to produce Repurpose’s garbage bags than to produce conventional ones, their overall carbon footprint is smaller. Each size of the bags is sold in packaging that itself is made of 85 percent recycled materials.
The 3-Gallon Food Scrap Bags come in a pack of 25 bags, with a suggested retail of $3.99. The 13-Gallon Tall Kitchen Bags come in a pack of 12 with a suggested retail of $4.49, while the 30-Gallon Lawn and Leaf Bags come in a pack of 10 with a suggested retail of $5.99.
Repurpose was founded in 2010 by a group of eco-entrepreneurs driven to positively impact the environment by changing everyday behavior. Realizing the devastating effect single-use plastics were having on the environment and the fact that no alternatives existed for the consumer, Repurpose decided to manufacture its own.
For more information, visit www.RepurposeCompostables.com.
Instant Pot Max Takes Multicooker to Next Level
By Greg Gonzales
The Instant Pot Max is the latest step forward for the Instant Pot line, with new features and functions to appeal to the device’s cult following ― it cooks at 15 psi and therefore faster than previous models; the control panel is a touchscreen that allows users to release the pressure without putting their hands near the release valve; it can stir food using pressure bursts; and it also has a sous vide and canning feature.
Setup and Touchscreen
The Max was extremely easy to set up in just a matter of minutes. Out of the box came the unit itself, the cord, mini silicone gloves, a rice cup, a soup spoon and rice paddle, steam rack with handles and a condensation collector. However, it doesn’t include bags or a vacuum unit for the sous vide function, so I had to borrow and buy those separately ― which makes me thankful for my foodie friends, as those things can get pricey!
Sous Vide Salmon
The toughest part about the sous vide function was prepping the salmon. Picking out pin bones is never fun, but my girlfriend and I split the prep, so we managed to get the pin bones out, skin off, and herbs and spices rubbed on before the unit even got to temperature. One issue with the sous vide function is that the pot isn’t quite big enough for large portions, but with small bags and single portions, the Instant Pot Max will work just fine. Another small issue we ran into was that the sous vide function didn’t quite cook the salmon all the way ― but a short sear on the skillet right out of the Max, and we had perfect flaky sockeye salmon on our plates, with some chardonnay to match.
Pressure-Cooked Salmon
With some salmon left over, along with some potatoes and carrots, we skipped the recipe books and got to testing the 15 psi pressure cook function. The idea here was to compare the timing with the estimated time on recipes for the old cookers. Using the Max setting on the Instant Pot Max means the food should be done about 15 percent faster than the high setting. However, it didn’t really work out that way, and cooked in about the same time as the Instant Pot Duo, in just a few seconds over 2 minutes.
Instant Pot Max: Not Quite the First Canning Cooker
Using the Instant Pot Max to can food is a bit more hands-on than a push on the touchscreen ― and it’s not yet approved by the USDA, so I didn’t give it a go. According to the USDA and Instant Pot, some canning methods ought to be forgotten completely when it comes to using pressure cookers, as electric cookers might not be able to meet the temperature and pressure requirements to kill off deadly microbes. For now, I’ll wait for the next model, just in case.
Overall, the Instant Pot Max functioned perfectly, and my clothes soaked up the scents of the delicious spices and herbs on the salmon. Though I probably wouldn’t shell out $200 for a new one, especially since I already have the Duo, it’s certainly an investment worth making for people who don’t have one and want to try sous vide without extra equipment.
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