IHA Affordable Innovation 2011 Part 2

OK where was I? Oh yeah, in New York for the Affordable Innovation event presented by the International Housewares Association. Onward we go….

SwissMar

Swissmar is a company who has been providing quality products for more than 25 years. They are the exclusive North American partner for internationally known brands such as Peugeot of France, Börner of Germany and Dalla Piazza of Switzerland among others. Their table featured a new 4 person raclette grill. It provides the same quality functions as the larger models, including a crepe spreader, but they increased the raclette dish size 50% while increasing the volume by 100% and yet the overall grill size is small enough to suit 4 people. If you have never tried raclette, this would be the perfect starter grill.

There was also a compact, very light weight, easy to use peeler, the Swiss Curve Peeler. It has a nice ergonomic design that works comfortably for either right or left handed people. Made of 100% stainless steel, it is very sharp. When I used it the peeler took off thin slices without any effort; by pressing down harder, it yielded thicker slices.

I also liked the little ceramic chocolate fondue set. The one shown was a white ceramic base with four compartments for dipping food and a support to hold the tea light candle and the bowl for the chocolate. It was both stylish and functional and will hold enough chocolate to satisfy even the most ardent chocoholic.

Prepara

Prepara was next in my turn around the room. Prepara is a stylish kitchen product company offering the modern cook everything from an innovative cookbook holder to a modern ice cream scoop. In the thoughtful, stylish design they are known for, they created unique versions of some common kitchen tools, like a basting set made of a glass jar that can be put in the microwave to heat sauces, oil or butter. The silicone brush rests inside staying soaked so it is ready to use at anytime. Odors and sticky sauces will come off easily as it can be washed by hand or put in the dishwasher.

The other item that caught my eye was a Chef’s Bottle Kit. It is a versatile squeeze bottle set that has a basting brush tip and two nozzle tops that would allow you to apply differing thicknesses of sauces. The styles of decorations possible are almost endless, especially used in combination. The bottles and tips are dishwasher safe. This was a clever idea with great versatility.

There were also some cool Veggie Savors, not ordinary savers but collapsible ones. I liked the style and design, but was really taken by the collapsible feature. This makes storage of unused keepers more convenient, while providing the same level of freshness for foods as competing brands.

Wabash Valley Farms

Another company I just had to stop and see was Wabash Valley Farms, known for their popcorn and popcorn related tools. You probably know their Whirley Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper, but they have added the new Sweet & Easy Snack Machine. It is made of stainless steel vice the aluminum of the original popper, plus it allows you to add all manner of sticky, gooey and tasty flavorings. You can make caramel corn, chocolate nut clusters, kettle corn, flavored nuts – you name it. This new product means you can replace store bought nut and popcorn treats with healthier versions made at home with ingredients you choose.

The other item that caught my eye was the Wild Fling Snack Bowl. A 4-qt bowl that features a launcher to hold the snack of your choice such as popcorn (made in your Whirley Pop no doubt), cheese balls, nuts, pretzel nuggets or any other roundish snack. Then using the launcher, you can fling the snack food across the bowl and score a field goal or sink a basket. There are basketball hoop and goal posts included in the box. It looked like a really fun and messy product. Kids (and men) would love to have this around the house. A great gift idea.

Access Asia

Along the line of fun products, I was drawn to another table, that of Access Asia. They had a hot air popcorn maker that allows popcorn to pass through an opening that looks like a basketball goal, complete with a mini-hoop. As the popcorn is pushed out the top, it flows out and down through the basketball goal and into the bowl of your choice. Again, a really fun product which can also be customized with the logo of your favorite team.

The other noteworthy product was the Griddle-n-Toast machine. It is a 2-slot toaster with a side drop down grill which can be used to cook eggs, bacon or any food that can be cooked on a grill. There are separate lighted on/off switches for each function. The toaster portion has an automatic toast centering function, a “high lift” lever to make toast removal easy, and wide slots for bagels & buns. The grill plate can be removed for easy cleaning and the heating coil, when exposed without the grill plate, can be used as a small hot plate. This product would be great for university students or people who live in small urban apartments where space is at a premium. A very versatile, counter space saving device.

Parasia International

Turn around and go one booth up, and there was Parasia’s display with a couple of more campy products. The most fun were the remote probe thermometers shaped like the food they were designed to monitor, chicken or turkey, pig, cow or fish. Each one comes set to the USDA recommended temperature for the specific food and when that temperature is reached, produces a unique sound. The sounds were really smile inducing, a gobbling turkey, an oinking pig, a mooing cow (with 3 temp settings), a crowing chicken and a bubbling fish. A great holiday gift for the cook has everything or is just plain silly.

There were also some great grilling tools at the Parasia table that sell under the brand name of Man Law. The tools are solidly built and very old school. Each tool is made of heavy duty materials, is oversized for good grill coverage and has a good solid heavy feel in the hand. You can’t help but feel manly using tools like these.

Cameron’s Products

Next table over was Cameron’s Products, whom you most likely know from their wildly popular indoor smoker, and they had a couple of really cool products.

The first was the brand new Turkey Dunrite roasting rack. It isn’t so much of a roasting rack like we would understand, but consists of an innovative redesign. It looks like a roasting prong on its side with a wide tongue-like support bar which holds the turkey above the pan to allow great air flow over the bird. Air flow is essential for anything to be truly oven roasted. Sitting on most racks, the turkey sits down low, away from air flow or without a rack, it sits in the fat and juice. The Dunrite support puts the turkey in an inverted position with the breast down allowing the juices to settle in the breast making for moist white meat. The design also means you can use a simple low-sided foil or aluminum pan with no ill affects, as the elevated position exposes the meat to the heat and should cook in about 15% less time. The product still allows room for stuffing to be placed inside the bird. The stainless steel construction is sturdy, dishwasher safe and collapses for easy storage. The rack is easy to lift and move to the cutting board. The turkey slides off easily without the need to puncture the turkey with prongs, forks or claws which result in juice loss. I am looking forward to testing this product to see how well it works, but it has a lot of promise.

I also liked the colorful Tortilla Warmers whose primary purpose is to allow you to heat tortillas in a microwave and afterward keep them warm. It holds up to 12 – 12″ tortillas and will keep them warm, pliable and moist for up to an hour. But as with most products, you can use it for more than one thing. You can use them to heat other flat breads, pancakes, rolls and other breads. As you probably know pancakes freeze well and it is easy to reheat them in the microwave and this product would be perfect. They currently come in four attractive patterns.

Zojirushi

I had to stop by the table of one of my favorite companies, Zojirushi, the difficult-name-to-pronounce maker of the top bread machine and top quality rice cookers. On this day, they were showing the newest bread maker called Virtuoso. While the product can only loosely be described as affordable from a pure price perspective, what the price won’t tell you is the quality and versatility you get for that money. This machine has various one-touch settings for whole wheat, gluten free, cake and sourdough starter. It has a big viewing area, stainless steel handles for easy pan removal when the bread is done, and program functions that allow the experienced user to adjust the settings to make the bread to their taste. When I am asked to recommend a home bread maker, I start with Zojirushi and the conversation usually ends there. This new machine gives the family baker the power to make any bread the family might need, while saving lots of money over poorer quality commercial bread.

Tag

The main items at the Tag table which interested me the most were the VIVA Scandinavia glassware. The collection was created by Tag’s own Erica Friedman to reflect a clean, modern Scandinavian design. The straight sided water carafe and the more traditional shaped all-purpose beverage carafe both come with drip-free lips and self-sealing tops. You could use either for almost any beverage you might bring to the table.

Their wine aerator decanter combination set was really interesting and innovative. I have been testing and using many popular wine aerators these last few months for an upcoming article so I was really curious about the Tag version. The aerator looks like a funnel but has holes at the bottom of the funnel neck to disperse the wine onto the side of the decanter. While not only a cool visual affect, it did a good job of making a tannic wine drinkably smooth. The decanter is very attractive and stylish in keeping with the theme of the line. When I am finished with the other wine aerators, I will have to do further testing of this model.

Clean Ones

In the category of “Off The KitchenBoy Path”, I spoke with the team from Clean Ones. They make truly innovative household gloves that can be used in many rooms of the house. I was drawn to the pink dish gloves on the table. This particular line Benefits the Susan G Komen for the Cure®, with Clean Ones donating 10% of all retail sales of this glove to support breast cancer research and advocacy, with a minimum donation guarantee of $25,000. I got a pair for myself, yes real men wear pink, and a couple of pairs for some friends. I am testing them out to prove some of benefits. And to answer that thought, no not all household gloves are the same. These are Latex free and designed to provide greater moisture absorption than is possible with the standard flocked lining. In addition, they are formulated to remain odor free, even after extended use. They are also 100% free of BPA and Phthalates, DEHP and DOP so they are safe to use by anyone.

Summary

As usual, I had so much fun with the people I shared time with that I didn’t get to every booth, but still found some really cool, fun and functional products for the home kitchen. The products profiled in these brief write-ups would make great holiday gifts.

————————————————
Affiliate Partner