Cool Tools in the Kitchen - Kevin Kelly [18]
Available from Amazon
Mess-Free Storage
King Arthur Sugar/Flour Dispenser
King Arthur’s dispenser is a sturdy, reliable container that accommodates a five-pound bag of sugar or flour. You just slide in the bag, open it up, trim the bag top to the top of the container, and put the lid back on. A little flap inside the lid holds the bag open and keeps the sugar/flour from sifting down the sides. When sealed shut, the whole thing is ant- and water-proof. Another practical benefit is that the lid has two openings: One is a pour spout; The other is large enough to allow for scooping with a measuring cup. Since the spout is slightly flexible, I find I can squeeze the sides to crush any lumps or clumps.
Obviously, this is not a sexy matte-black high tech kind of tool. But using it makes me very happy. It’s a solid, well thought-out product that makes working with and storing sugar/flour much simpler, easier and cleaner.
—Amy Thomson
Note: King Arthur Flour’s online store and print catalog are packed with tons of other nifty cooking tools. The King Arthur Flour’s Cookie Companion and Baker’s Companion books are fabulous cookbooks.
King Arthur Sugar/Flour Dispenser
$8
Manufactured by Buddeez
Available from Amazon
Spice Filing Cabinet
Spice Stack Rack
We’ve been searching for an efficient way to store spices for ages. Those rotating towers are too large, and we didn’t want to devote kitchen counter space to a separate rack. I finally came across this horizontal filing system on Amazon. It’s the perfect solution. The whole thing is sized to fit inside standard kitchen cabinets; the dimensions are 7.75″H x10.85″W × 10.75″D. It takes both large and small grocery-size spice bottles. Also, it comes with labels for the front of the drawers. After several months, my only reservation is that the plastic feels as if it could eventually be prone to breakage at the hinges. Nevertheless, for now, it’s holding up just fine.
Jon Margolis
Spice Stack Rack
$35
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Stacks and Stacks
Compact Culinary Travel Kit
Mr. Bento Lunch Jar
Zojirushi’s Mr. Bento Lunch Jar is a modern spin on the Japanese bento box. However, it will keep cold things cold and hot things hot. Mr. Bento features four microwaveable containers: a watertight soup container, a large main-meal container with an insulated lid, a smaller container I use for salads, and an even smaller container for snacks like cheese/grapes. All these containers stack neatly inside a stainless jar in a specified order that creates a seal, keeping the soup/main container hot or cold while the other containers remain at room temperature.
Mr. Bento also comes with a spork, so you don’t have to carry extra utensils; the spork even has a cover. Mr. Bento himself fits inside a nice bag (included) that has pockets for napkins and the like, and enough extra room for another small food container should you desire a bigger meal. In my case, I typically take a small container of oatmeal to work, so I just place Mr. Bento on top and put the entire stack in the bag. A fully-packed Mr. Bento with bag and utensil weighs around 3 lbs.
As for how long things stay hot: Typically, I pack my lunch around 6:45 a.m., then don’t eat until 12 noon. I never feel the need to microwave. For example, recently at 7 a.m., I microwaved a frozen burrito and cut it in half to fit in the meal container. At 11 a.m., the burrito was still hot and steam came from the container when I opened it. Zojirushi advises preheating the jar with hot or cold water for maximum temperature retention, though I’ve never tried that.
When you first look at Mr. Bento, you might worry you’re going to walk away hungry. Your mileage may vary, but I am a whopping 240 pounds of man and sometimes I wonder if I should have purchased a smaller Bento like the Ms. and mini (I also have Zojirushi’s rice cooker).
My impetus for buying a lunch box was that I discovered I was spending over $100/month going out to lunch. I wanted to save money and did not want to get