Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 8, 1993 TAG: 9312090004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Almena Hughes
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The results, in no particular order of preference: bread makers, mixers, food processors and mini food choppers, toaster ovens, salad shooters, nonstick waffle irons, electric vegetable peelers and slow cookers.
As keeper of the survey, I got a taste of how Santa must feel scanning his wish lists. Abby Hairston said she's hoping for a Black & Decker cordless mixer with an under-the-cabinet mount, similar to the one she received from co-workers about five years ago. She's used it so often that its charger will no longer hold a charge.
Kathy Barber would love to receive a salad shooter to help slice the time she spends in the kitchen slicing salad fixings. Denise Murphy, whose counter space is decreasing as her family grows, would love to have an under-cabinet/under-counter-mounted toaster unit. And Georgia Chapman wants a heavy-duty mixer with an interchangeable dough hook to aid in her gingerbread-house making.
There were other appliance wishes, which regrettably were lost to an electronic snafu. If your wish isn't listed here, we apologize and hope it still comes true.
Some survey respondents simply wanted to spread the good word about an appliance they already own. Kathy Shiffer said she loves her Hitach breadmaker so much, she'd almost trade her dishwasher for it. Nothing beats waking up to the smell of fresh bread, she said. Mary Jane Foutz said her Regal LaMachine small food processor is great for grating cheese, making cracker crumbs or chopping vegetables. And Betty Martin finds her Daisy Stripper fruit and vegetable peeler a most-appealing appliance.
In the "they don't make them like they used to" category, Mary Ann Maslich said she's still using the bright aqua GE portable mixer she received at her bridal shower in March 1958. A new mixer that Maslich received several years ago couldn't even mash a batch of potatoes without smoking and sputtering. Maslich had to get out her GE to get the job done, she said.
Evie Robison, who owns and operates the Wildflour Cafe in Towers Mall and\ the Buck Mountain Grille on U.S. 220 South, recommends both the Cuisinart Mini Prep processor, which she uses at home, and the Cuisinart Custom 11, which she uses in the restaurants, for cutting and chopping chores.
She said she cooks her restaurants' beans as well as many of her family's meals in slow cookers, and prefers those with high and low settings over models with specific temperature controls. And she gives the Kitchen Aid mixer five stars for handling everything from whipped cream, mashed potatoes and pudding to her restaurants' renowned cakes, cookies and breads. "A bread machine can in no way match the crusty, chewy loaf one can get from a good mixing done by the Kitchen Aid and then baking it in a hot moist oven," Robison wrote.
A few readers wanted to know the merits of one product over another. Product preference really is a very personal matter, driven by individual factors. Consumer Reports magazine, available at public libraries, does excellent comparison studies of different brands of products and provides solid information and practical insight on which consumers can base purchase decisions. Consumer Guide magazine conducts similar studies but is not as readily available in the Roanoke Valley.
There are some basic factors to consider no matter what appliance you're considering. Rule one is that an appliance that occupies too much space to conveniently leave sitting out or that is too complicated to assemble, disassemble and clean probably won't get used much. Another thing to look at is how well the appliance does what it is intended to do. For example, forget its 14 speeds and extra attachments. How well does a blender blend, whip and puree? Never mind that it comes in 12 decorator colors; does a toaster turn out warm evenly browned bread? And if it's a wide-slot model, is the slot the minimum 11/8-inch required to accommodate most thick breads and pastries?
Other things to look at include how well an appliance handles simple as well as more complicated ingredients and/or tasks. How easy it is to load, operate and clean, and how much noise it makes while operating. The last consideration might be especially important in the case of, say, a breadmaker that's going to be programmed to cut on in the wee hours of the morning.
Almost all appliances come in varying degrees of sophistication. But remember that extras cost extra, and seriously weigh whether you really want or need them. Finally, remember that most people want appliances to help them ease and or/improve food preparation while shortening the time they spend doing it.
Speed enticed me to test the One Minute Grill Express, which manufacturer Creative Technologies Corp. of Brooklyn, N.Y., said would grill various meats, poultry and fish in roughly one to three minutes; most vegetables and breads in less than one minute. The grill indeed delivered moist, flavorful meats and vegetables with little smoking or odor in almost no time at all.
In fact, the first time I used it, two steaks were done to perfection before a half-package of frozen corn could finish its four minutes cooking in the microwave.
Unfortunately, also the first time I used it, the cooking time I'd saved was spent cleaning the grill.
Overall, the unit is small, lightweight and based on a good idea that needs refinement. The instructional video is nice, but since my and most people's VCRs are not in their kitchens, it would be better to have a good set of written instructions to which a new user could easily refer.
Although I got better with practice, cleanup is still slowed by an electrical cord that gets in the way and by the unit's somewhat awkward top grill attachment. Finally, a few recipes to help guide the novice would be better than trying to wing it, which I was left to do.
Another item sent for testing was Niche Marketing Inc.'s Heatwave Microwaveable Hotplate. The heat-absorbing tile set in a nonheat-absorbing square, once warmed in the microwave, without cords or batteries keeps foods hot for roughly 30 minutes. The hot plate would be especially useful on a walk-around buffet or a counter without electrical-outlet access. The product would be better if its heat surface was larger and if it had handles to ensure you don't touch its hot part.
So don't just sit there; time's a' tolling. And Santa, if you're reading this, I wouldn't mind a breadmaker, a rectangular slow cooker and a wide-slot toaster myself.
by CNB