A water bottle that squeezes lemon? An all-in-one oil and vinegar dispenser? An ultra convenient mushroom slicer? These are just a few of the new and upcoming products we saw last weekend at the 2012 Home + Housewares show in Chicago. Read on for more:
Full Circle: A favorite around these parts, I was very excited about their Lemon Water On The Go bottle. How refreshing does that sound? Full Circle also introduced a glass water bottle, a compact, foldable dish rack and a foaming dish brush. (A platform-spring construction base generates foam when you dip or push down on the brush.)
Le Creuset: We already showed you Le Creuset's newest color Marseille Blue, and hinted at another big product launch for them: the Cafe Collection, their first foray into coffee and tea. The collection, available in Cherry, Truffle, and Marseille Blue, centers around a stoneware French press, with accompanying cappuccino and espresso cups, mugs, teaspoons, a sugar and creamer set, and a stoneware coffee canister.
Art+Cook: This relatively new kitchen tools company is the brainchild of Allan Ben, author of the 2004 book Art and Cook: Love Food, Live Design, Dream Art. These are kitchen tools for the design-inclined. A clean aesthetic, sleek packaging, and innovative tools (like the dual salt and pepper grinder) had me sufficiently intrigued. I'm anxious to review these tools to see if the quality matches up to the presentation.
Chef'n: A few years ago we reviewed Chef'n's Citrus Juicer, and while we were generally positive, our one con was the size: it was too small to juice larger citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits. Well, Chef'n has finally addressed that problem with the launch of their new Orange Juicer. Hurray! I was also excited about their new silicone pinch-squeeze bowls and the mushroom slicer. (I'm sorry, slicester.) Interested in knowing more about Chef'n? We toured their design studio here.
Prepara: You may be most familiar with Prepara's Herb Saver and their Tabletop Oil Mister, but they've been hard at work this past year developing a whole new line of products for the home chef, including the Topper Chopper (a kid's dream - put anything in and it chops it into sprinkles!), basting bottle and bowl sets, and a dish drying mat.
More Home + Housewares 2012 Posts
• KitchenAid Debuts Newest Colors: Crystal Blue and Frosted Pearl
• Huge Cookware News: Dansk Kobenstyle Is Coming Back Into Production!
• Staub's Newest Color: Saffron
• Kitchen Trends 2012: Juicy Neon Colors
• Le Creuset's Newest Color: Marseille Blue
(Images: Cambria Bold)
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Le Creuset aside, everything seems to be made of plastic.
Not anything I can't live without.
And doesn't anyone else notice that some of these particular items were already invented... in the 1950s? I mean, come on. The orange juicer and the "topper chopper" are nothing new. My grandma has an ancient nut grinder just like that and I've seen both vintage and new citrus juicers in antiques and modern stores. In fact, I've seen much nicer, enameled metal, appropriately sized juicers for oranges, lemons, and limes at a local grocery store which not only look more beautiful than this one but are probably more durable because they aren't made out of plastic. Although the one featured here appears to be geared and is perhaps easier to squeeze.
And the "bubble up dip brush" is basically a men's shaving brush, except much wider and with tougher bristles.
The lemon squeeze water bottle is kind of cute, but what if you only want a quarter of a lemon in your quart of water?
I'm not trying to be a debbie downer here, I just get sick of people saying "look at this new thing I made!" when it's exactly the same as something already invented 50-100+ years ago.
The slicester is interesting... I go through about two or three hard-boiled egg cutters a year because I slice mushrooms and strawberries in them! I don't get the point of it being hand-held, you could drop the mushroom out if you're holding it in mid-air!
I agree that there is alot of plastic!! Though, I will melt for anything silicone AND useful!!
Ciao,
L