gear

While trendy eco-friendly coated pans and great-grandma's famous cornbread skillet may get a lot of attention these days, it's time to reconsider cooking with stainless steel —high-quality stainless steel — when you're shopping for kitchen gear. High-quality meaning not the pan that came with your pre-boxed college dorm kitchen survival set. Nothing you can dent, really.Longstanding…

The myth of the juicer is strong, casting its own siren song: no more $10 bottles of green juice! Press your own blends! Live healthy! So easy to clean!In actuality, most household electric juicers are loud, frustrating to clean and include a baffling array of removable components that ultimately double the amount of countertop space the device requires to…

Like skinless franks and Mister Softee, cold brew is a summer staple. Far more than hot coffee diluted by ice cubes (don’t do that), it’s a highly caffeinated coffee concentrate, the result of steeping grounds in cold water for anywhere between 12 and 24 hours. Because hot water doesn’t come in contact with the grounds,…

When I was a kid, the groan of a vacuum sealer always filled my home. My family used one often to preserve venison meat (the result of my grandfather’s semi-successful deer hunts) and enormous bundles of chicken breasts (the result of always-successful Costco hauls). I’d watch my mother pack both at the kitchen table. She’d…

You know those long-term storage units? My New York City apartment is smaller than those. It's technically a studio, but by all accounts should have been listed as a temporary workspace that just so happens to fit a bed. But you should see the exposed brick! As it is, there's little room for cooking accessories.…

As the weather warms up in most parts of the country, the clock starts ticking on outdoor grilling season. This means one thing: If you don't already have a beautiful hunk of metal in your yard (or on your fire escape), it's time to find the grill that's right for you. This guide, covering 12…

An afternoon spent brewing homemade beer? Sounds like an ideal weekend plan to us. Created by “two guys with a beer-fueled dream,” HopBox Brewing Kits are perfect for brewing cider, mead and beer – whether you’re a veteran brewer or brewing your first ever batch. It appears our excitement is shared. As of yesterday afternoon,…

Last year, we kicked off Grilling Month with a guide matching grills to certain types of guys. Sorry for the brazen stereotyping, but it's all in the name of service. After all, as the weather warms up in most parts of the country, the clock starts ticking on outdoor grilling season. Which means that if…

For five days last week the floors of the massive Las Vegas Convention Center’s many halls were crowded with more than 150,000 journalists, bloggers and rascal-riding Diet Pepsi chuggers catching a glimpse at the latest technological innovations on display at the Consumer Electronics Show. The show acts as a barometer for the coming year in…

Got a game plan for this year’s Thanksgiving feast yet? For serious cooks, Turkey Day spreads can take days, or sometimes even weeks, to orchestrate. But whether this holiday is an opportunity to observe old family traditions or experiment with celebrity chefs’ newfangled recipes, the actual execution of the meal doesn’t need to take all…

It seems that almost every day another celebrity chef is endorsing a line of home goods and kitchenware, and the latest top toque to join the group is Cat Cora. Currently Cora can be seen judging cooking contestants on Bravo TV’s Around the World in 80 Plates, but how does the her own work stand…

If you’re into cooking, you’re into flavor. However, we often find ourselves being slaves to superficial seasonings alone — we paint thick ribbons of barbecue sauce on grilled fare, drown chicken breasts in segregated marinades of lemon and oil, and roll tenderloins through mounds of meticulously curated spice rubs. I can tell you that there’s…

I have to admit it. I’m in a dysfunctional relationship. I’m speaking of my long and tumultuous affair with non-stick frying pans. Yes, I have my stainless steel pans and cast iron ones, but I love nonstick for the ease of use, especially for making breakfast. I’m not too worried about the talk of them…