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GENERAL NEWS www.kitchenwarenews.com n NOVEMBER 2014 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW BY LORRIE BAUMANN Mad Millie is now offering to the American market cheese making kits stocked with almost ever ything a beginning cheese maker would need to have to make their own ricotta, burrata or cheddar. The New Zealand company also offers cider kits with everything necessary to create a holiday buzz with the flavors of fall. The cheese making kits don't take away all of the risk of failure, but they increase the odds that even a complete novice can successfully turn grocer y store milk or goat's milk f resh f rom the dairy into an artisanal cheese, says Mad Millie Sales Director for North America, Adam Southard. "It's better to start off with a step-by-step set of instructions because it 's not necessarily intuitive. The things that affect the flavor and the type of cheese you make add in a lot of variables. That affects flavor and the quality of the cheese that you end up with. I don't think people realize that the difference between a cheddar and a cream cheese is partly the temperature of the milk. It uses the same cultures – it 's the aging time and the temperature of the milk that are the two things that affect the consistency of the cheese." Each Mad Millie kit contains the mesophilic cultures and the equipment to make a few different cheeses along with step-by-step instructions to walk the novice through making the first few cheeses. Everything's in the box except the milk and the stainless steel pot. "If you're going to make cheese without a kit for the first time, you'll need to buy a thermometer, the cultures, which are not widely available, the cheese cloth and the plastic molds, which are not something you cannot just go pick up at your local store. The kits contain a number of things that you have to have but that are not necessarily easily accessible," Southard says. Mad Millie's kits now available in the U.S., include Artisan Cheese, Italian Cheese and Fresh Cheese kits as well as the Millie's Fromage Kit, which is packaged specifically as a gift with a round cheese box, ceramic bowl, the cheese mold for a feta, the thermometer and the consumables and instructions for feta, oil and herb marinated feta and queso f resco. The ceramic bowl and top acts as a rudimentary cheese press for shaping the Almost Everything But the Crackers queso f resco. Suitable for a complete beginner, the Millie's Fromage Kit retails for $39. With the right kit, making a cheese takes about two or three hours of active cheese making followed by additional time to age and cure. Time for that depends on the specific cheese that 's being made. "Mozzarella takes one to one and a half hours. Feta takes 24-48 hours because it has to brine. Cheddar takes a month, at a minimum, to allow the cheese to ripen, and the flavor to develop," Southard says. The Italian Cheese Kit retails for $29.95 and will make mozzarella, ricotta, ricotta salata, burrata and mascarpone. The Mad Millie Fresh Cheese Kit retails for $42 and will make feta, halloumi, cream cheese, cottage cheese, quark and chevre. Quark is a f resh cheese similar to cottage cheese or farmer cheese. "This is the kit to buy as an entr y into cultured cheeses. This is something that we're pretty proud of, that we've invented the process to maintain the cheese cultures' viability on the shelf, in a convenient amount which is designed especially for home cheese makers," Southard says. The Artisan Cheese Kit contains everything a cheese maker needs to make every kind of cheese imaginable, except the blue and white mold cheeses, for which specialty mold spores would have to be acquired f rom another vendor. It makes all of the cheeses in the Italian Cheese Kit, all of the cheeses in the Fresh Cheese Kit, as well as cultured butter, Colby, cheddar, Havarti and a cheese in the Wensleydale style beloved by Wallace and Gromit as well as wax and a cheese press. It retails for $129.99. The Mad Millie Cider Starter Kit retails for $140 and includes the bottles, fermenter and first lot of ingredients – everything you need to make that first bottle of hard cider, which can be ready to drink in three weeks. Refill kits for apple, pear, strawberry ciders and elderflower ale retail for $33 and will make 2.5 gallons, or about four six-packs. Kits are sold online and in specialty stores. The company does not have a direct retail channel. For more information and customer support contacts, visit www.madmillie.com. For wholesale inquiries, call Southard at 503.739.3070. General News 3 AB Electrolux has entered into an agreement to acquire the appliances business of General Electric for $3.3 billion in cash. "This is an historic moment and important strategic move for the Electrolux Group, which takes our company to a new level in terms of global reach and market coverage. GE's premium, high-quality appliances complement our own iconic brands and will enhance our presence in North America," said Keith McLoughlin, President and CEO of Electrolux. "The acquisition, which is our largest ever, strengthens our commitment to the appliance business and also provides Electrolux with the scale and opportunity to accelerate our investments in innovation and global growth." Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, said, "Electrolux is the right global business for our customers, consumers and employees. GE Appliances' people, valuable home appliances brand, products, distribution, and service capabilities make it a perfect fit with Electrolux and its goal of accelerating growth in the U.S." GE Appliances is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and generates more than 90 percent of its revenue in North America. GE Appliances' product portfolio includes ref rigerators, f reezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. Its revenue split by major product category is approximately 35 percent cooking, 25 percent refrigeration, 20 percent Electrolux to Acquire GE Appliances laundry, 10 percent dishwashers and 10 percent home comfort (air conditioning). The company operates its own distribution and logistics network and has nine well- invested manufacturing facilities with 12,000 employees. The acquisition includes a 48.4 percent shareholding in the Mexican appliance company Mabe. For nearly 30 years, GE Appliances has had a joint venture with Mabe in Mexico, where Mabe develops and manufactures portions of GE Appliances' product offering. Electrolux has secured the right to the GE Appliances brands through a long term license agreement with GE. GE Appliances' nationwide distribution and logistics network also provides an opportunity to offer an even wider range of products to a broader consumer base. "GE Appliances is a well-run operation with strong capabilities in key areas such as R&D, engineering, supply chain and customer service, and we look forward to joining forces with their team of talented and competent people," Keith McLoughlin said. The transaction is expected to generate annual cost synergies of approximately $300 million. One-off implementation costs and capital expenditures are estimated to be $300 million and $50-70 million respectively. The largest parts of the synergies are expected in sourcing, operations, logistics and brands. The deal is structured primarily as an asset transaction. Completion of the transaction is mainly subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition is expected to close during 2015. Electrolux has agreed to pay a termination fee of $175 million in certain circumstances involving the failure to obtain regulatory approvals. Tapping into nearly a century of iconic design, innovation and craftsmanship, KitchenAid has introduced a line of six professionally-inspired gas cooktops representing a new level of premium aesthetics and performance for the brand. "Just as automotive companies design specific models for car enthusiasts, our goal with these newest cooktops is to catch the eye and raise the pulse of cooking enthusiasts with easily visible upgrades in craftsmanship, performance and fit, feel and finish," said Beth Robinson, Senior Manager of Brand Experience for KitchenAid. "The kitchen may be the heart of the home, but it's the cooktop that 's the heart of the kitchen, which for cooks makes it the single most important vehicle for expressing their passion and creativity." Designed to meet a wide range of cooking needs, these latest cooktops are equipped with a variety of burners ranging from 5,000 to KitchenAid Gas Cooktops Designed for Cooking Enthusiasts 20,000 BTUs. Depending on the model, all- purpose multiflame or professional dual ring burners allow cooks to go from a boil to a simmer without changing burners. For more control of the flame at the lowest setting, a diffuser plate incorporated into an Even- Heat™ simmer burner allows for more precise simmering and melting of sauces, butter, chocolate and other delicate ingredients. To help protect the cooktops from spills and stains that may occur with high- temperature cooking – and to ensure they will look clean and bright longer – the new models feature CookShield, a permanent finish that makes it easy to wipe surfaces clean without harsh chemicals. The new cooktops, available in 30-inch and 36-inch models, combine professional- style design with a number of sleek and practical touches more suitable for the home. Each features multi-finish knobs with a unique barrel design for precise dialing, a non-slip brushed metal surface, sleek chrome highlights, and an easy-to-clean satin texture. In certain models, the knobs incorporate LED back lighting that glows elegantly from the bezel, both for visual effect and to indicate when the cooktop is turned on. All models feature full-width cast iron grates, electronic ignition and LP conversion kits for use with LP gas. Two models offer a removable, non-stick griddle. The new KitchenAid gas cooktops carry suggested retail prices of $1,099 to $1,899.

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