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BUYER'S GUIDE www.kitchenwarenews.com n APRIL 2017 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW 1 9 Buyer's Guide Salad Tools LUNCH ON THE GO CONTAINER SET WITH REMOVABLE ICE PACK Fit & Fresh Lunch Containers make bringing fresh, healthy lunches to school or work convenient. Included is a large reusable ice pack that snaps into the lid or sits in the middle of the container, keeping food cool and fresh for hours. Separate lids and containers allow for individual storage and transport of meals, or to carry them all to- gether in a single box. Freezer, dishwasher and microwave-safe, PVC-free and BPA-free. Suggested retail price: $9.99 Fit & Fresh 401.273.0444 www.fit-fresh.com TRUDEAU TOMATO HULLER Keeping delicate tomatoes intact while efficiently removing cores and stems can be a time-consuming challenge that often ends in a mushy mess. Master the task in one slick step with this handy Tomato Huller. It improves the taste of a tomato by removing the bitter core. The stain- less steel tube easily separates the fibrous core and top stem; then users just press the silicone bulb to effortlessly eject them. After tomato time, tidy up in no time thanks to smart take-apart construction. Fresh tomatoes stay at their tasty and beautiful, best for canning sauces, sal- ads and much more. Suggested retail price: $9.99 Trudeau Corporation 888.887.8332 www.trudeau.com ZYLISS FAST CUT HERB TOOL Fresh herbs are a quick and easy way to add flavor to your favorite meal. But the time and effort it takes to chop and mince fresh herbs can prevent home cooks from incorporating herbs into their favorite dish. Designed to make quick work of mincing herbs, the award-winning Zyliss FastCut Herb Tool glides effortlessly through herbs to chop with speed and ease. Suggested retail price: $16.99 DKB Household USA 888.794.7623 www.zyliss.com SALAD HANDS Now you can use your hands to toss a salad and not gross out guests. These bamboo salad hands are designed er- gonomically for a perfect fit, and feature a small knob that allows them to rest on the side of a bowl. Bamboo is shown to be harder than maple and lighter than oak. It's sustainable and cost-effective. Suggested retail price: $10.00 Totally Bamboo www.totallybamboo.com 760.471.6600 Growing Herbs Indoors Gets Easier, More Popular ZBY GREG GONZALES Looks like the word is out on growing fresh herbs at home. More Millennials are taking up gardening, and indoor gardening, according to the 2016 National Gardening Survey by Harris Poll. Six million US consumers started their own gardens last year, and 5 million of them were Millennials. Fresh herbs make food taste better, they smell great and they add oxygen to the air, and there are plenty of simple tools to get your own garden started. Whatever the reason more people are gardening indoors, Jimmy Morales, Social Media Manager at Sunlight Supply Company, says a fifth of the company 's sales come f rom the kind of consumers looking to grow herbs or other plants in their home kitchens. Morales recommended a propagation kit, which usually involves using cuttings f rom adult plants. "If you can use a propagation method, starting that way is really easy," he said. "If you're using seeds, you can use the same kit, but you might need stronger lighting. Besides that, watch your water, humidity, how the plants like it." For kitchens without sunlight, Sunlight Supply Company offers propagation kits like the kind recommended by Morales, which include lights. The company 's SunBlaster NanoDome Combo kit comes with one 18-inch T5 HO SunBlaster NanoTech light fixture, which rests over the 7-inch-high clear plastic dome fit to a 10-inch by 20-inch tray. The kit also comes in a two-pack. "There are lights that sink into a dome and give the plants the start they need," said Morales. "Once they're more established, they can go outside in the sun. If you have no sunlight options, you can use florescent lights, where you can still grow inside but you don't need a mega industrial setup." Morales also recommended the Super Sprouter Premium Heated Propagation Kit with 7-Inch Dome and T5 Light, which is the same as the combo kit, but comes with a heat mat and clonex rooting solution. Kits by Sunlight Supply have a professional grower look, with black trays and clear domes. For the kitchen with sunlight, Sagaform offers several modern planters and pots, including its domed planter on a stand. With the dome on, it 's an egg-shaped, miniature greenhouse, perfect to start herbs or flowers right on the kitchen counter. The dome helps plants grow faster; when the plant is grown, users simply remove the glass dome to let the plant grow out, or move it to a bigger planter. Sagaform also offers a modern-design ceramic herb pot in single, duo and trio sizes. The plants are watered f rom below in this pot, allowing the herbs to draw water upward through the roots, which allows them to live longer. "With these, you just fill the bottom with water and the plants just drink when they're ready," said Ingerid Mohn, President of Sagaform. " You just watch them grow." West Elm also offers modern looks for indoor herb gardens. Its Ceramic Wallscape Planters display plants like works of art, and save space on busy kitchen counters. West Elm's Hanging Metal Planters, Light Wood Centerpiece and Prism Plant Stand also provide stylish space-saving options for indoor plants. To add even more life to the kitchen, Back to the Roots offers a 3-gallon fish tank — and also grows herbs and sprouts on top. The Water Garden 2.0 is a self- cleaning fish tank, and a miniature aquaponics ecosystem. The fish feed the plants and the plants clean the water, so there's no need to change the water or clean the tank by hand. The Water Garden comes with gravel, organic seeds and grow stones, natural fertilizer, a coupon for a Betta fish, fish food, and a water pump. "Growing herbs has absolutely gotten to be a lot bigger since we introduced the pots," said Mohn, after explaining that the company launched its first indoor herb pots ten years ago. She attributes the popularity to healthy eating trends. "We're trying to eat healthy, and f resh herbs add great taste without adding calories. Growing something indoors can be emotional as well — it gives you a green plant inside, in the winter, when it's dark and gray outside." It's not just Millennials who like to have herbs in the kitchen, either. "It seems to be just about everyone," said Mohn. "There's a huge difference in taste with f resh versus dried. The flavor of f resh herbs is amazing compared to dry. With a dried herb, you need more to get the same flavor. With a f resh herb, you have the smell as well, the smell of f resh mint or f resh basil adds to the dish, and you can't get those smells with dried herbs." KN

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