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Kitchenware News June 2017

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News ..............................................5 Ad Index .......................................22 www.kitchenwarenews.com BY MICAH CHEEK Cook's Pots and Tabletops makes its mark with experience. The store, located in Eugene, Oregon, is run by veterans of both the kitchenware and restaurant industry, and is curated with only items that the store's employees have personally tested and approved. " We think of our function is to act as a curator to sort through the maze of what's available, and to address the reasons why we think a product may be better than the alternative," says Keith Ellis, Co- Tabletop of the Line Continued on PAGE 5 Continued on PAGE 6 Continued on PAGE 14 Continued on PAGE 8 Owner of Cook's Pots and Tabletops. The other Co-Owner, Kathy Campbell, founded the store in 1995, and has been in the cookware business and a cooking school operator and cookbook judge for almost 40 years. Cook's plays double duty as kitchenware store and cooking school. " We actually use everything that we sell. If we encounter a new product or cookware line, we' ll always insist on testing them in our kitchen first," says Ellis. "We have three ovens, a four-burner range, two dishwashers and all the equipment that we use in the school we sell on the floor." Nearby chefs, vendor representatives and local vendors are in rotation to teach cooking classes in the store's 400 foot BY MICAH CHEEK Polished steel and fancy attachments might be the order of the day for some, but there's nothing like the rustic look of stoneware. Stoneware's timeless look and all around utility are making pieces a must-have item for some Baby Boomers. One of the big boosts for stoneware's popularity has been the growing interest in another material: cast iron. Cast iron's even heating and oven-to-table capabilities are offset by the fact that the pieces are heavy, often too heavy to be convenient for older consumers, people who aren't interested in pumping iron Building Bento Boxes: Lunches With Character every time they want to cook a meal. "[Stoneware] is 20 percent lighter than enameled cast iron," says Tara Steffen, National Marketing and Sales Manager of Emile Henry. The thick walls of stoneware can provide many of the benefits cast iron without the weight and tricky cleaning processes. The clay retains heat well, and distributes that heat evenly f rom all sides. This makes lidded stoneware a great option for one pot meals. "It's an easy way, you put everything in one pot," says Rita Bolle, President, Reston Lloyd. "Most people think Römertopf is a meat-only roaster, but you can do bread, vegetables, even roasted apples." Unglazed stoneware also has the ability to provide a high moisture cooking environment. To see why, you have to look at the pores in the clay. These tiny holes and air pockets soak up water, and release it as water vapor when heated. While BY MICAH CHEEK It's time for parents to prepare their kids for college, and kitchenware has an important place in keeping students fed and happy. College housing is notoriously fickle about what kinds of appliances are allowed inside. One major college forbids the use of all of the following for use inside a dorm room: Coffee makers, hot plates, toasters, toaster ovens, popcorn poppers and any other electrical appliance with a heating element. This leaves students with only a microwave if they don't want to use a hall kitchen. Luckily, the microwave doesn't have to limit a student to Hot Pockets. Silicone and plastic steamers and microwave containers like those from Lekue make it easy to steam vegetables, cook eggs and even boil pasta using only the microwave. For more information, visit www.lekueusa.com. Approved appliances can be used in hall kitchens, and having a stovetop or an oven available opens up lots of options. Chef Will Brown f rom Atlanta, Georgia recommends some basic tools to get the best out of a kitchen when pressed for time and space. Having one appliance that can complete a number of tasks is a big help. Brown recommends a pressure cooker with some smart technology to make things easier. "You're able to make three to four meals in minutes. It measures everything for you. You put it in the pot and it weighs it and sets the time for you," says Brown. The new Electric Pressure Cooker f rom T-fal is designed to function as a versatile and easy-to-use tool in the home kitchen. The pressure cooker has 12 automatic functions, including Rice, GENERAL NEWS n Hestan 5 SMALL ELECTRICS n Smoothtouch 21 THE PANTRY n Chocolate Companies 18 NONSTICK COOKWARE n 13 THE KNIFE RACK n Edgecraft 20 BUYER'S GUIDE n Lunch Boxes 17 TRADESHOW CALENDAR n Upcoming Shows 22 H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w KITCHENWARE NEWS Keeping College Kids Cooking A Feat of Clay BY GREG GONZALES Parents invent all kinds of creative ways to connect with their kids, and that includes packing a special lunch. Some have taken packed lunches to an arts and crafts level, sculpting their kids' favorite characters using the food. Bento boxes, which originated as takeout containers in Japan, are the blank canvas with which they work. Entire blogs and classes are dedicated to packing bento boxes. Tightly packed, colorful and creative, the boxes allow parents to pack a lunch that's both fun and healthy. "The thing I like about them is you can really see what you're packing in your kids' lunch," said Beau Coff ron, a blogger better known as The Lunchbox Dad. Coff ron began making character-themed lunches for his kindergarten-age daughter almost five years ago, and has continued making them for her and his other kids as they 've grown, adding pictures and tips of his creations to the blog. " W hether it 's a character-themed lunch or just a regular normal lunch, we use them ever y day in our household," he said. "You can see how much f ruit and vegetables you're putting in, how much of each food group. It helps you to VOLUME 23, NUMBER 6 JUNE 2017 n $7.00 THE PANTRY: STONEWALL KITCHEN SEE PAGE 18 GADGET OF THE MONTH: INGENUITEA SEE PAGE 22 SMALL ELECTRICS: WORK SHARP SEE PAGE 21

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