Kitchen Gadgets

A standard basic kitchen upgrade would cost you a whole lot of cash. It should cost between $20,000 to $50,000.

However, upgrading your kitchen in an amazing way is not dependent on how much you can spend. It is more dependent on how innovative you can be.

Yes! That statement applies to old and new kitchens alike.

If you’ve been thinking of how to go about a kitchen upgrade, this article has come to your rescue; giving you loads of innovative ways to achieve your aim.

Here Are Some of Them:

Repaint Your Cabinets.

The process could begin with a simple paint job that you could do yourself. Giving your cabinet a few strokes of paint would make your kitchen look more majestic.

You can add personality to it by adding color. There are so many colors that you can choose to go with. The only limit to this is your creativity!

Make Use of Patterns

It could be as simple as vintage-inspired rug or lush floral wallpaper. This would make your kitchen (whether big or small) be more personal. You can mix things up if you want by trying both ideas simultaneously. The only thing you should be concerned about is having a mismatch of colors. Hence, it would be safe if you look for patterns that have a linking color between them.

Change Your Lighting.

Pendant lights can be a great introduction to your kitchen. You can think of them as jewelry for your kitchen. They can either stand out and be the focal point of your kitchen or be the thing that fuses all the designs in your kitchen.

Upgrade your accessories/hardware.

Once all the aesthetics are taken care of, you can now easily deal with the things that actually help you cook or help in inspiring the cooking atmosphere. For instance, a portable a/c window kit can just be what you need to chill the atmosphere in your kitchen.

You can change that blender or dish washer by selling it in yard sale and using your proceeds to get new ones. In fact, you can find a perfect replacement at a yard sale! You really do not have to splurge.

Add Color With Stools.

This is a creative option if you have an all-white or all-black kitchen. Standard stools are often sold in sets and are very expensive.  You can create that rainbow effect by using … Read the rest

If you are sick of your tired old kitchen cabinets but you can’t afford a new kitchen just yet, painting them can make all the difference in the world.

It’s simply amazing what a little paint can do anywhere in the home, but especially in the kitchen, where you spend so of your time.

It’s important that the color you choose goes well with the rest of your décor and that it’s a color you love, since it takes up so much of your visual space.

Let’s look at the top tips you can take advantage of so you can pick the perfect color for your kitchen cabinets.

Tip #1- Consider the Style of the Kitchen

The style of your kitchen is usually decided for you if you have not renovated since moving in. However, you can still work with any space by refacing your kitchen cabinets or getting custom woodwork made for you. Given the style you were either given or designed, you certainly wouldn’t want to put a metallic grey on country styled cabinets or paint those arts and craft style cabinets a sleek black.

Think about the style of cabinets you have now, the color of your countertops, and what colors you like in general. Traditional kitchens with classic styling look good in white or cream but if that sounds boring, remember that you can always spice things up with stencils or add some bold hardware for a new look.

More modern kitchens can one of the popular shades of grey or dark blue. If you have bold colored appliances, consider a white kitchen with those bold colored accents, such as red towels or yellow decorations.

Tip #2- Don’t Forget the Size

Remember that if you have a small or not well-lit kitchen, painting your cabinets a dark color will make the kitchen seem smaller and even dank looking! The smaller your kitchen, the more light it will need, so choose bright or light colors.

If you have a big kitchen, you can go with the new, more modern colors that tend to be darker, such as slate, dark blue, or forest green.

Tip #3- Consider Contrast

Contrast can be your best friend when it comes to choosing a color. If you have light colored tile or countertops, dark colored cabinets, such as black or dark chestnut, can create an eye-pleasing contrast.

Tip #4- Two-Tones

If … Read the rest

Knives are an important part of every kitchen. They come in handy from chopping vegetables, slicing fish and dicing meat.

Most people take them from granted, at least I did until they became dull. Then I realized how important they are.

A sharp knife is a joy to use, the delight of every chef.

On the contrary, a dull knife is a cutting nightmare – an accident waiting to happen. Yeah, you read that right, an accident waiting to happen.

Not all knives are created equally. There is no one-size-fits-all scenario. Using the right knife for the right job decreases how often you sharpen them.

To avoid this frustration which I once had, I’ll be sharing with you 5 ways to help you in sharpening your kitchen knives.

Contrary to popular belief, sharp knives are safer than dull ones.

Using a dull knife requires you to put in much more effort, applying much more pressure and when cutting at odd angles you risk losing your grip. The knife could fall from your hand, hitting you or someone else.

And all that because you wouldn’t bother spending a few minutes sharpening.

Did you know that sharp knives can even help your food taste better, I bet you didn’t? So here’s how it happens, sharp blades cut (not tear like dull ones) through the food evenly and gently, retaining all their juices.

Food cooks evenly, getting ready at the same rate when being cut to the same size. So your food not only looks good but also tastes good.

Another bonus when using a sharp knife is when cutting onions – fewer tears.

Advice for Sharpening Kitchen Knives

How To Tell Your Knife Needs Sharpening

First, though, you have to be able to tell when your knife needs sharpening.

There’s one way, it’s called the paper test. Basically, you cut through your normal paper, say your normal printer paper, with the knife, if it cuts easily, your knife is sharp enough.

If it doesn’t cut it or even tears it apart, it should have been sharpened ages ago.

There are many ways to go about this, we’ll see them below.

1. Sharpening Rod Method

Sometimes they are included with knife packs. it’s a 20-inch long metal rod (sometimes tapered) with a handle. It works as a file; therefore it can be used to hone your knife.

Now, don’t use this when … Read the rest

The majority of us like to share our meals. We place plenty of work to it, and it is our pride and pleasure.

It is excellent to visit our loved ones members and friends like a picnic table filled with joy we grilled. We take some opportunity to choose the best components, took the opportunity to purchase the ideal charcoal grill, why not rely on the charcoal?

Be fair, how much thought have you contributed to this charcoal you employ?

It tastes the meals, and charcoals exude flavors that are various, so it is a component on your recipes just like every other. It breathes life enveloping the beef using odor and smoky tastes.

It may make a large difference which means you should really cover which one that you use a little attention.

We share some facts the way can impact your food and what it comprises.

We will delve into the things you think about before buying and should know and why it is vital.

We are hoping that following this guide, you will feel next time you see those coals on your grill or grill.

Let us have a look at exactly what makes the lump charcoal and then jump in the pit, but until we perform:

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• Fogo All Natural Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal
• Rockwood Lump Charcoal
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• Royal Oak
• 100% Organic Lazzari Mesquite Charcoal
• Original Natural Charcoal

Notice: Clicking the above links may take you to additional information, current rates and customer testimonials on Amazon.

What’s Lump Charcoal?

Charcoal is made of hardwoods, burnt within an surroundings, including roughly 89 percent carbon and at first glance, seems like stained or burnt timber.

The practice isn’t quite as straightforward as it seems and it is labor intensive. It requires approximately 11/2 heaps of timber to generate roughly 90 lbs of timber or a 1/4 ton of charcoal to meet with out a bag.

Tree limbs are usually used by manufacturers, brief garbage from factories and at times logs. Before all that is left is that the carbon, they burn them.

Burning the timber within this fashion that is oxygen-free accomplishes it. The oils, water and alcohol that is volatile as charcoal leaving the’ burning’ golden we understand from timber.

On this charcoal manufacturer produces it to picture the procedure, you are … Read the rest

Stainless Steel Rice Cookers and rice steamers have taken the guesswork and the drama out of cooking rice in the kitchen. When you cook with a Rice Cooker you will never again wait in trepidation, wondering just how the rice is going to turn out. Companies such as Zojirushi, Aroma, Tiger and National/Panasonic have a range of rice cookers that will produce perfectly cooked rice every time.

While gas powered rice cookers are available, for domestic use most are electric, of which there are two main types. The first, simply known as an electric rice cooker, cooks and then in most case keeps your rice warm and fresh for anything between 4 and 24 hours. The second type, and this is where hi-tech electronics comes to the paddy field, are microprocessor controlled and are know as fuzzy logic rice cookers.

What’s the difference between the two you ask? Well price and convenience for a start. Besides that, an electric rice cooker is designed and calibrated mainly for easily cooking white rice and cooking it to a medium texture. Simply throw in a measured quantity of washed rice with the appropriate amount of water, switch to cook and Bob’s your uncle, 20 to 30 minutes later you will have perfect white rice.

You can very the texture of the cooked rice by varying the amount of water you cook with. Adding a little more water than is recommended results in a softer rice, a little less water, a harder, crunchier rice. Electric rice cookers will also cook other types of rice, such as brown and mixed, but you will need to follow your recipe book carefully and experiment with water levels.

A quick comparison of some Best Stainless Steel Rice Cookers

Name	Zojirushi NP-GBC05	Zojirushi NP-HBC10	Zojirushi NP-HBC18	Zojirushi NS-TSC10
	More Info..	More Info..	More Info..	More Info..
Capacity	3 cup	5 and ½ cup	10 cup	5 and ½ cup
key Features	User-Friendly LCD Panel with 7 Control Buttons; Detachable Cord for Convenient Storage	Healthy Cooking Options, cETLus Listed, FCC Standards Tested	Micro Computer Technology, Easy Clean-Up, cETLus listed	Micro Computerized Fuzzy Logic Technology; Reheating Cycles and Retractable Power Cord
Heat source	Superior IH Technology	Superior IH and Micro CH Technology	Superior IH Technology	Micro CH Technology
Programmable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-functional	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weight	8.8 pounds	10.1 pounds	9 pounds	9.8 pounds
Timer	2 hours delay