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With rice being the number one food eaten worldwide, it's no surprise that there are many high tech devices for preparing the perfect pot of starchy goodness. Even if rice isn't a part of your daily meals, this machine really raises the bar for what a rice cooker can help you accomplish ...

If you have a small kitchen and want to maximize counter space, or upgrade from an old slow cooker to a slick new feature packed model, then this might be the appliance for you.

The Multi-Cooker from Fagor combines three very useful cooking functions in one rather modern looking unit. ...

This is the pressure cooker for you if you either cook very large meals for the family or practice home canning. Either way, at 22-quarts it allows plenty of room for pressure cooking or pressure sterilizing the contents.

This pressure cooker from Mirro is constructed of polished aluminum. Not my first choice for ...

I have always loved the idea of these little stovetop espresso makers. They are very popular among the Italians, of whom it's said 9 out of 10 rely on one of these for their daily coffee fix. Very simple to use with any espresso grind coffee.

This is the most recent offering from ...

For the task of boiling water, there's really no easier method than an electric kettle. You don't even need a kitchen. Just water and an electrical outlet.

Electric kettles have been a standard kitchen appliance in England for decades. They are finally catching on in the United States with many models now ...

We are a funny bunch. The same folks who would never buy a deep fryer for their own use, wrinkling up the nose and dismissing the mere thought of such an unhealthy extravagance, happily nosh on french fries, donuts, and calamari when eating out.

Only a couple things worth remembering here:
One- Deep ...

Circulon continues to refine their cookware offerings with another variety of hard-anodized aluminum pan sets. The Elite Cookware set includes six pans with the proprietary nonstick finish, plus four stainless steel and glass fitted lids.

For the price, this is a rather good deal on a quality set of cookware. Circulon pioneered ...

Now I don't know about you, but I tend to be rather dubious of appliances whose name begins with Nostalgia. The indication right off is that they are emulating something fondly remembered from long ago, while completely ignoring the quality and craftsmanship that made the memory a fond one.

That being said, ...

Hamilton Beach really dominates the slow cooker market, due to their practical approach to addressing the needs of their customer base. The company slogan is Good Thinking and it tends to show in products such as this model.

Destined to be a workhorse in your kitchen, this slow cooker has a generous ...

Farberware has been manufacturing kitchen cookware for over a hundred years. It's good to see that they continue to update the line to keep current with modern trends. Although not innovative, the Millennium Soft Touch line has solid features and durable good looks for the price.

A good quality set of cookware is ...

If you feel that it's time to take your holiday cookie baking to a whole new level, maybe the time has come for you to get serious about your cookie making tools. You need a shooter -- a stainless steel cookie gun to help create all those fancy shaped treats that wow ...

Some things just never go out of style, like the soda siphon. First and foremost a home bar novelty, these lend a fun retro vibe to any occasion as well as being a practical alternative to bottled soda water.

These things have been around forever. Everyone has seen a soda siphon used ...

It seems every appliance manufacturer tries to outdo the other with their offering. Sometimes it's more power or features and often it's more competitively priced.

This food processor from Hamilton Beach promises more power AND better value than others on the market. The first thing you notice about the Big Mouth ...

Metrokane, makers of the popular Rabbit corkscrew, have updated and simplified the design with this style. Long known for their unique take on modern consumer barware, Metrokane has produced another tool for wine lovers seeking the best combination of ease of use and style.

Like the venerable mousetrap, there is always someone ...

For those that appreciate a coffee brewing system that involves no breakable carafe, yet still keeps the brew nice and hot for serving, this model in the Brewstation Plus line can provide the solution.

Hamilton Beach has a whole selection of Brewstation coffeemakers. The feature they all share is a dispensing system ...

Breville, the Australian appliance manufacturer known for their line of kitchen juicing machines, is becoming a name in the espresso maker market as well. The Cafe Roma Espresso Maker is getting high marks from users who appreciate the quality cup of Italian-style coffee it produces.

First, this is an attractive machine: ...

The time has come for induction cooking in the American kitchen. It's about time, some would say, as this method has been popular in more energy conscious countries in Asia and Europe for many years do to its high efficiency as a cooking method.

Many of us are not ready to ...

Everyone appreciates the idea of composting, that is rather than sending our organic kitchen waste to the landfill we convert it into rich garden mulch. However, in practice, most of us just can't get past the gross factor of hanging on to our kitchen scraps.

To make the kitchen collection process ...

I love cheesecake. Don't we all? Problem is that after three bites I can't handle any more of the rich sweetness. Tiny little cheesecakes? Problem solved.

The Norpro cheesecake pan will make a dozen of the little wonders at a time, not to mention little cakes of all variety as well as ...

Revere is certainly one of the better known manufacturers of cookware in the home kitchen. Did you know they can actually trace the roots of the present company all the way back to Paul Revere himself? That's some American manufacturing history.

Anyone who has spent time in the kitchen mixing up ingredients ...

NordicWare, the Minnesota company that was the first to bring you the bundt pan, brings out another product in their cookware line for baking up some popular Euro-goodies, just like you get at the local coffeeshop.

This pan takes any uncertainty out of the scone shaping process. Cast from heavy aluminum ...

This is a very smart little oven for your kitchen counter from DeLonghi in Italy. It has a very quick heat up time and simple digital controls, with a large easy to read display.

I really don't know why manufacturers still refer to these as toaster ovens. I don't know anyone who ...

Wow. Whether you say that in response to the steep price of this set of bowls, or the polished perfection they represent, you will be impressed with the quality from All-Clad.

The All-Clad company makes cookware for professionals and those seeking the same professional quality for their kitchens at home. These mixing ...

You don't have to be a professional cook or a baker to enjoy the perks that come with the job. Case in point- Anything you prepare and cook in these adorable little shapes will look as if you have been slaving away in the kitchen all day, a true ...

Taco salads rock. Crispy homemade lowfat taco salads at home REALLY rock. With these taco shell pans, you bake ordinary flour tortillas into taco salad shells in your oven.

Traditionally, crispy tortilla shells are made in a deep fryer, which gets them nice and crunchy, yet adds considerably to the fat content. Not ...

Cuisinart, the originator of the modern food processor, has so many different models of the same machine available today, they need someone in marketing to just say "enough already!" Currently there are more than twelve varieties available on their website.

Case in point, this model -- the Pro Custom 11. The ...

The idea of brewing coffee into a dispenser, then drawing it off into a cup is certainly not a new one. In fact the method is older than the coffeepot. (See coffee urn.) Still, this style of coffeemaker is all the rage lately with java junkies.

The Cuisinart Coffee-on-Demand has the features necessary to replace your ...

In the booming gourmet cookware industry, the race has been to find the best combination of durable high quality and reasonably low price. Calphalon has come tantalizingly close with their line of hard-anodized cookware with a strong scratch resistant nonstick coating.

This 12-inch fry pan is a good size for all around ...

The "Contemporary" line of cookware from Calphalon certainly draws attention for its unique shaped saucepans, such as this shallow model saucepan and lid combo.

The pan has a 2 1/2-quart capacity and a shape that gracefully curves outward rather than sticking to conventional saucepan rules of verticality. In fact, the pan's capacity ...

You won't miss this teakettle sitting on your stovetop. KitchenAid has come out with a line of very vibrantly colored kettles, and this is probably the most popular hue. It looks like a big ladybug in your kitchen!

This teakettle has a plentiful 2-quart capacity, and the lid is removable for filling. The ...

Many folks shopping for cookware balk at the high prices commanded by the All-Clad line. Chefs and cooking professionals don't, because we understand the value of a top quality tool. For me, a fry pan that won't let me down is worth its weight in gold. Otherwise known as a skillet, ...

This is an adorable countertop espresso maker from DeLonghi, although why they refer to it as "Retro" I cannot figure out. Espresso makers from the past looked to me like little steam engines torn from tiny farm tractors. In any case, this model is a compact, fairly uncomplicated coffee making machine for ...

Never one to be left out of the game, Cuisinart has entered the popcorn market with their own version of an old fashioned popcorn popper.

This is no hot air popping gadget; it requires you to add the oil of your choosing and the corn kernels. Then the heating element and motorized stirring ...

Anodized aluminum cookware has become very popular in the last few years. The technology of hard-anodizing aluminum produces a product that is very durable as well as being lighter and much less expensive than stainless steel.

This Chef's Classic set from Cuisinart is certainly a comprehensive combo of pots and pans. ...

For me a blender is judged by three criteria: power, simplicity and ease of cleaning. This model from Oster does pretty well on all three counts. This is a reproduction of a very popular blender style from long ago, no doubt to capitalize on the retro popularity of the look. It ...

This is the latest incarnation of the flagship food processor from Cuisinart. No streamlined euro-looks, no sophisticated controls, just a beefy food processing machine, now wearing a new suit of brushed stainless steel.

I believe the reason this model of food processor is still so popular is because Cuisinart gained our trust since ...

For those accustomed to having rice at every meal, the rice cooker is an indispensable part of the kitchen arsenal. For the rest of you who still cook the occasional batch of rice in a saucepan- with mixed results- you may want to consider one of these.

What a rice cooker provides ...

Pod people unite! This method of coffee making looks to be here to stay, as indicated by all the different brands and styles of coffee pods at my supermarket next to the regular coffee.

The Senseo machines were the first ones to be mass marketed in the US from what ...

These bowls from OXO SoftWorks are so smartly designed that after using them you begin to wish that every tool in your kitchen had a cool little black rubber handle on it. My first thought was that they looked like something from the kitchen on Star Trek.

We all have a few ...

For me there is something very comforting in the whistle of a tea kettle. Being an absent minded sort, I'll put the water on to boil and then wander off until the kettle hollers at me from the kitchen- HEY YOU, TIME FOR TEA!

This kettle certainly takes the prize for the longest ...

Well, it does appear that red is the new black, at least in kitchen appliances. Hamilton Beach has a whole line of color coordinated kitchenware for those of you craving a crimson covered countertop collection. Whew.

This coffeemaker has a solid feel to it and a cool retro vibe going on ...

Pyrex has always been a part of the kitchen for me. I grew up using Corningware bowls (a division of Pyrex) in my mother's house, and acquired a set when I lived in my first apartment via the local thrift store. That speaks as well to the durability of the product. ...

Heavy duty nonstick cookware isn't just for the stovetop anymore. Cuisinart has come to the rescue with a line of bakeware pans that promise to take whatever you can dish out...of them.

This cake pan is the classic size for most cake recipes, and just right for cornbread and carrot cake ...

Aah, Bundt cakes. Very popular in Minnesota, where I grew up. Everyone has at least two of these pans in their kitchen. The one you "borrowed from Mom" and never returned, and the one Mom gave you for Christmas in the hopes of getting hers back.

Cuisinart has produced a nice heavy ...

This juicer is one of those gadgets that you may see in a catalog and say "unnecessary and overpriced". Well, that's what I said anyway. Then I had the opportunity to try one out and fell in love with the gorgeous design and the thoughtful details that make this a big ...

The Breville line of juice extractors are a style known as "continuous centrifugal" juicers. Basically this means they use a rapidly spinning blade to grind up the produce, which is then thrown against the spinning perforated sides of the filter to draw out all the juice. The stainless steel filter is ...

This is a fully automatic toaster from DeLonghi. That means you just set the bread into the slots and the toaster activates, lowers the bread and toasts it to the preset darkness, and raises it back up with a beep to alert you that its ready.

Believe it or not, the fully ...

Something about the DeLonghi design lends itself to imitation. There are a few brands on the market now that share the look of this model. In the case of this Esclusivo Toaster, the look is so distinctive as to be more suited to a laboratory than a kitchen. My first ...

The Breville company has established themselves as a dominant force in the home juicer market, and this model is a good example of their approach. Highly functional as well as high tech in style, with multiple speeds for versatility.

The Ikon Juice Extractor is meant to look at home in the most ...

The Breville name is well known in the juicing world. This Australian company manufactures a line of no-nonsense juice extraction machines that typically get rave reviews for their ease of use and durability.

The Juice Fountain Plus is a good example. It has an 850-watt motor and two speed system. The high ...