April 10th, 2012
Appliances Online has teamed up with classy Italian appliance maker, Emila, to give away an Emilia gas oven. Entering the competition is as easy as cooking with gas. The Facebook entry asks what you would cook with such a snazzy oven and hey presto, you're in to win. The 60-centimetre Gas Fan Oven (EMF61MVI) is a little beauty, too. Made in Italy, this oven usually retails for $1,299, although ... Read more
April 10th, 2012
Wake up and smell the good brews! A Seattle company, Zipwhip, has invented a coffee machine that receives orders via SMS to grind, brew and pour automatically. Thank smart thinkers in Seattle, the city that came up with Starbucks, for the magic machine. It's called Textpresso, and the genius design uses an adapted Jura machine to service the coffee addiction of a 20-odd person office. If they ever ... Read more
April 4th, 2012
Why leave it up to a factory in China to tell you that "Life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change," or "Enjoy yourself while you can," or "If your cookie is still in one piece buy Lotto". Instead, decide your own delicious destiny with a personal fortune cookie maker. Not yet available in Australia, the Sunbeam Cookie Maker (FPSBFCM40) gives you the power ... Read more
April 3rd, 2012
Winning is as easy as picking your favourite colour. If an all white or stainless steel kitchen is a little ordinary for your tastes then get in for the chance to win a set of colourful benchtop appliances from Morphy Richards. The competition is to promote a new brightly coloured Special Edition kettle and toaster. The colour of the set will be determined by the most popular colour ... Read more
April 2nd, 2012
As the fanfare over My Kitchen Rules subsides, MasterChef is sharpening its knives in preparation to air after Easter. Apparently, it will be watched by Australia's most confident people. New data by Roy Morgan Research suggests more optimistic people watch the cooking show than any other programme on TV. The researchers measured people's feelings about their financial outlook and found MasterChef viewers to be the most positive about ... Read more
March 30th, 2012
If a cook is only as good as their appliances then My Kitchen Rules' South Australian champions Leigh and Jennifer owe a special thanks to Sunbeam. The show has been a hit drawing an audience of 2.7 million in its last week and Channel 7 along with the programme's sponsors are tickled pink. Sunbeam, the small appliance sponsor, said it's appliances were put to the test alongside competitors ... Read more
March 29th, 2012
Take a break this Earth Hour by switching off your household appliances. This Saturday night at 8.30pm lights will be switched off around the world as millions unite in support of the annual environmental event – Earth Hour. It is also an opportunity to unplug domestic appliances and take a break from vacuuming, washing clothes and cooking. While at it, why not switch off from the online world? A ... Read more
March 28th, 2012
What's the difference between the 'use-by' and 'best before' dates? In Australia all packaged foods with a shelf life of under two years need to have either a 'use-by' or 'best before' date. More than anything, the dates stamped on boxes, wrappers or bottles will let you know how long the food will last before losing quality. Can I bend the rules? For 'best before' dates the short answer is ... Read more
March 28th, 2012
Drowsy while driving? A tiny yet mighty espresso maker is ready to keep people perky on the road. It's time to put down the thermos and welcome the portable espresso machine for cars. It's called Handpresso, no less. The Handpresso Auto E.S.E weighs less than a kilogramme and manages 16 bar pressure powered by a car's 12V cigarette lighter. Coffee connoisseurs (read: snobs) may be reassured by the company's ... Read more
March 26th, 2012
Bananas in the fridge turn black and look ugly. Good luck feeding your kids ugly fruit, right? So don't put them in the fridge. But what if you are a conscious consumer, the bananas are getting old, nobody is eating them, and you don't like wasting food? A banana's flavour and it's nutritional value won't be affected by the black peel unless the banana was unripe to start with. Why ... Read more
March 26th, 2012
Dyson has long been recognised for it's innovative technology and the new Hot+Cool fan doesn't disappoint. The blade-less fan heater uses Dyson's famed Air Multiplier technology. What appears to be the miraculous gushing out of air is actually a motor with turbocharger and jet engine technology that draws in air from grills around the base and pushes it out the other side. With the Hot+Cool fan, Dyson has ... Read more
March 22nd, 2012
When we're asked to think about how home appliances may work in the future we often fall back on ideas that will satisfy our inherent desire to do less. Yes, we are a lazy lot and we don't really want to use our energy handwashing clothes or dishes. So we recall The Jetsons and cross our fingers that robots like the lovely Rosie (right) will simply do everything ... Read more
March 21st, 2012
Switching from an electric oven to gas is a bold move, but one that you won't regret, says David Gilmore from Emilia Glem, the biggest selling cooker brand in Italy. Gilmore deals here in Australia with both electric and gas ovens and he breaks the differences between them into costs, the environment and cooking results. The cost of gas ovens Perhaps one of the most convincing arguments for buying ... Read more
March 20th, 2012
Smart, connected appliances may help spy agencies keep an eye on our movements and habits at home, says the head of the CIA, according to Wired.com. That's right, I spy with my little dishwasher! It might seem ridiculous to think that hackers, be they legit government spies or not, would be interested in knowing how many calories your meal in the oven has, or when the milk in ... Read more
March 20th, 2012
One in three Australians prefer to spend over $1,000 on their dishwasher, a survey has found. The independent survey by Canstar Blue has concluded that Australians would rather use a high end dishwasher to cut down on domestic chores. "Our research has shown of the one in two Australians who have dishwashers, a sizeable group place a great deal of importance on this popular kitchen appliance and will ... Read more