appliances

27
Sep
2016

8 Essential Non-Electric Appliances for Your Kitchen

8 Essential Non-Electric Appliances for the Kitchen

Do you want to try off-grid living, but are afraid of the lifestyle extreme change? Why not experiment with some non-electric appliances? Simply switching to non-electric appliances in your kitchen can put some extra money in your pocket as they shave vital pounds and pence of your utility bills.

The number of non-electric appliances available will suprise you

Our top pick

A pasta maker is essential if you love pasta. And, since homemade pasta is one of the easiest things to cook, it’s a good place to start if you’re contemplating off-grid living. Remember: The quality of the pasta depends on the quality of the ingredients, and your kneading technique. If you don’t knead correctly, your pasta will be sticky.

Most pasta makers are adjustable, so you can make perfect lasagne, cannelloni, ravioli, ribbon noodles, and fettuccine, etc. In no time at all you’ll be making pasta good enough to impress Marcus Wareing on MasterChef: The Professionals.

Non-electric appliances you might already own

Many of our existing kitchen appliances don’t need electricity. There are also several affordable options available, so you can really embrace retro living.

  1. Coffee percolator. They make delicious coffee and are convenient for camping trips. Percolators are easy to use, simply add water, ground coffee beans and a filter and leave it on a heat source (a fire for non-electric living) for 5 – 10 minutes, depending on how strong you like your coffee.
  2. French press: This is another coffee maker that is as easy to use as a percolator. Simply boil water on a heat source (a gas stove or open fire), and pour over coffee grounds. Let it steep for around five minutes and then push the plunger down to get all the grounds to the bottom. Pour and serve.
  3. Manual mixer. Twist the handle and watch the beaters whirl. It’s great for beating eggs, whipping cream and making batter.
  4. Hand flour mill. Got gluten issues? Then use one of these babies to turn oats, rice or chickpeas into flour.
  5. Dough maker. Of course you can knead dough by hand, but why not try a non-electric bread maker to speed things up a bit. Simply add the ingredients, crank the mixture and enjoy perfectly kneaded dough.
  6. Food strainer. Many people have a food strainer occupying the back of the cupboard. It’s great for making your own sauces, juices and jams. All you need do is cut up fruit, drop them in and start turning. You don’t need to peel or core the fruit, as the strainer will do all the separating for you.
  7. Manual food processor. A twist of the handle turns multiple blades rapidly, producing the same great results as an electric food processor. A number of blades allow you to cut, dice and blend as desired.
  8. Zeer clay pot fridge. You’re unlikely to have one of these lying around, but they’re great way to keeping food cool. You put one terracotta pot inside another and fill the space between with wet sand. As the water evaporates, it pulls heat from the pot inside and makes it cooler than the air outside.

The bottom line

Let’s not muck about, eschewing electricity for manually-operated appliances does feel like a bit of a step backward. Technology advances for a reason – to make life easier. Using elbow grease is not easier than flipping a switch or pressing a button. Depending on how passionate you are about your cooking, however, it can be more satisfying when you know the meal produced is the result of authentic hard work.

If you’re passionate about saving energy and going green, non-electric appliances also hold certain appeal. And, if you’re in the position where every penny saved is a penny earned, you can’t shrug off the money-saving benefits of putting electricity on the back burner.

Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles
28
Jul
2016

18 of the Best Selling Home & Kitchen Appliances

18 of the Best Selling Home & Kitchen Appliances

Every now and then it’s nice to check in to see what other people are buying, either to see if you’re missing out on something wonderful and life-changing or because you’re in the market for new kitchen appliances and need some advice or ideas on what makes and models are likely to meet your needs.

We’re going to look at some of the best selling home and kitchen appliances on Amazon, so not only can you see what other people are buying, but you can also easily click for your own purchases.

In no particular order, 18 of the top selling home and kitchen appliances include:

  1. ProBreeze® Garment Steamer

The steamer heats up so quickly that you can go from a cold start to steaming in less than one minute. Its nozzle ensures steam is directed to the right spot and is distributed evenly so you can get rid of wrinkles without creating more. It’s portable and works on a range of fabrics, including cotton, wool, linen, polyester, nylon, sequins, beads, embroidery, and upholstery. It has an auto safety shut-off.

Expect to pay between £40 and £60.

  1. Breville VBL062 Blend Active Personal Blender

You don’t have to wonder about what to do with leftovers with this personal blender as it makes just enough to fit in the sports bottle provided. Crush ice and mix smoothies, juices and shakes to your heart’s content and don’t worry about the washing up – blades and blending bottles are dishwasher safe.

Expect to pay between £20 and £30.

  1. Q-Connect 760mm, 30” Tower Fan

‘Tis the season for cooling down; of course fans are top sellers. This model rotates or can be fixed in a direction so you can choose your airflow. It’s great for large open spaces and comes with adjustable settings.

Expect to pay between £30 and £60.

  1. Numatic HVR200-12 Henry Vacuum Cleaner

With 9l capacity and reduced sound, this is a great vacuum cleaner that is worth its weight in gold. It has an A energy rating, extra suction, can be used on different flooring surfaces, and is easy to push around.

Expect to pay between £100 and £170.

  1. Morphy Richards 42244 Jet Steam Generator Iron

It’s expensive but boy is it worth it with a diamond soleplate that makes it durable and also makes it easy to glide over clothing without ironing in creases – great for the ironing-challenged. It also comes with removable anti-scale cartridges.

Expect to pay between £50 (great special offer) and £200.

  1. Russell Hobbs 21370 Steamglide Professional Iron

Once again the ironing-challenged can rejoice as this iron is designed for dummies. It’s got a soft-touch comfort grip (no hand cramps) and a ceramic soleplate that glides beautifully and which is also durable, non-stick and efficient thanks to even heat distribution. Best of all, it’s self-cleaning.

Expect to pay between £24 and £60.

  1. Russell Hobbs 20070 Cambridge Kettle

Elegant stainless-steel, the Cambridge Kettle allows you to boil water for one cup in 45 seconds. Its total capacity is 1.7l and it has a concealed heating element and removable filter that is easy to wash.

Expect to pay between £16 and £20.

  1. Amir® Digital Kitchen Scale

Elegant in black, with an LCD display and slim design, this scale has precision sensors so you can get exactly the weight you want, which is especially important if you’re a keen baker. It’s easy to clean and has a ‘zero’ function, so you can bring the scale back to zero even when the bowl is full of flour, butter and sugar.

Expect to pay between £10 and £30.

  1. VonHaus 2-in1 Upright Stick & Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

Offering the ultimate in convenience, the VonHaus comes with HEPA and sponge filtration and a crevice tool, so you can get into virtually any nook and cranny. It has a mid-level, 1.3l, but it’s easy to clean and thanks to the filtration is hygienic.

Expect to pay between £18 and £35.

  1. Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker

Coffee in one minute, how great is that? And it’s not instant coffee either; instead you can savour creamy, rich-flavoured coffee without any trace of a bitter aftertaste. The AeroPress uses a unique brewing system that delivers perfect cup after cup of coffee. It’s also no mess no fuss.

Expect to pay between £23 and £28.

  1. George Foreman 20840 5-Portion Family Grill

George Foreman is at it again, cooking tasty, low-fat food quickly on a 5-portion grill that allows you to cook pizzas, open sandwiches, paninis, and thick cuts of meat (or tofu steaks). The removable plates are dishwasher safe. It’s one of the best kitchen appliances on the market.

Expect to pay between £40 and £65.

  1. Breville VST041 Deep Fill Sandwich Toaster

Breville eoffers the deepest sandwiches yet, to satisfy even the most Homer-like of appetites. It has removable plates that are dishwasher safe and works well with all sized slices of bread. It’s compact enough to store upright in a tight corner of your kitchen cabinets.

Expect to pay between £25 and £37.

  1. Quest Non-Stick Cool Touch Dual Omelette Maker

Who doesn’t love a good omelette? But who likes the time and effort it takes to make one? Now you can make 2 omelettes at a time in next-to-no-time, and the easy-to-remove, easy-to-clean non-stick plates won’t even be a pain in the wash.

Expect to pay between £12 and £26.

  1. Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot claims to speed up cooking by 2 – 6 times, while using 70% less energy, so already it’s a winner. The fact that it boasts so many functions (pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, sauté/browning, yoghurt maker, steamer, and warmer) should earn it a gold medal at the cooking Olympics. It has 14 built-in programmes, temperature settings and 10 safety mechanisms.

Expect to pay between £95 and £170.

  1. Russell Hobbs RHM2362S Digital Microwave

The 23l microwave comes with a dishwasher safe turntable, pre-programmed auto-cook menus for one-touch cooking, a child safety lock and, of course, elegant good looks.

Expect to pay around £65.

  1. Russell Hobbs 21140 Three-Tier Food Steamer

The steamer has a total capacity of 9l and heats up in less than 40 seconds. In addition to three baskets, you also get a 1l rice bowl and egg holders.

Expect to pay between £25 and £50.

  1. Breville 2-Slive Toaster

It may be designed with Warburtons bread in mind, but it perfectly capable of producing perfect toast using other brands. Features include look-and-lift so you can check on your toast without stopping the programme, and high-lift, so you don’t have to dig out the toast with an inappropriate utensil. It can also toast crumpets and bagels and can be used to defrost bread for a simple sandwich.

Expect to pay between £23 and £35.

  1. Philips HD9220/20 Oil-Free Airfryer

It’s not cheap, but can you really put a price on your health, especially if you are plagued by cravings for all the bad stuff, like chips and deep fried fish. It uses up to 80% less fat than a conventional fryer, thanks to its Rapid Air Technology that circulates hot air to cook and crisp up food. It comes with temperature control and an integrated timer with auto-off.

Expect to pay between £84 (super great deal) and £200.

Take your pick of the above kitchen appliances and enjoy a chic, elegant and efficient cooking, coffee-making and baking.

Need Home Appliance Insurance? – Cover for all your home appliances Click Here for a quote!
Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles
15
Jun
2016

Want the Best in a Smartish Kitchen? Get Smart Appliances

Want the Best in a Smart-ish Kitchen? Get Smart Appliances

Consumers aren’t exactly queuing up jump on the smart home bandwagon. In fact, there isn’t even a bandwagon to jump on. Some manufacturers  are developing smart appliances in the hope that consumers decide they want their fridge to talk to their washing machine. One possible reason for the slow uptake is that it’s all too much for consumers. It’s also too expensive.

Most consumers prefer to test the water and start small, and that’s why manufacturers are changing focus from major appliances to small smart appliances and gadgets that won’t revolutionise our lives but will make them easier.

It starts small

These days, many basic appliances, like kettles, thermometers and frying pans have smart features, including Wi-Fi and touchscreens.

Let’s take a look at smart appliances on the market.

  • Kitchen scales

Connected kitchen scales don’t just ensure that your ingredients are weighed out to the correct tenth of an ounce, but they also connect to recipe apps so that you can download a recipe and then the scale will help you follow the recipe exactly.

Models currently available include Perfect Bake Pro (£40 to £50) and Drop Connected Kitchen Scale (£60 to £80).

  • Frying pans

If you’re an aspiring cook or just need to pull off the occasional tasty meal to surprise your partner, then you might appreciate the assistance of a smart frying pan. They also connect to apps (via Bluetooth) which provide step-by-step instructions, while the pan itself is able to regulate its temperature and provide you with temperature feedback. It tells you when it’s times to flip your meat or stir your stew or add new ingredients as per the recipe. You’ll also get suggestions for cooking time based on thickness of meat and on type of meat (steak, salmon, chicken)

Pantelligent Smart Frying Pan is currently available for around £170.

  • Coffee makers & kettles

Coffee makers are very trendy, so it makes sense that they would come with cool smart features. Many machines have apps that link them to your smartphone or tablet so that no matter where you are, you can set it to make coffee – and you can set it to your exact strength preference. The machines also tell you when you need to fill up the water and restock your capsules.

Smart kettles allow you to boil water no matter where you are in the house, and you can set it to a certain temperature so you can make speciality teas in exactly the right way.

Smart machines currently on the market include Nespresso Prodigio (£160), Smarter Coffee (£180), and Smarter Wi-Fi Kettle (£100).

  • Sous vide machines

Thanks to cooking programmes and celebrity chefs, sous vide cooking is becoming very popular. Now sous vide machines come with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi so you can set them to start cooking whenever you want, and you can download recipes and get step-by-step instructions to make the perfect sous vide meal.

Mellow sous vide cooker will be available in spring with an expected price of £265. The Anova Bluetooth + Wi-Fi Precision Cooker costs between £130 and £180.

  • Multicookers

Multicookers are already pretty cool machines, now they come with Wi-Fi, touchscreens and connected apps so you can find recipes and get step-by-step instructions to help you deliver maximum flavour.

The Breville Fast Slow Pro multicooker costs between £170 and £180.

For those who have everything, you can consider something a little different, like the iSommelier Smart Decanter. Now, digital settings allow your decanter to more effectively aerate your wine to soften tannins, and the digital screen on the base will tell you all you need to know about the wine, vintage and aeration process. You can also get information on different winemakers. Expect to pay around £1300.

Something with a bit more practical value is the Hero Smart Appliance which reminds you when you need to take medication, lets you know how much medication is left, and notifies you when medication has been taken, so you don’t have to second guess yourself, or worry whether dear old mom has remembered her heart medicine. Expect to pay around £700.

Need Home Appliance Insurance? – Cover for all your home appliances Click Here for a quote!
Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles
05
May
2016

Great Tips on How to Choose an Energy Efficient Kettle

Great Tips on How to Choose an Energy Efficient Kettle

Your kettle isn’t exactly a large appliance, so you wouldn’t think that it uses a huge amount of energy, right? It’s true on the surface, except that your kettle gets a LOT of use. On average, a UK household boils the kettle 1500 times per year. It’s not that difficult to believe if you consider that you might boil your kettle 4 times a day for coffee or tea and then perhaps another once or twice to cook food. All of that use adds up. According to Chris Goodall (cited by Ethical Consumer) your kettle can consume about 150kWh per yeah. This amounts to about 4% of your total electricity consumption.

Kinda scary, isn’t it?

One of the biggest problems is overfilling the kettle. If you’re only making one cup of tea or coffee, technically you need less than 500ml of water, but we tend to stick the kettle under the tap and just let rip, so we end up with enough water to make tea for a Sevens rugby team. Once again Ethical Consumer has a fun stat for us: Apparently if all the households in the UK boiled exactly the right amount of water they need for one day, the energy saved could light every street lamp in the country for one night.

Some kettle manufacturers have stepped up to stop the overfilling problem; for example, the ECO Kettle has 2 compartments so you can fill one with one cup of water to be boiled at a time. Some energy efficient kettles have lower water level indicators (minimum amounts to be boiled) so you can boil want you need, even if it is less than 500ml. And, because most elements are now under a plate, you don’t have to cover exposed elements with water you don’t need.

Another great feature that many kettle manufacturers are using is variable temperature control, so you can set the kettle to switch off when the water reaches a set temperature. For example, you can set your kettle to 70°C so that you can make the perfect cup of green tea.

More than energy efficiency?

Energy efficiency is one thing, but what do you know about manufacturers’ stance on human rights, animal welfare and transparency in their supply chains? These days, with the global village being as small as it is, we’re more aware of the need to protect or at least stand up for people who live on the other side of the world. Ethical Consumer takes transparency and workers’ and animal rights very seriously and when it reviews appliances it considers things like:

  • Supply chain policies: Are workers treated fairly, are they adequately remunerated, are working conditions safe? Supply chains that have components in China are usually problematic.
  • Environmental reporting: Transparency in environmental reporting is important, which means honesty when it comes to things like carbon emissions, water use and land use.
  • Company profile: Includes consumer boycotts for things like animal testing and financing drilling operations or fracking.

Choose an ethical and energy efficient kettle

Ethical Consumer uses a rating system out of 20 to determine which are the most ethical and energy efficient kettles. The list is interactive, so you can select the criteria that are most important to you and get truly relevant results. If all criteria are selected as important, the top kettles include:

  • Bodum Clara glass hob kettle (14)
  • Bodum electric kettle (14)
  • Dualit electric kettles (14)
  • ECO Kettle electric kettles (14)
  • Judge hob kettle (14)
  • Krups electric kettles (14)
  • La Cafetiere electric and hob kettles (14)
  • La Cafetiere hob kettles (14)
  • Magimax electric kettle (14)
  • Masteclass hob kettles (14)
  • Moulinex electric kettles (14)
  • Rowenta electric kettles (14)
  • Stellar electric and hob kettles (14)
  • Tefal electric and Quick Cup kettles (14)
  • Breville electric kettles (13)
  • Morphy Richards electric and hob kettles (9)
  • Prestige electric and hob kettles (8)
  • Braun electric kettles (7.5)
  • De’Longhi electric kettles (7)
  • Kenwood electric kettles (7)

The internet has made it super easy to be an ethical consumer, so why not take advantage of Google and hold large companies accountable for their business and manufacturing practices – and enjoy a cool kettle with all the energy and money savings that go with it.

Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles