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Soda Stream Drink Maker
by Livmullennn
The soda stream maker can turn still tap water into fizzy water in seconds you can then add all kinds af flavourings to the water to make your own soda! these flavours include, lemonade, red berry mix, cola, cream soda and many more.
I purchased a soda stream maker last christmas due to having a large family and getting ... through many different fizzy drinks per a week with us all drinking and liking different ones. with the soda stream maker there is alot of flavours to choose from and with having the cap on tight you can keep the drink in the fridge for up to two weeks still being fizzy. making soda stream is very simple to make by filling up the one litre bottle, screwing it onto the soda scream maker and holding down the button until hearing the noise. then measuring out the soda stream cap and pouring it into the drink, after shaking it the drink is ready to enjoy.
My kids love soda stream and really enjoy 'making it' and choosing the flavour they want. the soda stream may seem exspensive at first but if you drink alot of fizzy drinks it is sure worth it in the end and is alot more friendly to the envioment. Each flavour only costs around £3 and makes at around 12 litres. this works out around 25p per a litre witch is alot cheaper than the supermarkets. I have never had a problem with my soda stream and enjoy using it. I would reccomend this product to anyone!
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ProCook Meat Mincer
by Biskey
After the recent horsemeat fiasco I'm sure I wasn't alone in re-thinking how I sourced my meat. I tend to avoid frozen, processed meals anyway, but there are several dishes I like that include mince.
Sadly there are few old fashioned, independent butchers around these days, so I find myself buying most of my meat from the ... supermarkets. I'm sure that most of the fresh mince comes from the right animals, but there are other issues as well, for instance the fat content and the quality of the meat that was minced in the first place.
I was loitering around the meat counter in Morrison's when a sudden thought popped into my head; a memory of long ago and my mother standing at the kitchen table, cranking the handle of a big iron contraption. Of course! A mincer! I hadn't seen one of these things for years, never mind using one. It was another indicator of how we take for granted how our food is produced these days. If we knew more about some of the processes, I'm sure many more of us would be vegetarians.
I'm still happy to eat meat, but I certainly want to know as precisely as I can what it is I am eating and how it has got to my table. I don't kid myself that I can always achieve that, but I saw the meat mincer as one way that I could be a little more certain. This isn't about ethics as far as I'm concerned. If I was that bothered about food ethics I wouldn't be eating meat at all, although using the mincer does give me some degree of control back, and if that means I can make more ethically guided choices, then all to the good.
The one I bought was the ProCook Number 8 Mincer.
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What It Is and What It Does
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The main body is made of cast iron that has been hot-dipped in tin and clamps to the edge of your worktop or table. There's a funnel at the top into which you put the meat to be minced, and then a barrel which is open at the other end. Into the barrel fits a large screw, the turning of which will carry the meat along the barrel towards the stainless steel cutting blade, which is held in place by an end piece that screws onto the barrel and which also holds the mesh plate that will separate out the strands of meat. At the other end of the barrel, a handle fits onto the central screw. I suppose it's a little like one of those old Gatling guns, except that, in this case, the victims are already deceased. The meat goes into the top, you turn the handle and the mince comes out at the other end.
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Tips on Using It
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You will need to assemble it first, but that isn't too difficult. The handle, screw, end piece, mesh and blade are all removable, which is desirable for packing, but also necessary for cleaning afterwards.
Take care handling the blade, which is sharp.
Make sure it is securely clamped. You will need to protect your work surface with some sort of material on both sides where the clamp fits.
Place a plate, or tray under the end of the mincer where the mince will emerge.
It's up to you what you decide to mince. I tend to look out for good cuts of meat that are well priced, perhaps in the reduced section, then I can mince them and freeze portions. I will trim the fat first (although remember that some fat will help to provide taste), get rid of any gristle and OF COURSE remove any bone. Please don't try to mince bone. It's probably not good for the mincer and could result in grittier mince than you've been used to.
Cut the meat into chunks before you feed it into the mincer.
Don't push your fingers too far in. The screw is very efficient, so don't worry that it might take quite a few turns to get everything down and through the blade and the mesh.
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Care and Maintenance
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Disassemble the mincer and wash all the parts thoroughly, but NOT IN THE DISHWASHER, then dry thoroughly and put away until next time.
Make sure that you keep the blade safely and separately wrapped.
Take the trouble to lightly oil the unit from time to prevent rusting.
Try not to bash it about. Don't throw it at hubby, for instance, as that's hard to defend in court and worse still might damage the tin coating which helps to give corrosion resistance.
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A Good Buy?
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Yes. This is a very well-made, solid, heavy duty piece of equipment that should outlive you and possibly several generations to come. It's hard to see what could go wrong if you take care of it, or even if you don't.
Originally priced at £28.00, I bought mine in the shop for £16.00 and I see that ProCook are still selling online at that price.
Hope I haven't minced my words on this one.
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Cookworks Slow Cooker
by busybee87
I decided to purchase a slow cooker as I love the idea of coming home to a cooked meal after work and being able to leave meals to cook when I need to pop out for errands. I had previously had a bad experience with another brand of slow cooker but my friend recommended the Cookworks model as she had one so I was determined to give it ... another shot!
Ease of use:
I have the Cookworks 3.5 litre slow cooker which is just the right size to fit a large chicken in (full measurements available on Argos website). If you need to do any pre cooking on the hob, you cannot use the ceramic pot of the slow cooker so you will need to use a large casserole. Otherwise, you can just bung everything into the cooker and leave for as long as necessary. Unlike another model of slow cooker I have tried, the Cookworks slow cooker doesn't dry out food so it doesn't get burnt to the edges and I feel confident leaving it while I go out.
The Cookworks slow cooker has three settings: low, high, and warm. I have found that things will take exactly half as long to cook on high as on low which makes working out cooking times straight forward. The "warm" setting is particularly useful when people are taking ages to get to the table!
Cooking results:
I have now cooked currys, stews and soups in my slow cooker and am totally addicted! Tough/cheap cuts of meat cooked on "low" come out beautifully tender and a chicken done in the slow cooker is fantastically moist. It hasn't failed at anything yet! Unlike another brand I tried, the food stays moist and doesn't dry out.
Easy to clean?
This slow cooker is particularly easy to clean. I simply soak the cooking pot for two minutes in hot water and any food that has stuck to the sides comes off with very little scrubbing. This is ideal as the whole point of a slow cooker for me is to be low maintenance so I don't want to spend ages cleaning it! The main cooking pot is white which I prefer as you can be sure it is lovely and clean when you're done with it.
Value for money:
The Cookworks 3.5 litre slow cooker is only £14.99 (Argos) which for me is incredible value for money. It works far better in terms of cooking results than a more expensive brand I tried. It is fantastically easy to use, has all the settings I need and is easy to clean.
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