Cool Hunting

New Seal-a-Meal Vacuum Food Sealers
If you're not familiar with vacuum food sealers take note. They are a great way to store food and ingredients (no more dried out brown sugar, for example), and one of the easiest ways to cook or reheat food. Seal-a-Meal has a few new food sealers that are easy to use and are attractive enough to keep out on the counter. I use a...

TheFoodLoop
Florence Fabricant wrote about TheFoodLoop in yesterday's New York Times and it's a great little invention: A simple worm-like heat-resistant reusable silicone fastener that you use to keep food together when you cook it. Unlike string or other fasteners, it doesn't break, stick, dry out or burn. Oven safe to 675ºF, expandable by linking multiple loops together, and dishwasher safe, it's time to throw...

Knife Skills Illustrated
As any semi-serious cook (or Food Network junkie) knows, the foundation of cooking is the ability to dice and pare with the best of them. While classes at the Culinary Institute might not be in your future, the recent "Knife Skills Illustrated" is a worthy alternative, collecting extensive methods and techniques for cutting fruits, vegetables and meats into one handy volume. With over 800 illustrations,...

Herb Snips
Essentially a pair of scissors with multiple parallel blades, herb snips effortlessly expedite the tiresome act of mincing. With their help, scallions or other fresh herbs can instantly transform into a manageable, chopped pile. This take on herb snips features five three-inch stainless steel blades stacked on each silicone-coated arm. And although they'll likely remain in the arsenal of only the most pampered chefs,...