5 Mixing Kitchen Gadgets Tested By Design Expert | Well Equipped | Epicurious
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- Design and usability guru Dan Formosa returns for another episode of Well Equipped, this time offering up his review of 5 gadgets made for mixing, whisking, and blending things up in the kitchen. Watch as he tests each device and assesses them for effectiveness and usability, commenting on what works, what doesn't, and how he would improve their design with a few tweaks.
Check out the products Dan reviewed in this episode:
StirMATE VS Automatic Pot Stirrer: amzn.to/3ubDaKE
Manual DIY Whipping Cream Dispenser - Universal-Mixer: amzn.to/3OMonhq
Swan Shape Hand Push Whisk Blender: amzn.to/3Npw4sQ
Egg Scrambler Shaker: amzn.to/3OwS7zf
Hand Crank Push Whisk Blender: amzn.to/3y7qWno
When you buy something through our retail links, we earn an affiliate commission.
Director: Ness Kleino
Director of Photography: Kevin Dynia
Editor: LJ D’Arpa
Talent: Dan Formosa
Sr. Culinary Director: Carrie Parente
Producer: Ness Kleino
Culinary Producer: Mallary Santucci
Culinary Associate Producer: Katrina Zito
Line Producer: Jennifer McGinity
Associate Producer: Michael Cascio
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Camera Operator: Jack Belisle
Audio: Rachel Suffian
Production Assistant: Sophie Pulver
Post Production Supervisor: Stephanie Cardone
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds
Graphics Supervisor: Ross Rackin
Graphics, Animation, VFX: Léa Kichler
--
0:00 Introduction
0:40 StirMATE Automatic Pot Stirrer
4:59 Universal Mixer
7:46 Swan Hand Mixer
10:50 Egg Mixer
14:24 Manual Crank Mixer
Start your free trial and access over 50,000 expertly-tested recipes from Epicurious, Bon Appétit and more on the Epicurious app. apps.apple.com/app/apple-stor...
Still haven’t subscribed to Epicurious on UA-cam? ►► bit.ly/epiyoutubesub
ABOUT EPICURIOUS
Browse thousands of recipes and videos from Bon Appétit, Gourmet, and more. Find inventive cooking ideas, ingredients, and restaurant menus from the world’s largest food archive. - Розваги
Check out the products Dan reviewed in this episode:
StirMATE VS Automatic Pot Stirrer: amzn.to/3ubDaKE
Manual DIY Whipping Cream Dispenser - Universal-Mixer: amzn.to/3OMonhq
Swan Shape Hand Push Whisk Blender: amzn.to/3Npw4sQ
Egg Scrambler Shaker: amzn.to/3OwS7zf
Hand Crank Push Whisk Blender: amzn.to/3y7qWno
When you buy something through our retail links, we earn an affiliate commission.
The first one is for when you need to use the restroom while cooking but clearly wasn’t thought out well.
Great video as always. Uh, just one comment, I think you guys forgot to add this video in the Well Equipped playlist.
I was re-watching it (the playlist) a couple weeks ago and realized that this video wasn't there.
A bit surprised by the 1/5 buy rating on the last one. It did the job, and it did it in the same time as the electric mixer. For folks that live off-grid or in RV's or just prefer to have manual gadgets instead of electrifying everything, I think it's something worth considering.
I agree with you but I think overall he was fair because he did give it a 5 for effectiveness and did kinda address that the 1 was mainly that there are better alternatives (namely an electric mixer) and those are not exactly uncommon kitchen tools
It is a bit weird that he compared the whipped cream maker with a manual whisk, but the last one to an electric mixer.
Maybe it's about practicality in that it took just as long as a whisk would but it wasn't as easy to maneuver
I think he could easily use the last one to make whipped cream. That would have given it a higher rating.
He did say that rating is if you have an electric hand mixer. Why would you buy that if you have a better one already?
I want an electric hand mixer myself but seeing this product does not make me wanna buy it just because it’s a lot of work and you are confined into using that container.
Getting an old fashioned whisk is arguably better because you can use it on any bowl you want for the same work you exert.
"It scrambles it, but at what cost."
Dan is a man of culture.
Personally would probably never use any of these gadgets but I will also always watch any videos with Dan in them. He's absolutely lovely! Additionally I adore when he gets to eat the product he's testing the gadget on twice, genius mind right there 🤣
there's been a couple gadgets in the serie that, even if I wouldnt personally buy them, I definitely see the appeal for some people. It's a needle in a haystack though, since a lot of these are cheaply made unitaskers that dont work. but every now and then there's a great one
He’s definitely the dad type energy you feel like you can trust, but has a sweet relaxed charm.
I think that stir mate isn't meant for incorporating ingredients, but only to keep the bottom agitated so it doesn't burn during long cooking. The egg mixer will never work, because it can't break the membrane that keeps the yolk whole
Exactly what I was about to type. I thought this was pretty obvious and I don't even cook that much.
Still, it seems hard to handle and the size limitation could allow parts of the pot to settle and corner burn I imagine.
Now I’m curious what Ron Popiel did with his Inside the Eggshell Egg Scrambler to compensate. I know it worked, because one of the kids I went to school with had one.
@@CynthiaPrice79 I don't know about that one, but I know there is another device called the "Golden Goose" that does this by twirling the egg inside a clamshell attached to some strings, and it works. Maybe the one tested in the video just doesn't spin the egg fast enough to do anything, or maybe Dan just wasn't pulling the string fast enough for it to work.
There is egg scramblers that do make golden eggs
Ty for thinking of older n disabled folks and our possible challenges. Rarer than you think
I feel like the last one could prove useful in a no-power situation.
yuP
I hope that this series is mandatory for design students. Most of the time it's the same points that Dan is suggesting, better grip for parts that need to get twisted, longer levers for using more fingers and ffs add a stable base that supports the mechanical movements.
My problem with this thought is i always wonder how many of these problems exists because of the mistake of the designer and how many exists because the company wanted an easier(but more importantly cheaper)-to-manufacture product.
@@StarfoxHUN I've been in usability and design for a decade+ now and the answer is 50/50
I occasionally watched some of these. But now I’m addicted. I love Dan and how he test these inventions.
There are so many merits to the manual crank mixer (last gadget) even when compared to the electric one. I personally find it so cumbersome to plug in the electric beater (especially when my hands are dirty with cream or wet, I have to make sure they’re completely dry) then carefully snake the wire around the pot and pans. Then of course there’s the loud noise and lots of splattering that creates a mess and also often stains the machine itself which is tricky to clean since it’s electric. And in most models, even the lowest speed seems too fast sometimes.
This manual gadget seems so neat since it’s lidded, doubles up as a temporary storage, is much less noisy and offers speed control. Not to mention it’s easy to wash since it has no electric parts. Not great for huge batches but pretty ideal for daily quick usage.
Or.... a whisk.
@@thedarkemissary ... which is what Dan *should* have compared it to.
The result would be that the product whisks much faster and takes less energy - it would have gotten a 5 star rating with that more apt comparison.
For egg scrambling, I'd recommend a mug and a fork. The mug is not even half full of you use two eggs so you don't have to worry about spillage and can go full speed with the fork. 5-15 seconds and you're done.
That scrambler looks like it would fit perfectly into the mug.
Yeah, I was thinking that the scrambler might work better with a different shaped container. The bowl is too wide for it to be effective.
The Egg Scrambler Shaker is for making a scrambled egg still in the shell, for boiling. An old home method was to put the egg in the middle of a panty hose leg, twist the hose around, and pull each hand apart to spin it as fast as you can. Repeat at least a dozen times per egg. It's supposed to give you the taste of scrambled egg with the convenience and portability of a boiled one. For my money, it's one of those foods that's not as impressive as you'd hope. The taste isn't quite as good as either a regular boiled egg or regular scrambled eggs, and it takes way too much effort for the result. It's a nice little novelty, though.
@@timdunn0 I was talking about the whisk that can be pressed down for it to rotate.
Love it when Dan tests gadgets. But would suggest comparing cleaning time and effort for each gadget as well, because when you have more than one way of doing something you also consider the cleaning after. Simple example - if I want to slice 10 boiled eggs I would definitely use a slicer, but if I need to slice just one boiled egg I would use a knife because cleaning a slicer after just one use would eat up all the time I saved by using it.
Just from a first look at the StirMATE It's quite clear that it's made for you to walk away from pots that need stirring to prevent the food from burning. It's not a mixer, it's for stirring!
ya its still pretty bad overall though. plus its dangerous leaving pots unattended anyway.
that's the first thing he said about it! if you're stirring and it isn't agitating everything in the pot, you're liable to burn your food
@@chloebutler8438 yeah I would be worried about that one unmixed edge burning if left unattended
I wanna see Dan cooking a meal using only some of these kitchen gadgets
Please do a special with Dan’s gadgets.
The Golden egg gadget is a poor copy of some of the gadgets made over in Asia. Golden eggs are hugely popular over there and I have seen some well made Asian gadgets that turn out perfectly yellow eggs every time. Cheers!
I absolutely love dan. he's just so charismatic and fun!! I love every video he's in
I'm addicted to these videos i don't know they are even soothing
the manual mixer seems useful! we have an electric one at home, but my brother HATES loud sounds. a manual kind would fix that problem.
the egg spinner was probably inspired by the technique for making an inside-out hard-boiled-egg... but it doesn't spin the egg with nearly enough energy to make it happen. (if you don't give it enough energy to break the yolk, nothing you do will change the result. you need to spin the egg much much harder than that device was managing to, if you want to make it happen)
I like how he mentioned that the wooden spoon was not electric as if there are electric wooden spoons out there
i never thought these videos would be as entertaining conceptually, but i’ve been binging them! cuts to the point w an entertaining host! very satisfying to see these gadgets fully tested :)
I feel like the stirmaster is more so you can walk away from something that you're letting simmer without it burning to the bottom
I have a scrambler that is essentially a large, pear shaped spring with a handle, for mixing in bowls...i think it's called a spring wisk. Instead of stirring around, you just plunge the spring up and down. Works great! Way better than a normal wisk. Would love to see Dan rate those.
we call those gravy whisks, they're really good for breaking up lumps and you can stir around if you so choose
as the name implies, we usually use them to help make a smooth roux for gravy and other sauces
Be careful when using this with glas bowls, it can chip them
My mom has one of those. I hate them. To me I can't get the eggs scrambled enough.
The bottom part of the whipped cream maker doubles as a lid. That’s why it comes off. I have one of these but it’s pampered chef brand. I love it. Best thing I have in my kitchen actually.
Would be interesting to know how much more or maybe even less expensive some of these tools would get. As someone who's worked as a tool maker for 13 years, producing tools for plastic production (cups, bottles, blood collection tubes,...), I know that when you go from round (turning machine/lathe) to basically not completely round (milling machine, turning milling center), things can get significantly more expensive.
Lots of these parts are just injection-molded plastic, though, so it shouldn't make that much difference. I think the cost comes from the effort it takes to design things thoughtfully.
The purpose of that pot stirrer is that when you do some stew that takes long time, let's say more than an hour,
It makes sure that it doesn't burn at bottom!
Do not stop making these. Awesome content!!!!
This is a great series, thanks Dan.
I have now lost count of how many of these videos with Dan. I swear I think "there is no way there is more". And then I see another one I haven't seen before in my recommended. Please, keep it going. I love this marathon
I have my grandmother's manual crank egg beater and that is the best!
I think the last product needs a locking suction cup or a clamp. Let’s see it wobble around if it’s glued to the table.
I have a manual chopper that's similar and there's a ring of material on the bottom that is different from the rest of the plastic. It's "grippy" to the touch and sticks surprisingly well to the counter top when I use the device. The same could be used here.
When I saw the egg mixer I knew right away that it wouldn't work as is, though I do have a way to make it work.
I spent years trying to make omelettes inside the shell, and while extremely difficult and not really worth the effort, its possible if you use a needle to both break the membrane and yolk, and then inject a mix of seasoned milk, then seal the egg (preferably with clingfilm(tightly)), mix well and boil.
And there you go, you have a more healthy omelette (no fat from frying pans), which can be used on salads or even just eaten as a snack.
The egg mixer looks like it might make it more properly distributed.
As an added note, it’s more for novelty.
Though it makes a nice travel snack if your out hiking or cycling. Tasty, full of protein and compact.
I'd love to see the stirrer used with something like a risotto.
Amazing! Thank you for sharing 👍
I see use for the hand mixer for camping. His redesign is missing a rubber embedded strip on the bottom of the bowl. My mixing bowls have 3 concentric ones, and even with the electric setting on high, they are stable on the counter. I agree that the claw/whisk part could be more efficiently shaped. Like a smaller version of the Kitchen aid whisk attachment.
“Maybe you should walk down the block and get some take out food”🤣🤣
I have the StirMATE, and it worked well when making homemade ketchup, which requires hours of cooking. I even ran it overnight when in the reduction stage. I had it plugged into an outlet for that part.
Fun fact: you don't need any fancy invention for stirring. A stir bar and magnetic hot plate from chemistry labs can dissolve AND heat a solution.
I’m a biology person and when I first encountered magnetic stir bars I ABSOLUTELY fell in love! I volunteered in a lab one summer where we stirred things of many different volumes and I loved using the super large ones for larger graduated cylinders and the ones that were basically little oval shapes to stir a large number of tiny jars all at once
True, but is not like they sell it for your home. New top stoves should incorporate that function. The only downsize that I see is people losing their magnetic stirrers. Oh, and the fact that you should probably only use glassware when using the stiring function.
I think for the first one, the automatic pot stirrer, that it is meant to stir things that need constant stirring or agitation and not meant to actually mix stuff together
True, I'd have liked to see it tested with milk. But other than milk, what's liquid enough to give this thing a chance of stirring and likely to burn other than milk?
@@RamoArt I think even if it was like I said, it would still not work well as not stirring all of the liquid would leave parts still to be burnt and wahtnot
I love that Dan simply has fun sooting this videos and then keeps eating whatever he made 2 or 3 times with each gadget
Yayyy more Dan!
I came for the gadgets, I stayed for Dan, this man's jokes are fantastic and he's a gem
I know technically what you said is correct, but calling eggs "opened" somehow doesn't sir right with me 😂😂
Keep on making these, I love your videos.
Oh hell yes!!! When I saw the title I was hoping it was this guy again!! Dan is the best ✨
And actually do that with a sweater sleeve what you do is you put the egg in the middle of the sweater sleeve and you kind of wind it up between both hands and then spin it back-and-forth
Dan knows his stuff, really got me to watch a video about kitchen gadgets
12:00 made me cackle I love these videos thank you Mr. Formosa thank you Epicurious
That egg shaker/spinner thing, I think it could potentially work if you use old eggs which will have more watery egg white and not super viscous, which will probably make the yolk break a bit easier.
Eggs have a sort of inner attachment that keeping the inside from going all topsy turvy. Chances that pre-scrambling an egg works is pretty close to nil.
Struggling to see what the problem with the Universal Mixer was. It seemed perfect at doing what it's meant to, in a fraction of the time it would take you without it. Its motion was so simple he skipped the left-handed oil test because it would obviously cause no problems, but usability was 3/5? Very curious what made him give a very low 2.5/5 rating to a product that by his own admission seemed to have no glaring faults. He's given higher scores to some much sketchier stuff.
I think just cuz it was messy and a little taxing to use 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♀️
It was messy because he put too much cream. If he put the right amount, it'd come out perfect. 5/5 for me
Probably partly cause you can only make such a small amount at a time. Maybe that's fine if you only want one serving of whipped cream, but I don't know about you but I've never seen anyone want to make only one serving
He gave the product itself a 5/5. The buy rating is like, if you're in the store, is this product better to buy than other alternatives. No, the electric mixer is better. So low buy rating.
He literally goes into its usability issues and their solutions in the redesign; the final 3rd of every gadget test. And he gives it a 2.5 buy rating because "it's okay for a little bit of whipped cream" which is another way of saying "there are better alternatives".
I’m glad he started skipping the LHOT. Sometimes you can just tell from the struggle on the first use case that it’s going to be impossible to use with a slippery left hand and it’s like why bother.
The manualmixer needs a retractable/extendable handle to make it easy to pack away but also allow you to adjust the leverage/torque.
Love this guy
Always excited for his content😚
The Universal mixer... it's just a tiny butter churn, haha. Of course it's good at making cream. It's made to make butter, which is what happens when you overwhip heavy cream!
maybe it was inspired by gadgets for making butter but are not intended as such, they are what they say they are, mixer/whipper. I had use several of them. Sure if the cream is too old or not chilled properly or the overwhisk it you get the butter
YAY!! Dan is BACK!!
My wife has a similar item to the swan mixer, except that the rotational motion of the whisk end is triggered by pressing down on a more conventional handle. It seems like that design would solve a lot of the issues with this one, but even with that I still much prefer to use a regular whisk.
i really want to see if it's possible to get the golden egg idea to actually work. like if you shake the absolute heck out of it, does it work? This needs a mythbusters style contraption, some way to be able to put an egg in a paint shaker and get it shaken without breaking
honestly, i would use the last one. cant stand the sound of electric mixers and also have a somewhat irrational fear of them. the arm workout couldnt hurt either lol
its also much less of a hassle to just pull out a bowl with a funny lid than it is to pull out an entire stand mixer and plug it in. idk i just hate electrical mixers
I'm so happy to know I'm not the only one who is uncomfortable using electric mixers
You're very right shaking up an egg does not work to get it scrambled it's Supposed to be the centrifugal force that does it. And it works on machines that can really spin the hell out of that but it didn't seem like years got going fast enough
most exciting part of being an adult are kitchen gadgets
there are effective ways to scramble an egg in its shell and most basically put it in a small pvc pip with rope to spin it at ridiculously high speeds
There is Always Summer Somewhere.
From Singapore 🇸🇬-Always Summer here 😂.
Four the last one you could give it rubber feet, that would help with the rocking, and stop it from spinning with few added parts
There are better egg spinners, but that is a particularly bad one. Look up the one called "The Original Golden Goose", it can impart far more force.
the stir master seems like it'd be good for when you need to have milk on the stove for a long time. since you need to be constantly stirring
This guy, Dan, calms me down. Lol. Big fan.
I feel like the stirmate is not meant to actually mix. More so you can walk away from stirring so it won’t scald.
I've managed to make butter..
Using a pine wood stick that stuck out at the edges aswell to make the cream into butter in a speedy mix between my hands rolling it back n forth like i was trying to make fire
Just said to myself, I NEED to ga to bed! Oeh a new epicurious with Dan! 🙃 Okay... 1 more video... thank you Dan for testing those gadgets so we don't have to 👍
We love dan
well done
Love this guy! #1
> I think the "stirring device" is not meant so much for mixing, but more for stirring things like spaghetti sauces and thick gravy dishes that can burn pretty quickly if left sitting still in the pot on the stove. In that case the stirrer is only trying to keep it moving in the pot. Still, it should do most of the stirring right on the bottom of the pot.
> The swan thing is a "cutesy" gimmick for Grandma to entertain her grandkids.
> "Egg Shaker" is a "I don't care - I got your five bucks and that's all I wanted". .... "snake oil".
> The last mixer is an alternative to electricity, not a replacement. If you need to whip egg whites or whipping cream, pancake batter, etc., and you are without electricity (camping for example) I think it does what it's supposed to do pretty effectively.
I'm confused about the egg shaker. It seems to me that this gadget was meant to scramble a raw egg, not a boiled egg.
The egg was scrambled and then boiled…
So... About the unversal mixer... The whit stuff is inside, you grab it, put your hand on the shaft and whip it, whip it good up and down untill the white cream starts to come out? And you can easily do it right or left handed and it is nice if you use some lubricant on your hand?
Is that it?
I'm surprised they STILL haven't added a cleanability rating.
You can thank several people for the usage of electricity. Benjamin Franklin found out that flashes in storms were electrical discharges. Michael Faraday was the first to create an electrical discharge by hand, Werner von Siemens patented the first dynamo on that knowledge and Nikolai Tesla came up with the alternating current ;)
I wasn't expecting 3 / 5 no left hand oil tests!!!
Review the prep solutions multi slicer I think it would do well
i love this dude
"I may have actually put to much cream in there" "I can feel in getting thicker" "It doesn't want to come out"
If you have a coffee press you can also use that to whip cream, milk, etc :)
I think the reason they didn't put a gasket in there is to release pressure as you're whipping it
I love these gadgets videos.
1. Well, chance getting golden eggs is kinda low, with any gadgets. Its not SSR rare, but pretty uncommon. So if you fail, its not 100% gadget fault, but RNJesus and God just give you "unlucky mix"
2. I use the manual whipper, my friend uses manual mixer, and I kinda agree. Its pretty small so its only effective in small portion. If you wanna throw party or open a cafe, I suggest just get better alternative
QSN : That whipper is just like one in "Coffee Gadget", but more affordable and universal. Check that one too
Gadgets 2 would a good survival tool. It could easily used to make butter.
The person who designed a wood spoon did a great job, lol
Eggs scrambled in the shell definitely are a thing, they're called golden eggs. Wrapping it in a sock or some tights so you can spin it is far faster.
5:39 Say berries and cream! You're a little lad who loves berries and cream!
Dan eating his "left-handed" pie with his left hand, that's dedication XD
It would be great to see some gadgets tested again, that got improved after your rating. (If any exist)
i think using a helix stirrer like in bioreactors would be good on the first item
I think faraday is the one you should thank, in that case: he invented the electric motor
Okay but what is Dans best kitchen gadget he has ever designed???
40-50 pulls. Holy hell! AHahhahahahahaa!
Want to see some gadgets designed by him ✊✊
i think the stirmate is only supposed to prevent scorching on the bottom, like when making jam or rice pudding
Absolutely.
You should test making meringue after you whip cream and then wash it. Oil sticks on plastic.
Dan loves a wider base.