From The Straits Times    |

(From left to right: Salad Chef, Tefal Infinity Press Revolution, Zoku Ice Cream Maker, Lekue Waffle Kit)

SALAD CHEF
$99.90, from www.jml.sg
Not just a salad spinner, this multi-tasker also lets you chop and dice salad ingredients. It comes with three interchangeable lids – one to be used while spinning salads, another to cover the bowl, and the third with a metal grid that cuts up ingredients when you push a lever down. I had to halve large or long ingredients like carrots, lettuce and bell peppers before placing them on the cutting grid. Smaller items like baby potatoes, eggs and shallots could be cut whole. All came through well cut, although the harder veggies like carrots and celery needed more strength when pushing the lever down. If you are a salad queen, this is a time-saving gadget that’s worth investing in.

TEFAL INFINITY PRESS REVOLUTION
$449 (includes a recipe book), from major department and electrical stores
A relatively inexpensive slow juicer (most others cost over $600), it did a fair and quiet job of slow juicing fruits and veggies. It includes two stainless steel filters – one fine and the other coarse, which is useful if you want less or more pulp in your juice. Juices were clear and refreshing, although the residual pulp was slightly wet and could have been squeezed drier. Small chunks of fruits also occasionally got squeezed out into the pulp jug. 

With three feed tubes instead of one, fruits had to be cut into smaller pieces, but being able to push them into the feed tubes simultaneously made juicing faster. My juicing went well until a chunk of celery got stuck to the bottom of the filter and the machine stalled. But it continued fine after I removed it. Taking it apart, like setting it up, was straightforward. It was not hard to clean – I just needed a brush with stiff bristles to scrub out pulp from the filters, a chopstick to clean the nooks and crannies, and a sponge for the rest of the parts. It was easy to operate, use and clean, but I just wish it extracted juice more effectively.

ZOKU ICE CREAM MAKER
$48.90 (includes a recipe book), from BHG, Robinsons, Takashimaya D.S. and Tangs
This ice cream maker is great for making single-portion treats quickly. Freeze the stainless steel bowl overnight, pour in the chilled ingredients, stir them, and scrape the sides of the bowl with a mixing spoon (included) for five minutes for your soft serve ice cream. If you like your ice cream harder, pop it in the freezer for another 10min. My peanut butter, mocha and Nutella ice cream turned out smooth and creamy – just like what you would get at the ice cream parlour, although they melted quickly. You can’t make another treat straightaway – the bowl needs to be wellfrozen before your next session. But if you have four of these, everyone in the family can make their own flavours!

LEKUE WAFFLE KIT
$79 (includes two waffle moulds, a deco pen, a spatula and a recipe book), from Tangs Orchard and www.thehomeshoppe.com.sg
With these silicone moulds, you can make waffles in the oven without slaving over a waffle pan. Pour your batter into the moulds, then pop them into the oven. After seven minutes, turn the waffles out from the mould onto the baking tray. Bake for another seven minutes and they’re ready. Each mould makes four waffles; you can fit two moulds side by side on a rack in the oven. The waffles were perfectly shaped and slid off the ungreased mould easily. When I used the batter recipe from the recipe book, they turned out denser than regular waffles, but tasted pretty good! I could even fill the deco pen with honey or chocolate sauce and dispense it through the nozzle to create whirls and swirls – a perfect kit for effortless waffles! 

This article was originally published in Simply Her September 2014.

All product and pricing information was correct at the time of the magazine’s publication. We advise readers to check with the stores for the latest availability and pricing information.