Favorites from International Housewares Show Part Two

As promised, this is the second part in my summary of the International Home and Housewares Show. There was just too many memorable items to be covered in one post!

For anyone interested in housewares, this past week’s show would have been your playground. The International Home and Housewares Show ran from March 5 – 8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. At the show, you will find over 2,100 exhibitors from over 40 countries, educational seminars, cooking demonstrations at the show’s cooking theater, in booth cooking demonstrations, book signings and many other activities.

Coming to the show every year is something I genuinely enjoy doing. I am fascinated by the new technology that is showing up in our housewares products. The color, design and creation of pieces that will make our homes, kitchens and cooking experiences so much more pleasurable. As a result of all that I saw and learned, it will take two posts to share all my favorite finds and observations!

From Pantone:  Colors for 2016:

Grilling is always a great way to cook whether your goal is to eat healthy, entertain family and friends or simply enjoy the flavors that results from cooking on a grill. However, if you don’t have an outdoor space to grill, you are stuck using your cooktop. If you are just cooking for a few people, that works just fine. But, if you want to entertain a group of family and friends, then this George Foreman electric grill would be ideal for you as it serves 15. You can use it indoors or on your patio or balcony. It has a ceramic nonstick surface making for easy clean up.

George Foreman is showing up twice in this summary as they will be launching a Grill and Broil system on QVC this fall that has some pretty fun features. This machine offers a 5-in-1 option of using it for grilling, a Panini press, broiler, waffle maker and griddle all with the removal plates. And, the plates are dishwasher safe. This is a very efficient cooking source!

While ordering a pizza is quick and easy, making your own is far more fun. Baker Stone Pizza Oven Box is a way to have your own pizza oven at home using your outdoor grill as the heat source. Unlike single pizza stones that you put in the bottom of your oven, this is a box surrounded in the ceramic stone allowing the pizza crust to benefit from the circulation of air and high heat to perfectly bake your pizza. When you want to use your grill for burgers, just remove the pizza oven from the top of your grill and you are good to go. So ready to host a pizza party now that I have seen this pizza oven! 

With your pizza, you may want to have a beer or can of soda. Take a look at this smart way to safely carry your beverages from Stubby Strip. It can hold up to 7 bottles at once. Even better, it will stay cold for over an hour. No cooler needed. Think camping, parties, boating and concerts. Great idea, right?!

Have you wanted to get a smoker but didn’t have a patio or place to use it because of the fire requirement? Nordicware has a solution for you then. This stove top model allows you to use whatever wood chips you would like (it comes with a few samples) on your cooktop. You can smoke meats, vegetables and pizzas or flatbreads. Such a good idea for infusing wood flavors into your food.

If you like to bake, here are some new finds:

A little bit of design along with the efficiency of the rolling pin from Epicureaun. This is a leave-out-on-the-counter-rolling pin! Non-stick and easy clean up. One piece construction means no flour stuck in spots you can’t get too. Dishwasher safe.

Baking with silicone pans is easy clean up, right? But the pans can be so flimsy which is worrisome when they contain hot batter. Trudeau designed this brilliant format of silicone pans with hidden metal rims making it safe to remove the sturdy cupcake pans from the oven without concern you will lose your grip on the bakeware pieces. You can choose from cupcake (muffin), loaf or cake pans.  All with the same smart structure.

Did you know that whisks have different purposes? That’s why some are a ball shape and others are a long narrow design. But having a drawer filled with each is not always practical when you have limited space. So, take a look at what Mastrad has created with this flexible silicone Express Whisk.

Baking is a science as well as an art. Meaning measuring ingredients is much more important than when you are cooking. Finding a useful scale that can measure large quantities of flour as well as small teaspoons accurately is important for any baker. Salter now has a dual platform digital scale which shows the LCD weights simultaneously. Baking measured clearly!

Have you ever used a springform pan when making a cheesecake but have to use foil to make sure no water leaks into the crust? And you still don’t have the best outcome. The good news is PushPan has created a 100% leakproof and watertight bakeware with an easy to release method of presenting your completed dessert. The key is the silicone seal. Ahh, dilemma solved.

This summary could be endless given all the creative, useful, beautiful and simply fun things I saw at the show. In an upcoming gift guide, you will see some of the gift items that I found at the show that I know I would love to receive! Hope you enjoyed the 2016 International Home and Housewares Show seen through my eyes.

What are your favorite items from the show?

 

Thanks for stopping by!