Back-to-school shopping is usually all about the clothes, but for gourmands in the making the right lunchbox is just as important. In support of the Future Foodies of America (FFA), I decided to go on a serious hunt for the coolest, most epically awesome lunchbox I could find. What I discovered was a hell of a lot more fun than I'd ever imagined—in fact, the Goodbyn almost made me want to go back to school. Aside from having a really cute name, the Goodbyn features a smart design that's both practical and environmentally proactive—a tough combination to master given the reputation of eco-friendly products as sometimes underperforming or requiring more work compared to non-green counterparts. Besides being made of... More

As much as I love a classic Eggs Benedict, I can't help but blame the dish for pigeonholing one of my favorite foods--the poached egg. For addicts like myself, they're not only brunch's star attraction, they're also the perfect topping for most any pasta dish, sandwich, or green vegetable. That said, it's pretty essential to be able to achieve a perfectly runny yolk whenever the craving hits. After years of sometimes-success with the traditional vortex method (where boiling water and white vinegar are swirled into a vortex that keeps the egg together), I decided it was time to put some poaching cups to the test. What I happily discovered was that when you find a good set of poachers,... More

I found out about the glorious pancake-making machine ChefStack through an IM conversation with Serious Eats intern Grace. Observe: Grace: http://www.chefstack.com/ Grace: Looks crazy Me: WUT Me: WUT Me: IT POOPS PANCAKES Me: PLOP PLOP PLOP Grace: Hahaaha Me: AHAHAHAH Me: HUH Grace: Hahaha omg don’t have a seizure! And that's what I sound like when you chat with me through IM about pancakes—my IQ plummets by about 100 points. The ChefStack—or as I like to call it, the Pancake Plooper—makes pancakes at a rate of 200 pph (pancakes per hour) and will set you back $3,500. Interested in owning one of these babies? Visit chefstack.com for more info.... More

"Used regularly, it's a very inexpensive way to get $10 knives to perform almost like $80 ones." Slowly but surely, I've gone from being the girl with terrifyingly unsafe knife skills to being relatively nimble with a blade. But if there's one thing that still remains squarely outside my comfort zone, it's manual sharpening. As my current roommate is the fortunate owner of some enviable Wüsthof knives, I've yet to upgrade from my not-so-desirable (and since discontinued) Ikea set. Considering that the roommate (and her Wüsthofs) won't be around forever, I decided to put a knife sharpener to the test. With some TLC, could I get my crappy set to mimic the sharp competition? I quickly mustered up my old... More

"If you open the lid, you can kiss your vapor seal goodbye." When Alaina suggested I test-drive a special "Vapor Seal" pot that had found its way to Serious Eats World Headquarters, my first reaction was skepticism. I knew some serious product testing lay ahead of me. While the 360 Cookware saucepan I was given looked like any well-made pot--nicely buffed stainless steel, an ergonomic handle, the works--its instructional booklet and introductory DVD made clear that this was no normal kitchen gadget. Fifteen minutes into the DVD, I figured I had it down: you throw stuff into the pot, let the cooking process get underway, and spin the pot's lid so that the rising steam forms a so-called "vapor seal."... More

Editor's Note: Nikki Goldstein, longtime friend of Serious Eats and our newest contributor, will be checking in with a different kitchen gadget every week. Please welcome Nikki! Few would dare question the power of pancakes as comfort food--what's better than waking up to the smell of warm batter puffing up into cakey vehicles for syrup and jam? If you thought this was the pinnacle of Sunday brunch, meet the aebelskiver. It's a warm, doughy concoction that essentially crosses a pancake with a jelly doughnut. They're relentlessly addicting. While many trek to the few eateries that make these fresh (including Aunt Else's in the Twin Cities area, Shopsin's in New York City, and almost any place in Solvang, California), aebelskivers are... More

I feel like the most fun part of making dumplings is the part where you crimp the edges and marvel at your hand made dough pouch, but maybe my opinion would change if I tried Bandai's new gyoza (dumpling) maker [English translation]. According to Bandai's website, the gyoza maker is geared towards 8 to 12-year-old girls (no boys allowed?) and their parents, and will be available starting on July 25 for ¥3,150 (about $33). Place the dumpling skin on the rollers, use the included spatula to plop in some filling, close the lid, crank away, and—ta da, dumpling sort of instantly plops into the drawer below! If I were a kid I'd probably love this thing. As an adult,... More

Ladies and gentlemen, the future is now. We teased you with the spice gun back in 2008 and a year later we have the Condiment Gun! It's actually been around for a while, but I'm sad to say this is the first I've heard of it. Methinks I have a lot of ketchup shooting to catch up on. Some words of warning: Apparently this is not designed to fire chunky sauces and is not a toy. There's also no safety so don't go stumbling around with this at your next dinner party. $24.98, from Things You Never Knew Existed; £14.95, from Firebox.com... More

Photograph from Balakov on Flickr For some reason the American kitchen is a breeding ground for useless gadgets, tools, and knickknacks. Do we really need a separate tool to make balls out of melons? (Actually, melon ballers are quite useful for many different tasks, but that's a subject for another post.) Living in New York City, where most apartments have tiny kitchens with only a handful of cabinets, I am forced to be ruthlessly Spartan with my gadgetry. This is why I am generally opposed to cheese knives. I tend to follow Alton Brown's golden rule: never own a kitchen gadget that has only one use. So what kinds of knives do work well with cheese? My suggestions, after... More

The Sham Wow, the shammy-towel-sponge wonder, should watch its back. The paper towel also has many skills. Crumple it up into a ball, throw it into the air, and it will fall down (fall down!). Fold a paper towel up into a vaguely diamond shape, put a string on it, it's a kite. You can even rip them into craploads of squares. Looks like Vince of Sham Wow/Slap Chop has a little protege. The video, after the jump.... More