Bialleti Musa

We graduated from the classic aluminium Bialleti coffee pot to the stainless steel Musa model about 2 years ago.

It was a good move.

The aluminium unit could give a nasty steam burn as it escaped through the lid hinge, which is also just happens to be the spot where the handle joins to the body! Lets just say that if that happened caffeine was no longer required for that morning.

Then there was the nagging issue of aluminium linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Just remember stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat so it does take longer to get to get your fix in the morning, but at least you will remember it!

The product is robust and functions well with user niggles from the classic design sorted out, but becareful when screwing the top to the bottom not to distort the top section.

Global Knife

One of my favourite and essential utensils in the kitchen is my Global chef knife. When we first got it, I took some finger tips off, luckily nothing too serious. A great feature is that the blade and handle are fused as one piece, so no unhygienic cracks and joins. 

The blade is really thin, the knife is well balanced and light weight. Once you have used one there is no going back.

Wear proper leather shoes or boots when using, as it will take off a pinkie as it falls to the floor. And that goes for the kids too, if you are not using it, keep it out of reach.

Do not put it into a sink of soapy water and forget about it, that would be the equivalent of placing your hand in a tank of pirhanas. Once you have finished using it, rinse it under a tap and dry with a cloth folded on the blunt side of the blade. 

For best sharpening practise wiki says it best "Compared to conventional European knives such as J. A. Henckels or Wusthof, Global knives are made from a significantly harderalloy of steel, use a thinner blade thickness, and are sharpened to a narrower angle. This produces an extremely sharp knife which keeps its edge longer and allows for more accurate work, but takes longer to sharpen when it becomes dull. Because of this, the manufacturer recommends using whetstones and ceramic sharpening rods as opposed to the European sharpening steel"

Made in Japan by Yoshikin see their site for maintenance tips http://www.yoshikin.co.jp/

Zyliss Corkscrew With Foil Cutter

I am kicking this blog off with a good review. It is a Saturday night and I have just opened a bottle of red wine with my trusty Zyliss corkscrew. So before I get too wordy,

Nothing preempts a good glass of wine worse, than having to fiddle with a dodgy corkscrew. My Zyliss is 8 years old now and besides the foil cutter which has seen better days, but still works (my wife says I've worn it out) I still enjoy the product. After interrogating the structure, which is sturdy, I expect it to work for many more.

It is easy to use, (no rocket science required here), compact and is a credit to the Zyliss brand.

Now a long life cycle product like this has untold environmental benefits, with out being in your face "green" now I just have to work on recycling all those bottles.