TEST DRIVE by Julia Aitken

MEASURING UP
 

   I’ve always thought that Mother’s Day gifts should be endearing and somewhat useless (well, mine to my mother always were) so these measuring cups from Abbott caught my eye. Prettily pink with charming scalloped edges, their cute quotient is undeniable. Alas, those frilly rims preclude using them for baking because the dip-and-sweep method of measuring dry ingredients just won’t work. 

However, fill them to the marked line with anything else and they’re perfectly accurate, and will add a touch of whimsy to your (or your mom’s) batterie de cuisine. ($17.99/set of four; visit http://hosted.where2getit.com/abbott/ for retailers.)

HAVE YOUR CAKE

   Gluten seems to be public enemy number one these days. Celiac disease aside, I don’t get the antipathy, but gluten-free appears to have become the new grail. Many gluten-free baked goods are as dry and heavy as Proust (madeleines notwithstanding) but you can’t say that for the new line of gluten-free goodies from Toronto’s own Dufflet Rosenberg. Launched earlier this year, the range includes a chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon and a chocolate-chunk brownie, but my faves are Dufflet’s gluten-free carrot and chocolate Cakelets.

   The carrot cake, rich and moist from coconut and with a nice hit of spice, has a fluffy cream-cheese icing, while the chocolate would satisfy the fussiest chocoholic with its layers of devil’s food chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream and shiny glaze. Each 5 ½- x 3 ½-inch (13 x 9 cm) cake cuts into about eight slices so they’re just the ticket for a Mother’s Day afternoon tea. ($16.99 each; Dufflet retail stores—www.dufflet.com/html/retail—Longo’s, Fiesta Farms or Summerhill Market.)

BOARD GAMES

   I’m not big on “gadgety” cutting boards—let’s call them boards with benefits—preferring my plain, utilitarian versions. But, Trudeau’s Chop ’n’ Clear Cutting Board is making me rethink my stance. Rubber feet mean the polypropylene board doesn’t slip (no more need for a damp tea towel!) and the two nifty slide-out trays let you sweep any trimmings into one and your chopped ingredients into the other, ready for adding to the pot. A channel round the edge directs any liquids into the drawers. Neat. ($24.99; visit www.trudeaucorp.com for retailers.)

Julia Aitken is a Canadian freelance food writer and editor who contributes to The Cookbook Store blog with her insightful column Test Drive on what's new for the kitchen. Julia can be found at http://julia.aitken.com 

TEST DRIVE by Julia Aitken

A RIVETING TRIVET

 Trust the Italians to take a gadget as mundane as a trivet and turn it into something oh-so-chic. Designed by Legnoart, the trivet resembles a perfect cartoon cactus (albeit in crazy colours, including pink, red, white, orange, black or bright green) set in a ceramic pot. Pull the “cactus” from the pot and it springs into life as a three-pronged, non-slip trivet. It’s so utterly cute you might be tempted to display it on your mantel. ($44.95; call 1-877-243-9463 for retailers.)

SEPARATION ANXIETY

As we approach holiday gravy season, the cooking world divides into two camps. In one are the cooks who swear by fat separators, those pitchers which are supposed to allow you to magically pour off sparkling jus, leaving the wicked fat behind. I’m firmly planted in the other team which does its best to scoop off most of the fat with a spoon, then gives up and carries on making the gravy anyway, on the basis that what your guests don’t see won’t hurt them. In short, most conventional fat separators do a lousy job.

Just in time for manhandling the jus from your holiday turkey, Cuisipro has launched a fat separator that makes sense. The pitcher features a strainer that catches any flavourings in the jus then, once it’s settled and the fat’s risen to the surface, a nifty button on the handle releases a plug in the base of the pitcher to empty the de-fatted jus. The 4-cup (1 L) heatproof pitcher, made from made from BPA-free Tritan TX-2001, is top-rack dishwasher safe. ($34.99; specialty kitchen stores, or call 1-866-306-3672 or visit www.browneretail.com for retailers.)

ALL BUTTERED UP

If you’ve traveled a lot in Europe you may have noticed that the butter across the pond tastes, well, more buttery than ours. Most European butter contains a minimum of 82 percent butterfat, while in Canada the standard is 80 percent. Doesn’t sound like a lot but, as pastry chefs here have said for years, it makes a huge difference in baking. More butterfat means less water which yields better-tasting and more professional-looking pastries, breads and cookies.

So, as a butter lover, I’m thrilled that Stirling Creamery has launched Churn84, an 84 percent butterfat butter. A batch of homemade shortbread made with Churn84 (I know, it’s a tough job) had a more malleable, easy-to-handle dough and a much richer flavour than one using a supermarket brand. And, eaten au naturel, Churn84 tastes like the single ingredient that appears on its label: cream. (From $5.49/250 g; visit www.stirlingcreamery.com for retailers.)