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The infrared convection oven or halogen oven is considered a new way to cook food and is more efficient and uses less energy than a standard electric oven. First we should take a look at what an infrared oven or halogen oven is all about and why they have become popular.

It will be a good idea to read some reviews so you can better understand how these kinds of ovens could add value to a kitchen.

The halogen oven uses infrared radiation to cook food. In case you didn't know, infrared radiation is invisible heat emanating from all heating sources such as the sun or a toaster in your kitchen. Using an applicant that uses infrared heat are totally harmless. They are efficient because they use infrared heating elements in an efficient manner.

Infrared heating elements are more energy efficient and take less time to reach the temperature that is required for cooking certain food. As well, the combination of an efficient high-performance fan ensures that the heat is used well to produce even cooking.

With an infrared or halogen oven no defrosting or preheating of the oven is required. You won't have to use added oil to the food which helps to cut down on calorie and fat consumption. The cooking times are reduced and energy consumption is lowered significantly. An important feature is that precious kitchen counter space is saved as a result of their smaller size.

Like most small appliances, not all infrared or halogen ovens are created alike. To ensure you get the best value for your money you probably want to do a little research first. Most reviews are written by people who have purchased the item so that is a good place to start.

They have probably had the oven for some time and are in the position to make a judgment on their quality and performance. Since manufacturers often use technical jargon to impress potential customers with the finer points of their product, it is a good idea to see what the end user has to say.

Also, it is important to check out the accessories for the oven as well as the oven itself. A $35 halogen oven probably does the job but might not have all the features and accessories you would like. Having to buy the accessories separately could be more expensive.

Another area to check is whether or not replacement parts are readily available. This is especially true of the halogen light bulb. Check the reviews to see if customers have found reliable service from the manufacturer and whether or not replacement parts are available. You will also want to make sure there is a user manual so you can easily figure out how to use the halogen oven.

The coffee craze has swept the nation! Starbucks are popping up on every street corner, in grocery stores, book shops, shopping malls, and even libraries. This coffee fever has spread to fast food restaurants, cafes, and restaurants, who are striving to provide their customers with a wider variety than black coffee in a Styrofoam cup.

Since everyone is walking around sipping espressos, cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos, and every other coffee creation in existence, it is no surprise that the coffee business if a booming enterprise.

If your yearly coffee budget has left you aghast, consider alternatives to buying those tasty espresso fixes. Many people find that the purchase of a home espresso machine can save them enough to pay for the machine many times over.

You do not have to have professional barista training in order to run a home espresso machine, as most are incredibly simple to use with perfect results each and every time. Instead of running out and buying a fantastically expensive espresso machine that you think will provide you with the best results, consider researching the most appropriate machine for your specific needs. A simple search online will provide you with a great variety of machines that are geared towards individuals with a wide variety of needs.

For those individuals with smaller kitchens or limited countertop space, the stovetop varieties of espresso machines may be the best option. These machines are not electric and work on the principle similar to that of a double boiler. Although these espresso pots are not equipped with an element that froths milk, they can produce a great cup of espresso nonetheless.

Another option that is quickly becoming more and more popular is a machine that runs off specially designed pods. These pods contain the coffee ingredients and are inserted into the machine and the espresso is brewed.

Pod espresso machines have come onto the market in the last couple of years, but are just reaching the height of their popularity. Instead of hassling with grinding coffee beans or spilling ground coffee, these pods are mess and maintenance free. Also, many of the top name brand coffee producers are making pods with their signature blends, allowing you to enjoy the rich taste without the mess.

If you are interested in directly recreating the fantastic espressos produced in your favorite coffee shop, turn to a professional espresso machine made for commercial purposes. Although these machines are often the priciest, largest, and loudest machines on the market, they are the ultimate luxury for those individuals wanting espressos at home.

However, keep in mind that you do not have to spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on a top of the line espresso machine to make excellent espressos in the comfort of your own home.

There is nothing more enticing to see than a dessert that is topped with your favorite ice cream. However, what is particularly appealing is the beautiful spherical shape that ice cream servers top on your shake or dessert. Some come in large balls while others are scooped in small spirals like one beautiful icy croissant. The different sizes of ice cream spheres are all related to the sizes of the ice cream scoop or disher. And there are plenty.

A Scoop on Disher and Cookie Scoop Sizes In the United States ice cream scoops are classified into different sizes relative to their quart fractions. This means that the number size of a particular ice scoop or disher is inversely proportional to a quart. A quart is equivalent to 946.353 milliliters in the Metric system or 4 cups in the household system of measurement. So, if you see a Size 6 ice cream scoop, then this is 1/6 of a quart or roughly 158 mL. A much simpler way of using the Size 6 ice cream scoop in this example is that you will need 6 level scoops of a Size 6 ice cream scoop to fill a quart. So if you have a Size 4, that is equivalent to ¼ quart or approximately 1 cup of ice cream. Equally there is a correlation between scoop sizes and ounces as well.

Ice Cream Scoop Sizes Chart - Each size of ice cream scoops is color-coded as follows: (this is the same for the cookie scoop size chart as well)

Size 4 orange

Size 5 teal

Size 6 white

Size 8 gray

Size 10 ivory

Size 12 green

Size 16 blue

Size 20 yellow

Size 24 red

Size 30 black

Size 40 orchid

Size 50 rust

Size 60 pink

Size 70 plum

* Size 100 orange

As you may notice, there are gaps in between sizes. It should be understood that these are just nominal classification of the ice cream scoop size simply because there exist great variability among manufacturers. Additionally, ice cream scoop manufacturers do not carry all sizes. A recent comparison between the nominal ice cream scoop sizes and the actual sizes of 10 of the worlds leading manufacturers of ice cream scoops show that it is very rare for a manufacturer to have its ice cream scoop sizes reflect the true nominal sizes. The greatest variations in ice cream scoop sizes occur in the extremes of ranges, meaning Sizes 4 and 100 although some degree of variability have also been observed in the midrange Sizes of 20 to 40.

Practical Applications of the Ice Cream Scoops Ice cream scoops are not only excellent for scooping your favorite delicacy. In many food establishments they use commercial ice cream scoops, as scoop sizes in food service is very important, the disher or ice cream scoop is also used as a measurement tool especially in the achievement of consistent portioning. For example, hamburger patties may be weighed but instead of using a digital weighing scale, then a Size 4 ice cream scoop may be used to approximate a cup of the meaty patty. This ensures uniformity in measurements. Additional applications include the portioning of the batter for cookies, muffins, and cupcakes. You can also use it to form perfect balls of fruits like melons, papayas, apples, pears, and other fruits. You can make excellent meatballs, canapes, potato balls, rice balls, gelatos, frozen yoghurt, and other delicacies.

Whether you are running a restaurant or simply want to cook good food at home, a vegetable slicer would surely come in handy. This kitchen tool is simple yet very useful. It can help you create uniform slices quickly. You can make salads, potato chips, French fries, and even waffle-cut chips or gaufrettes.

If you are running a restaurant, you have to ensure customer satisfaction. This means that your food does not only have to taste good, but it also has to look good. You can make your dishes more presentable by using a vegetable or mandoline slicer. Impressive thinness and consistent thickness are necessary if you want your food to be presentable.

Whats more, these even cuts do not only please the eye. They also please the taste buds! Yes, food can cook better when they are evenly cut. So if you are preparing a hot dish, you should cut your ingredients evenly to ensure that they cook evenly and properly. If you are preparing potato chips, the potatoes should have a consistent thickness. Otherwise, you can end up with a batch of potato chips that are half-burnt and half undercooked.

If you are not running a restaurant, precision is not that much of a big deal. Nevertheless, this should not prevent you from looking for the best mandoline slicer available on the market. Check out reviews of the different mandoline slicers available. For your convenience, you can order one online. Consider their type, size, style, and shape to find out which one is best for your needs and budget.

If you want a neat slicer, go for one that has a plastic box or food holder attached to it. This way, cooking will not be such a mess and cleaning up would be easier. Your sliced vegetables and fruits will be kept in place. You can get an automatic model that starts to slice at the push of a button which would make this the best mandoline slicer.

Safety is another important factor you have to consider when checking out mandoline slicers. Look for models with ergonomic designs. They may be more expensive than their standard counterparts, but the money you pay will be worth it. Their blades stay covered when not in use. They also have soft handles that are set lower than their bodies, making them easier to grip and use. Make sure that you choose a slicer with a food guard, so your hand can be protected.

Since there are plenty of mandoline slicers on the market, you can test out a few. You can try cutting different types of vegetables and fruits. Make sure that they vary in firmness and size, so you can really tell the difference in the cuts. Firm produce such as parsnips and potatoes are easier to cut. Softer vegetables and fruits like lemons and tomatoes are more difficult to cut, so you have to be extra careful.

Make sure that you test the slicers at different thickness settings. You should also test the other features, such as attachments for julienning and making crinkle-cuts and batonettes, if there are any. In addition, you can take into account the quality of the parts. For example, you can check for loose parts and parts that are difficult to maneuver.

You may also not like slicers that require too many pieces to work. Some slicers require the user to swap out pieces to go from one thickness setting to another. Attaching extra blades can also be tricky and quite dangerous, so you also have to factor this in. Make sure that you wear protective gloves when you handle blades. Nonetheless, it can be nice to have different types of blades, so you can have many options when it comes to cuts.

Do not forget to consider the overall design of the mandoline slicer. If the design is inefficient, it may easily lose vital pieces over time. You may also be frustrated using it. Remember that a good slicer allows for quick and easy adjustments of settings, as well as have very few to no loose parts. It should also stay put when you use it. Ideally, you should look for a slicer that has rubberized feet to prevent it from sliding.

For easier and faster cleaning, it should also be dishwasher-safe. Mandoline slicers that can only be hand washed are more difficult to clean since you have to be extra careful with the parts. As for storage, you may want to choose a slicer with collapsible legs that you can fold.

"Remodeling your kitchen can sometimes be wrought with many challenges. However, once completed, the whole remodeling project can be a great source of fulfillment and pride. The internet is littered with so many kitchen remodeling ideas that are surely worth the try. But if you are to really understand the whole idea about kitchens, you would agree that the next best kitchen remodeling project would be a food pantry."

"A food pantry should not only be a storage area for your food. You can design it in such a way that it can also house your unused or unopened kitchen utensils like knife blocks, spoons, ladles, and a cheese grater as well as handy food processors and cutters. While many homeowners look at the pantry as something that is supposed to be hidden, you can remodel your food pantry in a manner that it functions as both a display and storage area in one. This organizes all of your kitchen essentials in just one neat and convenient place. The overall effect will be beautifully crafted food pantry that increases the overall aesthetics and functionality of the kitchen."

"The most important consideration in the design and creation of a modern food pantry will be accessibility. It makes no sense to store all of your canned foods and other food items with longer shelf lives in an area where you will be straining to find them. In relation to this, it makes perfect sense to remodel your kitchen to have the food pantry right where the action is. So instead of putting the food pantry in some deep, dark, and cave-like kitchen space, why not optimize accessible space and just use some design elements to put a cover to it? Your unused kitchen utensils will be a lot safer stored this way."

"Creativity is the key whenever you undertake a home remodeling project. This should not be at all different with a kitchen remodeling. If you have an old, no longer used cabinet, you can actually use that as a food pantry. You can change some of its doors into glass to make it more aesthetically pleasing and functionally useful. Or, if you have a knack for woodwork, you can custom-build your own food pantry. This should add more personal touch to the whole project."

A fully functional food pantry is great for storing your groceries as well as unused kitchen utensils and implements. A great food pantry should also be aesthetically pleasing. Your next kitchen remodeling project rests on these two requirements.

As the holidays near, people start rushing to the malls and shopping centers to buy presents and prepare Christmas meals for their family and guests. In times when you seem to have no ideas on how to spend your holidays, here are the things that you may try:

Spend some time of relaxation with them and go to hotels and amusement parks. There are also tourist spots locally and abroad, where you could have fun with your family. Play games and other worthwhile activities.

Spread love and cheer during the holidays by giving gifts to your loved ones. You could make the gifts personalized, or you could choose presents that symbolize the Yuletide season. Toys, poinsettias, books, and even gift cheques are just a few of the presents that are available and appropriate for Christmas.

Bring your loved ones to a dinnershow . The holiday time and dinner show is a perfect combination of fun and excitement. Not only will you celebrate Christmas in a different way, but you would also be able to watch adinner show performed by extremely talented artists in Aalsmeer. Such dinner shows are specially prepared for you and your loved ones. There are packages to choose from, and these packages depend on the theme and price that suits your lifestyle and preferences.

Give to charity. You could do this in many ways: spend time with orphans and organize a party for them. You could also plan a dinner show to entertain the beneficiaries. The dinner show may have acting, singing, and dancing. There will also be goodie bags and other prizes. Holiday time and dinner show is a great way to make Christmas more meaningful and memorable for other people. Aside from taking the beneficiaries to a dinner show, you could likewise donate books, clothes, and other useful items to them.

The holidays may happen once a year, but the happiness that you could give doesnt have to be present only during this season. When you help people, whether its through giving gifts or taking your loved ones to dinner shows, you are already channeling the spirit of the Yuletide season to those who really need it.

Holiday time and dinner show need not be extravagant, too, but they can be made extra special by making the audience happy. Jokes, games, and fun activities will always be better than towering cakes and unique souvenirs. At Aalsmeer, you not only give your loved ones a physical gift, but you also offer the gift of selflessness and happiness through awesome performances from the artists.

There are many ways that juicing can improve your health. You will discover recipes to boost your energy, improve your memeory, target your health concerns and even methods to let your own recipes easily. Keep reading to get some great suggestions on making the most of your juicer.

Add cucumber to dark leafy greens for improved flavor. Many leafy greens have a distinct and slight unpleasant flavor. Cucumber will mask the taste and add a refreshing flavor of its own. Check out these other wonderful juicing recipes.

Drink your juice slowly and appreciate the subtle nuances. Fresh juice is unsurpassed for nutrition and taste.

Consider your juice to be a whole meal. Once you see the amount of food that goes into a glass of juice, you'll be amazed!

Use the color of your fruits and vegetables to help you figure out which nutrients they provide. From bright reds to vibrant greens, all these colored vegetables and fruits offer many kinds of minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. Using a wide variety of colors will give you more nutrition and many exciting tastes.

You can separate the pulp from the juice by using a coffee filter, but this such a slow way to do it. Purchasing a juice appliance is the best investment if you wish to explore juicing on a regular basis.

If you have to spend an excessive amount of time cleaning your juicer, you're less likely to use it. One simple cleaning tip: rinse your juicer right after using it since moist pulp is easier to get rid of than when it dries.

If you have diabetes or hypoglycemia, you should just juice vegetables until you talk to your doctor. Drinking juice made of fruit content will raise your blood glucose count. It is important to monitor how much fruit you include in your juice recipes to allow for your medical needs. Vegetables are typically much lower in sugar.

Pay close attention to your body's signals when it comes to the juices you consume. You might drink something that does not agree with you. If you have any negative reactions to a new juice, study the various ingredients to see if you have incorporated something that you don't normally eat. Then try smaller amounts and over time work increase those ingredients. Beets and leafy greens most often upset the stomach at first.

To ensure that the juice you are drinking is as healthy as possible, you should understand that the longer juice sits, the more nutrients are lost. Therefore, to ensure that you receive the most nutrients, and the most benefits, drink your juice or smoothie as soon as you can.

Green leafy vegetables - collards, kale and spinach to name a few - will give your juice an added boost of important nutrients. You can cover up the bitter flavor of leafy greens with lemons and apples.

Juicing is a powerful step you can take to improve your health. Juicing can give you the energy to get up and exercise, and even help build muscle. If you already do heavy workouts, you could make a fresh fruit or vegetable juice to speed your exercise recovery.

Keep in mind that some juices can affect the look of your teeth. This is not harmful or lasting, and beets are one example.

Some fruits, such as tangerines and oranges, can be juiced with a very inexpensive hand juicer. Also, take extra care with melon juice as it tends not to mix well with other fruits.

Green juices are high in nutritional value, but they do not taste good. You can add a lot of healthy ingredients to alter the juice taste to whatever you desire.

The amount of pulp you create depends on what ingredients you are using. You can put it back into later batches of juice to add more fiber.

Avoid using fruits that are overly sweet. They are certainly delicious, but they might negatively affect your blood sugar. A good alternative would be to use sweet vegetables instead. You can incorporate fruits occasionally as a treat, but overall, you should generally stick with vegetables.

Juicing is an engaging and enjoyable activity that offers numerous advantages. As this article outlined, there are several different ways to heighten juicing's benefits. Try the tips contained in this article for yourself. You will be pleased by the physical changes from including more juice in your diet.