Kitchenware News • July 2020

KITCHENWARE Housewares NEWS& Review Vol. 26 • Issue 4 July 2020 • $7.00

Experience Culinary Richness Without the Jet Lag

See page 5

Cook a Meal on the Go with HOTLOGIC

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

HOTLOGIC offers a portable solution to the microwave oven for reheating meals – and even cooking from scratch – on the go. It's a thermal bag, like a soft lunchbox, with a Smart Shelf cooking plate inside it that's powered either by an automobile's DC power outlet or from a wall outlet – there are separate models for each power option. It heats like a slow cooker, so it will cook food and then hold it at 165 degrees for up to 12 hours, and it's already been adopted by airline pilots, truckers and people who found it online because they were tired of waiting in line for the break room microwave ovens at their work places. “Where we're really getting traction is that people are looking for an alternative to the microwave,” said HOTLOGIC Chief Marketing Officer Bill McKendry. “Road warriors love us. Flight attendants love us.

Pilots love us. People with Cont. on page 10

News.....................................5 Ad Index.............................26

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The One-Pot Meal Simplified

See page 6

Eureka's New Models Offer Fine Features Plus Affordability

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Eureka is elevating its line of home vacuum cleaners with new models designed to offer consumers the premium features they want at a price they can afford. The company will continue to offer its value-priced models for consumers who are shopping in the under $100 range, but these new models will offer greater flexibility for the consumer who wants to give a robotic vacuum a try or simply use the vacuum cleaner on all the floors in the home. The new models are available for shipping now.

The new range includes cordless stick and upright models as well as traditional upright options and Eureka's first robotic Cont. on page 6

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from the

Dear Friends:

As I write this, it's been just under three months since Arizona's governor issued a stay-at-home order and I, along with the rest of the staff at Oser Communications Group, went into lockdown. For me, one of the best things about this experience has been the opportunities that I have had to have many real conversations with so many readers of this magazine. In normal times, those conversations would be all business – now they are mostly business, but we wrap that up in talk about our real lives. It's comforting to remember that we still have real lives that we hope are still waiting for us.

Arizona's official state of emergency has now passed, but the news reports I see are filled with warnings from our state health officials that our hospitals are full, and people are dying at hideous rates. Most days, I just can't bear to know what's going on outside my home and back yard.

It is at times like this that I have, over more years than I can count, often leaned on the counsel of a woman named Elinor Pruitt Stewart.

Most people know her, if they've ever heard of her at all, from the 1979 movie “Heartland,” which is based on a collection of her letters that was published in 1914 as “Letters of a Woman Homesteader,” a book that I think I probably picked it up in a museum gift store sometime in the early 1970s as a paperback reprint of the original volume published by Houghton Mifflin Co. The letters were addressed from Stewart to a former employer, and they started after Stewart had left her life of cooking, cleaning and stoking the coal furnaces of rich Denver families to take a job as a housekeeper on the Wyoming frontier. Her intention was to get herself hired by a western rancher who could advise her about how to file on a homestead of her own, and when Clyde Stewart saw her advertisement in the paper while he was visiting his mother in Boulder and responded to it, she accepted the job he offered her and joined him on his ranch.

Within months, she'd thrown in her lot altogether with the soft-spoken rancher in spite of his deplorable habit of playing “The Campbells are Coming” on his bagpipes “at intervals all day long and from seven till eleven at night,” figuring, as she told her former employer, that the two could get married first and then do their “sparking” afterwards. By her own account, it was a happy marriage, and Stewart had a happy life on the Wyoming frontier.

But it wasn't all happy. She lost a child out there on the frontier – a baby who died in her arms. Clyde built the casket in which they buried their first-born son, and she lined the casket and read the words over him herself. She had a gift for working hard, for accepting troubles as they came and for remembering to be grateful for every blessing.

But out of everything she wrote, there's one particular passage that sticks with me. After a long, hard winter marked by blizzards and ill health near the end of her life, Stewart wrote to a friend, “The cattle died in piles and the horses died in other piles and I didn't want to write to anyone. But I can tell you, my dear, that it is a relief when things get to their worst. You know what the worst is then and can begin to plan for better things. That's what I have done, I have planted flowers everywhere.”

For all of you, I hope that you, too, are able now to plan for better things. And that you will have flowers everywhere. KN

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KITCHENWARE Housewares NEWS & Review PUBLISHER

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Experience Culinary Richness Without the Jet Lag

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Verve Culture offers consumers the opportunity to participate in a foreign culture with a rich culinary tradition without the necessity of a passport, the discomforts of international air travel, the disorientation of culture shock or even the danger of being trapped overseas by a pandemic. The items offered for sale in each of three collections – one for Mexico, one for Thailand and one for Morocco – aren't just things; they're artifacts invested with cultural values and history. They'll appeal to consumers looking for an experience of connection with a specific place and its people.

Verve Culture was founded by a mother and daughter duo, Jules Vertrees, the daughter, and Jacquie Lewis, who started the company four years ago after selling their previous company. The two decided that, for their next endeavor, they wanted to offer goods that were more than just commodities – they were looking for meaning and for products that would appeal to consumers who'd moved beyond conspicuous consumption. “We're not a company that's about products. We're a company that's about culture,” Vertrees said.

“We're catering to the environmentally and socially conscious buyer as well as the buyer that doesn't want to buy mass-produced.”

Verve Culture launched its first collection of items from Mexico in 2017.

The star of the collection is a citrus press that's modeled on a device that Vertrees and her mother saw in markets when they visited the country a few years ago. “You see the citrus juicers in markets all over Mexico,” Vertrees said. “I was thirsty. I ordered an orange juice, and the guy was squeezing the oranges on this amazing contraption.”

Vertrees and Lewis found a Mexican source for the juicers they'd seen in the markets and worked with the maker on a

design that was slightly smaller, painted in a beautiful gold color and finely polished into a juicer that American consumers would be proud to display on their counter tops.

They worked with other artisans to design packaging that would tell the story of the device.

“It's made of recycled aluminum and is a slice of the culture that you can have on your counter-top at home,” Vertrees said.

“And they're beautiful.”

The juicer is now Verve Culture's best seller f rom a collection that also includes a pair of tortilla presses, handblown glassware and a molcajete, the traditional mortar and pestle used by Mexican cooks to grind spices and herbs. The Verve Culture Molcajete is made of rough-textured volcanic stone that will pick up flavors over time. Like a cast iron pan, a molcajete needs to be seasoned, and Verve Culture recommends that the home cook do that by grinding white rice in the bowl a few times until the powdered rice remains white. Once that happens, the Molcajete is ready to grind seasonings, smash avocados for guacamole or pulverize vegetables for a salsa. “Everything in the Mexican range, including the packaging, is made in Mexico,” Vertrees said. “We could definitely make a beautiful, traditional Mexican tortilla press a lot cheaper in China or Turkey, but then it's not authentic....

Consumers today are really looking for authenticity, not one of 20,000 off the production line. There is a desire for experiential purchasing. That is the reason we started Verve Culture.”

The Mexico collection also includes a line of the traditional products for making Mexican hot chocolate, including the

traditional Molinillo Whisk, as well as the Villa Real Mexican Hot Chocolate mix. The hot chocolate items are sold individually and packaged as a gift set that contains the Molinillo Whisk, a Red Clay Hot Chocolate Jug and a bag of five tablets of Villa Real Mexican Hot Chocolate with Almonds. The gift set retails for $80, and both the whisk and the jug should be hand-washed only.

The second collection to be added to the Verve Culture range comes from Thailand and, in addition to a line of chef 's knives made in Thailand in authentic blade shapes, it includes Thai for Two meal kits for Thai curries that provide the home cook who's curious about Thai cuisine with all the hard-to-find ingredients needed to make either an Organic Red Curry, Organic Green Curry, Organic Panang Curry or Organic Tom Kha Soup and Organic Pad Thai. Each of the meal kits, which are packaged in giftable fabric pouches, takes just a few steps and a few minutes to produce an organic and glutenfree meal. The kits themselves are vegan – consumers add their own fresh vegetables and protein to make it their own. Everything that's not easy to find in a standard supermarket, including the authentic curry paste, is packaged in the kit. “We give lots of recommendations,” Vertrees said. “Panang curry is fabulous over chicken – or you can just add whatever protein you have in the fridge or freezer.”

“Our background is very much in the gift industry, which is why our bags are so giftable,” Vertrees

said. “The kits are also consumable.

Consumers fall in love, and they come back and buy more and more and more.

People will try the Thai Green Curry, and they'll love it and come back and buy two more.”

The newest Verve Culture collection represents Morocco. “This is a very exciting range for us,” Vertrees said. “It's the biggest one.”

The product range represents Morocco's diverse cultures in a country that spans vast deserts as well as seaside ports of call and French influences as well as Arabic traditions. “We are doing tagines, couscous platters, a phenomenal range of blown glassware,” Vertrees said.

The collection includes Moroccan poufs made of either vintage Kilim rugs or leather.

The Moroccan pouf is traditionally stuffed with outof-season clothing to make a soft footrest.

The collection also includes ceramic bowls and cups as well as the tagines, which are the Moroccan slowcooking vessel with a conical top that contains steamy juices until the lid is lifted at the table when the meal is served, as well as personal care products, including Argan Oil, which is rich in Vitamin E and CoQ10, which have antioxidant properties.

“It is the Moroccan women's beauty secret for sure,” Vertrees said. “We're packaging these in beautiful artisan bottles, and there's a lip balm to go with that.”

For more information, visit www.verveculture.com or email Vertrees at jules@verveculture.com. KN

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The One-Pot Simplified

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Bonbowl is an induction cooktop system designed and built for the student who wants to cook one-pot meals to be eaten from a bowl on her lap while she watches television in her dormitory room or the artist who wants a hot lunch but can't leave the studio while the kiln is firing the latest pots. It was invented by Mike Kobida, who'd planned to introduce it to the market during this year's Inspired Home Show until that was canceled by this year's COVID-19 pandemic. “When I started Bonbowl, I was living in New York City in a tiny studio apartment with an extremely small kitchen. I was working long hours and was eating out all the time

EUREKA Continued from page 1 cleaner, the GROOVE, which will retail for $199 to entice first-time robot buyers to give the new technology a try. The GROOVE operates with or without an associated app, so it's accessible to shoppers who are more comfortable operating with a traditional remote control device as well as those whose smartphone never leaves their hand. That option was designed into the GROOVE after Eureka found that although there are consumers who like to let their robotic vacuum cleaner just do its thing while they're at work, there are others who like to watch it work while they're at home. While the device is programmed for Floor random navigation, Rover Dash users can select modes for either spot cleaning or edge cleaning with either the app or the remote control. The remote control also offers direction control, while the app offers a scheduling function.

The app is easy to connect to home wifi, but no connection to wi-fi is required to use the remote control.

Meal

because I wasn't willing to take out all the pots and pans to cook a home-cooked meal,” he said. “I wanted a simple solution to make cooking for myself as simple as possible which would allow me to cook at home.... I felt that cooking for myself was generally healthier than takeout and would also help me save money.”

Bonbowl began shipping in June, with orders coming f rom presales on the company's website at its $149 retail price for both the induction cooktop and the cooking bowl that pairs with it. The cooking bowl is double-walled, with a plastic shell that stays relatively cool, so that it can be handled easily, and the consumer can place the bowl on a lap for

eating. Particularly suited to one-pot meals like a noodle soup or a grain bowl, cooking times with the device are similar to those obtained with any other induction burner or stovetop. It's black outside, with the interior bowl of brushed stainless steel. A PFOA-free nonstick coating is available

as an option.

Bonbowl is UL-listed and comes from a company that was launched in 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Bonbowl is its first product.

For more information, visit www.bonbowl.com. KN

“Or you can just press Start,” said Eureka Product Manager Caroline Kurz.

For the more traditionally-minded, Eureka offers the FloorRover Dash, a premium conventional upright that has been out for a year as a Costco exclusive but is now available on the open market. This is Eureka's most premium upright, with a 760-watt motor, and it will retail for $149. It's packed with features that the consumer would expect to find on an upright in the $200 price range, including swivel steering, large wheels that allow it to glide easily on thick carpet, a washable HEPA filter, speed control and multi-cyclone filtration that doesn't lose suction when the dust cup is full.

When it's being used for its hose and Rapid attachments, Clean the FloorRover Pro Dash offers 12 feet of extended reach and an anti-tip clip that avoids that annoying crash behind you when the far edge of the sofa cushion turns out to be a

little farther away than the user had counted on.

There's a suction control on the hose, so that if the user picks up the bedspread instead of just the dust under the bed, the suction can be turned off to release it.

“That's our big focus – really thoughtful features that solve pain points,” Kurz said.

The FloorRover Dash will retail for $149.99.

The new models also include stick vacuums in both corded and cordless versions.

The RapidClean Pro is Eureka's new cordless stick that offers swivel steering and super-light Stylus weight for consumers whose need is more for light cleaning on a variety of surfaces than heavy-duty cleaning on thick pile carpet. The RapidClean Pro will retail for $149 and offers a 50-watt motor that will run for 40 minutes on low power and about 17 minutes on high power. It will recharge fully in four to five hours. The head detaches, so it can operate as a handheld vacuum. A wall mount is included so it can be conveniently stored in any closet, or it can stand up on its own on the closet floor. The RapidClean Pro is best on hardwood, tile and low-pile carpets, so

this is a great option for consumers who use their vacuum cleaner rather than a broom in their kitchen.

For those who want to use their cordless stick on carpet, Eureka offers the NEC380 Stylus, a more powerful vacuum with a bigger, wider floor nozzle, an LED headlight that helps with visibility along baseboards or the toe kick under the kitchen cabinets. It has cyclone filtration and a HEPA filter and will run for 45 minutes on low power and 12 minutes on high. It will retail for $199.99.

Eureka's new corded stick is the NES510, known as the Flash, which offers the 500-watt power of an upright in a stick vacuum plus extra maneuverability that will be particularly appreciated by those who are cleaning staircases.

Retailing for $139.99, the Flash is notable for its portable storage base that holds tools and vacuum together in a small-footprint package that's easy to store on the floor of the closet without the danger that it'll tip out of the closet any time the door is opened.

For more information, visit www.eureka.com. KN

e Flash

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Juicy Turkey, Flavorful Gravy from the SRT

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

The SRT (Special Roasting Tray) from Benno's Kitchen is the roasting pan for the home cook who's preparing the Thanksgiving turkey for a crowd who loves a juicy bird but thinks that maybe the best part is the dressing drenched in gravy. It was invented by a home cook who knows exactly how that feels.

Benno Kuttruff describes himself as a hobby cook who used to have trouble basting his turkey. He'd take the pan out of the oven and then ask someone else to hold it while he spooned the pan juices over it. “It's a little dangerous because everything is hot,” he said. He tried using an American-style turkey baster, but that didn't work well for him either. “For the nozzle, you have to add water in the beginning,” he said. “Then it splashes.”

He consulted the Internet for answers to his problem. “There was nothing on

HOTLOGIC Continued from page 1 unpredictable schedules love us.

Firefighters love us. You heat food and hold it there, and there are no buttons to push. No timers. This takes away the line at the microwave at the lunch hour.”

He adds that in this time of social distancing, he, personally, is finding that HOTLOGIC is handy for delivering meals to aging relatives. He can pack the meal into the HOTLOGIC and deliver it to the doorstep. “If you're taking care of an elderly person, you can put the food inside, and they can eat whenever they're ready,” he said.

The device is built on the technology that's been used by the company since 2008 to build warming cabinets for break rooms in large corporations. Those cabinets usually have eight shelves, so employees can come to work at the start of a shift, place their meals on the shelves and have them hot and ready for their meal break.

For this new device, HOTLOGIC took the same Smart Shelf technology and enclosed it in a thermal carrier bag. “The food has to be in an enclosed container, but it'll never burn and it'll never overcook because it's not at a hot enough temperature to do that,” McKendry said.

A frozen entree can be set inside the HOTLOGIC to cook in one to two hours – it doesn't even have to come out of its box. A slice of pizza on aluminum foil or parchment paper will re-heat in 20 to 40 minutes.

Although the device cooks meat and vegetables, as a slow cooker would, it doesn't get hot enough to boil water, so it won't cook pasta or grains from scratch, but they reheat well, so HOTLOGIC is finding favor among health-conscious consumers who want to prepare their own office lunches, McKendry said, noting that sales growth for the device is echoing

Google,” he said.

He decided that he'd just have to come up with an answer for himself. He sketched out a design for a slotted tray set over a pan with a stopcock on the side.

Juices from the turkey or the lamb roast or the beef drip down through the tray's slots and into the pan below, where they collect and condense instead of simply evaporating away. When it's time to baste, the home cook opens the stopcock, which is equipped with a filter to keep it from clogging, drains some of the juices into a cup and pours them back over the protein.

When cooking is done, the juices are easily collected to make a base for the gravy.

The pan's special design produces much more of the juice than an ordinary open roasting pan. “After two hours with a big turkey in a regular pan, most of the liquid evaporates,” Kuttruff said. “With the SRT, it doesn't.... This means that for the

turkey, you get a lot of gravy.”

Kuttruff took his sketched design to a friend who fabricates steel. Six or seven prototypes later, after a lot of experiments to make sure that the drain hole was the correct size and the addition of a filter to prevent clogging, and they had a version that's ready for sale.

After coming up with a model that's correctly sized for American ovens, Kuttruff had planned to introduce his SRT to the market at this year's Inspired Home Show, only to see that plan foiled by the COVID-19 pandemic. He did the next-best thing: he videoed his demonstration and posted it on YouTube.

Though the SRT was originally designed for a turkey – it's large enough to roast a 17-pound bird – its uses aren't limited to that. Chicken or spare ribs or fish also turn out juicy and flavorful when cooked on the SRT, he says. For salmon,

he likes to put some vegetables and a little white wine into the reservoir and lay the fish on the tray. The vegetables add their aromas to the steam that rises to cook the fish, and then after 20 minutes, the fish is done, and the home cook just opens the drain to release the liquid into a saucepan and use it as the base for a flavorful sauce.

When he's cooking pork on the SRT, Kuttruff likes to use beer as his basting liquid. The beer turns into an aromatic steam that cooks the pork. Kuttruff bastes it during the cooking, so that it comes out of the oven juicy but with a crispy skin. “You just have to open the drain and then you get a monster sauce,” he said.

For more information, email benno@bennoskitchen.com. You can see the video on YouTube by going to YouTube and searching there for Benno's Kitchen SRT. KN

the trend for sales of organic produce as well as the increasing availability of cleanlabel entrees in grocers' f reezer cases.

“People just want to eat healthier, and they see this as a better way to heat their food.

The bottom line is that the food just tastes way better than from a microwave,” he said. “It's super-easy and super-convenient.

The food is slowly cooked, and it's just good.”

HOTLOGIC is offered in two sizes, the Mini, which is the size of a regular lunch tote – 8 inches by 10 inches and 3 inches high – and the HOTLOGIC 9x13, which is casserole-size, so it'll work for a potluck or for that meal delivery to a senior.

The Mini is offered in 10 colors, while the 9x13 model is offered in Red, Black and Houndstooth.

“Black, Blue and Houndstooth are the most popular colors,” McKendry said.

Each is available with a model that uses 120-volt power f rom a wall outlet or a 12volt model that plugs into the car's DC

power outlet. The company also offers an adapter for customers who have the DC model and want to plug it into the wall when they're at home. Other customers may prefer to buy the 120-volt model so they can use it most often at home and occasionally plug it into a power inverter when they want to take it on the road.

The Smart Shelf warming plate inside the thermal tote is about the thickness of a cutting board, and it can be removed from the bag to make a warming platform.

“You can drive two or three hours across the state with a converter, so, if you have the 120-volt version, you can take it out of the bag and plug it in, and it'll stay

warm for the whole party,” McKendry said.

“Or, this is actually great for camping. You can plug it into your car. You just put your food in and go for a hike, and when you come back, it's ready to go. It's going to be great in 45 minutes, and it's going to be just as great 4-1/2 hours later. It really gives you a lot of freedom, and I think that's why campers love them.”

HOTLOGIC is made in the U.S., and the company's warehouse is stocked and ready to ship, since the company was anticipating orders f rom its inaugural appearance at this year's Inspired Home Show. For more information, visit www.heathappier.com. KN

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Eco-Friendly

Household Cleaning Products Cross the Pond

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Yonder is the American home of a British brand of eco-friendly household products established there 20 years ago after Ecozone's Founder noticed a distinct lack of competition in the space, according to Bo Dinnewell, Ecozone's UK and International Accounts Manager, who also now represents Yonder to the American Market.

The Yonder brand is launching into the American market this year after a planned introduction at The Inspired Home Show fell through when the show was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's product range encompasses more than 100 products for the

European and Canadian markets but has selected only a few of those to be part of the Yonder American launch. American distribution arrangements are pending, but the products are available for direct distribution to retailers. “We've done our research and know that people are looking towards eco-friendly products,” Dinnewell said. “These are products that, for very little more money, are more effective and ecofriendly.”

“In the American market, there are less eco-friendly, vegan, and cruelty-free products.

We look to offer diversity with our products and brand,” added Jessica Clarke, the company's Production and Research Coordinator. “It ignites an interest in consumers who are wanting to try them.”

In addition to being eco-friendly in general, the Yonder products are vegan friendly and are all cruelty free, Dinnewell said. They're

all plant-based, safe for septic systems and contain no harsh chemicals. “Most are allergyfriendly as well,” he added.

The products destined for the American market include dish-washing tablets, laundry detergent, drain cleaning products and a variety of other similar products. They're all currently listed on the company's Amazon shop – the avenue available to the company to introduce the products in light of the pandemic – which is accessible through the company's own website at www.yonderhome.com.

The company will be supporting the U.S. launch with a robust social media campaign that will highlight the products' proven results in the European market. That campaign is currently ready to launch as soon as American retailers need the support, Dinnewell said.

For more information, visit www.yonderhome.com. KN

New Plastic Promises Sustainability, Durability

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Method Sourcing's new Astrik material is changing the way we think about sustainable products. Astrik is a plastic, but it's a plastic that breaks down in about two years in a landfill but survives indefinitely during normal household use.

Method Sourcing is using Astrik to make products under its Bamboozle and Tiny Footprint brands, with the first of those products already available on the market.

Bamboozle dinnerware and serveware and Tiny Footprint tableware for infants and toddlers are appealing to independent retailers who are looking for sustainable products that will differentiate them from their competitors, said Avishai Greenstein, Method Sourcing Brand Manager. The

company has been in business since 2013, and environmentally-f riendly and sustainable products have always been its focus, but over the years, Method Sourcing's sense of what “sustainable” really means has evolved as the company has invested in the development of materials that could be used to make products that were durable enough to withstand ordinary household use but then biodegrade quickly once their useful life had ended. Early products combined natural materials with resins that acted as a binder – while the natural materials were easily biodegradable, the resins that bound them together weren't. At that time, that was a necessary compromise in a calculation that involved sustainability, usability and also a price that the consumer would be willing to pay, Greenstein said. “We understood that whatever we created had to have balance,” he said.

The company continued working at the problem and introduced Astrik to the market in 2017. Astrik is made from renewable natural starches and ground bamboo. It's tough enough to withstand being dropped onto a ceramic tile floor, and it's made to be moisture-resistant and heat tolerant. It can be used in the microwave oven and cleaned in the dishwasher for decades, but once it's tossed into a landfill, it biodegrades within a few years, not the

thousands of years that it takes for ordinary plastic to degrade.

At this time, it's available in solid colors, but it can't be printed, so Tiny Footprint products that depend for their appeal on cute graphics are made of other bamboo-based materials. Astrik also doesn't have a transparent option, since transparency in durable products gets in the way of biodegradability, Greenstein said.

The Bamboozle products are designed to appeal to the 80 percent of the population who believes that sustainability is important but not critical – so that price is a factor that comes into play – as well as the 10 percent or so of the population who are very focused on sustainability, according to Greenstein. “At this point, any retailer who isn't holding onto something sustainable in their line is looking like they're a little bit out of touch,” he said.

Consumers will soon be able to see Astrik in use in a variety of contexts other than in the Bamboozle and Tiny Footprint products, since Method Sourcing is also producing products made f rom the material for products offered by other brands, including KNORK, which has a set of flatware and carrying case made out of Astrik in its line now, and pottery barn kids, which is offering infant dishware sets made f rom Astrik. Both of those companies are marketing these products as sustainable options.

Greenstein suggests that retailers merchandise for sustainability by placing products for which that's part of the appeal in a special display, so that customers know where to look for them when they come into the store but also so they begin identifying the store as a resource for the sustainable products they want to support.

That's the strategy that's coming into play in grocery stores that put their organic lettuce, tomatoes and apples together in an organic area of the produce department rather than merchandising all the apples together and the organic lettuce further down the aisle next to the conventional lettuce, Greenstein noted. “Floating a sustainable product in the midst of unsustainable product is not particularly effective,” he said. “You want people who are interested in it to say, 'Hey, they have a sustainable aisle!'” KN

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Hot Office Lunch for the COVID-Cautious

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

This year StoreMaxx is introducing the Hot Box, a solution for those who are re-emerging from the COVID-19 lock-down but who aren't sure yet that they want to brave the crowds in the company break room or their local fast food hot spot. The Hot Box is a food container that will heat up a meal-sized food portion in minutes with no necessity for a power outlet or even a battery – all it needs is a few ounces of tap water.

The Hot Box is a dual-walled container – the inner three-compartment container holds the food and the outer container holds a single-use Therma Pak, StoreMaxx's proprietary thermal pack. Take the all-natural Therma Pak out of its foil packaging, then add a little water to the outer container with its Therma Pak, and a chemical reaction heats the water into steam. A lid holds the steam inside the container. “It's the steam that heats

A

the meal,” said Ed Spitalettta, StoreMaxx's Chief Executive Officer. “The Hot Box is revolutionary in the respect that there's nothing like it on the market. It's like carrying a little microwave oven with you wherever you go. In the office setting, it's very convenient and economical, and the container is washable and reusable.”

The capacity of the inner container is about 20 ounces. “That's up to a pound and a half of food – that's a pretty hefty meal,” Spitaletta said.

The thermal material in the Therma Pak is made from sea shells, Spitaletta said. The inner and outer containers are a lot like those your customer is already bringing home from restaurants or the hot bars at supermarkets.

Noticing that consumers, including his wife, were finding ways to repurpose those containers at home rather than simply throwing them away is how StoreMaxx was

started in 2008, Spitaletta said. “The premise of the company originally was to bring to the retail market goods that were homefriendly but not available to consumers in retail stores,” he said. “I identified commercial-grade food storage containers...

I started putting together a line – several different lines of commercial-grade, restaurant-quality containers into a program.”

When batch food preparation caught on among consumers who were trying to beat the effects of the Great Recession or adhere to special diet regimes, popularity of the StoreMaxx containers exploded, Spitaletta said. “We were fortunate that, as a company, we went out and started to acquire some pretty sizable accounts,” he said. “We started developing account relationships in the supermarket trade, drugstore trade, warehouse clubs and convenience stores, home centers, specialty big-box stores.”

While the product is technically disposable, in that it's economically feasible for people to use it just once before discarding it, in general, consumers do reuse the containers, Spitaletta said. “The driving force behind the company is ecologically friendly,” he said.

“We really do want to do our part in the reduction of our carbon footprint, as much as we can. We do that by creating an item that's recyclable and reusable – it's not a single-use product.”

Hot Box, like all of the products that StoreMaxx offers, is made in North America.

It's packaged as a set of five – one for each lunch in the work week. The company is also planning to launch a club pack that will be released in late June. The suggested retail price for the five-item set is $14.99.

For more information, contact StoreMaxx at 1.844.SNAP-PAK or visit www.snappakusa.com. KN

Family Tradition of Damascus Cutlery

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Don't wait until next year to learn about Faneema Cutlery, which makes the knife named the 2020 Knife of the Year at this year's Shot Show, the outdoor sports show held January 2020 in Las Vegas. Although the natural emphasis in the cutlery that's displayed at the Shot Show is on hunting knives, the win also threw a spotlight on Faneema's culinary knives. Sales for Faneema's cutlery range have now outstripped those for its line of recreational knives, and the company had intended to introduce those to a wider American market at The Inspired Home Show this year, only to be foiled by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Faneema Cutlery specializes in hand-forged Damascus steel knives. They're designed by Qamar Abbas, a Pakistani native who follows traditions that came down to him f rom his father, Ghulam Abbas, who learned his own skills during his childhood in Wazirabad, Pakistan, an elite knife-making center for the country. Abbas and his wife Janice, the co-Owners of Faneema Cutlery, had been raising their family in the U.S. for decades when two of their sons approached them with a proposition that they'd like to learn knife-making and then go into business for themselves.

After years of apprenticeship, Qamar and Fakhar left the United States to start their own company in Pakistan, where they make knives that they export to the United States. Janice and Ghulam remained in the U.S., where they import and sell the knives to the American market.

The company started three years ago in Texas, where Faneema specialized in outdoor recreational knives, but Janice and Ghulam have since moved to Illinois, where they've set up their business outside Chicago and have turned their attention to culinary knives after sales for those took off, Janice said.

relatively easy to sharpen to an extremely sharp edge. They have full-tang construction for balance and durability.

Handles for the culinary line are either resin or pakkawood, both common in highend knives adopted by working chefs.

Although they have the quality and beauty that make them stand out, they're offered

“The knives are all designed by us,” she said. “They are all unique. Damascus, by its very nature, is unique. They're like fingerprints; you cannot duplicate them.”

Faneema Cutlery knives are made of high-carbon Damascus steel that's

at an affordable price point that makes them achievable for home cooks as well as professional chefs.

Because they're high-carbon steel, they require greater care than a stainless steel knife, and they should never go into a

dishwasher. “Damascus appeals to knife aficionados who shop for knives at specialty stores where we hope to feature our knives in the future,” Janice said. “Our knives are popular with men in particular who love to cook and take care of knives.

They especially like them for outdoor cooking.”

Faneema offers its culinary knives in sets, most of them anchored by an 8-inch chef knife.

“We do have some sets with an 8-inch and a 6-inch,” Janice said.

“We do make some 10-inch, but we've found that the bigger knives aren't as popular.”

The company has just brought out a new set that also includes a filet-style knife. “Damascus doesn't have any give to it, but it has the slender knife that goes to a very sharp point,” Janice said.

“All of our knives have a paring/utility knife with a 4.5inch blade, and we're going to try to get in a 3.5-inch paring.”

Some sets also include a cleaver.

The newest set, FC3124, includes the cleaver, an 8-inch chef knife, 6-inch filet knife, 6inch chef knife and a 4-inch paring knife, all with pakkawood handles. The five-knife set will retail for $395.

Faneema also has the ability to do custom orders or create custom sets for retailers and can create custom pieces for individual customers. “We can etch or print designs or company logos on the knives, whatever they need,” Janice said. “It takes around three months to create a custom piece.”

For more information, call Janice Abbas at 469.388.7343, email janice@faneema.com or visit www.faneemacutlery.com. KN

SUPPLEMENT TO

JULY 2020

KITCHENWARE NEWS & Housewares Review

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TEFLON PLATINUM PLUS NONSTICK

Teflon™ nonstick coating systems last longer than pans with ceramic or silicone coatings and are dishwasher and metal utensil safe. Chemours ensures durability by providing a nonstick coating that is not only abrasion and scratch resistant, but also helps protect against adhesion and corrosion. It’s this balance of properties that keeps these nonstick coatings performing like new, year after year, so there’s little erosion to the wallet. That's because highquality Teflon coatings have been perfected over 50 years.

Teflon nonstick coatings are the finest nonstick, with a variety of products to meet the variety of cooking needs. All Teflon products are quality tested to live up to the Teflon brand promise: easier cooking and cleanup, time after time. Teflon Platinum Plus nonstick is the most scratch- and abrasion-resistant Teflon-branded nonstick finish to date.

Chemours Company 866.205.1664 www.chemours.com

SPYDERCO KITCHEN CLASSICS

The Spyderco knife company of Golden, Colorado, has a long, proud history of producing world-class kitchen cutlery. First introduced in the early 1980s, the company's core line of cooking knives featured a broad range of patterns, including the first commercial santoku (a versatile Japanese cleaver-like knife) ever offered to the U.S. market.

Four decades later, Spyderco’s Kitchen Classics line is still going strong. From the scalpel-like precision of its Mini Paring Knife through the impressive cutting capability of its long-bladed Bread Knife, the Kitchen Classics series includes everything a wellprepared cook needs in the kitchen. All the knives in the family feature blades are crafted from MBS-26 steel — a high-carbon stainless steel that is ground exceptionally thin and meticulously heat treated for optimal cutting performance. Most are available with either a conventional plain edge or fully serrated SpyderEdge™ with a unique serration pattern that reduces dulling when used on a cutting board.

The handles are made from durable polypropylene and feature a distinctive stepped texture that offers both comfort and control during use. Injection molded directly onto the blade tangs for strength, the handles are also available in several different color choices.

Spyderco www.spyderco.com/culinary

COOKCRAFT BY CANDACE PAN

The 12-inch Dual Handle Casserole Pan from the CookCraft Candace Cameron Bure collection combines beauty and sophistication with the durability of tri-ply stainless steel.

The patented latch lid hooks to the side of the pan for ease of stirring without creating a mess on the countertop. With the added features of silicone handles and shatter-resistant glass lids, this casserole pan is also designed to go from stovetop right to the table. All CookCraft products are backed by a 10-year warranty.

CookCraft 874.551.5629 shannon@GOspmarketing.com www.cookcraftco.com

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • JULY 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

TEAL SILICONE COVERED STAINLESS STEEL WHISKS

The perfect tool for any patisserie or confectionery, Cook Pro's Teal Silicone Covered Stainless Steel Whisks are a musthave. They're designed with a teal silicone design for a unique look and constructed with stainless steel to tackle tough mixtures. They also feature a sturdy stainless steel grip for extra stability while mixing. Available in 8-inch and 10-inch lengths, they can be used to aerate creams, eggs, batters and more, and they're built with a hanging loop for convenient kitchen storage.

Cook Pro, Inc. 951.686.8282 www.cook-pro.com

KING’S CORKSCREW FROM FRANMARA

The King’s Corkscrew from Franmara is a faithful reproduction of a corkscrew designed for King Louis XV in the 18th century. The Franmara 2090 replica King's Corkscrew combines an authentic antique finish with an extremely durable design. The Italian handmade, heavy-duty polished brass corkscrew is ideal for restaurants, wineries, catered events or a special gift to a wine enthusiast. Its auger worm quickly pierces the cork, then a rack and pinion system ensures easy extraction. Seven and a half inches high, this high-quality piece of craftsmanship comes in a beautiful presentation box, retails for $199.00, and weighs 1.02 pounds.

The majority of Franmara products can be imprinted with many types of labeling processes, including laser etching, color blast, screen or pad printing, doming and several other processes.

Franmara 800.422.5855 www.franmara.com

SAFE AND VERSATILE: THE NESCO DIGITAL SMART CANNER

The NESCO Digital Smart Canner creates a perfect balance between safety, performance and versatility. Designed to eliminate the common mistakes that cause harm or spoil food during the canning process, the Smart Canner gives users uncompromised safety and peace of mind. Ten built-in safety features control and regulate the pressure continuously and allow the home cook to can and cook without worry. The multi-functional digital display and pre-set programs provide the right tools to ensure consistent results when canning fruits, jams, pickles, salsas and more. Water bath and pressure functions take the guesswork out of the equation and simplify the ability to can the harvest. The removable 9.5-quart non-stick cooking vessel can hold and process four quart jars, five pints or 16 4-ounce jelly jars at a time. The NESCO Digital Smart Canner also prepares favorite slow-cooked recipes and makes healthy, delicious meals at the touch of a button, with additional features for pressure cooking, browning, steaming vegetables and cooking rice. Additional accessories include a canning rack, a steaming rack, a removable condensation catcher for easier clean up and two pressure-limiting valves for safe use at any altitude. Can the safe way with the NESCO Digital Smart Canner.

The Metal Ware Corporation www.nesco.com

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • JULY 2020 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

INNOVATIVE MATERIALS SET THE WORLD'S TABLE

TarHong is a family-owned manufacturer in China since 1956. And over more than 50 years, the company has honed its manufacturing expertise to become a leading factory direct supplier of melamine and plastics tableware that have vibrancy, fun, longevity and functionality. A global team of designers, merchants and craftspeople unites its talents to create durably beautiful drinkware, tableware, kitchenware, pet products and more. TarHong is a supplier of imagination, insight and market awareness. These products truly set the world’s table.

TarHong now introduces NatureOne, exclusive plant based tableware solutions that respond to an ever-changing world and environment.

Under the umbrella of NatureOne, TarHong is introducing Planta to the marketplace.

Planta is made with a majority of plant-based materials comprised of highly superior bamboo powder and cornstarch. With its rich coloration and matte finish, it becomes a sustainable and durable alternative to disposable tableware.

A second new line, named Merge, is comprised of products made from a blend of superior bamboo powder and melamine. All of these products are food safe, BPA free, phthalate free and dishwasher safe. These innovative materials offer endlessly brilliant and trend setting ways to bring tableware to life.

Another exciting addition to NatureOne comes out of TarHong's partnership with CottonOne from Italy. Elegantly natural, these table linens are made only with two simple ingredients: cotton and water. CottonOne is soft like a textile and more absorbent and stronger than paper napkins. In addition to being fully disposable, CottonOne is 100 percent biodegradable and compostable, reducing environmental impact.

Colors and patterns are printed with vegetable based inks, and the packaging is also completely biodegradable.

TarHong USA sales@tarhongusa.com www.tarhongusa.com

LINDEN SWEDEN DEBUTS BIO LINE OF CUTTING BOARDS

Linden Sweden USA is proud to introduce its Bio line of cutting boards made from plantbased polyethylene sourced from 100 percent sugar cane. Available in four neutral colours, the large and small Anita boards, Bendy Boards and Spreaders are currently in stock and available to ship from Linden Sweden's facility in Edina, Minnesota.

The raw materials used for the Bio products are 100 percent sugar cane sourced from Braskem, Brazil. Braskem is located more than 2,500 kilometers from the rainforest and does not produce genetically modified sugar cane or use artificial irrigation in its manufacturing process. Using sugar cane as a replacement for fossil fuels often allows for a significant reduction in the carbon footprint, lower energy costs in the production process and a reduction in waste by using raw materials that are recyclable at the end of a product’s life cycle.

The Bio products are manufactured at Linden Sweden USA’s own facility, DaloLindén, in southern Sweden. DaloLindén currently owns and operates two manufacturing facilities in the southern region, and its corporate headquarters are in Värnamo, Sweden. It owns a U.S. and a Russian subsidiary and maintains product representation in 23 countries. DaloLindén has been designing and manufacturing Swedish kitchen products in its facilities in Sweden since 1932.

Linden Sweden USA is a global company committed to providing customers with sensible, quality products that are designed to make cooking efficient and fun while maintaining a commitment to the same quality and tradition that are the cornerstone of its business.

Linden Sweden USA www.lindensweden.com

THE METAL WARE CORPORATION'S MODERNIZATION OFFERS ADVANTAGES

2019 and 2020 have been big years for The Metal Ware Corporation’s domestic production, especially in the kitchenware category, according to Chief Executive Officer Rick Carey. The company is celebrating 100 years of manufacturing based in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, where the company specializes in metal stamping, plastic injection molding and rotational molding. With help from a lot of optimizations and innovations to ensure that the company is keeping up with the times, The Metal Ware Corporation now has shorter lead times on many goods.

In MW Manufacturing’s metals division, which makes all of its NESCO bakeware, there have been leaps in efficiencies and safeties this year. The company's robotics team is most excited about the addition of the Fanic robot, which now handles what has historically been one of the least desired jobs in the factory. The Fanic sits at the end of the buffer lines and moves parts off the line when the buffing cycle is complete.

This job used to take three people to do and had a high rate of repetitive motion injuries, but is now done by these robots that are run by one operator with a much lower risk of injury.

Robots are also removing parts from the machines in the plastic injection molding area where the company makes its food dehydrator trays and accessories and assembles the finished goods. This frees operators’ time during the cycle to package the dehydrators and accessories and pallet them for distribution. The result has been a much higher retention rate of employees who are much more stimulated than they would be standing and waiting for parts to finish.

These automations have created such a positive working environment for The Metal Ware Corporation's employees that in July of 2019, they voted to dismantle their own union, giving Metal Ware more options in cross-training between departments so the company can easily move employees depending on labor-demand. What all of this means for The Metal Ware's customers is they get products crafted by dedicated, knowledgeable employees, leading to high quality products at competitive costing and gives The Metal Ware Corporation an advantage over competitors who are often struggling to work around the tariffs and shaky political climate.

Furthermore, this domestic production has allowed Metal Ware to react to changes in demand much faster than many other companies. If a customer needs a product on a tight timeline, the company is able to fulfill orders on a shorter lead time without having to work with overseas teams, transport goods and clear them in customs. These shorter lead times also provide more flexibility in orders and goods.

The Metal Ware Corporation 800.624.2949 sales@mwcorp.com www.mwcorp.com

Ayesha 4-in-1 Metal Cocktail Shaker The innovative Ayesha 4-in-1 Metal Cocktail Shaker from Meyer Corporation, U.S. conveniently combines measuring, juicing, shaking and straining with one easy-to-use and cleverly styled tool. The top of the lid detaches to serve as a 1ounce jigger, and a citrus reamer is built into the inside of the lid to juice lemons, limes and other citrus fruit. The lid securely fits into the base to prevent leaks when shaking, and the shaker also strains the cocktail without requiring a separate tool. Suggested retail price is $24.99. For more information, visit www.potsandpans.com/product/cocktailshaker-stainless-steel. KN

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Broths Good Enough to Drink

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

The creators of Zoup! Good, Really Good Broth have been in the soup business for 21 years. That's how long they've been serving soup to customers at Zoup! restaurants in the northern half of the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. The fast-casual restaurant chain offers a revolving menu of 12 soups a day along with salads, sandwiches and broth and grain bowls and, pandemic closures aside, is now serving 1 million bowls every two weeks. “We're face to face with our customers, and it is that perspective and related insights that caused us to get into the broth business,” said Eric Ersher, Zoup!'s Founder. “We kept hearing that customers couldn't find a broth on supermarket shelves that was good enough to drink.”

Those comments f rom customers prompted Zoup! to introduce its Good, Really Good® Broth six years ago, starting with Beef and Chicken Bone Broth.

Chicken Broth in both regular and lowsodium varieties and Veggie Broth were recently added to the line. They're packaged in glass jars and now sold by more than 7,000 grocery stores across the U.S. Sales are continuing to grow by double digits every year, Ersher said. “With our experience in the soup business, we have insights into consumer preferences that we are able to leverage and develop

toward,” he added.

Those consumer preferences include desires for healthier food options with vibrant, bigger flavors and clean ingredient decks. The Good, Really Good Broths satisfy those desires and are packaged to differentiate them from other products on the soup aisle, according to Ersher. “We were the first to come out with broth in glass jars,” he said.

“We were first for a reason.

We knew we had a differentiated product and needed it to stand out on shelves in a different way that graphics and aseptic packaging would not accomplish. Also, we wanted shoppers to see the broth.”

While Ersher has been operating the company's broth production as an offshoot of Zoup!'s restaurant business, he's now reorganizing around a business model that creates a separate enterprise for the manufacture of the company's consumer packaged goods offering. “It used to be an expensive hobby, and now it's turning into a real business,” he said.

“We've dedicated a lot more resources, brought in more people.... It took us years to get there.

It's required a lot of investment to grow it and get it there.” KN

Dryland Farmers Prosper with Organic Specialty Pulses

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Timeless Natural Food offers a gourmet line of heirloom certified-organic lentils, peas, chickpeas and specialty grains. Grown in Montana and its neighboring states, the pulses that Timeless offers in both retail packaging for specialty grocers and in 10pound and 25-pound packages for foodservice use come f rom a group of organic farming pioneers on a mission to preserve Montana's family farms by rebuilding soils subjected to a century of industrial monoculture wheat production.

“We are not alone on this planet, and we have an obligation for stewardship, not only to our fellow human beings, but also for the environment,” says company coFounder and President David Oien.

“Through the business that my three friends and I have created, called Timeless Seeds and the brand name Timeless Natural Food, we really have been instrumental in supporting many other farmers around Montana to convert some or all of their acreage to certified organic production to allow their family farms to survive.”

Oien grew up on his family's wheat farm in north central Montana's Golden Triangle before heading off to college for

a degree in philosophy and religious studies that still informs his farming mission today.

After several years of working and traveling in Europe following his college graduation, he came back to the family farm in 1976 determined both to repay his parents for the upbringing and education they'd given him and to practice a system of agriculture that's kinder to family farmers and to the land than conventional wheat farming.

Today, Montana farmers like Oien inherit the state's history of dryland agriculture, which began with the 1877 Desert Land Act that drew settlers to homestead in arid lands across the American West. These new homesteaders relied on assurances from agriculturists like Charles Dana Wilbur that “Rain follows the plow,” and when the climate refused to obey those prognostications, the development of modern irrigation assisted by the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902.

With the newly opened land, irrigation projects across the American West, improvements in farming technology, and the introduction of hard red winter wheat in the 1870s, American wheat production took off. The country's annual wheat production more than tripled in the 50 Cont. on page 21

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • JULY 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Ice Cream for All: Van Leeuwen Launches New Vegan Line

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has a new line of oat milk frozen desserts that promises to win the dairy avoidant back to the pleasures of ice cream. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has been making vegan ice creams since 2013, but with its seven new oat milk ice creams, the company is ready to offer a vegan ice cream that Ben Van Leeuwen, the company's Founder and Chief Executive Officer says has a texture and taste that wows even dairy lovers. “The mission is to make ice cream for everybody.

We've got you covered,” he said. “Our dairy customers switch between both, which is really exciting to us. To us, this is the ultimate vote of confidence that the vegan is just as good as the dairy.”

The company's new oat milk ice creams are offered in seven flavors: Chocolate Oat Milk Cookie Dough Chunk, Oat Milk Brown Sugar Chunk, Brownie Sundae Raspberry Swirl, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Oat Milk Mocha Latte, Oat Milk Caramel Cookie, and for the traditionalists, Strawberry. “With ice cream, we want to do flavors that are familiar, but made in our way, sourcing the best chocolate, the

best strawberries,” Van Leeuwen said, adding that the familiar flavors add a level of comfort for customers who are uncertain about trying a non-dairy ice cream. “Vegan ice cream is new to a lot of people,” he said. “Even the term 'vegan' is not fully understood by everybody.”

The oat milk ice creams are already being rolled out in the company's 21 scoop shops in New York City and Los Angeles, California, and pints will be available early this year to retailers nationwide. Pints of the new oat milk-based desserts retail for $6.99 to $7.99. The new price is lower than the price for the company's previous vegan line, which was made with cashew milk, organic coconut milk, extra virgin coconut oil, organic cane sugar, organic carob bean and pure cocoa butter. “We love the cashew-based vegan, but it didn't allow us to serve people who had nut allergies,” Van Leeuwen said. “This was a way to create a completely nut-free ice cream.”

The ice creams, like all of the Van Leeuwen products, are made in small batches in the company's Brooklyn, New York, facility, from premium ingredients, so it competes directly in the ultrapremium space, as it has since Van Leeuwen and business partners started Cont. on page 21

But What About the Tea? And What Do We Drink Now?

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

The crime committed on December 16, 1773 by the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, divided those who learned about it into opposing camps. There were those who came out in favor of law and order; there were those who sided with the Sons of Liberty and their revulsion against paying taxes to support a government with which they had fundamental disagreements. Those were, of course, the two parties who ended up fighting a war over their differences of opinion that ultimately gave birth to a nation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

And then there were undoubtedly those less tendentious types who, having read about it in their newspapers, merely pursed their lips and speculated that the rowdies who'd committed the act were probably more accustomed to seeking their refreshment in the public house rather than the parlor – and then wondered, What about the tea? And what are we supposed to drink now?

Two hundred years later, Kyle Brown also wondered about the tea. What was it, exactly, that went into the Boston Harbor

that night, and what did the Sons of Liberty drink afterwards?

He did some research into the matter, and, as it turns out, there are things we can know about those matters today, because the tea that went overboard that night was listed on the ships' manifests.

We can even know how it would have tasted, properly brewed in a civilized China teapot, because the company he founded, Oliver Pluff & Co., is selling today those same varieties, imported from the same region in China.

The Sons of Liberty drowned five varieties of tea in their casks that night in 1773, according to Darren Hartford, who bought the company from Brown in 2018.

Those five varieties included Bohea, Lapsang souchong, Congou, Singlo and Young Hyson, he said. Bohea was a black tea so popular in colonial America that colonists used “Bohea” and “tea” interchangeably, much as today, we might say “Coke” to signify any carbonated cola beverage. It fell out of favor by the 1820s and disappeared into obscurity. Lapsang souchong is a smoked black tea that outlived Bohea in public favor and went on to become Winston Churchill's favorite Cont. on page 21

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ICE CREAM FOR ALL Cont. from page 20

making ice cream and selling from their truck on the streets of New York in 2008, Van Leeuwen said. “We added vegan ice cream in 2013,” he said. “Our customers were asking for it, and we obviously wanted to serve them.... We were never trying to make good vegan ice cream; we were just trying to make more good ice cream that happened to be vegan – just as good as the best dairy ice cream.”

In those early days in business, Van

DRYLAND FARMERS Cont. from page 20

years between 1871 and 1921; increasing from about 250 million bushels during the period of 1869–1871 to more than 750 million bushels during the period of 1919– 1921.

Then came the Great Depression and the collapse of agricultural markets that led to the paradox of huge national grain surpluses and widespread hunger. The New Deal followed, with the Roosevelt Administration's Agricultural Adjustment Act, which paid farmers to fallow some of their acreage when the nation had a grain surplus. New Deal agricultural policies that controlled national grain supplies and stabilized markets remained in force until 1971, the beginning of Earl Butz's tenure as Secretary of Agriculture. Butz's policies, encapsulated in his decree that farmers needed to “Get big or get out,” reversed the New Deal's protections for family farmers in favor of industrial agriculture, bigger equipment, more acreage. That was the farming economy that Oien returned to in 1976.

His father had resisted that temptation to get big even as neighbors around him

ABOUT THE TEA Cont. from page 20

tea. Young Hyson was a green tea popular in colonial days. “There are journal entries of John Adams going to visit someone and drinking this tea, which he thoroughly enjoyed,” Hartford said. “Singlo was another blend of green tea that's a little heavier than Young Hyson.”

You'll recall, along with anyone else who ever attended an American elementary school, that the reason that all that tea got dumped overboard was that the British government had decided to levy a tax on tea. Once the Sons of Liberty had

That was before food trucks were cool,” he said.

While he was driving ice cream in those early days, it's the ice cream that drives him now, he says. “It's an overall love for food that's made with a lot of care and intention and with quality as a number-one goal,” he said. “My favorite part of the business is the sourcing and visiting the farms and learning how the food is grown.” KN

Leeuwen was inspired both by the summer job he'd had in college, when he drove a Good Humor truck, and by his experience traveling around the world after leaving college. “I was going around the world to countries where high-quality food was more widespread, and I was really excited about the accessibility of good food. The ice cream truck seemed like a really good model to launch into because it's so accessible.... were deciding that, presented with a choice that wasn't really a choice, they were getting out and putting their farms up for sale. “One of the pieces of wisdom he left me was that he'd rather have the neighbors than the neighbors' land,” Oien said. “That meant we needed to make our small farm viable in a different way.”

Inspired by Rachel Carson's “Silent Spring,” Frances Moore Lappe's “Diet for a Small Planet” and the connection between Earth and humanity explicated in “Black Elk Speaks,” Oien set to work to convert the family farm to organic production just at the time Lappe and others were helping Americans understand that there might be a connection between what they were eating and their own health as well as the planet's. “My approach has always been, 'Get better and you can stay in.' For me, getting better meant converting the farm to organic production,” he said. “Our farm is 260 cultivated acres, while the average farm in Montana is about 2,400 acres, nearly 10 times larger. There are some farms in my county that are 20,000 acres, so our farm is not only small – in a sense, it's obsolete. But on the other hand, converting it to organic and developing the infrastructure to process

our crops has allowed the farm to survive another generation.”

Practicing organic agriculture meant finding a means of replenishing soil depleted by nitrogen-hungry wheat crops without the use of synthetic chemicals.

“The challenge with monocropping, monoculture within a given field, is that it makes those crops more susceptible to disease, to insects, and also requires input of chemical fertilizers. The crops that we grow, such as lentils, chickpeas and peas, are soil-building crops by their very nature,” Oien said. “They're legumes that have the power to capture the atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into nitrogen in the soil that's accessible to crops.”

In 1987, Oien joined three fellow organic farmers: Bud Barta, Jim Barngrover and Tom Hastings, in a company called Timeless Seeds to introduce those leguminous crops to other farmers in the northern Great Plains and spread the gospel of organic production. Their experiments with pulses, the edible seeds of legumes like peas and lentils, coincided with the growth of the natural food industry in the early 1990s that created a demand for organic grains and seeds, and Timeless Seeds capitalized on that demand to grow

registered their displeasure, though, there was still the matter of that other question proffered by the pursed-lipped, what were the colonists going to drink when alcoholic beverages weren't appropriate to the occasion, particularly since it wasn't the tea itself that was at issue, but the tax?

There's an answer to that question too.

“The most popular tea in colonial America was really smuggled tea,” Hartford said.

Colonial Americans drank coffee in addition to their illicit tea, although the tea remained their hot beverage of choice for some time to come. “Coffee didn't really become popular in America until the Civil War era – that's when coffee really took off,” Hartford said.

Coffee blends authentic to that Revolutionary War period of American history are among the products that Oliver Pluff & Company purveys today, along with teas sourced f rom tea gardens in Fujian Province in China, the same area from which teas were harvested in the 18th century and transported to the docks for shipment to America. Oliver Pluff also offers spice

mixtures for mulling wines and for flavoring whiskey for hot toddies. The coffee blends include Colonial and Green Dragon Tavern, named for the Boston tavern where the Sons of Liberty embarked on their careers as political activists.

The hot toddy spices originally came to us by way of Dutch merchants rather than the English, according to Hartford. “As the Dutch explorers found the people of India, they discovered that India had rich and beautiful spices,” he said. “The Dutch and Scottish brought back toddies, which is spice in boiled water plus honey plus a spirit, and it just becomes a wonderful evening drink with a great aroma to it.”

Oliver Pluff & Company offers its teas both as loose leaves and in tea bags, which may be less intimidating to consumers who are interested in trying a new tea without committing to the paraphernalia and the ritual of brewing the beverage from loose leaves. “It's easy for stores to introduce a product with tea bags,” Hartford said.

“Then they connect with the product and want to try more and discover the true joy and peace that you can get with a cup of

the infrastructure they needed to turn their raw crops into marketable organic food products. In 2001, the company created its Timeless Natural Food retail line of premium lentils, peas, chickpeas and heirloom grain.

To supply that line, the company now works with about 50 certified organic family farms, primarily across Montana with a few in neighboring states as well. “We provide them the opportunity to grow crops that diversify the cropping rotation and to grow crops that are higher value,” Oien said. “I think one of the things that's most promising is that we are not only supporting these farms, but we're also having a greater and greater environmental impact across the northern Great Plains. As the market for high-quality plant-based protein grows, farmers can convert some or all of their land to certified organic production, and Timeless is part of the infrastructure to find or create high-value markets for family farms by distributing to food retailers, restaurants and chefs, institutional food service and food manufacturers.”

Visit www.timelessfood.com for more information about Timeless Seeds and the company's Timeless Natural Food retail product line. KN

tea.”

Oliver Pluff & Co. teas, coffee blends and spice blends for beverages are sold in specialty grocers and gift shops across the country. Among more than 500 other retail locations, they're sold in gift shops in Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Parks and at other historic sites, including the Biltmore Mansion and at Mount Vernon. The teas retail for $13.50 to $15.00 for a 3-ounce tin of loose tea, while the coffee blends retail for $15 for a 5ounce package. A variety of package sizes and gift packs are available. The tins are labeled with information about the historic significance of the product inside. “We try and tell the stories of these products and try to reconnect modern America with these historic teas,” Hartford said. “People want to connect with the teas and what they're consuming. People enjoy the story.”

For more information, visit www.oliverpluff.com. KN

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • JULY 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Bamboozle's SustainaBOWL The SustainaBOWL, made with Astrik, Bamboozle's newest material, is a three-piece mixing bowl set that is safe for both the dishwasher and microwave. It features a smooth tilting base for quick and easy pouring, an interior measuring tree and ergonomic handle for maintaining control while using a hand mixer. Available in black, purple and red. The suggested retail price for SustainaBOWL is $60.

Wholesale orders can be placed here: www.bamboozlehome.com/wholesale-orders. KN

Prepdeck Provides Mise en Place for Home Cooks Home cooks who've learned some of their skills from televised presentations by professional chefs know the value of mise en place – that organized assemblage of all the ingredients and tools needed to prepare a recipe that makes putting the dish together so much easier. Prepdeck optimizes this culinary wisdom for the home cook with a handy set-up with 15 containers in four sizes, each with measurement markings and lids. The self-contained unit also includes a magnetically detachable cutting board as well as an accessories drawer stocked with a mandolin slicer, grater, zester, garlic press, bottle opener and four-in-one peeler and a storage drawer for collecting scraps and peels. It even folds for convenient travel and storage, so it's ideal for those cooks who like to prepare meals on the road. For more information, visit www.prepdeck.com/products/prepdeck. KN

Stanley Adventure Happy Hour 2x System Once we're all able to be out and about again, those evenings around the campfire will be enlivened with the new Stanley Adventure Happy Hour 2x System, an all-encompassing cocktail shaker set with a removable reamer to juice and strain directly into the jigger cap, two rocks glasses or shaker. The shaker is made of 18/8 stainless steel and it's BPA free. Rocks glasses are double-wall insulated. The system is leakproof, and it nests to save space in the backpack. The six-piece set retails for a suggested $35 and includes a 20-ounce shaker, strainer lid, two double-wall steel rocks glasses, a jigger cap and a citrus reamer. KN

Bee Quenched Recycled Glass Beverage Dispenser Whip up your favorite lemonade or punch recipe while bringing awareness to the honey bee with the 270.5-ounce Couronne Co. Bee Quenched Recycled Glass Beverage Dispenser. The bee motif and hive design add whimsy to any team event or family gathering. Nine inches high, its compact size fits nicely on the top shelf of the refrigerator for easy access with the spigot release. Made of 100 percent recycled glass, it's safe for both hot and cold liquids.

Visit Couronne Co. in Building 2 during Atlanta Market or call 512.339.7808 or visit www.couronneco.com. KN

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • JULY 2020 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

Authentic Stoneware for a Touch

of Farmhouse Kitchen Style

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Stoneware from La Manufacture de Digoin has now become part of the extensive range of fine European imports offered by The French Farm. While The French Farm's product range is centered on fine foods, it also includes cutlery collections by Jean Dubost, handcrafted olive wood utensils from Berard, lavender-scented personal and home care products from Le Chatelard 1802, Jacquard tea towels from Coucke, The French Farm collection of wood cutting and service boards, and now, traditional farmhouse-style stoneware items from La Manufacture de Digoin. “Since we do very well with housewares, I decided to bring in the Digoin line a few months ago. People have seen it in gift shows in France,” said

Gisele Oriot, The French Farm's Founder.

“It has been a really old-fashioned line that has had a new look by the new owner of the company.”

The new stoneware was made in a French factory in Burgundy that was founded in 1875 as a family-owned business that specialized in handcrafted pottery and made the kinds of objects typically found in a 19th-century French farmhouse kitchen – the pitcher for the milk, the jug for the cool drinking water, the crock for the pickles.

“I'm actually from Burgundy, and we still have my grandfather's farm, and there was always a brown jug and a jar, and everything was manufactured by the Digoin company,” Oriot said. “It would say 'Digoin' on the item. Everything was brown – no red, no yellow, just brown.” Once those farmhouses gained electric power, the need for many of those objects was superseded by refrigeration.

Cheap plastics came into those kitchens, and the factory's business declined.

The company was in its last throes when it was rescued

by Corinne Jourdain and a group of investors. “Her ambition was to perpetuate a historical expertise and to bring back to former glory those meaningful culinary objects,” according to the company.

For Jourdain, that meant keeping the company's traditional craftsmanship but updating its sense of style, starting with the addition of colored glazes that would fit into the modern design aesthetic of a contemporary kitchen. “'Let's do some blue.

Let's do some green.' She basically took a new look at the whole line,” Oriot said.

“This was in 2014. It's starting to catch on.

They're selling to gift shops and upscale restaurants in France. She's making it fashionable again.”

Oriot saw the new line for the first time in one of those gift shops when she went back to France on a visit to family there.

Then she found out that the factory was nearby and offered tours – and also factory sales. “I went to see the old factory, and it was like magic. There was all this clay, and she had all these beautiful colors,” Oriot recalls. “I took a tour and asked her if she had a distributor in the U.S. She didn't.”

Oriot placed an order, added the line to her catalog and premiered it at a New York

CHEF iQ's New Smart Cooker Design and functionality for CHEF iQ's new Smart Cooker™ are state of the art, offering consumers a 70 percent faster method of multiple cooking functions including: pressure cooking, slow cooking, searing, sautéing, steaming and more.

With a six-quart capacity, the Smart Cooker makes meal prepping for one or cooking for the entire family easier than ever before. The CHEF iQ Smart Cooker also features a precise integrated cooking scale that works right inside the cooking pot – no more measuring cups needed. An integrated cooking calculator provides recipe assistance to ensure each meal is prepared just right, with more than 100 quick preset cooking functions built in. The auto pressure release function is an unparalleled innovation among competitor products, with three release methods tailored to various cuisines. The unit will release pressure on its own at the appropriate pace and time for added precision and safety precautions. The unit's WiFi connectivity feature allows consumers to directly connect a proprietary app to the Smart Cooker to promote effortless cooking. The App offers a growing library of recipes, featuring step-by-step visual directions, as well as culinary how-to videos, allowing even the most inexperienced consumer to create delicious meals easily. Users can also send cooking data right from the app directly to the Smart Cooker with a touch of a button and vice versa. The CHEF iQ App caters to the individual, allowing personalization of each dish and letting users save and share their go-to recipes for quick access. For more information, visit www.CHEFiQ.com. KN

gift show. “We're shipping everywhere now,” she said. “There is interest in the line.” The collection offered in the U.S. by The French Farm includes a Large and Small Jug, Cruet, Canister with Lid, Vinegar Jar, baking dishes, salad and serving bowls, a utensil crock and terrines like those that French charcuteriers once used in their shops. “The butcher or the charcuterier would bake their recipe in those big brown dishes,” Oriot said. “They would finish the pâté and clean it [the terrine] and bake another one in it and sell it by the slice.”

The stoneware is durable and oven-safe, she added. “You can cook in it. It's very, very strong.”

For more information, visit www.thefrenchfarm.com. KN

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • JULY 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

New Stanley President Targets a Global Audience

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Terence Reilly joins PMI Worldwide as its Global President for the Stanley Brand with big plans for the brand. Under his leadership, the Stanley brand will expand beyond its legacy hammertone green vacuum bottles and lunch boxes and into brighter colors and new products designed to appeal to a global marketplace. “We really have an unbelievable opportunity for a brand that has a wonderful legacy and history,” Reilly said. “We're always going to have one of our bottles in the back of a pickup truck, but there are other vehicles

out there, and we also want to go off the trail.”

As Stanley goes after new markets that include Millennial and Gen-Z consumers in the United States, consumers of all generations in Asia and Latin America and women everywhere, PMI isn't planning to leave behind the company's brand loyalists, Reilly said. “Loyal customers love us for a reason, and we're going to continue that,” he said. “Our hammertone green bottle has been known for more than a century.”

“We're looking for a little bit younger demographic – Gen-X to Gen-Z, and look for ways to not only appeal to the core consumers but globally to appeal to more feminine consumers through engaging marketing using digital and social media,” he added.

“Our products will reflect an emerging audience globally.”

Stanley is keeping an eye on a glamping – luxury camping – trend that's growing up in Asia and plans to make products that

those consumers want to take along, and may do that by pursuing licensing arrangements and partnerships with other companies, Reilly said. “We'll be poised to seize some of those he opportunities,” added. “We are a brand that has been really, really trusted for a long time. People want to associate with Stanley.”

In its drive to bring new consumers into the Stanley fold, the brand will also be focusing on a range of hydration products in a wide range of colors that are new to the brand and in a wide range of sizes to fit varying cultural expectations about how much liquid it's appropriate to carry around all day. While Americans typically like larger quencher products at 36 to 40 ounces, smaller bottles are preferred in many other parts of the world, and consumers everywhere expect their bottles to fit into their automobile cupholders, Reilly said. “We have the products that fit, no matter where you are around the planet,” he said.

The company plans to show off those new products in a wide range of colors as well as the classic hammertone green at this fall and winter's outdoor and hardware trade shows, Reilly said. “The silhouette of the classic bottle is the icon. We'll be showing it in different colors, and people will recognize that,” he said. “We're expanding the family – more colors is just a new way to buy it. Someone can get one that matches the truck.” KN

Safety Precautions to Guard

Delayed Las Vegas, Atlanta Markets

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

International Market Centers has announced that the Las Vegas and Atlanta Markets originally scheduled to occur this July will be postponed — but only into August. Atlanta Market will now be held August 13 – 18, and Las Vegas Market will now be held August 30 – September 3, which overlaps with the National Hardware Show, which is now scheduled for September 1-3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The decision follows a survey of buyers and vendors who have attended its shows in years past, more than 180,000 retailers and designers and nearly 6,000 manufacturers and sales agencies across the gift, home furnishings and apparel industries. The survey found that retailers will need to purchase new inventory within weeks after re-opening their stores, with half saying that they’ll need new inventory within three or four weeks of re-opening and more than three quarters saying that they’ll need new inventory within nine or 10 weeks of re-opening. “There isn’t a glut of inventory. Many retailers canceled orders.

You have people with inventory but no pipeline for future inventory,” said Bob Maricich, IMC’s Chief Executive Officer.

“There’s no question that as people’s business ramps up, they’ll need to reorder relatively quickly.”

Buyers who responded to the survey said that they’re generally in favor of doing their buying in person at a market, although they do have concerns about safety that IMC is addressing in its plans to open the markets. “We will spare no expense. It’s going to extend to ensuring that our partners in conducting a market are complying too,” Maricich said. “It’s shared pain for all of us. Retailers have lost money over this. There’s a new normal coming out of all this, but between now and then there’s a new abnormal…. There’s going to be a considerable cost, but if we didn’t do this, we might as well not have a market.”

IMC’s COVID-19 response and remediation task force is developing thorough and detailed protocols for market production designed to ensure the health and safety of all those attending market.

All back-to-business operating plans are being vetted to verify efficacy and identify best practices by Dr. Carlos del Rio, the Chair of the Department of Global Health and Professor of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health; and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine. Safety procedures are expected to include: the required use of personal protective equipment (PPE), temperature monitoring, social distancing, occupancy control, hand sanitizing/ cleansing and significantly enhanced housekeeping protocols for cleaning and disinfecting market facilities. IMC is also collaborating with hotels and food and beverage partners to confirm and communicate special protocols; planning new pre-registration requirements to enable contactless market entry; and preparing for arrival and departure strategies to facilitate social distancing. Comprehensive details around onsite health and safety protocols will be promoted in advance of each market and will be updated regularly at www.togethersafely.com. KN

ADVERTISER INDEX Atlanta Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 CookCraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Cook Pro, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Franmara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 International Market Center . . . . .7 Linden Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Oggi Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 TarHong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 The Chemours Company . . . . . . .11 The Metal Ware Corp . . . . . .12 & 13