(upbeat music)
- We are Sorted,
a group of mates who have your back
when it comes to all things food,
from cooking battles, to gadget reviews
and cookbook challenges,
to a midweek meal packs app.
- [Jamie] Crack your eggs and bake
- We uncover the tools
that'll help us all cook and eat smarter.
Join our community where everything we do
starts with you.
(bright music)
- A few weeks ago, James was on his own in the studio
testing some kitchen gadgets.
This time, we're gonna flip it around.
I've been left a bunch of kitchen gadgets
to test and pass judgement on.
And talking of passing judgement ,
Judgmental James is with us.
Hello!
- Hello, sir.
I'm not sure I appreciate that nickname.
- I am excited to see what is in these boxes.
I'm here, Mike is at a relatively safe distance over there,
and I've got a cloche
(upbeat music)
- Turn around!
What could it be?
(upbeat music)
(bubble wrap tearing)
- Push and tear easy tear kitchen roll holder,
push to lock roll.
- [James] This is for those times
when you've got two dirty, sticky hands
and you don't want to touch the kitchen roll
with one of those sticky hands
and dirty the kitchen roll.
All you have to do is press the top down,
and rip off a sheet.
Done.
- Straight off, this is one of those things
that I never thought needed solving
until I see this and go,
"It is quite annoying."
- [James] Shall we test it?
- [Ben] I think we should.
- And the way we're gonna test this
is give you one of your favourite snacks.
Hot wings!
- [Ben] Hot wings, lovely.
(Ben laughing)
- [James] Yeah!
- [Ben] First up, I'm gonna load it.
- Oh, effortless!
(upbeat music)
Delicious?
- Mhm.
- And because we care about you, Ebbers,
we've actually prepared the sticky wings recipe
from the Sorted Food website for you.
I hope it's delicious.
- [Ben] It is.
- If anyone else wants to make them,
the link will be below.
- [Ben] Uh oh!
- Oh, no!
So messy!
- So what I need,
and this one we've had in the studio for ages,
is a sheet of kitchen roll, like that.
- Oh, you did it.
- [Ben] Don't know if it's a problem that needs fixing.
- Do you think you're particularly skilled
at the one hand tug?
- I think I am particularly skilled
at kitchen roll tearage.
Tough job, this.
- You're going in for more
which means Mike didn't make them hot enough.
- This time, to stop it unravelling,
first it will unravel,
and then elbow,
tear.
- Oh, nice.
It's crisp.
- My question is whether you need it
'cause it actually tears without trapping it.
- You know I love something that does
what it says it does.
- You can't fault it for doing that.
It's got its nonstick base so it doesn't slide,
it's got a slightly raised rim,
it holds a big roll,
and it absolutely does
stop it unravelling.
- Sometimes this unravels a little bit
when we talk about price.
- I reckon you could spend 12 quid
on a half decent,
and you can definitely buy them cheaper,
and I reckon this is probably 50 percent more at £18.
- Ben, you're gonna be a very happy man.
This is currently £12.80.
A no brand one is about £10.
- It's such a one off purchase,
you might as well spend the extra 2 quid, surely.
- And like you say, yours has lasted 10 years.
- Would I pay an extra 20p per year for this?
- Ben, is this gadget fair
or is it not worth the tear?
- It works, it looks cool,
it's not a lot more than a regular one.
- I agree!
This one was gonna be all about price, wasn't it?
If it's the same price, go for it.
- Why not?
(upbeat music)
- Give us a spin?
- Oh, yeah.
- And
open the cloche!
There you go,
you know the drill.
This could be the game changer of the video.
- [Ben] Great things often come in small packages,
it's true.
Oh, no.
We've done similar of these before.
- Oh, but Ben, this one is different.
This is the Macom Just Kitchen 860
mescolix eletric mixer.
And it's a universal cordless stirrer.
Not necessarily a mixer, but a stirrer!
It's gonna stir something.
And we've got one of your favourite things, again,
to test.
It's a risotto!
- [Ben] Yeah, which is exactly what it says on the box.
So all the instructions are in Italian.
And they're using risotto as the case example
on the box.
From Italy.
Now I'm holding more hope.
Whoo!
- Oh, oh!
(surprised noises)
- So, it is adjustable, to the size of your
pan.
So far I'm quite impressed with this.
This is gonna keep it in the centre of the pan.
Kinda curves at the corner there,
so it does fit inside of the pan.
Then that
clips on like so.
Not bad.
And a splash guard.
- Shall we test it?
We've given you all the ingredients to make a risotto
from our midweek packs app,
so you have a lovely follow along audio guide.
Make a risotto!
(bright rock music)
- [James] Right, first things first.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
or 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Then take 250 grammes of tomatoes
and four whole, unpeeled garlic cloves
onto a backing tray.
- Got Jamie in the kitchen with me today.
Start timer.
- [Jamie] Pour 1.2 litres of water
into a measuring jug
along with a crumbled vegetable stock cube.
Give it a good stir to dissolve everything
and leave it within easy reach of your hob.
Put a small saucepan over a medium high heat
then plomp in two tablespoons of butter.
When it's foaming, add in 200 grammes of arborio rice
and stir it to coat every grain thoroughly.
- And now the moment of truth, James.
It is indeed stirring.
There's a volume of rice in there that means
what is being stirred is flipping
over the paddle, as you'd expect and want.
It's not particularly quick.
I think if I was doing this by hand at this point,
I'd have probably already done it
but the point is I'm not doing anything.
I've got my hands in my pockets.
- And also it's gonna do all the stirring for you,
I think that's important, like,
during the 30 minutes.
- [Ben] The thing with a risotto
is it's kind of therapeutic
and the stirring is the bit I quite like doing.
That said, I don't do it continually for 20 minutes.
So this is just one of the recipes from our packs app,
which has been built with loads of input from you guys,
and is designed to take the stress
out of midweek cooking, save you some money,
reduce food waste on fresh items,
all whilst giving you inspiring dishes
to taste from around the world.
And it's just one of the tools
as part of the Sorted club,
which you can now sign up to for free
so you can go and give it a go
and decide if it's for you.
- [Jamie] When your vegetables are ready,
grab your cooked cloves of garlic,
peel and mash them with a fork to make a paste
and add this and the tomatoes to the risotto.
- I hope it deals okay with the tomatoes.
- [Ben] Well you know what, James,
it has got the gentle touch.
It's not smashing them to pieces,
it's just kind of caressing them around the pan.
But it is super creamy from constant stirring.
- It sounds good.
I mean, I haven't seen inside yet
but I'm gonna judge it from what goes onto the plate.
- [Ben] So the only thing I would say,
and it's both positive and negative,
is it stirs very carefully, consistently, and slowly.
So having now added in the basil,
at that speed it will take two minutes
to actually distribute evenly probably.
Right, I'm gonna turn it off.
And this is the moment of truth.
What have we got on the bottom of this pan?
I'll tell you what, James,
it is the same on the bottom as it is on the top.
- We found one that works!
(upbeat music)
- Do the shake test.
It's looking good, yeah.
- It just runs down a little bit.
Little bit more fresh basil.
- Looks fresh, it looks nice.
- It looks and tastes good,
and it's got a creamy consistency to it.
It worked.
- It did work!
- This bit comes apart
and that's the only thing that needs washing up.
No dissimilar to if you were washing up a spoon.
- Is it coming out at the next dinner party?
- I regret turning my nose up at this
the moment I took the bubble wrap off
and I think it bought me 15 minutes more time.
- It is looking good for this gadget.
- Subject to cost.
- Yeah, well, let's talk about cost.
- Let's say it lasts two years
and in my repertoire
I have a different flavoured risotto once a fortnight,
if it was 50 quid, I'd have one.
- Really?
Ben, I can't believe I'm about to say this,
it's £28.92.
You have got yourself a bargain
and this is chef approved.
Does this cause a stir or are the benefits a blur?
- This has caused a stir
and I'm taking this one home.
- He's taking it home!
It's in his pocket!
Right, turn around.
(peppy music)
- [Ben] Oh (laughs)
Ooh, beer tap.
- It's a beer tap!
- Another one of these ultrasound wave things
that turns natural carbonation of beer
into microfoam that enriches the aroma, texture, and flavour.
- [James] Ben, this is the Innovagoods beer tap.
We are still unable to go to the pub,
which is sad for both of us
so bring the pub to your home.
This is another one of those things
that creates the perfect head on your beer.
So this is going to be fun.
I don't want to give you any help with this.
- On the box, it looks very premium, it's very cool.
It looks like the kind of thing you'd want
in the corner of your flat when you've got mates over.
- Nice.
Now, it's got adapters for multiple sizes of cans.
- Place the correct attachment in the base
and make sure that the desired measurement
coincides with the arrow of the base.
Again, the problem we're trying to solve,
is
a beer
that you can't get a decent head on at home.
- It's those, like, microbubbles,
that I think they're looking for, isn't it?
- So it has definitely, straight from the can,
with a simple pour,
provided some sort of head.
I think the head disappears quite quickly.
(upbeat music)
Push the beer tap towards you to produce beer.
And push it away from you to produce foam.
- Right, Ben, I'm not sure.
I feel like that might be user error, no?
- I went a bit quick on the foam maybe.
Absolutely no denying that sonic waves give beer foam.
- Does it make the drinking experience better?
- Well, unlike previous tests,
we've got the head at the top of the glass
which means that first sip you get
drinking through the head and the foam.
It puts more of the aromas and the tastes
of the hoppiness into the foam
which gets trapped and you drink through and it's,
we know that so much of flavour is aroma.
So I know the theory and know it should work.
Does it?
I'm not convinced.
But the texture is better.
- How much would you pay for it?
- If it was 25 quid,
I think it would make a party a bit of fun,
once.
- It's £48.99.
- At that price, I struggle to justify it.
- So Ben, would you tap this up
or would you rather tap out?
- That's quite good for you, James.
I...
Probably will tap out on this one at the price
despite it being novelty thing
and I love a novelty.
- Turn around, lift the cloche.
- [Ben] Tada!
A smart
toaster.
- It is in fact the Sage smart toast two slice toaster.
You won't burn your toast again
with the stylish, smart toast two slice from Sage.
This impressive device will make you a whiz
at toasting anything
from crumpets through to fruit loaf.
It's full of different functions
so you'll be able to
defrost, toast, and even cook your bread
for just a little bit more.
- I mean, it's a toaster, James.
- You seem underwhelmed and I'm not sure why.
- Well, how smart does toaster need to be?
- The first function that they actually talk about
is a bit more.
If your toast comes out lighter than you prefer,
just one simple touch is all it takes
for a little extra toast time.
Ebbers, I am treating you well today.
You've got some delicious homemade bread
that I dropped off at the studio yesterday.
Crumpets, blueberry compote,
because we know you're above strawberry and raspberry,
that's a bit boring,
and some butter, of course.
- [Ben] It's got a good tactile slide.
Let's start with crumpets!
- Which way did you put them in?
- Oh, (laughs)
it does say in block capitals at the top,
crumpets face inwards.
To select the crumpet setting,
press the crumpet fruit loaf button once
and the button will illuminate white.
And now, I imagine, I press the toast button.
- [James] Whoa! (laughs)
- That was so unnecessarily brilliant.
(Ben laughs)
- Have a little look at them and see if they're done.
- Oh, they're not done yet,
but I could have a quick look.
Not quite there, but it's given me a little peak
and it's gone back down.
(both laugh)
That is...
Wow.
- To have a quick look with a normal toaster,
you have to
reset it all.
- Now I wonder if I cancel this.
It's a good toast, it's a good crispy toast.
It's a very powerful toaster.
- Little over for me.
- I don't know what the crumpet setting does.
(cheerful piano music)
- Okay.
- [James] Oh, does it fit?
- Well,
I mean.
- [James] Bye.
- It's quite satisfying.
It's still very good.
The fact that you put the crumpet facing inwards
tells me that middle bit is hotter
than the other bits
which is where it's given the crumpet top
a crispier finish.
Oh, here it comes, James.
- Whoa, that was quick.
- Do you know what, James?
Needs a bit more.
- So, I can't believe, again,
that we're having
an in depth conversation about toasters.
(cheerful piano music)
That's looking good.
- Happy with that, James?
- [James] Yeah, that looks decent.
(knife scraping)
- I've never considered the previous toast model
to be an issue.
The only thing I've ever had a problem with toasters,
and it drives me mad,
is how useless and pathetic the crumb trays are.
- Would you like to hazard a guess as to how much it is?
- I can't believe I'm saying this,
for a two slice toaster, 65 quid.
- Ben, this is £116.99.
- It's like a mattress,
they're always more expensive than you think.
- Is this the toastess of the mostess
or is is it just not worth getting burned?
- Ah, I don't know.
It's good,
it's expensive.
Would I?
No.
Did it put a smile on my face the first time I used it?
Yes.
I think probably not for me.
- Thanks, mate, that was fun.
- Good batch.
Four kitchen gadgets that all do what they say on the tin
actually deliver and solve a problem.
The question is whether the problem needed solving.
Well, you've heard what we think,
but now comment down below,
tell us what you think.
Rank the four gadgets, 1 to 4, and comment why.
- [Mike] If you'd like to sign up to packs for free
and give it a try,
along with all the other apps and podcasts
in the Sorted club,
then head to sorted.club/trypacksforfree.
The link is also in the description
and as always,
we'd really love to hear your thoughts.
And now for a blooper.
- This has been designed for those moments
when you've got two dirty, sticky hands
and you have to touch the toilet roll.
Toilet roll?
(both laugh)
- Why have you got dirty,
why have you got two dirty hands
when you need to grab toilet roll, James?
It's kind of what the toilet roll's for.
- Oh, no!
Right, I'm gonna...