Zavor’s Noir Cookware Collection bring Design and Function to the Kitchen
Zavor recently announced new pieces for their first line of cast aluminum cookware – The Noir Cookware Collection. It gives even more design opportunities for the home kitchen, or as a great gift for the passionate cook.
The Noir line’s pieces are made of cast aluminum, one of the best and most popular materials for cookware. The cast aluminum provides excellent heat conductivity that is better than that of stainless steel and has a lighter weight than cast iron. Zavor’s Noir Cookware Collection sports a black finish with a Whitford Fusion Ti nonstick ceramic coating, and is designed to be both durable and to retain heat while looking quite nice on display or in use.
Despite the name “Noir“, the collection also includes color options. These consist of customizable color selections for the removable and replaceable black pan & skillet handles and silicone pot grips. They can be swapped out for others in colors like red, butternut squash orange, royal blue, purple, sky blue, and mint green.
Says a Zavor spokeperson, “Since one of the more unique features of the cookware is the removable handles, we thought it would add another aesthetic element to offer the handles in colors. It gives user’s an opportunity to match their kitchens, their cooking, the season, or even use them to identify allergy or diet-specific cookware.”
The removable handles allow skillets and pans to be placed in the dishwasher much more comfortably and provide a more compact storage solution. Another benefit is that when the handles are removed, the skillets, pots and pans in this collection are oven safe up to 535°F. From a performance standpoint, the pieces in the collection have interiors coated with a smooth ceramic layer, which helps to make them easy to clean, and a smooth 430 stainless steel base that is compatible with all cooktops ranging from gas to induction.
The Noir Cast Aluminum Cookware Collection includes
- 8” skillet
- 10” skillet
- 12” skillet
- 11” grill pan
- 4.5 qt sauté pan
- 6 qt sauté pan
- 5 qt Dutch oven
- 7 qt Dutch oven
- a skillet set with 8” and 10” skillets
- a skillet set with 10” and 12” skillets
- a 7 piece cookware set ($229.95) including a 12” skillet, 4.5 qt sauté pan, 5 qt Dutch oven, and 1.5 qt saucepan.
For more about the Zavor Noir Cookware Collection visit: www.zavoramerica.com.
The Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven Gives Twice the Space for Double the Cooking
We have tested several different air fryers, and some are great, and some are not so great. One of the ones that we think is really nice is the Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven. It is perfect not just for amateurs who are just getting started with air fryers, before also for experts who use them all the time. One thing in particular that we really love about this item is that it gives you two racks to cook on at the same time, and has a capacity of 12.7 quarts. This doubles the amount of food that you can prepare, as well as doubles the types of food that you can cook simultaneously.
The Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven controls are intuitive and easy to use. It’s a very simple 1-2-3 step approach. First step is plugging it in the appliance and turning it on. After that you just set the TEMP and TIME, and you’re pretty much done. Or you can use one of the blue LED display buttons that show different types of foods or food groups such as Fries, Meat, Seafood, Pizza, Vegetables, Bake and Dehydrate, and then automatically set the temperature and cooking time with them. We have found that those buttons are useful, but it is much more useful to have a written guide that will say for a particular type or food or vegetable the specific temperature and length. Fortunately in the instruction booklet that comes with the Zavor there is such a written guide. There are also written Time & Temp guides for air frying that are available online.
Most air fryers require usually a bit of olive oil or another oil on the item to be cooked. This is done simply by putting them in a bowl and a bit of olive oil, then lightly tossing, then adding the food to the rack of the air fryer. The Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven has a non-stick drip pan at the bottom to catch drips and for easy cleaning.
We tested different types of recipes in the Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven over a period of several weeks. Everyone loves crispy tofu, so of course we tried it with crispy tofu in a sesame sauce. It worked perfectly. Of course french fries are the most popular recipe for air fryers, so we tested the Zavor with different types of potatoes to see what differences there might be in the fries. In addition we tested different sizes and cuts of fries. Regardless of the type or cut, the fries came out very tasty. Our team had a difficult time not eating them all in one go. Yet another addiction.
We also tried air frying Brussel Sprouts to see if they would become crispy. They did, although we still think that roasted in the oven is probably the best place for the tastiest outcome.
In the Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven we tried cooking fried chicken, which came out very well, and this was a surprise because one of the biggest fails people have with air frying is when they decide to fry chicken in them. It really takes a very specific combination of ingredients, coating, and temperature to get what most people would want in their fried chicken. This includes having the breading staying on the chicken and not sliding off. The Zavor fortunately came through this ultimate challenge with flying colors.
Cleanup with the Zavor is easy, as most components inside are removable and non-stick, for easy hand washing. Another useful feature that the Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven has is the option to create rotisserie chicken. An attractive option without a doubt, no doubt related to its larger capacity as well as ability to hold a custom spit. We hope to test this feature at a future date.
Our biggest success with the Zavor Crunch Air Fryer Oven was actually with carrot fries. This recipe calls for you to take small baby carrots and cut them in half, then coating them with olive oil lightly, as well as spices, and then adding them to the air fryer. They come out just as delicious as potato-based french fries, but of course are less starchy and more healthy.
See more at www.ZavorAmerica.com
TasteTV’s TASTEABLE Television Series releases Season 6 Episode 607 Intro
TASTEABLE Television Series, Episode Intro, Season 6 Episode 607, featuring a fashion brunch in Palo Alto, 3 great knife recommendations for F.N. Sharp, TheChefClub and Porsche Design, plus yoga at the SIXTY Beverly Hills.
This food, wine and travel television series takes viewers on a lifestyle tour of California and beyond. TASTEABLE can be watched on these PBS-affiliate television stations in Northern California, reaching over 2.5 million households from the San Francisco Bay Area to Wine Country.
TasteTV Gift Guide: 3 Gourmet Spice Sets You Will Love
Happiness is the spice of life is a truism. What is also true is that spice is a source of happiness. Especially when cooking and eating your meals. If you want to give someone an ongoing source of happiness, giving them (or yourself), a few great spice sets will never steer you wrong.
Without a well stocked spice collection, the home chef is like a painter with just one color. Sounds rather bland, doesn’t it?
Fortunately, we’ve taken a look at several, and here are some of our favorites: SpiceWalla, Nielsen-Massey, and Mola Foods.
SpiceWalla 18 Pack Kitchen Essentials Spice & Seasonings Pack
This kit has everything an experienced or novice home chef could want for most meals, hence the name “essential.” Eighteen different tins contain a variety of spices and seasonings, each packaged in a nice container that looks good on its own or in your spice rack.
The kit includes: Cumin Seed – Kashmiri Chilli Powder – Granulated Garlic -Granulated Onion – Dark Chilli Powder – Ground Yellow Mustard – Crushed Red Pepper – Smoked Paprika – Green Cardamom Powder – Cinnamon Powder – Cloves – Ground Turmeric – Coriander Seed – Mediterranean Oregano – Rosemary – Herbs de Provence – Fennel Seed – Ground Ginger.
What also makes it a great gift is that it will take quite a while for someone to get through all of these ingredients, and each time they use them they will think of you.
Find it Here
Nielsen Massey Extracts: Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract, Almond Extract, Peppermint Extract
Nielsen-Massey has long been the industry standard for high quality Pure Vanilla Extract. This is impressive, considering the competition from the artificial vanilla ‘flavoring’ brands, plus the amount of time and effort it takes to grow a real vanilla plant to fruit. Vanilla comes from an orchid vine, and the flowers produce seed pods from which the vanilla beans and essence are extracted. Anyone who has ever tried to grow orchids know that it is a labor and time intensive enterprise that gives us this fantastic taste.
Nielsen-Massey puts the same care into their other extracts, including one for Pure Almond and another for Pure Peppermint. Used together, you can imagine the feast of cookies and cakes that you can bring to the table!
Find them Here.
Mola Foods, Culture in a Bottle
Mola Foods has a range of spice blends, and each is inspired by a particular culture or region of the World. Founded by Jeannette Bryant, her spices are vegan friendly and vibrant.
One thing you will find once you start using any of these spice blends is that it doesn’t really matter what it was originally intended to elicit. It could say Indian, it could say Ethiopian, it could say Spicy or General. You are going to use it on EVERYTHING. Eggs, steak, chicken, vegetables, stews, fish… The list goes on, because it turns out that they are not just fresh, they are also extremely versatile. The basic ingredients of garlic power, onion powder, salt, perhaps some turmeric, etc., can be used as a general seasoning, and they are used in exactly that way.
Prepare for heavy duty usage and happiness.
Find it Here.
Sandra’s New Line of Premium Chicken Entrees makes Home Dinners Quick and Tasty
It has been a while since anyone here remembers having Chicken Cordon Bleu, but Sandra’s new line of premium chicken entrees helped bring back fond memories. Plus, they are very well suited to these days of staying more at home and not always wanting to cook a full meal from scratch.
The brand recently introduced its premium chicken entree line featuring antibiotic-free chicken and superfoods in five flavor varieties: Cauliflower & Chia, Quinoa & Veggie, Kale & Pepperjack, Cordon Bleu, and Broccoli & Swiss.
We found the Sandra’s chicken entrees to be extremely easy to prepare. Simply heat the oven to the temperature on the box, and put the frozen items directly on a foil or parchment covered oven tray. As is our way, for most pre-frozen foods we tend to turn up the recommended temperatures by 10 degrees and let things cook 5 minutes longer than suggested, and it worked out extremely well. (Not to worry, the chicken is not pre-cooked, so it won’t dry out)
Each box comes with two packets, in which are contained 1 chicken breast entree each. Many people could eat both breasts, but you can definitely just have one with side dishes. It’s only 230 calories per serving, another plus.
Sandra’s is also working to becoming a more sustainable brand. They recently launched #UpcycleWithSandras, a unique sustainability campaign designed to encourage consumers to repurpose and reuse product packaging to reduce waste. To help with ideas, the inside of Sandra’s packaging features different printed designs of fun, reusable items like bookmarks, thought bubbles, recipe cards, coupons and patterns that can be colored to create something new.
“We value sustainability and being good stewards of the environment,” says Marketing Manager Alicia Mort. “We’ve taken something that would normally be thrown out and given consumers options to reuse it for another purpose.”
About Sandra’s:
Sandra’s is a line of all natural chicken entrée products made at Serenade Foods in Milford, Indiana. Since 1976, the family-owned company has manufactured chicken products for retail and foodservice markets. For more information about Sandra’s premium stuffed chicken breast entrees and the Upcycle sustainability campaign, visit www.sandraschicken.com.