Calphalon Katana Stainless-Steel 8-Piece Knife Set with Block Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Pros:
These knives are pretty, with a rounded black handle, and a layered damascus-style blade. This means the blade, while relatively smooth, has a wavy-layered look to it. The Amazon picture is accurate to what you will receive in your set. Out of the box, each knife is quite sharp; enough to shear paper, but not hair.
I have smaller hands, and have some trouble wielding the 8" chef's knife, but find that the 5" Santoku is excellent for chopping vegetables. The 6" utility knife is also very useful for thinly slicing meats. I do use a different paring knife (Pampered Chef) as I find the Katana paring knife a little too sharp and rigid for say, lopping the ends off string beans in my hand. We also made the additional purchase of the 9" bread knife to complete the set. The bamboo block is attractive, and the slots are wide and deep enough to put other wide-bladed/long knives in. However, note that if you get the bread knife, that only leaves 3 empty slots (i.e. no dedicated steak knife slots).
Cons:
Two slight cons about this set: (1) The diamond-sharpener looks too coarse to use on these blades, and; (2) The shears in this set are lackluster. While they are relatively heavy-duty, they do not come apart for cleaning, and the handles are a little large and unwieldy. I prefer a smaller-handled set of kitchen shears that come apart for cleaning (when I decide to cut meat instead of slicing it, a la Alton Brown). But in their defense, they do cut cleanly.
Comparisons:
We love our Katanas, and they make ordinary chopping/slicing a much more endurable chore with their sharpness and ease. If you are "stepping up" from an ordinary consumer-grade set, you will definitely feel the difference. For example, I had a $90, 10-piece Kitchenaid set. The Katana Santoku knife is definitely more balanced, and the garlics/onions slide right off the Katana's grooves, whereas sometimes foods would stick on the Kitchenaid. I do find that the Kitchenaid chef's knife is slightly easier to handle, due to the longer curve (better rocking-chopping motion), and the slightly reduced weight, but the Katana is sharper, more rigid, cleaner-cutting, and therefore faster. The Kitchenaid shears were lighter (easier to wield) but flimsier. Unlike the KitchenAid shears, don't expect the Katanas to make a scissor-like snipping noise, they are entirely silent. The Katanas do require slightly care than your run-of-the-mill knife set, but simply wash them shortly after you're done using them and dry them prior to putting them back into the block.
Personal Opinion:
I don't know what "Professional Chefs" think, and I'm just an average cook. Thus, these knives went above and beyond my expectations by reducing my prep time, and adding an attractive focal point to the counter. Granted, they don't come out of the block making a lovely ringing steel noise like our Shun steak knives, but for the foreseeable future on a limited budget, the Katanas are a worthy investment.
Some Miscellaneous Notes:
These knives are made from VG-Japanese steel, but they are manufactured in China. We found this set (1st Quality) at more than 50% off in one of the big box stores, which made it a steal. However, if we had paid full-price, we probably would have done a comparison with a Shun knife set instead.
[Edit - July 2008] Since purchasing these knives, we have noticed the following: (1) do not leave them overnight in water - as they will rust badly, (2) the 5" Santoku has inexplicably developed two hairline fractures in the blade. It was my favorite knife, was not used on inappropriate objects/materials (not used for chopping bones or anything), and was always used on a cutting board, so this development within a year has been very disappointing. I still like the set, but the rusting and the fracturing make me a little less pleased with them. I would drop the star-quality to 3.0-3.5.

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Rubbermaid Premier Food Storage Containers Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm only giving these 3 stars (I thought about 2 stars) but the reason is because of how Rubbermaid completely RUINED the awesome (5 star) Stain Shield line they had before this travesty came along. I hate to say it, but if you're looking for good plastic containers, these are probably the best ones out there at the moment (because of the Stain Shield technology), but only if you can get over the absolutely horrendous lid design. In my opinion, the Stain Shield containers that these replaced were superior in so many ways. Redesigning the lid to be fancy just ruined the line, so if you're Rubbermaid, how about bring back the old Coke formula?
Problem #1
Sure, the lids flex more than the old ones, but it comes at BIG price of being very, very difficult to clean when the old model was SO EASY! That gray part really is rubber and scouring pads don't do well in cleaning rubber; it just sticks. Go throw some soap suds on your car tires and see how easy it is to clean with a kitchen scrubber, now clean your car windows with the same scrubber. That's the difference between the old line and this one. It's like trying to scrub off the residue that an adhesive label leaves behind. Don't get me started on the deep grooves in the lid that you're never going to get into to clean either. It boggles my mind how they thought this improvement was sanitary.
Problem #2
The lids are recessed and go BELOW the surface of the lip when fully seated - at least a quarter inch if not more! So no longer can you fill up the bowl to it's capacity like before. Also, there's no line that tells you were that limit is so it's sort of a guessing game. Did you put too much soup in the container? Well, the only way to know for sure is to set the lid on and see if you get soup being pushed out the sides when you press the lid on. So yeah, before you didn't get anything on the lid and it was easy to clean; now you get a ton of stuff on the lid and it's really hard to clean. What were you thinking Rubbermaid? Terrible design, just terrible. The old model didn't do this and sat flush, if not just a little above the top of the container.
Problem #3
If you stack 2 containers on top of each other with their lids on, you have to lift the container up out of a depression from the lid it's sitting on top of, you can't slide it out. That's hard to explain, but if you look at the picture you can probably get the idea. Again, the previous model had a completely flat top, which meant that when they were in the fridge, you could slide them out easily. That may not seem like a big deal when it's in the cupboard, but when it's in a packed fridge with other containers, it just gets annoying. Another terrible design "improvement". Although I will say that some folks will probably like this feature since it keeps the containers stacked more neatly and are less prone to sliding off of each other. This is not a problem in my house.
Problem #4
There's more rubber on the lid which means you can't see inside the container as well as before. They've cut the viewing area down significantly and they are much more difficult to seat. You have to line them up just right.
Problem #5
The previous model let you microwave something with the lid cracked on the container, flip the lid over when it was done microwaving, and set the hot container on it and walk away. Voila! An easy-to-walk-away-with a hot container! It was like having a built-in pot holder. Those days are over with this lid.
The Good #1
The bottom part of the containers didn't change much, just a little curvier but still 100% functional; no complaints there at all. The stain-shield technology is just amazing and in the 5+ years I've been using them, not one stain! That part is huge for me since I store and microwave a lot of tomato-based items. Also, they do not retain odors, so that's another HUGE plus for this garlic lover.
The Good #2
You can microwave and freeze these containers a thousand times and not have any worries. They can take pretty much anything you can throw at them. In 5 years I've had 2 bowls crack just from normal wear and tear. That's pretty good if you ask me.
If you don't know if you should get the round or square sizes, I have both the round and square containers and find the square to be much easier when it comes to storage. It's a much more efficient use of space in the refrigerator.
The red line of these bowls are BPA-free.
All-in-all, the lid "improvements" they made to this line have completely ruined it in my opinion. I'm always on the lookout for remnants of their old line, but to no avail; I can't find them anywhere. I need to buy more containers, but in the meantime, I'm hoping for a better design to come out, either Rubbermaid or someone else.
**If you know of a better product than this one, please leave a comment and let us all know!!!

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Rubbermaid's Premier collection of food-storage containers makes container and lid organization a breeze. Designed with space efficiency in mind, the lids and bases nest inside each other so they take up less room when stored in a cabinet or drawer, plus the lids snap to the bottom of the containers and to each other, which means no more searching around for the right-size lid. Even more, one lid can accommodate multiple containers. The bases, made from durable shatterproof plastic, resist stains and odors to maintain clear visibility of inside contents, while the easy-to-seal lids lock in freshness, yet can be removed effortlessly. The covered containers can be used in the refrigerator, freezer, or microwave, and they clean up quickly by hand or in the dishwasher. Great for storing chips, baked goods, or pasta salad for a picnic, this 14-cup food-storage container measures 9-2/5 by 9-2/5 by 5 inches and carries a limited lifetime warranty.

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OXO Good Grips Dough Blender Review

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(More customer reviews)I do a lot of baking; a lot of different types of baking and therefore need good equipment that is not going to break my piggy bank. I have owned several dough blenders (still have them in the baking section of my kitchen) but found this Oxo brand to be the best of the litter. It fits my hand perfectly and for those of you who do a lot of work with these utensils know, this is very important. Nothing like a good hand cramp to set your day off just right. I suspect that this company has put in quite a lot of research as to the workings of the human hand and they pretty well have it nailed with this product.
The blades of this one (five) are quite stout and do not bend and flex as most do. I hate flimsy utensils, so this one was a real pleasure when I started using it. As to the sturdiness, this one if far superior to the Wilton, Pampered Chief or Anco...there is just no comparison. Trust me, I have used them all.
There are some considerations though. As pointed out by one reviewer, this mixer is not compatible with smaller bowls. I use rather large and heavy mixing bowls so do not have that problem myself, but I can see were some might have. Secondly, cleaning by hand is a chore. I have found the best way to clean this thing up is to soak it for a bit and then simply throw it in the dishwasher. I usually like to hand wash all my equipment, but in this case I go for the washer. The other way I have used is the simple use of a longer bristled kitchen brush.
As an added tip, this is a good tool to make thin butter patties with and to slice eggs for salads..a very nice even cut.
If you do a large amount of "scratch" baking, then this one is going to make life a lot easier for you.


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Cutting butter or margarine into flour for great pie and pastry crusts is easier than ever with this heavy-duty dough blender from Oxo. Designed with sturdy stainless-steel blades, the dough blender makes quick, efficient work of preparing crumb toppings and pastries. The broad, soft handle absorbs pressure and is non-slip for a secure grip. The kitchen tool measures 5 by 5-1/4 by 2 inches and is safe to clean in the dishwasher.

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