New takes on existing ideas...

3rd April 2021

Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director 

My chums at Joseph Joseph have been busy again designing, either afresh, or taking other's designs and putting their own stamp on them, usually making some small or sometimes significant improvements. With their latest batch they mainly come into the latter category, namely a fresh look at an old design. Let's take a look, but before I do, last week I promised you that we would be reporting on the Magimix 4200XL and 5200XL machines and the offers that they currently have with them. However, Babette hasn't really felt up to do much cooking of late and so sends her apologies and says she'll do it just as soon as she's feeling a bit better!

Joseph Joseph, Measure Up
The first item of new Joseph Joseph lines that I grabbed from the pile on my desk is the "Measure Up", their new take on an adjustable measuring spoon. Now, this is not a new idea, you may well have seen something similar before, but it measures not only 1ml to 15ml but also ¼ of a teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (and all the land that lies between). On top of that, they've designed it so it'll do both dry and liquid by dint of using a silicon sliding scale which seals against the main body, maintaining accuracy. Clever and very Joseph. So, an all in one teaspoon and tablespoon measure, ultra-compact and easy to clean, just pulls apart for washing. The downside maybe that it requires a bit of dexterity to move the scale as intended, but you can always push from the end that you are not using!

Joseph Joseph Measure-Up Measuring Spoon - Blue
£5.00

Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Bamboo Cutlery Organiser
£20.00

DrawerStore
Next is a bamboo take on one of their most ingenious designs. It's the DrawerStore that they brought out two or three years ago and is just a very clever space saver. I hope that you can see from the picture that it allows you to store your cutlery in a fraction of the space that a conventional cutlery drawer occupies. Stacking them at a slight angle one on top of the other, it is such a simple idea, it almost made me gasp when I first saw it. Downside? Yes, you can't see the business end until you've pulled it out, which might irritate the first few times, but I've a feeling that the benefit far outweighs this? A great product I think!

ChopCup
Now, I have the "ChopCup" in front of me. I said to Em that I hate things like this and wasn't going to bother you with it... what's wrong with a good knife. She told me I was wrong! Apparently lots of people are not confident with knives and fear them (which admittedly I do, particularly when they are in someone else's hands) and she gets quite a calling for this type of gadget. So what does it do. It chops veg into fingers or cubes and is easy to clean. Sorry about the lack of enthusiasm, still getting over being told I was wrong. So persisted a bit with Em and her take on it. She insisted that you can do one small onion in one hit. The cut veg are then contained inside the body of the ChopCup, so it's neat and mess free. You don't need to grip well just use a reasonable downward force to achieve impressively uniform fingers or cubes.

Etched Grater
Penultimately, we have another favourite of mine, namely the etched grater. The Josephs have taken what looks very similar to the Microplane design (the originator of the etched grater) and given it a subtle improvement by designing it so that it sits on a medium size bowl or dish really quite snugly with its plastic and silicone body. But if you haven't yet used an Etched Grater, then you have a treat in store, because for every stroke you apply you will get probably double the amount of grated....? Than with a conventional grater. They are a bit jaw dropping in fact. Am I exaggerating, well it's not something I'm given to generally and of course if you buy one, use it, disagree with me you will be most welcome to return for a refund. A great product available in Coarse or Fine!

A Flat whisk
Lastly, there's an awkwardly named but clever whisk called "Twist 2-in-1 Silicone Whisk" ...just trips of the tongue, but don't let this put you off, especially if you are either short on space, fed up with your whisk catching on everything else in the drawer as you pull it out, or you need a frying pan sauce whisk. And all this is because this whisk folds flat for storage, flat for use in a frying pan, and opens up with a twist to become a conventional silicone covered whisk. Being silicone covered, you can use in a non-stick pan if the mood takes you.

A Uno Salad Bowl
And, sorry, definitely lastly, there's a new product that I talked to you about back in January, which I just love. It's the Uno Salad bowl that comes complete with salad servers / paddles that hang elegantly on the inside of the bowl when not in use. We had a good reaction to them back in January, and the only negative point was that we had one person return two of them because they were too big. So whilst I feel it's a bowl that would be in constant use in our household (we eat lots of salad and there are 5 of us), it is unquestionably large and it'll cost you £45. As always, if you find anything you buy from us unsuitable, then remember we'd like you to bring it back, rather than it languishing in the back of the cupboard. And this offer is whether you have used it or not.

I hope you have a good and peaceful and extended Easter Weekend.

Kind regards

Andrew

Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director