April 30th, 2012 by Keri Algar

A recent coffee machine survey has uncovered some surprising ideas about Australia's latte love affair. The survey set out to pitch a few popular espresso coffee machine brands against each other, measured by customer satisfaction of their ability to make a good cup of coffee, ease of use, reliability and value for money - pretty stock standard metrics. What the surveyors at Canstar Blue  found however, was that only a ... Read more

April 25th, 2012 by Keri Algar

At Appliances Online there's nothing we like more than quirky vacuuming news. But this one has made us wonder: are smart appliances colluding to keep us trim? There's the LG fridge which politely suggests we reach for a healthy option, and the Samsung oven that can tell us how many calories the meal cooking contains. Now, a new vacuum cleaner will work out how many of those calories we've ... Read more

April 24th, 2012 by Keri Algar

It's not only a fishy smell that indicates if fish is fresh or not. And unless we've been lucky enough to catch it ourselves, we can never really be too sure how fresh the fish at the market is. Fostering a good relationship will our local fishmonger will help, we might even get a wink and a bonus lemon every once and a while as well! Otherwise,  we ... Read more

April 24th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Looking over last night's recipe booklet from the Sydney Seafood School there is a sharp sensory reminder of the eve's fare. No, not because of a cut finger, or words or pictures, but smell. The paper is pungent with cooking oil infused with Sichuan pepper, lime, coriander, deep fried squid and prawns. Our task was to prepare salt and pepper prawns with a prickly ash (that's a Sichuan ... Read more

April 23rd, 2012 by Keri Algar

As much of Australia approaches the end of the barbecue season many a household will be left with half empty bottles and jars of tomato sauce, barbecue, sweet chilli, mustard and mayo. How long do condiments last? The openings are probably pretty gunky by now, but the sauces are still good to go and if you store them properly they might even stick around for next summer. Due to their high ... Read more

April 20th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Making a good cup of joe boils down to the beans, the milk, the maker and the machine. But if the latter is in neglect it won't matter how organic the beans are, how fresh the milk is, or how good a barista you (think you) are, the coffee is going to taste bad. If your friends haven't been popping in so often for a cuppa maybe it's ... Read more

April 19th, 2012 by Keri Algar

You've got what? Food poisoning is one of the most unpleasant, ungainly, unwanted experiences out there. And raw meat is a principle source of dangerous, illness causing-bacteria like Listeria and Salmonella. We'll do anything to avoid a bout of tummy trouble but can we go too far? Are we throwing away edible, safe food? Of course we're better off safe than sorry, still, is the fear of poisoning making ... Read more

April 18th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Butter, sugar and syrup. Sounds good. Sometimes the finest things in life are the simplest, like my Mum's ANZAC biscuit recipe. As with most things she does in the kitchen, it is straightforward and delicious. ANZAC biscuit recipe What you'll need: 130 grams of butter 2 tablespoons of golden syrup 120 grams of sugar 120 grams of flour 1 cup of rolled oats 120 grams of desiccated coconut 1 teaspoon of baking powder. What you'll do: Melt the butter and add ... Read more

April 18th, 2012 by Keri Algar

When an appliance goes on the blink we're often left wondering whether it's worthwhile to repair or are we better off simply replacing? Before making a decision, check if the appliance is under warranty. You may be able to get a repair or replacement care of the manufacturer. If so, there are a couple of things that will help you expedite what can be a painfully slow process. Firstly ... Read more

April 17th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Chore-dodging teenagers and household pets flee even before the vacuum's cord has been pulled out, but this little baby can't get enough. As the vacuum's hose teases his tummy the infectious peals of laughter cause Mum to giggle with delight and the chore...forgotten. If you haven't got one of these vacuum-friendly babies handy at least you can trust that at Appliances Online we do our best to lighten ... Read more

April 17th, 2012 by Keri Algar

The new Fisher & Paykel Gas on Glass cooktops will be getting a workout at the renowned Sydney Seafood School. The Seafood School sees over 13,000 people drawn in each year by well known guest presenters such as Mathew Moran, Christine Manfield and Guillaume Brahimi, who teach food lovers how to prepare seafood dishes from around the world. Presented most weekdays, nights and weekends, the classes range from ... Read more

April 16th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Let the dishwasher do its job! Pre-rinsing is a waste of time, money, and water, Consumer Reports has said. Dishwashers are designed to do the dirty work yet some households are wasting well over 22,000 litres of water a year through unnecessary rinsing, according to the US consumer watchdog. When testing dishwashers, Consumer Reports used dishes "caked with foods such as peanut butter, tomato sauce, oatmeal and egg ... Read more

April 16th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Fisher & Paykel and Breville have joined Miele in the 2012 Choice awards that celebrate excellent customer service and product reliability. The recent 2012 awards have not only highlighted Miele for the best vacuum cleaner brand, but Fisher & Paykel for best fridge brand and Breville for its Fast Slow Cooker. Fisher & Paykel received the coveted award after two years of fridge testing across numerous brands and ... Read more

April 13th, 2012 by Keri Algar

If the world was only full of engineers things would be functional, if a bit boring; if it was full of artists things would be colourful but nothing would get done! At Dyson, a happy mix of creation and invention plus a little time on their hands has led a team of engineers to let their hair down and dabble in drag racing. Using the motor from a ... Read more

April 13th, 2012 by Keri Algar

$70,000 worth of coffee, five coffee machines  and a van have been recovered after having been stolen earlier this week. News of the heist spread globally within hours and the police believe that when the thieves realised this they ditched the van and fled. The police were alerted by a local person who saw the abandoned van and compared it to the image in the paper on a ... Read more