Tag Archives: cuisinart

Appliances, Kitchen

Electric Grills

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George Foreman “original”
Electric grills are one of those appliances that all the manufacturers seem frequently produce new models so it’s hard to keep up, so just keep in mind what options you are after and stick with a trusted brand name. If you treat it well, it should last you more than a few years, but always remember that they do not build appliances to last anymore!!
A lot of manufacturers now offer a multitude of options on the countertop grills, so think about how much versatility you’re looking for. Any of these styles will have a nonstick coating on the grill plates (silicone, plastic, or wood utensils only!) and should come with some sort of a removable grease drip cup or pan, FYI! Keep in mind that that most household electrics don’t have the power to get really high temperatures that some people prefer for grilling meats, so if you’re one of those folks, one of these probably isn’t going to satisfy your wants.
Standard/Basic/“Classic” Grills
Cuisinart Grill & Panini Press
A standard countertop grill is something like the “classic” George Foreman grills. (I like the way they designate the categories on their site, so I am going to utilize those! Brilliant!) The grill plates do not come off, and on most of them the back hinge isn’t adjustable, so it seems to hinder what you can cook on some of the grills if they are not large enough. I actually knew a few people that had two or three different sizes of these so they could cook exactly what they needed on the right size grill. (The Breville Panini Grill has a floating hinge so you won’t have this issue – read more about floating hinges below!) Some offer the feature of opening up flat to increase your grilling surface, like the Cuisinart Grill & Panini Press.
Proctor Silex grill
A lot of brands that make smaller ones call them sandwich or panini grills but you can fit small cuts of meat on these. BE CAREFUL! There are also actual “sandwich makers” that make pocket sandwiches, a whole different ballpark! This size makes a great gift for a single person. I had a Proctor-Silex sandwich-sized grill for years (looks like it’s just an earlier version of what they are still selling today – mine was white!) that never let me down and I ended up gifting it to a friend when I finally upgraded to a multi-plate grill/griddle.
These can be a pain to clean up – be prepared to waste a LOT of paper towels!
Cuisinart Sandwich Maker – not a grill/panini/griddle!
Removable-Plate Grills
George Foreman removable plate
Removable-plate grills are basically the same as the standard/classic grill except that the grill plates are removable for easier cleanup. Usually they can go in the dishwasher, but I really wouldn’t recommend it. I put mine in the dishwasher once or twice and I’m pretty sure that helped the nonstick coating come completely off in a few spots where it was beginning to wear down, and it also looked very dull. The good thing is that reputable manufacturers will be able to sell you replacement grill plates, so your machine could end up lasting a lot longer since that’s usually why people end up getting rid of their classic models, not because they’re broken.
Multi-Plate Grills
Multi-plate grills are really cool, because they offer more versatility in helping you keep your kitchen clear of a few more appliances! Usually they are grill/griddle options, but a few manufacturers have now come out with waffle plate options, which is really cool.
George Foreman 6-Plate Grill
I own the original version of the Cuisinart Griddler (mine has a drip cups instead of a built-in drip tray like the one in the link) and I’ve had it for many years now. I mainly use the grill plates, but the griddle plates have definitely been handy when moving and the stove is covered in boxes!! I have decided to start making more pancakes and am going to start using the griddle plates on my Griddler instead of frying pans to see if I fare any better at making decent-looking pancakes! (They taste fine, but boy are they ugly!)

My Cuisinart Griddler cooking up some grilled cheese!

For this newer version of the Griddler, you can purchase waffle plates separately, which I find interesting since their “Deluxe” and “Elite” models don’t have waffle plates and cost more. Those models have an added “top melt” heating feature and can sear at 500 degrees for two minutes at a time, which is a huge benefit because most countertop appliances cannot attain that high temperature. One of these models would definitely be what the high-heat griller in your life is looking for!

Breville Smart Grill
Black & Decker makes a 3-in-1 machine that has reversible grill/waffle plates and separate griddle plates, although their website doesn’t show images of the grill plate sides at all.
There are larger electric reversible grill/griddle appliances that are an “open” grill, meaning there’s no lid to put pressure on what you’re grilling, so you’d have to actually flip your food over to cook it like a real grill. These can be good for large families or people who do a lot of entertaining because they are generally much larger. A few examples are Cuisinart, Wolfgang Puck, & Hamilton Beach.
Wolfgang Puck Reversible Electric Grill/Griddle
Floating Hinge
One thing I love about my Griddler is the “floating hinge” feature, and I strongly recommend finding a model with an option similar to that because I think it helps cook larger items more evenly by putting an even amount of pressure on the items. With my old Proctor-Silex I always felt the front of burgers weren’t getting cooked and was constantly turning them. Now I can make thick panini sandwiches and use a potholder to push on the top of the grill to make sure it is perfectly flat and cooking the sandwich evenly. It looks like Breville uses a floating hinge on both their Smart Grill and their Panini Grill.
Breville Panini Grill floating hinge
Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grills
You can now find a variety of freestanding electric grills to cater to the growing market of consumers who aren’t allowed to have propane or charcoal grills in their apartment complexes but still want to grill! The great thing about these is that they can be used inside or outside, the bad news is you might not have that much room in the house. Also, if you are using a larger grill at full capacity, it might produce too much smoke to use indoors.
George Foreman indoor/outdoor electric grill
There’s now actually a really cool George Foreman indoor/outdoor grill that comes apart so you can use it as a countertop model indoors – the others all need to remain on their stands if brought inside.
Outdoor Electric Grills
Generally you are not going to be using anything over 1500 watts inside of your home, so anything above that is going to be able to reach higher temperatures and need to be utilized outside. The majority of outdoor electric grills are tabletop design as the intended audience are folks living in small spaces like apartment complexes that don’t allow propane or charcoal grills. Some of the popular propane and charcoal grill companies make electric outdoor grills now, which I’m sure are as good of quality as their counterparts.
Cuisinart actually makes several propane and charcoal grills, but they specifically make a tabletop outdoor electric grill or you can get it with a three-position telescoping base for the option to make it taller like a real grill.
Char-Broil outdoor electric grill
HELPFUL LINKS:
My Griddler with original grill plates
– still going strong!

 

Appliances, Cookware, Kitchen

Pressure Cookers (Stovetop & Electric)

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Pressure cookers have been making a big comeback over the last decade. Gone are the days of a shaky pot spitting hot steam out at your face. Safety features abound and they’ve even gone from the stovetop to the countertop in many electric models.

How Does a Pressure Cooker Work?

A pressure cooker, stovetop or electric, has a gasket seal on the lid piece that makes it impossible for steam to escape from inside of the cooking vessel once locked into place. As you heat the water/food inside the vessel, the water turns to vapor. Since the steam cannot escape, its molecules will increase velocity, which will increase pressure on the surface of the liquid and the also increase the temperature of the water.*

 

Why Pressure Cook?

  • Fast – steam cooks food faster than dry cooking methods
  • Nutritional – steamed food retain vitamins and nutrients better than other cooking methods
  • One pot – easy cleanup
  • Braising – works well with foods that require water infusion or braising methods
  • Safe – food is cooked above boiling point, killing most bacteria and micro-organisms
  • Pressure Canning – if you get a large enough pressure cooker, you can also use it for pressure canning. Some people don’t trust themselves to get the time/temperature correct when using a regular pot for canning.
    • Or purchase a pressure canner, which is essentially the same thing, it just won’t have the fancy handles and locks like a stovetop pressure cooker.

Most people really love pressure cookers for cooking beans, artichokes, and making soup stocks.

Fissler pressure cooker pans with pressure lid,
glass lid and perforated insert pan

Things to Consider With Both Stovetop and Electric Pressure Cookers:

  • Gaskets wear out (like they would on anything requiring a gasket seal), so I would recommend making sure you can find replacement ones.
  • On that note, making sure any parts are replaceable is key, in my opinion.
  • Reviews on pressure cookers can be tough, because a lot of people are overwhelmed when they finally get it home, don’t use it properly, etc. Reviews on anything, in general, tends to be on the negative side since people with positive experiences don’t feel the urge to get online and complain! So make sure you really do your homework and check reviews from several sources. Cook’s Illustrated and Consumer Reports are high-quality resources.
  • With something that can be considered so dangerous, I personally would spend more to get the top-rated brands. I don’t want to skimp on materials to save a couple of bucks!
  • Find pressure cooker cookbooks that appeal to you. I would refer to something published versus a recipe you find on the internet (unless you know it’s a reputable source!), just like with canning (or pressure canning!) You don’t want to assume everyone knows their internal meat cooking temperatures, etc. At least this isn’t canning and you can always throw your food in a pot on the stove afterwards if it’s not cooked properly!
  • The European Union has very strict standards on pressurized equipment (pressure equipment directive), so if you are still worried, I would look for a European brand to have comfort in knowing it has to be up to par.
  • Everything has to be cooked at once, and some foods don’t taste quite right with the addition of water required to use the cooker.
  • You have to reduce pressure just to inspect the food while cooking, so that is discouraged. It’s recommended to aim to undercook versus overcook, since you can always continue cooking if it’s not done yet.
Duromatic pressure cookers and accessories
 

Stovetop Pressure Cookers

Stovetop pressure cookers aren’t what they used to be. Every model I have seen now comes with two ways to release the pressure buildup; a release button on the handle, and the old-school way, by running water over the lid.

All new stovetop pressure cooker lids are shaped in a way or designed in a way that forces the hot steam downwards, away from the cook’s face. They also won’t open until the pressure has been fully released.

You can use your pressure cooker pan as a regular pan without the lid, and my favorite brand, Fissler, actually makes a set that comes with a glass lid, a pressure lid, and two different sized pots that you can interchange the lids between for pressure and regular cooking. I know Kuhn Rikon sells the glass lids with certain cookers and separately. I’m sure other brands must also make glass lids, as well.

Fissler & Kuhn Rikon also make a bunch of really cool accessory pieces if you really want to get into using your pressure cooker as an essential kitchen tool. Who knew you could make a cheesecake in a pressure cooker?

Fissler is made in Germany. They have a unique indicator system that they’ve actually improved upon so you can really see what pressure level you are at; it uses the “traffic light” color model. Their newer models have cool features like an electronic digital readout and a pressure-free steam setting. They are also just very well-marked, making them almost fool-proof to get together and lock into place, unlike some other brands can be.

Kuhn Rikon’s Duromatic, is made in Switzerland. And yes, the pressure cookers are still made there, I know that a lot of their smaller gadgets are not. You can order replacement parts, so that is positive, as well. They’ve pretty much been producing the same cookers for a long time, so they are definitely sturdy and reliable, I just say they’re my second favorite because Fissler has so many cool features. They are both high quality pieces of kitchen equipment, and actually now that pressure cooking is becoming popular again, Kuhn Rikon are starting to revamp their wares again, so check them out!

Fagor is supposed to be a very good inexpensive alternative to these two, so I would recommend checking that brand out above anything else since it had a good rating with Cook’s Illustrated, but I personally have no knowledge about them.

Cuisinart electric pressure cooker

Electric Pressure Cookers

Electric pressure cookers are a great ease if you have room for another countertop appliance in your home. The biggest difference from the stovetop is that you can’t use this as a regular pot on the stove. You can, however, use most of them as slow cookers. Depending on the settings yours comes with, you should also be able to brown or sauté, so you have the potential to use it without pressure.

The safety features on these should really just be that it won’t start unless it’s all locked into place properly. If you are doing slow release, you don’t even have to let the pressure out yourself, it does it for you. (Fast release, you push a lever.)

I am really only familiar with the Cuisinart model; most other models are very new to the market over the last decade and the companies producing them are constantly changing the machines so you generally never see the exact same ones twice. Cuisinart has been making pretty much the same model for longer than that, proving it’s sturdiness and reliability. You can buy replacement parts easily, it comes with a rack and a nice recipe book, along with a 3-year warranty.

* http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/science_of_cooking/science_of_pressure_cooking.htm
Appliances, Guest Blog, Kitchen

Guest Blog: My First Electric Pressure Cooker

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Actually this is my second pressure cooker. The first one I ordered sat in the box until I finally sent it back – I was too scared to use it! The second one, the Cuisinart CPC-600, was a gift for Christmas. Couldn’t send that one back! So I read the directions that came with it. And read them again. Then read a ton of recipes. Then the directions again! And found a step-by-step video made by Cuisinart showing the pressure cooker being used. A friend said she would walk me through the first time cooking, and we picked a recipe to cook together. (On the phone, two states away!) She has been using her pressure cooker for over a year and has experimented with it a lot! It was Vikki‘s idea to have us guest blog as the Rookie and the Pro 🙂

So here are all of my ingredients. I was so nervous!
Cuisinart CPC-600


The only picture I didn’t take was one of myself sitting on a stool on the other side of the kitchen after I started the pressure cooker! I was talking to my friend on the phone and I thought she would laugh herself silly. We chose a recipe from Comfortable Under Pressure by Meredith Laurence – aka The Blue Jean Chef. (If you have her cookbook, the recipe is on page 62.) I think having a good step-by-step recipe to follow really helped. Meredith’s book is the only one I have read so far because it came so highly recommended by my friend.

I have wanted a pressure cooker for a very long time. It has been getting to the point that I don’t want to cook after work, so the idea of being able to put a meal on the table so quickly was very appealing. All of the cooking shows I watch (and yes, the shopping channels!) make it look so easy to use a pressure cooker. And the food looks so good and the meat looks so tender! I went back and forth forever trying to decide yes or no and if yes, which one did I want. I would send Vikki links, etc. – what do you think of this one or that one. Never did make up my mind so Vikki and her brother did it for me! (Yes, the gifted pressure cooker was from them!)

My prep work doesn’t normally look this pretty,
but I knew I would be taking pictures 🙂


So. It was way, way easier than I thought it was going to be. It actually took me longer to prep the food than it did to cook it! One thing I did learn was patience. When it says in the directions that time varies for the cooker to reach pressure, it means it can vary! I thought I had done something wrong because it was making a noise but it wasn’t starting. I knew the lid was secure as I had checked at least three times. But the timer sat at 8 minutes and was not moving. On the phone my friend kept saying, “Just wait! Give it time, it has to reach that high temp”.  And of course she was laughing at me! I am sure all you other pros are laughing, too.  🙂

Vikki can tell you all the technical stuff about pressure cookers. For me, most pressure cookers I have looked at all look the same and do pretty much the same things. Some just pressure cook. Some also brown and sauté as well. In my opinion, if you are going to invest in a machine, the more things it can do the better! (One setting that mine does not have is a medium temperature setting – only high and low.)

The browning and sauté settings serve two purposes. Beside the obvious, it starts raising the temperature of the machine. That lessens the time it takes to reach pressure once you go from browning mode to pressure mode. After the meat was browned, it was removed from the pot. The other ingredients were added, the chicken placed back in. Sealed the lid properly, pushed the buttons for temp and time, then walked away! It really was that simple. And not scary at all 🙂                          

Everything is in the pot ready to go!


One thing I would highly recommend is a good cook book. Check a few out from the library before you decide which type works best for you. A beginner-type book with simple step-by-step instructions and pictures is what I needed! Some recipes will include the time for the machine reaching pressure along with the cooking time.

Get comfortable with the pressure cooker by using easy recipes to start with. Or don’t even start with a recipe – boil water, make rice, steam a vegetable. And play with it – take it apart, see which part goes where, practice putting the lid on and locking it. The instruction booklet that came with mine is fantastic! As well as very clear, concise directions, it also had a lot of recipes and charts of cooking times for meats, vegetables, etc.

Watching the countdown from across the kitchen.


The Cuisinart is a highly recommended brand of pressure cooker. Replacement parts are easy to come by and it has been around for a long time. It is so very safe to use! You can not push any of the buttons to pressure cook unless the lid is secure. With all the stories of pressure cooker disasters, that was a very important aspect for me. And clean up is a breeze! The pot lifts right out (not heavy) and washes right up (non-stick). It is dishwasher safe, too, but even if I had a dishwasher I would baby it and hand wash it only. The sealing gasket is also removable for cleaning and when you need to replace it, as well.

And YOU were sooooo scared ……… LOL 🙂

 And Voila – the finished dish!
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts with oranges and peppers.
Cook time on high pressure: 8 minutes!

Next project: using the pressure cooker as a slow cooker! I just found a really simple recipe for corned beef and cabbage I might try!

Thank you, Vikki, for my pressure cooker (and Nick)! And thank you for inviting me to guest blog – although I can’t imagine who wants to read what I have to say LOL 🙂 It is going to be fun finding new ways to use my cooker and new things to cook! Let the adventure begin!

The Rookie aka Sue aka Vikki’s Mom

Kitchen

Ode to Pepper Grinders (& Salt, Too!)

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I love fresh ground pepper! I put it on EVERYTHING! Which actually probably makes me a poor reviewer because I just leave all of my grinders set on “coarse” and rarely test out the other options. But I have used quite a few and can offer some insight and tips for maintenance, of course! First and foremost, the proper terminology is “mill” not “grinder” but I will mostly refer to them as grinders since that’s what everybody calls them.

Peugeot mill in various sizes

Buying a Pepper or Salt Mill

Can’t I just buy one grinder and do everything in one? 

The simple answer is yes, but there are always technicalities that lead you to lean more towards no. 🙂 A lot of inexpensive grinders will have a ceramic grinding mechanism which is safe for anything. However, you can’t really “clean” any type of mill entirely, so if you want to grind multiple things, you will probably get residuals of other things you’ve used the grinder for.

The more important thing to consider is with metal mechanisms. Salt is highly corrosive so the metal in these grinders is usually an 18/10 stainless steel that’s been chemically treated, versus a pepper mill just having a hardened steel to make it stronger for the peppercorns.

The next thing you need to consider is if you want the mill to have multiple grind settings. A lot of basic, inexpensive grinders will not come with options. The majority with settings will have three: coarse, medium, and fine. Sometimes you can find a mill with just two settings, but that’s it! Peugeot, a French manufacturer, boasts “infinite” grind settings because you can stop the selector anywhere you want (on other models the selection you make “clicks” into place).

Trudeau Graviti mill

Other features you can find are upside-down grinders that store with the “top” side down to reduce the mess they can leave on your counter or table. You can also buy battery-operated grinders that work with the push of a button. Trudeau makes one of the most inexpensive and best-rated electric grinders I’ve seen, the Graviti mill. It actually works just by turning it upside down – you don’t have to push a button! Peugeot pushes the bar further by selling one that also lights up while it’s grinding for you. Hey – you’ve got to be able to see when you’re dining by candlelight! 😛

Picking a Brand

Metal Mechanism Brands*
*Most brands that make steel pepper mills produce their salt mills with either ceramic or nylon.

Peugeot made the first pepper mill in 1841 and are still made in France today. While the guarantee on their manual grinders is only 5 years, the mechanism itself is guaranteed for life under normal use. Their most popular mills come in the same style in a plethora of sizes for you to choose from. To avoid the hassle that can sometimes come with filling your grinder, they offer some models with magnetic tops that just latch right on to the mill without any fuss. They also produce electric mills and even a classic-looking box mill. I mentioned already that they boast “infinite” grind settings, but in my personal experience, I did not notice huge differences other than coarse/medium/fine.

Peugeot’s salt mills are an 18/10 stainless steel that’s been treated to prevent corrosion.

William Bounds mills


William Bounds is my favorite brand and made in the USA! They have been in business since 1963 and have a patented mill mechanism that evenly crushes instead of grinds.Since it’s not grinding the mill components together, they can guarantee it will work for life. This is where their slogan “We’ve got a CRUSH on pepper” comes from!

William Bounds’ salt mills are made with a ceramic crushing mechanism.

Vic Firth is a tad newer to the game, but also made in the USA. This is a company that is famous for making drumsticks and drum equipment – Vic Firth was a tympanist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and happens to love cooking. Mario Batalli‘s pepper mills are Vic Firth brand with Mario’s signature green and orange colors, as well as his signature on the side.

Vic Firth salt mills are made with a nylon grinding mechanism.

Vic Firth mills


Non-Metal Mill Brands

Most inexpensive pepper and salt mills you find are nylon or ceramic grinders.

Chef’n PepperBall

Chef’n makes some pretty cool grinders, although I have to say they are very hit and miss with their salt and pepper grinders. I’m a huge Chef’n lover, but I got a lot of these returned in various models, from a simple table grinder to their more unique ergonomic styles. But when they work, they work forever, so just make sure you buy from a store that will not hassle you if you need to return it. It does look like they’ve updated the designs slightly so they might be even sturdier now.

They make some amazing ergonomic models, so if you have arthritis issues, think about the repetitive wrist movements you have to make to grind your pepper. My first pepper grinder use was a friend’s Chef’n pepper ball and I thought it was the coolest thing ever – you just squeeze! They also make some 2-in-1 options that let you grind both salt and pepper in one unit.

These models all utilize a metal rasp, but they do make ceramic grinders, too.

Kuhn Rikon has a couple of ceramic models, their vase grinder being the most popular. As I mentioned, they make theirs in lots of fun colors so you can color-code your spices. They make an ergonomic lever-model for those with arthritis pain.

Kuhn Rikon vase grinders


OXO‘s ceramic grinders are only a few years old, but they look great, feel very sturdy, and I’m a huge fan of OXO so I would think should be good!

**Buying tip – Williams Sonoma has a pepper grinding area where you can actually test out the grinders before purchasing. I’m not sure if this is available at all locations, but it’s really fun!**

How To Use & Maintain Your Mill

Basic mills have a body, a piece at the top (the “lid”) that turns to activate the grinding mechanism inside, and a little ball on top that screws on to the mechanism to keep the lid in place. If you have coarseness settings, there is usually a circular piece just below the lid that you can turn and hear clicking into place at the next setting. Usually there is some sort of marking to indicate fine (smaller mark) to coarse (larger mark). Left to right = fine to coarse.

To fill the grinder, you unscrew the ball on the top, remove the lid and fill the base. There will usually be something in the way to indicate the “fill line”. You always want to fill to BELOW this piece of the mill. Not even, and definitely not above. You need to leave room for the mechanism to turn. This was the most common problem when people tried to say their mill was broken – I would open it up, dump out a few peppercorns, and VOILA! It would work.

Kuhn Rikon is “upside-down”

As I mentioned before, you can find mills that work “upside-down” to keep the mess off of your counter or table. These fool a lot of people, so read the instructions first! Yes, even with something as simple as a pepper grinder, you should always read the instructions!! The Kuhn Rikon vase grinder is a great example of this and I sold them for a couple of years before I actually used one. People returned them all the time for not working but they would always return them empty so none of us working realized what the issue was – improper use! Someone finally brought it in with peppercorns and asked us what they were doing wrong and we realized they were the “upside-down” style!

There are special grinders you can buy for wet salt. You can only grind pink berry peppercorns within a pepper mix as long as there’s not a lot of pink berries mixed in. Otherwise, put them in a ceramic or spice grinder, or use a mortar & pestle to grind them up. Putting either of these two items into a regular salt or pepper grinder will ruin your grinder.

Grinding Spices

Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder

As I mentioned above, you can use most grinders for spices, just be careful of anything that could corrode a pepper mill. You should be able to find many inexpensive ceramic mills for spices. The Kuhn Rikon vase grinders are great and you can get it in all sorts of different colors to help differentiate between your spices!

Some people use inexpensive coffee grinders to grind their spices. You can read more about that on my “Coffee Grinder” blog, where I also mention the alternative of the Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder. For a few extra bucks, get something larger that grinds spices better and you can also clean out between spices.

Grinding Herbs

Microplane recently came out with an actual herb mill to grind your fresh herbs! I would love to test this out. There are a few gadgets you can find to chop herbs with, as well, but that’s for another blog!

Grinding Nuts

William Bounds Nut Twister nutmeg grinder

As already mentioned, Cuisinart has a great electric spice and nut grinder. Many of the manufacturers listed make several special nutmeg grinder models since that is a very popular spice. Peugeot and William Bounds probably have the most variety of other specific grinders (chocolate, cinnamon, chilies, etc.), as well.

Coffee & Tea, Kitchen

Electric Espresso Machines

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Electric espresso machines can be a fun addition to your kitchen or someone’s apartment or college dorm room if they can’t find the space for a full-size drip coffee maker. If you’re a serious coffee or espresso drinker, you probably want to consider something a bit heartier if you’re going to be utilizing it on a regular basis.

Capresso 4-cup espresso
Knockout box


Small, inexpensive espresso makers are for the occasional espresso drinker; someone who is going to keep it up on a shelf out of the way until they have company over. With this category, you’re going to plan on spending anywhere from $40-$80 on a machine. Krups used to be my go-to brand, but since their outsourcing I’m not as confident recommending them anymore and quite honestly, the store I worked at looked away from the small machines because so many people try to buy these when they really needed something stronger. I would recommend reading recent reviews and sticking with the solid brand names. Capresso hasn’t changed the design of their 4-cup model much over the years and customers always said it was a very solid little machine.

Espresso tamp (2-sided; 2 sizes)


A lot of people are now fascinated with the easier-to-use cup machines like Keurig and Nespresso. Traditional espresso machines generally require you to have a coffee grinder, a tamper to press it into the filter, and if you want to be very fancy, a knockout box to knock the grounds into after brewing. The cup style machines just ask that you buy the little pre-packaged cups, pop them in, and hit brew.

Jura Capresso Z7…my personal favorite (go big or go home, right?!?)

And on the farthest end, you can pay quite a bit to get an electric machine that brews several varieties of coffee drinks and requires very little cleanup. The ones I worked most extensively with were the Jura Capresso machines, and they are AMAZING. These guys just require you keep water in their tank (of which you have size selection, so you could buy something quite large and rarely need to refill it) and beans in the bean hopper. They have so many settings that you can personalize, it’s hard not to love how simple it can be to use! You only have to manually change the grind if you and your housemates disagree on that, the rest is automatic, unless you want to be more manual with them. They now even make them to have thermal milk carafes you can attach to them and it will pull the milk into your beverage and steam or foam it. These do take up quite a bit more counter space and have a heftier price tag, so I can see why the cup machines are selling so well.

Keurig single-serve coffee machine


So to compare the cup machines! Keurig is obviously the lower pricetag and easier to obtain the special cups required to use it. They’ve also finally started to make machines that can take a special cup you can fill with your own coffee grounds, bypassing their cups if you wanted to. The only downside to these machines is that I’ve never met anyone who’s owned one for more than 2-3 years. (If you have, PLEASE write to me and let me know!) I guess the price tag isn’t too terrible that folks don’t mind replacing them every few years, but to me that is a bit of cash that I’d like to last. I’d also heard lots of bad stories about their customer service when the machines do break down from customers coming to the store I worked at looking to upgrade to the Nespresso machine. Also, technically, the Keurig is a single-serve coffee maker, not really an espresso machine, which is a huge difference to the end user, but when consumers are comparing machines, this is where they are trying to find the difference, usually.

Keurig news alert! In researching this, I discovered that Keurig has a new brewer that takes a different kind of cup. Why? Because they lost their patent on the k-cups! That is why so many other manufacturers are making them now and also how they can be so inexpensive. My bet is Keurig will stop making the original brewers and focus on these new Vue brewers. Don’t fret! Mr. Coffee and Cuisinart both make k-cup brewers now, and I’m sure lots of other manufacturers will follow suit.

Nespresso Citiz


The Nespresso is different from Keurig in a few ways. First off, they only make real coffee, not all these fluffy flavors like “frosted donut” and whatnot that you can find for the Keurig (ok, I just looked and they do now have 3 lightly flavored espresso blends, but basic flavors!) Different beans and blends of some very nice coffees. Their customer service is top-notch and I’ve heard nothing but amazingly nice stories about having to deal with them. And they only allow their cups to be sold at Nespresso outlets or online. They used to sell them at kitchen stores but Williams-Sonoma wasn’t watching shelf dates and actually sold some expired cups to customers. Nespresso is meticulous about their coffee and want to ensure you have the best cup, so they pulled them from the stores to control inventory themselves. The cups have a shelf life of one year, so you can order a lot at once and store them. They charge one flat rate to ship as many as you want, and also offer rush delivery. The store I worked at used to give pods to customers if they needed a few to get them through the weekend or wanted to sample a different blend, so always ask these questions!

Nespresso Aeroccino

Nespresso machines also have 19 bars of pressure, versus Keurig’s 15 to push the espresso shot out. Everything I’ve researched online varies on what number is actually standard, but from what I have always heard from the various manufacturers I used to sell is that 18 bars is the standard with electric machines. Some of the Jura Capresso’s are lower, but that is because they have thermo-blocking technology which somehow affects that (don’t ask me how! Science! Magic!). Nespresso also has a catch tray for the used pods so you don’t have to discard them immediately like you do with the Keurig (and they are HOT!). Reviews also say that Keurig is one of the slowest single-serve coffee maker on the market, clocking in at 3.5 minutes because of how long it takes to warm up. Nespresso also sells a couple of milk frothers that froth both warm and cold! You can even find it attached to some of their espresso machine models.

The Nespresso machines also very rarely need descaling, but will tell you when it’s time. Unlike a regular drip coffee maker or other types of espresso machines, there are no internal tubes for the water to run through and buildup in. I hear Keurig users descale theirs a bit more often. And one of the bigger comparisons, wastefulness. K-cups are cheap plastic that’s not recyclable. Nespresso pods are in aluminum foil, so you can peel them open, compost the grounds, and recycle the pod. Alternately, Sur la Table participates in a TerraCycle upcycling program, so you can take your empty pods in to Sur la Table and they will send them in to be upcycled into something new. Alternately, you could potentially register with TerraCycle yourself (or encourage your local kitchen retailer to join for your community!), and they pay for the shipping to turn the pods in.

TerraCycle upcycles the Nespresso pods into new products and composts the coffee grounds.

Also, I can’t not add that George Clooney is the spokesperson for Nespresso. Classy. I’m serious; Google image search “Nespresso” and Mr. Clooney’s serious espresso-drinking face will be all over your screen. 😛

Nespresso. What else would George Clooney drink? 😉

With both the Keurig and Nespresso machines, it is good to keep in mind that these machines will end up costing you a lot of money in the long run if you are a big coffee drinker. These machines are meant for the occasional drinker who drinks maybe 1-2 cups per day. Any more than that and your coffee bill for the year is going to be a lot larger than with a larger scale machine like the Juras or a regular drip machine. Yes, they are convenient to use, but if you are using them that heavily, you’re going to have to descale that much more often, which also puts a damper on the whole “easier to use” bit.

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