Advantages: cuts very thinly and evenly
Disadvantages: carving style takes a while to get used to

...I like my roast meat and poultry sliced very thin and always have a problem keeping my carving knives sharp enough so this is the reason I thought I would try an electric carving knife. Initially the problem I had was the change in slicing style. With an electric carving knife, instead or sliding the knife back and forth through the meat gradually working your way down, you place the knife in position and exert a gentle steady downwards pressure until the knife slices off the piece. The knife itself creates the back and forth motion with its blade. This is the most difficult transition as the tendency to move the knife in a traditional manner remains. The Breville EK2 isn’t my first electric carving knife; it’s a replacement for an old Russell Hobbs that had to be retired due to safety reasons. It was getting on in years... Read review

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Advantages: Cake
Disadvantages: Cake

...Victoria Sandwich This is a very traditional recipe for a Victoria sandwich. I love cake. I don't know why I just love it. This is the easiest way to make cake and it really works. Ingredients: 6oz Sugar 6oz Margarine 3 eggs 6oz flour 1 teaspoon vanilla essence Your favourite jam Whipped whipping cream or whipped double cream Icing sugar to dust Equipment Needed: A large mixing bowl A handheld whisk or electric whisk A metal spoon A spatula 2 cake tins (greased and floured) A palette knife A sieve Method: If you are using an electric whisk just sieve all the dry ingredients into the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla essence and whisk on full speed for about 3 minutes. Spoon into the cake tins and cook at gas mark 6/210ºC for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from... Read review

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Advantages: Cuts even slices every time
Disadvantages: None

...I have a question for you, how well can you cut an even slice of bread from an uncut loaf? Well, if you are any thing like me, my slices look like doorsteps or come out weird wedge shapes, Lol. It is not just bread either I had the same problem every Sunday with my joint of beef that would need slicing and how ever hard I tried I would end up with great lumps of meat. After years of struggling I decided to make my life a bit easier and purchase an electric knife. A few months ago I invested in a bread maker machine and so I thought it was time to find a good knife to help me slice my lovely loaves. I decided to purchase the Kenwood (KN350) model, which I brought from Argos and it only cost £14.50. DESIGN/APPEARANCE: It is made from ABS plastic and the main part is white and it has a grey strip along the top of the handle... Read review

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Advantages: Stylish, durable, sharp, versatile, last a life time
Disadvantages: Nothing to lock the blades open

...electrical plug screws. The other blade features what looks like another plain screwdriver blade but is actually designed for cross headed screws (Phillips) & smaller plain headed screws. It also features a tin opener but doesn't lock in the 90 degrees position. The other side of the knife features a small pointed reamer, universal hook which folds back on itself by 45 degrees & a must have tool, a corkscrew for those all important bottles of wine. Within the cork screw is a clever little screwdriver ideal for tightening the screws found in spectacles & sunglasses, it winds into the corkscrew & locks into position when not being used. Within the handle of the knife is a small air of tweezers, ideal for plucking the old eyebrows, a tooth pick & a small 7cm long pen which works rather well, in fact when I use it my spelling improves!! At the end... Read review

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Advantages: A wonderful pastoral sound
Disadvantages: Nothing

...Trespass was the second Genesis album. The group had formed at Charterhouse and were discovered by Jonathan King, producing one album "Genesis to Revelation" for Decca, which deservedly bombed. You can still buy this as a cheapie , but it is best avoided and only has curiosity value, so back to the album in question. This was still a formative Genesis, but the line was to change after this album. The line for this album was: Peter Gabriel - lead voice, flute, accordion, tambourine, bass drum Anthony Phillips - acoustic 12-string, lead electric, dulcimer, voices Anthony Banks - organ, piano, mellotron, guitar, voices Michael Rutherford - acoustic 12-string, electric bass, nylon, cello, voices John Mayhew - drums, percussion, voices Mayhew, was to be replaced by Phil Collins , but I don't know what he did after this album. Phillips... Read review

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Advantages: where to start...
Disadvantages: none to speak of

...About 3 years ago I was staying with my friend and her mum who had MS, she had allot of gadgets round her house to make life a little easier but the one I loved most was her can opener (Kenwood co600 series), so when I moved into my first house a couple of years ago I decided to get one as I really hate can openers they are so painful to you’re hands. *It cost me £13.75 from Argos (I got the chrome finished one as it went with all the bits and bobs in my kitchen)* ~~~About the Kenwood CO600 series can opener~~~ You would think with it being an electric can opener it was good enough, but this is no ordinary can opener. In addition to the can opener it incorporates a bottle opener and a motorised knife sharpener. *The can opener is very easy to use, simply lift the lever put you’re can into place then drop the lever down until you... Read review

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Advantages: great knife
Disadvantages: none

...I treated my self to this carving knife for my birthday at the begining of this year as i had had enough of always struggling to cut up joints of beef into managable slices and thought it would be realy useful to cut the bread from my bread maker instead of me hacking away at it and making a right mess. Since getting this knife i couldnt imagine life without it, it is small enough to store away easily although mine never stays away long. It makes light work of slicing my beef joints for our dinner and gets me nice thin slices of beef very easily, it is great for cutting the bread as its even cutting motion makes the bread not end up with lumps missing out of it like it does when i calv it by hand. Although it makes light work of carving up the chicken i prefer not to use it as it also goes through the chicken bones very easily and i... Read review

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Advantages: Metal blades to crush ice, looks good, hard wearing glass jug
Disadvantages: Very hard to separate jug from motor unit, hard to clean

...We bought this blender 6 months ago, primarily to mix cocktails and smoothies up in. We chose this over the Kenwood smoothie maker because we felt it would be more versatile if we did wish to prepare anything else. We also liked the looks of the blender and the fact that it had a hard wearing glass jug rather than a plastic one (It will go in the dishwasher safely). In addition the glass jug holds 1.2litres - more than some other makes and has two speeds as well as the pulse function. The metal blades allow for easy ice crushing and they are removable for cleaning purposes. The pulse feature also aids this and allows you to keep things slightly chunky or blend to a really smooth consistency. There is storage for the electrical cord under the base unit and so it does not clutter the kitchen up. We purchased this from Debenhams (£40... Read review

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Advantages: Very handy and easy to use
Disadvantages: Doesn't retain the lid as it's supposed to

...I know I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets but I couldn't resist this electric can-opener! I had one a few years ago and when it eventually died, never got around to buying another one, but this one caught my eye at £12.99. It's a free standing model and includes a knife sharpener on the back which is quite useful and which is quite efficient. I had trouble using it at first as it was tricky to latch the can onto the wheel before switching it on. I got in such a bad mood with it that I nearly took it back, but eventually persevered and there is a definite knack to it. Now that I've mastered the knack I find it incredibly useful, it opens any type of can easily and effortlessly, although the magnet is supposed to retain the can lid and it rarely does. One other drawback is that the cutting attachment which comes off for easy cleaning... Read review

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Advantages: Would be away from the hussle & bussle of life
Disadvantages: Would probably miss the company of people

...I've thought long and hard about this topic, and after much consideration, have come up with 5 things I would like to take on a desert island with me. Mind you, once I get there I would no doubt change my mind, wishing I'd left that at home and brought this in its place! Still, on paper, these are the 5 things I would like to take with me! They are as follows.... 1) MY DOG I know for sure that I wouldn't change my mind about taking her! Jazz is the most wonderful dog I've ever known. She's loyal, loving, caring, and doesn't judge me! She's my best friend, and wouldn't go anywhere without her! I certainly wouldn't go on a desert island if I couldn't take her! 2) MY COMPUTER. Yeah, I know they probably haven't got electricity out there, but I can dream. I would still have access to the outside world. I would still be able... Read review

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