Tuesday, November 14, 2006

The little frother that could



I just had to post about my favorite little kitchen tool, this battery-powered foamer. IKEA used to sell them for 99 cents, but after a series of clearance mark-downs, I snagged it for- get this- 29 cents! They were making way for a more expensive model. I've seen frothers like this sell for 10 or 15 dollars, and I always giggle, since my little one has worked so well for over 3 years now.

What does it do? It emulsifies salad dressing effortlessly. It mixes up sauce and broth before you add it to a recipe. But my favorite thing is to foam soymilk with it for the perfect faux cappucinos. Here is a chocolate mocha concoction I whipped up. Depending on which soymilk you use, it creates a stiff foam that lasts a long time! I use the tool to foam up the warm milk first, and then pour in coffee, cocoa, chai, maté, whatever strikes my fancy.

Don't be caught without a little frother! =)




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14 comments:

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Oh my god I want one.

aTxVegn said...

I want one too! I love kitchen gadgets, esp. bargain ones. You should have that drink every night before bed. And I should too!

Our first IKEA is opening tomorrow and people have been camping out waiting for it to open since Sunday night! I hope they get a prize for being the first customers and aren't just crazy. I'll have to wait for things to calm down before I shop there.

JENNA said...

you are speaking my language. Soy mocha cappuchino's are my absolute favorite!

JENNA

Ben Kaelan said...

Oh man I had one of those and never used it and threw it out! Silly me.

So which soy milk do you recommend for this process? :)

I replied to the pancake post by the way; sorry I was MIA for a while:)

Glad to be back!

- Ben

bazu said...

Hi Ben,
Glad to have you back! I hope my apple post didn't make you want to kill me after your apple weekend!!

I have found that the ideal soy milk for foaming has to:

a) not be non-fat
b) not be unsweetened
c) have the highest protein content possible.

So fat, sugar, and protein all appearantly play a role in foaming!

Ben Kaelan said...

Oooooo!! That's quite the analysis! :) Thanks for sharing :) I stayed away from the blogs until I was well over the apple diet so I just saw your apple post today :) Hehehe

- Ben

Paulie said...

You know what, these things are so good that I even know Italians that use them to make cappucino. And that's criminal!

:D

Anonymous said...

29¢!!! That is awesome Bazu!!! Way to get a rockin' deal! I'm impressed :) And I have to say GMTA because I posted about the soy cappuccinos too (well, the SBUX one we had on our trip).

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'm always impressed by a good deal and this little .29 frother really takes the cake. I have this weird pump kind of frother thing I got at a garage sale eons ago and it worked ok with milk but not so well with soymilk. I'm going to try to keep my eyes open for one of these (as well as an imersion blender).

Speaking of coffee and Emmy just mentioned her Starbucks experience...the other day I was in the post office and the cashier asked the man ahead of me if he was paying with cash or credit. He said credit because he spent the last of his cash this morning at Sixbucks! How appropriate. Your chocolate mocha looks so much better than any Sixbucks coffee.

Nikk said...

Way to go! I'm all about the bargains. I got a cooling rack for 75 cents and I thought that was just wonderful. Not as good as the 29 cent little foamtastic buddy you have. After reading this and Emmy's post with the gingerbread latte, I really need me a fancy hot beverage with lots of froth...

urban vegan said...

i just bought one of these last weekend.

Carrie™ said...

I love IKEA for neat little kitchen tools and gadgets. My friend bought one of these but paid a lot more than 29 cents for it. Way to score Bazu!

Candi said...

That looks so foamy and good!! I love the deal you got on it too. IKEA is a favorite of mine! I heard they opened one up in Massachusetts!! (They knew I was coming!) Hoo Hoo!

When I foam my rice milk, it never gets too foamy. Thanks for the tips on which milks foam up the best!!

laura k said...

I would love to get one of those! I can't believe you got it for 29 cents!!!!! What a beautiful little mocha you frothed up.