preserves

Oh, wine, sweet nectar of the gods. I open my $2.99 bottle of Trader Joe's red, have a glass with dinner, and two days later discover that all the tasty goodness has disappeared, the victim of oxidation. Why must the world be so cruel?

The maker of the Wine Balloon says it can delay the inevitable with an invention that looks like a cross between a Whoopee cushion and a hand pump oxygen mask. I know that sounds suspect, but it's a much more elegant solution than that description might lead you to believe.

The Wine Balloon launched late last year, but its coming-out party happened at the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago last month.

It joins a crowded field of devices designed to prolong the life of our beloved grape-based beverages. There are plenty of vacuum seals, pump stoppers, and argon cartridges already on the market. The Wine Balloon's appeal is in its simplicity.

For $22, you get a small hand pump in the shape of a bunch of grapes with a tube leading down to a rubber balloon. Drop the balloon into the partially imbibed bottle and pump it up to seal the precious liquid away from the meddlesome air. The company says the rubber will not affect the wine's taste.… Read more

Michelangelo's "David" has seen better days. He's spent centuries on his feet. He's tired, yet he cannot take a seat.

Now some are wondering whether engineering work that's taking place beneath him might cause the Renaissance icon to quite simply collapse with exhaustion.

The Telegraph reports that construction of a high-speed railway being built beneath Florence might cause one vibration too many for David.

The paper quotes Fernando de Simone, a specialist in subterranean engineering, as saying: "The tunnel will pass about 600 meters (2,000 feet) from the statue of David, the … Read more

I'm already getting the feeling that my garden is going to provide me with plenty of food this year. My tomato plants alone are probably going bear more tomatoes than we can eat. I'm planning on preserving the rest so none of it goes to waste. The Home Preserving Kit makes the process of preserving or canning food much simpler. It comes with all the basics that are necessary to the process: a steel boiler with a canning jar rack, a canning funnel, and a jar lifter. It doesn't come with jars, but those are much easier … Read more

I always believed the future to be a wonderful place filled with lots of flying things and robots who enjoyed working for humanity. While much of that hasn't happened, at least our food hasn't turned into bland tasteless pellets that we consume once a day for all of our nutritional needs. That would be a very bleak future indeed. While we may not be flying around in jet packs just yet, we still have a rich and diverse food culture that seems to have no end. If there were a future in which we all had to eat … Read more

We're all looking for ways to stretch our dollars these days. I don't know about your house, but a huge proportion of our budget goes to feeding our family of six. We buy wisely, shop sales, and use coupons, but I'm still always on the lookout for even more tips and tricks to keep my pantry well-stocked without emptying my wallet.

The Back to Basics 400A Steam Canner looks like it might make a nice addition to a budget-conscious kitchen. This $40 appliance makes the work of canning easier and faster, letting you preserve high-acid fruits and … Read more

I hate wasting food. Therefore, I shop for groceries with the week ahead in mind. I plan recipes in my head as I stroll through the stands of the farmers market. Some items can wait until the next trip, while some I know will be eaten right away. Unfortunately, this means my shopping is not a precise science. While it is rare for me to let food go bad, sometimes it does happen.

The Automatic Vacuum Sealing Food Preserver from Hammacher Schlemmer can help keep fruits and vegetables fresh a longer time. Measuring 10 inches tall by 19 inches wide … Read more

If you're not the type of person not to say 'no' to discounts, then Cellfire's mobile coupons application could potentially preserve your savings. The deals include local restaurants and retail services in the U.S., as well as national chains. Users can also save coupons for later use and participate in Cellfire's new program for cornering additional coupons by texting a keyword to 22888, Cellfire's short code. Unfortunately, Cellfire isn't always useful if your shopping habits don't mirror the offerings. Yet it's a broad enough service for us to lament that it hasn'… Read more

White or red? It may be a common question that we ask ourselves when pondering which bottle to open for dinner. Especially when our palates have expanded beyond the simple "white with fish, red with beef" mantra of generations past. I mean, what about tofu? Sometimes a hearty red is what the situation calls for. However, our wine drinking predecessors were right on many an occasion. For example, the delicate flavor of fish usually is best with a white. So the best (and most fun) answer is simple. Open one of each. Ah, but then we will end … Read more

Festive colors adorn the Preserve line of kitchen products. With fun colors such as Milk White, Berry Blue, Apple Green, and Ripe Tomato, these items are sure to jazz up your kitchen. Turns out, while you're spicing up your kitchen, you're helping the environment too.

Recycline, as the name suggests, is a manufacturer that relies on Earth-friendly, recyclable materials. All of their Preserve products are made from 100 percent recycled plastics or 100 percent post-consumer paper. By using recycled materials, the company is helping to preserve natural resources and create an incentive for communities to recycle.

From simple … Read more