Fusionbrands Silicone Food Pod

There are Food Pod People at My House

We love silicone! Not least because of the loads of fun silicone products showing up in kitchens these days. There is more than variations on hotpads and trivets, too: we also find gadgets we’d never even dreamed of. One such product is the Fusionbrands Food Pod sold by HIC (Harold Imports Company).

Description

There’s no other way to put it: it's one weird-looking gadget. It resembles a collapsed balloon with a thick plastic stem and lots of holes torn in it. The shape is that of a smallish yellow  pumpkin. The basket is about 6" in diameter and perhaps 3" tall, and made from thick, translucent silicone film. The stem's around 6" long, including a thick, flexible hook at the end.

The basket has an opening about 2½-3" in diameter plus a little stretch. Closing it's simple: the stem sprouts from a tough plastic disk with three prongs that fit matching holes around the opening. The wall of the basket is pierced by oval holes of various sizes. The largest are about an inch long. It holds about the same amount as a three-quart saucepan.

Using the Food Pod This is intended to be used like a boiling bag for blanching foods such as greens or potatoes or for boiling food like eggs. The holes are relatively large, so it won't work with small vegetables like peas and corn. We occasionally use it to hard-boil eggs, but it's mostly used to blanch veggies like beans and snow peas. When blanching carrots, potatoes and such, the smaller pieces can leak through the holes. The hook on the stem will clips onto the rim of a large pot or stick out of a smaller pot like a handle. All those holes allow for good water circulation when blanching. You can also grab the long stem and swirl the pod in the hot water before lifting it out to drain the water.

The silicone doesn't pick up color or flavor from foods, and the maker says it's dishwasher-safe. That makes sense, since it does spends most of its time in boiling water. This definitely proves useful, though not necessarily essential. Using it's easy. You fill the basket and drop it into hot or boiling water. When you're done, you lift it out. Water drains off almost immediately most of the time. I sometimes wish the holes weren't so big, but I can ignore the occasional floaters because the Food Pod helps prevent burned fingertips.

Summary

PLUS: convenient, easy to use
MINUS: some holes so big that small pieces fall through
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: A Food Pod is handy for boiling and blanching, plus it's a great conversation-starter. Be prepared for small pieces to leak through the holes.

Find your own Food Pod at eBay