481463 Mon Jan 21 02:44:31 -0800 2008 34 41 Cookware 0 3316061 I wasn't sure if this belongs in Food Media or Cookware: in this past weekend's Kohl's ad, they advertised a "Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl"...for $14.99!! (regularly $19.99) I nearly spit out my OJ--this is just bizarre on so many levels. First, if you buy into the garbage bowl concept, why wouldn't you use the nappiest piece of Tupperware or cracked old mixing bowl that you already own for this purpose? Second, $15 (technically $20, but who has ever paid regular price at Kohl's?) for a bowl?? A "Garbage bowl"?? A PLASTIC garbage bowl??? Just because it's "Rachael Ray" endorsed???? Does anyone use a garbage bowl as they cook, and if so, do they feel a need for a unitasking bowl? Mon Jan 21 02:44:31 -0800 2008 109573 coney with everything 1 3316083 The vintage melmac confetti-pattern bowls that RR uses on the show are iconic, and objects of desire. Check out the eBay auctions for melmac mixing bowls; they go to $19.99 and higher for choice examples. Mon Jan 21 04:02:27 -0800 2008 3316061 57867 Gin and It 1 3316211 I saw this at Bed Bath and Beyond and was blown away by the absurdity of it. I don't use a garbage bowl, I put my garbage in the trash can as I cook. I do have a friend, however, who uses a very small trash can on her counter. She puts a plastic grocery bag in it before she starts cooking, and then just takes out the bag and puts it in the trash can when she is done. It looked very handy and efficient, but I just never got into it. Plus I don't like to throw away excess plastic. Mon Jan 21 06:20:46 -0800 2008 3316061 61733 Linda513 2 3316219 I hang a plastic bag from deli/market from a drawer and put all the garbage in there as I'm prepping. Can't imagine purchasing a bowl specifically for that purpose - grin. Mon Jan 21 06:22:46 -0800 2008 3316211 10985 MMRuth 3 3316247 That is exactly what I do. It is my way of recycling those darn things! Mon Jan 21 06:33:41 -0800 2008 3316219 123913 chocchipcookie 4 3324311 Put me in the plastic grocery bag camp too! Easy and it's another way to use the bags instead of just pitching them. Wed Jan 23 10:06:32 -0800 2008 3316247 90565 Cookiefiend 1 3316223 I can't tell you how many people have come into my store in the last few months looking for this item! As absurd as it might seem there is a demand for it! (we don't carry it by the way so I have to keep sending the masses elsewhere for it). What makes me laugh is for everyone that asks for it...it HAS to be the RR bowl. we sell plenty of bowls that would make find "garbage" bowls but...that's not what they want. Marketing at its finest apparently... I actually do use a bowl when I'm prepping for onion skins, etc...but I just use one of my plain glass prep bowls. Mon Jan 21 06:24:14 -0800 2008 3316061 16406 ziggylu 2 3323499 I've not been asked for RR garbage bowls but I have been asked for RR knives, Sorry! That is so not happening in our store. We do have covered composting canisters with a filter to keep odors down. They work quite well. Wed Jan 23 06:35:58 -0800 2008 3316223 10285 Candy 1 3316268 My kitchen is so small that it would be ridiculous for me to use a garbage bowl. I just have to pivot and the trash can is right there. However if I did use one, I certainly would not purchase a bowl specifically for the task of being a 'garbage bowl'. Scary to think it, but I'll bet those things are selling like hotcakes! RR must be laughing all the way to the bank :) Mon Jan 21 06:45:56 -0800 2008 3316061 113872 diablo 1 3316378 I had to google "Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl" just to see what one looked like. I have watched her show but never really noticed the bowl. Get this: Target sells one that comes in a gift box! How funny is that? Additional details: • Bowl lets you keep chopping and cooking rather than running back and forth to the garbage can • Place it next to your cutting board to start the timesaving and before you know it, you will be sitting down to eat Yes, taking those two steps to the trash can adds hours to my cooking time :-/ Mon Jan 21 07:22:19 -0800 2008 3316061 119816 MysticYoYo 2 3316486 I'm not against the idea of a prep bowl(note I don't and won't call it a garbage bowl). I use one all the time...concept I picked up in cooking school actually and often used when cooking for a living as well. With the configuration of my kitchen the trash isn't near the prep area(poorly designed kitchen but I'm not investing the bucks in it to rip everything out and start over)...I like my prep area clean while I'm working though so I toss everything in a bowl as I go along. I've also used plastic trays if something I"m prepping has one or a produce bag...whatever's handy. I've never paid $15 for any thing i've used to keep my prep scraps in though. But like I said...the marketing is working, people apparently love this item. Mon Jan 21 08:04:25 -0800 2008 3316378 16406 ziggylu 3 3317564 Same here. I've used a stainless mixing bowl for scraps as I prep on my board but to market one for that purpose and put RR's name on it is absurd. It never cease to amaze me what people are willing to spend money on and the more important things that they won't. Mon Jan 21 13:07:10 -0800 2008 3316486 89493 scubadoo97 3 3345977 Not only is her name on it, it looks like garbage! What a complete marketing scam; seems more suitable for QVC. Tue Jan 29 15:27:49 -0800 2008 3316486 67548 azhotdish 4 3351724 don't dis the Q! the Q sells fine products -- including kitchen aid mixers. Thu Jan 31 08:44:30 -0800 2008 3345977 105717 alkapal 1 3316530 I guess I never put much thought into this subject before but I suppose I tend to collect my garbage in a dish that I have already used somewhere along the line in the cooking process so that I don't have to dirty up another one. If that doesn't exist, I just grab a big bowl out of the cupboard that I probably bought at the dollar store. Mon Jan 21 08:20:06 -0800 2008 3316061 109992 Hooda_Guest 1 3316841 I have used a garbage bowl in the past. I did have a bowl dedicated specifically for the purpose. It was a stainless steel mixing bowl, although because I left it on the counter at all times I did want something nicer looking. However, before I could find something better and in my continuous quest to improve my kitchen's efficiency, I finally convinced my wife to let me get a cabinet-mounted garbage can, which just happens to be in a cabinet just below the area usually used for prep work, so now you can just slide the trash can out when you're prepping and drop stuff straight in - no more bowl. Which is a good thing, because I found that my wife had a habit of not emptying the bowl when she was done cooking which made it somewhat less useful. This is not a problem with the trash can :-) But yeah, the idea that a bowl would be specifically marketed as a garbage bowl seems absurd to me. Mon Jan 21 09:45:12 -0800 2008 3316061 69452 jzerocsk 1 3323577 Funny. People can be silly. I use a huge rectangular tupperware w/lid that can hold about 2 days worth of scraps, which gets dumped on the compost pile. No stinky trash in my house ever! Plus, the wide opening is handy for containing big stuff like brussel sprout stalks and whatnot. Wed Jan 23 07:00:41 -0800 2008 3316061 63462 missfunkysoul 2 3339537 I compost my veggie scraps too. But first I save them in a ziploc freezer bag and, when i have enough, use them to make veggie stock. Tthen I compost what's left of the cooked veggies after the stock's made. It's a two-fer! Sun Jan 27 22:09:29 -0800 2008 3323577 18253 SeaSide Tomato 3 3343608 I thought you weren't supposed to compost cooked food. Tue Jan 29 06:08:08 -0800 2008 3339537 109573 coney with everything 4 3345653 I thought you couldn't compost table scraps of meat, dairy, etc. This is just leftovers from making veggie broth. This is my first year doing it--could be wrong! Tue Jan 29 14:08:02 -0800 2008 3343608 18253 SeaSide Tomato 4 3345951 It depends on what kind of composting setup you have and how long it's been going. I'm in San Francisco and via the city composting program we can compost any food scrap of any kind whether cooked or not, bones and all. With a home setup, it's much more restricted and probably should avoid cooked at first. Tue Jan 29 15:21:46 -0800 2008 3343608 80141 ccbweb 5 3346348 We compost all scraps that don't have meat or dairy, cooked or otherwise. The city told us not to use the meaty scraps, I guess to keep from encouraging cats or rodents? Anyway, we just store them on the counter for a couple days in a large bowl. Said bowl is not branded, or if it is we've had it for so long now that I have forgotten what brand it is. Maybe I will start telling people it is a Julia Child Garbage Bowl... or Versace or something. Tue Jan 29 17:23:49 -0800 2008 3345951 72401 jnstarla 6 3347022 We have a stainless steel Endurance brand kitchen counter compost bin that we keep our scraps in until we take them out once a week. We use BioBag brand bags in the bin to make it easier to corral any leaking liquids and make transfer to the large bin easier. I doubt anyone is going to cast aspersions based on the fact that those are branded items...because, really, who cares that they are? Tue Jan 29 22:05:56 -0800 2008 3346348 80141 ccbweb 7 3352633 Our city recycling issued us small containers for kitchen scraps to be added to or set out with the yard waste/compost bin but it was too big to go on the counters, not useful inside the cupboards, and with my dog, I can't put anything on the floor. So I recently "repurposed" a small cylindrical plastic trash bin with a swing top (what is that name for that, anyway? you know, the ones where you push the cover for the opening aside and it swings back). I line it with a sheet of waste paper (the paper the cheesemonger wraps our purchases in is particularly good) or part of a used paper grocery bag and it sits on the counter very neatly, closed at all times. I look at those biobags, but I can't see buying a bag (and they're not cheap) specifically to throw it out, especially if the whole point is to be more environmentally conscious. IMHO it's better to use something biodegradable that's already going to be disposed of. Thu Jan 31 11:49:24 -0800 2008 3347022 10159 Ruth Lafler 8 3352679 The city of San Francisco is actually sending rolls of BioBags to residents as a part of the composting program. One nice thing about the BioBags is that they can be used to store fruit and vegetables and such, and then put into the composting bin after that. The cheese wrap or paper bags are a good idea; we just don't have enough of either to be able to use them regularly. It's actually something of a dilemma; we've become very good about bringing reusable bags with us to stores that we don't have paper bags and our plastic bag stash is about out...I'm not sure what we'll line garbage cans with in the near future. Talk about buying a bag just to throw it out. Thu Jan 31 11:58:57 -0800 2008 3352633 80141 ccbweb 9 3352858 Cool! Maybe I'll suggest that ACI in the East Bay do that as well. Thu Jan 31 12:40:44 -0800 2008 3352679 10159 Ruth Lafler 9 3355556 If it helps anyone at all, I put my scraps right into my counter top bi, no bags whatsoever, then bring the bin out when full--dump it into compost pile then wash the bin before starting to fill it up again. Easy-peasy and no worries over excess waste. Fri Feb 01 09:11:40 -0800 2008 3352679 18253 SeaSide Tomato 3 3353139 A variation on this: Veggie scraps go outside to the compost. Cooked and meat scraps go outside to the dawg for her to recycle. The biobags mentioned below would be worth having for the compost pile. Thu Jan 31 13:47:44 -0800 2008 3339537 79896 shallots 1 3324253 This is just too funny - I cannot believe that anyone would actually buy one of these things (I know, I know, apparently they do - I read through the thread.) I swear, sometimes I feel like an alien on my own planet. Wed Jan 23 09:55:38 -0800 2008 3316061 63569 flourgirl 1 3325020 I put my scraps right into the disposer, and other "garbage" into the trash. I have a step lid model, so my hands are never touching the top of the trash pail. Maybe this is why some people use a garbage bowl? Plus, I don't want to make room in my dishwasher for a large garbage bowl. Wed Jan 23 12:53:54 -0800 2008 3316061 87837 RGC1982 1 3345755 I usually just wash produce, then use the produce bag to put the stems etc in. I live in an apartment, and don't have the luxury of a compost or garborator. The thing that really gets me about this bowl is the fact that it is the ugliest bowl in the world. I think that it's supposed to be recycled materials, but I just don't understand why anyone would want an ugly bowl, regardless of its intended use! Tue Jan 29 14:28:37 -0800 2008 3316061 161585 miss_bennet 1 3345974 Wouldn't the utility of such a thing have almost entirely to do with the design of one's kitchen and how one works in it? Granted, I don't find the bowl attractive, but the shape is certainly right for it's stated purpose. The way my kitchen is laid out, I often use a bowl or a bag to corral scraps and garbage and such. Also, since I'm in San Francisco where we can compost a great many things, it works for me to toss everything into one bowl and then pick out the actual garbage and recyclables, then tip the rest into the compost bin. I expect those to whom a unitasker for a garbage bowl would be the same people who don't like to toss a large amount of salad in a clean garbage bag. Certain things for certain purposes. Tue Jan 29 15:27:41 -0800 2008 3316061 80141 ccbweb 1 3349571 i never quite got the concept of this one either...the only way i can see this being useful, is if you have managed to totally do away with all plastic shopping bags by reusing cloth or what not each time you go to the store (hence you never have any laying around)...i'm on my way there, but i still have plastic around...and plastic is what i hang from a stainless steel hook that is over my kitchen drawer near the stove. And my kitchen is such that i have no large bin to dump into nearby (had to remove, evil doggie issues...) A couple of times i've even dumped everything into the sink to retrieve and toss post-cooking. Either way, go into a nearby dollar store and pick up a plastic bowl for $1 .......garbage indeed. Wed Jan 30 14:29:10 -0800 2008 3316061 153184 im_nomad 1 3350736 see link for picture. I don't think I've ever been so tempted to leave bogus feedback. The possibilities are endless. I use a bowl for my compostables long before RR had her show, it is a metal dog bowl from the pet store. http://www.target.com/Rachael-Ray-Garbage-Bowl-Gift/dp/B000TCY794/sr=1-1/qid=1201755131/ref=sr_1_1/601-8485511-9804126?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Arachael&page=1 Wed Jan 30 20:55:25 -0800 2008 3316061 13030 free sample addict aka Tracy L 1 3351467 I can't wait to find myself at someone's house and see them using the RR Garbage Bowl to mix up cookies or something. I would not be able to let that slide without a snotty comment. It is, after all, just a bowl. Thu Jan 31 07:29:15 -0800 2008 3316061 86611 GilbyEast