Culinary Corner Ice Ball/Sphere Mold Set - Review and Giveaway!

Today brings the final giveaway of four from Culinary Corner. For this one, I had the opportunity to review the Culinary Corner Ice Ball/Sphere Mold Set. This, of course, means that you now have the chance to win it!

I'd like to thank Culinary Corner for sponsoring these reviews and giveaways over the past few weeks, and to thank you, my wonderful readers, for your participation!


I was first introduced to ice spheres in an upscale bar/restaurant. We ordered a fine scotch. The bartender then hauled out a large copper contraption, into which she placed a very large, square cube of ice. With a towel underneath this fancy unit, and the copper lid on top, the magic began.

As she pressed down on the lid, the ice slowly melted and shaped into a sphere. This she placed into our glasses, and then she poured the scotch over it. I, of course, immediately wanted one of these large copper contraptions. I had to have one.

The main point of using ice spheres being, the sphere will melt much slower than cubes, and hence will not dilute your drink. It also offers a touch of beauty, and adds a bit of class. Not to mention that it's just plain fun to do something a little different!

Well, I later found out that I didn't need to spend hundreds of dollars on, nor struggle to find storage space for, an ice sphere maker. All I needed was a good mold! Lo and behold, Culinary Corner has a good set of two, without the hefty price tag!

These molds are made of silicone. They are heavy duty enough to take whatever you might dole out in all your ice sphere adventures, yet they are still light and easy to handle. The silicone is slightly flexible, but strong enough to hold its shape.

These are so simple to fill. Start with the mold assembled. Each has two halves that simply slip together. The bottom is flat, to provide stability. Each has a hole in the top, to run a stream of water into.

Once the molds are filled, be sure to hold the bottom half, and not just grab onto the top! Then, you just pop them in the freezer, and wait for the magic to do its work.


As you will quite likely know, water expands as it freezes. One thing I liked about these molds is that they allow for this expansion. Sometimes the top half would lift just a bit, and sometimes the water would expand out the hole in the top. Whatever way it expanded, it did not leave a mess in my freezer. It always froze on the mold, before it hit the shelf. Regardless of what expansion took place, the sphere always turned out perfectly!

If you find that the mold does get a little stubborn when you try to open it, just run a little warm water over it, and it will pop right open after that. There is really nothing too difficult about these molds, yet they do their job beautifully!

Once the sphere is made, use it to your liking. It, of course, fits perfectly into a rocks glass.

I also found that two will fit nicely into a wide mouth mason jar. Perfect for use with iced tea! Refill your glass again, still tasting the flavor of the tea, without it being watered down!

Of course, these are molds, so ice isn't the only thing they can be used for. You can also use them to make things like cake pops! I also have a vision in my head of using these to make perfectly formed cheese balls for two, for use as an hors d'ouvre. I haven't had the chance to try it, yet, but eventually, I will. I'm sure there are dozens of other uses for these, too!

Now, it's time for your chance to win! What? Can't wait to get yours? You can order these on Amazon, and save 10 percent using the code JENNYT10 at checkout!

You can also enter to win the Culinary Corner Collapsible Silicone Funnel, through February 28, and read the review, HERE.

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Disclosure: I received this product for free, to facilitate this review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Good Luck!

Culinary Corner Collapsible Funnel - Review and Giveaway!

This week I had the opportunity to review the Culinary Corner Collapsible Funnel. What a handy little unit! For you, thanks to our friends at Culinary Corner, this means you now have the chance to win one!

I like this funnel for numerous reasons. First of all, because it collapses, it is so easy to store. I have a larger, non-collapsible funnel, that I've always struggled to find a suitable place for. This one fits easily in any compartment, in any of my drawers. Made of silicone, it's also flexible, so won't get hung up and cause a drawer jam, as so many other items will. If you prefer to hang it from a hook, that is an option, too.

The flexible/collapsible combination, also makes it great for travel. Two of my sons like to go survival camping, so, for them, this would take virtually no room in a backpack. It could then be easily used for filtering water into a bottle with one of their water sanitizing tools.

As for around the house, I see multiple uses for this, too. It's smaller size allows it to tackle any number of jobs that my large funnel cannot. The ridges on its sides allow it to fit securely on containers with openings of various sizes.

I can use it with my small thermos, to add sugar to coffee when the kids use it, or to add honey to tea. No more mess to clean up from something that should be so simple. Now it is.

In our family, we also enjoy freshly squeezed lemon in water. This funnel sits nicely on a reusable water bottle, so I can squeeze the lemon right into it. No muss, no fuss.

I am also thinking of this coming garden season. I had a deck garden before the move, so am looking forward to having a new garden here. I love to grow and dry my own herbs, and am looking to expand with more varieties. This funnel will work nicely to fill the smaller, spice-sized jars with these.

On a final note, at the end of the day, I found this funnel to be easy to clean, with no special care required. That is always a plus!

Now, on to the giveaway! Can't wait to get yours? Visit Culinary Corner on Amazon and get 10 percent off using code JennyT10 at checkout!

Be sure to enter for the Non-stick Silicone Baking Mat from Culinary Corner, HERE, through February 21! Look for another giveaway, next week!

A big thank you to our friends at Culinary Corner! Check back in with them regularly, for still more quality products at affordable prices, coming soon!

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Disclosure: I received this product for free, to facilitate this review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Good Luck!

Culinary Corner Non-stick Silicone Baking Mat - Review and Giveaway!

This week I had the fabulous opportunity to review another product from Culinary Corner, and you now have the chance to win it! As if this isn't fantastic enough, I'll let you in on a little secret. You have the chance to win another of their products next week, and again the next! Each week is a giveaway for a different product, so be sure to enter them all!

A big thank you to Culinary Corner for sponsoring these giveaways, and to you, dear readers, for entering them! Your participation brings more giveaways to you, with more opportunities to win, so keep doing what you do! Sweepstaking Dreams can come true!

Today I am reviewing the Culinary Corner Non-stick Silicone Baking Mat Flexible. The size is 16 and 5/8th inches by 11 inches, so it fits on a half-sized baking sheet just right.

There is no need for any type of oil with this mat, which is a definite plus! Whatever it is you're making, it does not matter. This is true whether you are using it for baking, or for freezing, or for a work surface. It really is as non-stick as it gets!

Along with these non-stick properties, as I've said, the versatility of this mat is astounding. The uses must be endless! Though baking may be the first thing that comes to mind, I will also be using this for freezing fruits and vegetables. I used to spread these out on tin foil, which would inevitably tear and become annoying. I will also be using this to roll pie crust and dough. No more dough stuck to the counter top!

Now, as for what I've used it for, so far, here's a start...

I am generally quite busy, as most people are. Therefore, on work days, I don't often cook a full meal until late in the day. However, I generally will make something quick and easy for mid-day. Cheesy, oven-baked snacks like the one below (this one happens to be mozzarella and pepperoni wrapped up in a croissant, though it could be anything) are some of the kinds things I regularly have on hand, and thoroughly enjoy, so will whip up in a snap. Unfortunately, there are always at least a few bits of cheese that end up baking onto the pan, making clean-up a pain.

Clean-up was zero hassle with this baking mat. The cheese wiped right off! It made me so happy! What a joy, to be free of that time consuming task!

Then, one evening, my son wanted to bake some salmon. To his horror, he discovered we were out of tin foil.

Now, as some of you may know, before moving to the new home, I was living on the Mississippi River, dealing with extensive and extreme flooding for a number of years. I would spend weeks, if not months at home, working online and keeping myself busy around the house during floods. A simple trip out to the store was never an option. This is what has been ingrained in me, to stock up as best you can, then make do with what you have.

So, needless to say, I wasn't about to run out to the store to get tin foil. Instead, I told him to try the baking mat. I was glad to have it, too!

Again, it worked perfectly. He can be a bit of a messy jeffy when he cooks, so this was so much better than tin foil ever was. I have to say, I was a bit concerned with him using it for the first time, but there was no need to be. Again, clean up was a breeze.

The one thing that you may want to note, is that a silicone baking mat will season, as your favorite bakeware will often do. So, after time, it does show some discoloration. This hasn't affected its performance in any unwanted way. In fact, it seems to me that it may have made it better, as seasoning often does.

On something of a related note, I have not found it to pick up any odors, even from things like fish. This is a definite plus.


On to the next adventure in cooking with this baking mat. It was sugar cookies. I made this short video to show you how slick this works...




Then, of course, with the Super Bowl coming up, I had to try Parmesan cheese bowls.

I baked these at 375 degrees for seven minutes.

When they were done, they slid right off the mat, without a hitch. I then draped them over an inverted coffee cup to cool, popped one onto a wine-holding hors d'ouvre plate, and dropped some olives in. Wala!

Warning: This baking mat may subject you to sudden bursts of creativity!

In the end, it's a quick swish in the sink with some warm soapy water, a swipe with a dishrag, and a quick rinse. Then, just drape it on the dish rack to dry. Store it right on the baking sheet. Simple enough!

Now, it's your chance to win one! If you can't wait, you can visit Culinary Corner on Amazon and get 10% off using the code JENNYT10!

You can also see my review of Culinary Corner's set of three Easy Flex Silicone Spatulas here. Enter to win these spatulas through February 14!

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Culinary Corner Set of 3 Easy Flex Silicone Spatulas - Review and Giveaway!

I love kitchen stuff. Tools, gadgets, anything at all. I love to cook, and every item has its purpose. Yet, there are some tools that one just cannot do without. A good set of spatulas is one of those. Hence, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review this set of three Easy Flex Silicone Spatulas from Culinary Corner!

The set includes a small, a medium, and a large spatula. This is really handy. Though each can handle any task, with the different sizes, each can offer optimal performance for many different circumstances.

Yet, what I found so striking to begin with, is the beauty of this set! The handles are crystal clear, free of any bubbles or imperfections to mar the look. Each has a hole to hang it with, so hanging on a kitchen hook will accent the decor.

Our new house is in need of updating, however, it's nice enough for now. I wanted to show how nice these spatulas look when they are hanging, even in a historic home. You can get the idea of how beautiful this could look with a more contemporary kitchen, too, or any other decor. Aside from that, being able to hang these on a hook is a real space-saver, so is a nice feature. The blue paddles add a nice pop of color, too, that brightens up the space.

Now, back to performance. Of the three spatulas, I could not pick a favorite. The medium is good for all-around use. Scraping bowls, spreading frosting, mixing batter... it can take on about any job you'd need a spatula for.

Even so, the small and the large sizes are just so nice to have!

I have certain smaller containers that I like to use for certain things. The small spatula is the perfect size for these. I can scrape that last bit of frothed milk out of the 12 ounce pitcher it's served in...

You know you don't want to leave that behind!

I also enjoy mixing up "oily" concoctions in ramekins. Garlic infused olive oil with herbs and spices (as seen below), or Asian sauces made with sesame seed oil or fish sauce...

...With the small spatula I can scrape every bit of yummy goodness out of the ramekin. It's the perfect size for these types of things. I'm sure you'd have any number of uses for this, too!

The large spatula works really well for more heavy-duty jobs. It's perfect for mixing heavier doughs. It also has a "spoon-like" quality to it, so can be used for things like mixing up sauces that you want to taste to get just right, as well.

The other nice feature of these spatulas is the silicone paddle, itself. This is designed to withstand both extreme heat and extreme cold, so can easily be used for things like stirring chocolate chips as you melt them on the double boiler, as well as stirring frozen fruits into that home-made ice cream you just whipped up. Really, I think the uses must be nearly endless!

These spatulas are designed really well. With them, you should be able to not only mix, scoop, and stir just about anything you'd need to with a spatula, but also get the last bit of anything you want to get out of a jar or bowl. They are, as the name suggests, flexible, and made with both rounded and square edges.

The final plus is that the paddles are removable, ensuring that you will get them good and clean. This shows yet another thoughtful feature in the design. The handle has a serrated edge where the paddle sits. This keeps it well-secured. There is no slippage whatsoever when in use, yet removal isn't difficult.

Now, my lucky readers, thanks to the lovely folks at Culinary Corner, our wonderful sponsor for this review and giveaway, you have the chance to win this beautiful set of spatulas!

Can't wait to get yours? You can order a set from Culinary Corner on Amazon.com. Use code JENNYT10 at checkout to get 10 percent off!

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Good Luck!

Disclosure: I received this product for free, to facilitate this review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.