household

Grating onions and deveining shrimp are among my least favorite kitchen tasks. They not only leave me in a foul mood, but they leave me with equally foul-smelling fingers. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's stinky hands — so when I got mine on some kitchen soap that promised to not only be cleansing but also "odor-eliminating," I had to put it to the test.

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Soap claims to be all things to all cooks in the kitchen. Not only does it contain a patented technology called FreshSource that fights strong odors, but its citrus-scented formula is also allegedly antibacterial, exfoliating (thanks to blue microbeads), and moisturizing (due to coconut milk, honey, and olive fruit extracts).
I can't verify the antibacterial part, but I can say without a doubt that a sudsy moment under the sink with this soap will get just about any offending smell off your hands. I put it through the garlic test, the onion test, and, yes, even the peeling and deveining shrimp test. My hands weren't only clean, they were slightly moisturized and also scented like the somewhat-artificial smell of Sunburst Tangerine — which I'd gladly pay $7.25 for over the smell of gutted seafood.

As a messy eater who spills on herself once a day, I've been looking forward to testing out samples of Wine Off and Coffee Off stain removers that were sent to the Sugar HQ. Here's why: for years, I've dealt with what I call the red wine stain dilemma. The leading wine remover, Wine Away, has always seemed a bit too steep a price to pay for a spray when there are dozens of household items said to do the trick. But on the other hand, these homemade remedies never seemed to undo all the damage. Would Wine Off (and its brother bottle, Coffee Off) be able to solve my dilemma? Find out when you read more.

In my kitchen, I have a huge food drawer and cabinet shelf that is full of nothing but food storage solutions: plastic wrap, foil, plastic containers, and bags in various sizes. Recently, I added new Covermate food covers to my ridiculous collection of storage ideas. These stretch-to-fit wraps are supposedly microwaveable, reusable, dishwasher-safe, and accommodating to any size. Do they really live up to their claim, or am I about to blow their cover? To find out, keep reading.

While at the Fancy Foods Show earlier this year, an interesting product by the name of Bread Armor caught my eye. The concept? Reusable, resealable, recyclable bags designed to keep fresh-baked breads for up to two weeks. I've been on a daily bread kick but often find my bread rock-hard the next morning. Could this invention potentially be the breakthrough answer I was looking for? More when you keep reading.